Daniel's Bride Read Online Free Page B

obscenely priced liquor. Daniel took
her hand again. “So we don’t get lost,” he remarked, as a particularly
rambunctious group of young men, rejoicing in their team’s win, jostled past.
“I hear it was a sell-out.”
    Mel glanced at his hand, and found herself mesmerised by the
sight, and by the feel. His hand was large and warm, with a grip that said
possession without control. She suddenly noticed women watching them both and
her spirits lifted. Maybe they thought she was his girlfriend. His lover even.
    Or maybe, she thought as he said, “Whoa” when she came close
to stepping over the curb, they figured she was his poor simple sister and he
had to hold on to her so she didn’t wander off and get run over. Her spirits
were taking a rapid dive when a voice called, “Daniel?”
    An older man, gray hair on the cusp of turning white, walked
towards them, a surprised grin on his face
    A supporter’s scarf draped his neck even though the evening
was almost warm.
    “Hugh. Why am I not surprised?” They shook hands and Daniel
introduced them. “Hugh Devereaux, this is my… that is, she’s…” His gaze fixed
on Mel a long moment, as if trying to figure out what to call her. Similarly,
her mind had reached a total blank.
    “Friend,” he said finally. “And Mel, this is Hugh Devereaux.
Hugh is a family friend and our company lawyer.”
    “Charmed, Melissa.” Hugh took her hand, bent and kissed it.
“Or is it Melanie?”
    Daniel sighed wearily, and Mel grinned, instantly warming to
the handsome, older man. “No, it’s Melinda. But call me Mel.”
    “Mel it is. It’s good to meet any female friend of Daniel’s.
A rare occurrence.”
    Really? She stared at Daniel who looked as if he’d heard the
comment a million times and was heartily sick of it. Surely he had women
friends all over the place, just waiting for the nod.
    Hugh turned his attention to Daniel, his bushy eyebrows
raised impossibly high above light blue eyes. “What on earth brings you to the
park, Dan? You detest football. What made you see the light?”
    Daniel’s face tightened. “I owed Mel,” he said briskly.
“Mel’s the supporter.”
    Alarm settled like a fog across her. He’d brought her here
only because he thought she was the footie fan? She didn’t mind it but that was
only for her mother.
    “Well, I wouldn’t call myself a…” She swallowed, and stared
back at him. “You mean you don’t really like football?”
    Daniel waggled his hand in a fifty-fifty gesture.
    “He loathes it,” Hugh put in.
    “Loathe is an exaggeration,” Daniel told her. “I prefer to
channel my physical energies into other things. I rowed at varsity and I whack
a squash ball around the court now and then. Suits me fine.”
    She dropped her gaze to his broad shoulders. She could
imagine him rowing. He looked like a rower, now she thought of it. All that
power and muscle, not to mention the determination to row mile after mile,
water glistening off his skin, sun hitting his body. The power in his thighs…
    He turned to her, and his eyes glimmered as if he had read
her mind. Impossible . Hugh slapped Daniel on the back. “At least his
allegiance lies with the family firm, not with a team that darn well lost a
match they should have won.”
    Daniel gestured ahead. “Hugh, how about a lift home? I
assume you caught a taxi.” They were out on the main road now, and he said,
“We’re parked up here, it’s not far to walk. And I’ll be dropping Mel off back
at her place.”
    Hugh glanced straight at her and his gaze held a curious
fraction. It was loaded with enough questions that she felt like an ant under a
magnifying glass. Daniel seemed ambivalent to the speculation as Hugh agreed,
“I’ll take you up on it. It’ll save me a taxi fare.”
    Mel noted his tailored jacket and trousers, and leather
shoes that looked out of a GQ fashion shoot. He looked as if the last thing
he’d ever need to worry about would be the cost of a taxi