Laura shook her head. She couldn't do this. Parting from him in Portugal had caused her more pain than she could ever have imagined. She couldn't go through all that again—become addicted to his kisses and closeness when all he could offer her was an affair going nowhere.
"Laura, what's going on in that head of yours?" he asked warily.
"I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm just not the type to have an affair."
"Who said anything about having an affair?"
"You did," Laura said uncertainly. "I think."
"No, I didn't." Daniel rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Maybe at the start . . . I was attracted to you, and I didn't see the harm in a little flirting. But the more I got to know you, things changed, only I wouldn't admit to myself they had. Don't you see?"
"No, I don't see. If you don't want an affair, then why have you come? What do you want?"
He threw his hands in the air. "Oh, for goodness' sake, Laura. I love you. I want to marry you, and have a family with you, and hold hands with you on the beach when we're eighty. Is that plain English enough for you?"
Laura's mouth gaped, and he gently pushed it closed. "I think that's the first time I've seen you speechless." His expression became serious again. "Say yes, Laura. Put me out of my misery."
Laura stood, tears rolling down her face. Daniel loved her. He wanted to marry her.
"Daniel, your work . . ."
He placed a finger across her lips. "Ben has agreed that the business is growing so much, it needs both of us based in London. I can have my shot at suburban domesticity now." He shrugged. "And who knows? If it keeps on growing, some day we might need someone based in each of the countries we travel to." He winked. "Portugal, maybe."
Laura couldn't stop crying.
Daniel brushed the tears away with his thumb. "Laura. Say yes."
She sniffed, then threw her arms around his neck, burrowing her face in his chest to dampen his shirt. "Yes!"
Epilogue
Laura turned to look at the rows of flower-decked chairs behind her – at her friends, her mother, Steve and his new wife, Ben and his family. She spotted Maria dabbing a handkerchief to her eyes, her ambition to host Laura's wedding before she retired so unexpectedly realised.
The late October weather had been kind to them, graciously allowing them to hold the ceremony outside in the afternoon sun before retiring indoors to the function room, where Maria had outdone herself.
They had just finished the part where the groom is told he can kiss the bride, and Laura was still blushing from the thorough way Daniel had carried out his instructions, with everyone she knew looking delightedly on. She thought she might burst with happiness.
Later, much later, when she was exhausted from the dancing and the excitement, they walked hand in hand down the path to their room.
"Why are you grinning like the Cheshire Cat?" Daniel asked her.
"I was thinking how glad I am that you changed your mind."
"About what?"
"About not being the marrying kind."
"I never said that, did I?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye.
"You know very well you did," she chided.
"So I did. And it was true, at the time. It was also a good excuse for not admitting to myself that I might be changing my mind. You said something along the same lines yourself, I recall."
Laura smiled. "I suppose I did." She moved closer in. "Won't you miss it? The travelling, I mean?"
Firmly, he shook his head. "No. I've served my time. I want to concentrate on settling down with my wife and making babies and growing old gracefully. We'll find some up-and-coming youngster to scurry around all over Europe."
Laura smoothed the smile lines around his eyes with a fingertip. "Do you think you'll be able to find someone who can live up to your standards?"
Exasperated, Daniel scooped her into his arms to carry her over the threshold. "Why don't you stop thinking about business for a while and concentrate on pleasure instead, Mrs. Stone?"
Obediently, Laura did just that.
About the Author
Helen Pollard writes contemporary romance with old-fashioned heart. She believes there will always be a place for romantic fiction, no matter how fast-paced and cynical the world becomes. Readers still want that feel-good factor - to escape from their own world for a while and see how a budding romance can blossom and overcome adversity to develop into love ... and we all need a little love.
A Yorkshire lass, Helen is married, with two teenagers. They share space with a Jekyll and Hyde cat that alternates between being obsessively affectionate and viciously psychotic. Antiseptic cream is always close at hand.
When Helen’s not working or writing, it goes without saying that she loves to read. She enjoys a good coffee in a quiet bookshop, and appreciates the company of family and close friends.
Also by Helen Pollard
Chapter One
Abby chewed her lip in anxious concentration as she peered through the windscreen, her fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. The narrow country road would be hard to negotiate at the best of times, but in the dark and the snow it was almost impossible. Despite her slow speed, the full beam from her headlights barely showed a bend until she was almost upon it — but since there was nowhere to turn around, all she could do was grit her teeth, stay calm and fervently hope her satnav didn't lead her down a sheep track or into a swollen river.
She allowed herself a soft curse at the weather and directed another at Casey while she was at it. It was all her fault this was happening. No, that wasn't true. Her friend was only trying to help, and
