Operation Saving Daniel (Entangled Covet) Read Online Free

was done, she raised her glass. “To old times,” she said and downed the drink in one gulp.
    Daniel pulled the bottle from the ice bucket and refilled her glass. Old times? She’d drunk champagne that night as well. He remembered the taste of it on her tongue.
    “Are you coming to the party?” he asked Lissa.
    His mother turned sixty in a week’s time, and she was holding a party at their place in Spain. Family get-togethers made him uncomfortable these days and he wished to hell he could get out of it. Worse, Sophia would insist on accompanying him and his family probably expected them to make an announcement. Could that be the explanation for Lissa turning up at this time? He didn’t believe in coincidences.
    “I hope so,” Lissa replied. “It depends if I can find someone to take care of Spot.”
    “So,” Sophia said. “What do you do, Ms. Jackson?”
    “Call me Lissa,” she replied. “And I’ve been working as the coordinator for a development project out in Africa.”
    “Very noble.”
    Daniel could hear the slight sneer in Sophia’s voice; she did condescending extremely well. He waited to see how Lissa would react, but she just shrugged.
    “Yeah, noble—that’s me. Actually, it was something I enjoyed doing.”
    “Do you plan to go back?”
    Half of Daniel hoped it would be very soon. The other half…
    Lissa shook her head. “My last contract finished and I’ve been ill with malaria. The doctors advised that I stay out of the tropics for a while.”
    “Hmm, you do look a little…peaky.”
    “So what will you do?” Daniel asked.
    She took a sip of champagne while she considered her answer. “I’m not sure. I feel a little…burned out. Or maybe I just need a break and can go back to it fresh afterward.”
    Their meals arrived, and they were silent for a while, concentrating on the food. Lissa fed tidbits to the dog under the table, grinning when Sophia suggested that it wasn’t hygienic.
    Daniel couldn’t work up an interest in the food, his insides churning. In the end, he stopped trying to eat, leaned back, and waited for the meal to be over. Occasionally, he’d glance up and find Lissa watching him with those strange golden eyes and something twisted inside him. The meal went on forever, but finally, Sophia put her knife and fork down. Shifting her chair closer, she stroked her fingers down his cheek. “Not hungry, darling?”
    This time, as the growl rolled through his mind, he was ready for it, and managed not to react. “No.”
    “Well, then, pleasant as this has been, we really should be getting back.”
    Lissa glanced between the two of them. “You work together?”
    “It’s how we met,” Daniel said. “And Sophia is right. We must go.” He pushed back his chair and stood. Lissa and Sophia did the same. “Well, that was nice,” he said, his tone implying it was anything but.
    “It was,” Lissa replied, her tone equally insincere. “We must do it again.”
    “In another ten years perhaps. And now you can report back to Julia.”
    Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t deny it. “She worries about you,” she said sweetly. “Your sisters never really considered you capable of taking care of yourself. But at least I can go back and tell them that you and Sophia are perfect for each other.”
    Why didn’t he think she was complimenting either of them? “Maybe we’ll see you at the party,” he said.
    “I hope so, but I doubt it.”
    He escorted her outside the restaurant and watched her walk away. She glanced back as she got to the corner and waggled her fingers in his general direction. Then she was gone. Again. The damn beast growled and he got the distinct idea it didn’t want her to go. Hard fucking luck.
    “Why do I get the impression there’s more to the two of you than you’re letting on?” Sophia murmured.
    He gave what he hoped was a casual shrug. “She’s part of the past and nothing to do with us—why should you care?”
    “I care about