He shot her an enigmatic look. "I'm not telling. You'll have to wait and see."
Laura climbed into the car beside him. She loved it when he was like this, lighthearted and teasing. Too often he was intent on his business, making him confrontational and difficult to talk to, but tonight he had decided to be charming and a little mysterious. She relaxed, determined to enjoy it while it lasted. When they reached Viana do Castelo, she realised where they might be headed as the car climbed the steep curving road above the town. "We're going up to Santa Luzia?"
Daniel nodded. "Why not? Apparently it's a beautiful view."
Laura looked at him, surprised. He was right, but she'd only ever been up the hill in the daytime to see the church at the top and to gaze at the view across the town and river. And she'd never driven up here – she'd always used the funicular railway that rattled its way up the hillside, but she supposed it didn't operate so late in the evening. The drive was a little hairy along the climbing road, and she suppressed a sigh of relief when Daniel stopped the car and they got out.
"What's that?" she asked with suspicion as he lifted a basket from the back of the car.
"What does it look like? We're going to have a picnic."
Laura watched in amazement as he spread a rug on the grass and began to unpack the box. There were a half bottle of wine and two glasses, plates, cutlery, cold chicken, salad, bread, sweet pastries—even a flask of coffee. When he'd laid everything out, he laughed at the startled expression on her face, the sound vibrant in the open evening air.
"Before you start interrogating me about the source of all this, I'll confess I had an accomplice in Maria," he said in mock apology.
She raised her eyes skywards. "I might have known." Sitting on the rug, she took the glass of wine he offered her. "What would you have done with all this if I hadn't come?"
"I suppose I would have had an extremely large supper on my own in my room."
Laura laughed as she imagined him sitting on the rug all alone indoors, surrounded by food. "It's a good thing I came, then."
"Yes. I'm glad you did." Daniel was serious all of a sudden. "Laura, I'm so sorry about this afternoon. I should never have spoken to you the way I did." He sighed. "I know it's no excuse, but it's just the way I've been lately. The business is growing so fast, I've hardly had time to breathe. I guess it makes me impatient. I'm used to having to make snap decisions and judgements." He shrugged. "I'm not always right."
"No, you're not." But she decided to take his apology at face value. He looked tired, and she put her hand on his arm. "What you need is a holiday. Maybe you should book one with Stone Brothers."
He rolled his eyes. "No, thank you. My idea of a holiday is to sit at home for two weeks without going near a train, plane, or hotel." He started to pass her the food, and Laura helped herself. "Unfortunately, I'm up to my eyes for quite a while yet."
"Are you sure you can't you employ someone else?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I'm coming round to the idea that I'd like to," he said. "That I need to. But first I have to find the time to actually sit down and discuss it with Ben."
"I had an idea about that," she said cautiously.
"Oh?"
"I don't want to interfere."
He patted her knee. "You're not interfering, you're expressing an opinion, which you're not usually so shy about. Come on, out with it."
"Well, I was thinking about Becky," she told him. "You said she had to give up her job to care for the boys full time. I was wondering if it might give her a break if the company could find some way of paying for one-to-one care for them for a few hours a day, or maybe a day or two a week, while Becky helped out at Stone Brothers. It might give her a rest from them and be a change for her." She shrugged. "I know it won't help with all your travelling," she went on, unsure as to whether she should have said anything. "But it might be good for Becky, and for Ben."
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "It's certainly a thought," he mused out loud. "A good one. I could talk to Ben about it." He smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the delicious picnic and gazing out over the town beyond the tree-covered hillside. It was getting dark and lights were coming on, giving the view a magical quality. The dark bulk of the Santa Luzia basilica loomed behind them with its huge round windows and dome. Apart from the odd couple out for a walk, there were few people around.
Content after her supper, Laura accepted the coffee Daniel held out to her. Warming her fingers on the cup, she shivered a little.
"Are you cold?" he asked. "I have a spare sweater in the car."
Laura was about to shake her head—she was only slightly chilled—but she stopped herself. The idea of snuggling into an oversized sweater of Daniel's was too appealing.
He fetched it for her, and she tugged it on. "Better?"
"Mmm. Better." Breathing in Daniel's scent from the fabric, Laura gazed out across the town. "I love this place," she murmured.
"Maybe you ought to consider a move out here."
She laughed. "I told you before—I'm not sure I want to throw in a good job with security for a pie-in-the-sky dream."
Daniel reached out to stroke her hair, and Laura thought her heart would thump right out of her chest at his touch.
"Don't you ever do anything reckless, Laura? Take a chance?" His voice was low, husky, and she sensed that
