Lynsey Stevens: A Physical Affair

And as they pulled up in the gateway of Daniel’s home over an hour later and waited for the electronically controlled gates to swing open, Keira could only admire Daniel’s driving skill. She glanced sideways at him. He was really an extraordinarily mature young man for his age. His family should be proud of him.

So why would his uncle think he’d be bringing-what had Daniel said?-a giggling air-head to his grandfather’s party? Perhaps Eden Cassidy hadn’t taken the time to get to know his own nephew, who had been his ward since Daniel was orphaned when he was ten years old. Eden Cassidy was probably too busy checking up on his staff and making millions on top of his millions.

Sounded fairly typical, she reflected, pushing aside the thought that she was prejudging a situation when she’d only heard one side of it, one biased side at that. From Daniel.

‘Here we are. The family shack.’ Daniel drew up in front of the majestic home.

‘Shack, Daniel?’ Keira gave a laugh. ‘By no stretch of the imagination could you call this a shack. You could lose someone in there and not find them for days.’

‘Too true. And the only good thing about it, as far as I was concerned when I was a kid.’ Daniel grinned as he lifted their bags out of the boot and handed them to the man who came down the steps to meet them. “This is Mrs Strong, Burton. Perhaps you could put her in the front green room, down the hall from me.’

Keira felt herself flush and busied herself slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She could throttle Daniel. What must the man be thinking?

‘If you’ll come this way, madam.’ The butler led the way up the steps into the marble-tiled foyer. Moving to his left, he pressed a button for what turned out to be a lift.

Keira raised her eyebrows and Daniel smiled.

‘All mod cons, as they say. There are three floors, four counting the attics. If we didn’t have the lift we’d spend all our time commuting from one level of the house to the other.’

They moved silently upwards and Daniel rolled his eyes at Keira. ‘Is my uncle home?’ he asked the butler’s straight back as they stepped into the second floor hallway.

‘We’re expecting him within the hour.’ The butler opened a door and motioned Keira to enter. ‘I hope you’ll be comfortable here, Mrs Strong. The intercom is just there by the door. If you require anything, please push this button and it will connect you with the staff.’

“Thank you.’ Keira acknowledged, and when the butler had excused himself she gazed around her in admiration.

‘Well? What’s the verdict?’ Daniel closed the door and leant back against it.

‘Need you ask? It’s divine.’ The room was huge, finished in greens and metallic gold. She crossed to the open double doors and stepped out on to her own small balcony.

The grounds of the Cassidy estate swept below her, exquisitely landscaped with trimmed green lawns, clipped hedges, native bushes and colourful flower-filled garden beds. The white curving drive ended at the security gates in the high wall that enclosed the extensive property.

‘What a fabulous view. I didn’t realise the house was positioned so much higher than the surrounding area.’ Keira half turned as Daniel joined her, casually resting his arm about her shoulders.

‘Just think, my dear Keira, this could all be yours.’ Daniel leered at her and twirled an imaginary moustache. ‘Just say the word.’

‘Quit while you’re ahead, Daniel,’ Keira admonished him. ‘Because I still haven’t forgiven you for that throwaway line in front of poor Burton. I dread even to surmise what he’s thinking.’

‘Burton wouldn’t think of thinking anything. You know, you look beautiful when you put on that schoolmarmy face.’ And before Keira could move, and she was restricted by the small confines of the balcony, Daniel had planted a quick kiss on her lips.

She stiffened, her hands sliding up to push him away. But it wasn’t necessary for he had already drawn back, his eyes alight with amusement.

‘Gotcha!’ he said teasingly, his hand now resting lightly on her waist.

As kisses went it was just a brotherly peck, but Keira frowned at him. ‘Look, Daniel-’

He held up his other hand. ‘Sorry, Keira. The devil made me do it. I wasn’t coming on to you. Honestly. It was just a thank you for coming.”

Keira shook her head at his boyish grin. ‘Once more. Just once more, Daniel Cassidy, and party or no party, I’m out of here. And I mean it.’

‘Well, if you weren’t so irresistibly attractive-’

Daniel began, only to break off as a car door slammed below them.

They both turned to look over the balcony rail, Daniel’s arm still resting about Keira’s waist.

A sleek, indigo-blue Jaguar squatted sedately below, a dark splash on the white pebbled drive, and Burton was removing a suitcase from the open boot.

But Keira barely noticed him. Her attention was fixed on the tall dark-haired man who stood, hand on the open car door, looking up at them.

Eden Cassidy in the flesh. And he wasn’t smiling.

Keira’s eyes locked with the sparkling dark brilliance of his, and even with the distance separating her from him she saw his lips tighten. His gaze narrowed, went from Keira to his nephew, and back to Keira. And he quite obviously wasn’t pleased with what he saw.

It was only as Daniel’s uncle moved towards the steps that Keira realised he hadn’t been alone in the dark Jaguar XJS.

The woman who had climbed from the car to join him was almost as tall as he was, Keira judged. Her straight tailored skirt and contrasting emerald-green blouse clung to her willowy figure as though they had been cut to fit her personally. And they probably had, Keira decided. She had a matching jacket folded over her arm and she carried a leather briefcase which she refused to trust to the butler.

Unconsciously Keira was leaning slightly over the balcony as she watched the couple below disappear into the house. Daniel’s voice in her ear brought her to the realisation with a jolt, and her hand went to clasp the balcony rail for instinctive support.

‘That was my uncle,’ Daniel said unnecessarily, and Keira bit off an angry retort.

She drew a deep breath. ‘I know. And your little display must have been perfectly timed.’ She swept past him into the bedroom and swung to face him as he followed her. ‘How could you, Daniel?’

‘How could I what?’ he appealed.

‘How could I what?’ Keira mimicked him mercilessly. ‘Don’t act so innocent. Playact that intimate little scene out there, that’s what. How could you embarrass me like that?’

‘Playact?’ Daniel repeated, all wounded affront. ‘You think I only kissed you because I saw my uncle coming up the driveway?’

Keira’s expression was reply enough.

‘It doesn’t appear to have occurred to you that I might have kissed you because I wanted to, because you looked so bloody attractive I was overcome by my emotions.’

‘You’re treading on very thin ice, Daniel,’ Keira enunciated succinctly. ‘This is not the time to clomp about in hob-nailed boots, believe me.’

Daniel’s lips quirked a moment before his laughter slipped out. ‘Hob-nailed boots? Heaven forbid. Far too heavy-handed. Subtlety’s my middle name.’

‘Daniel, if I thought you set this up-’

‘I didn’t stage it, Keira, I swear,’ he said earnestly. ‘Not that I wouldn’t have if I’d thought of it.’

‘Oh, Daniel, I’m absolutely livid with you. Can’t you see how it would have looked, how…?’ Keira shook her head and put some space between them.

‘He probably didn’t even notice us anyway,’ Daniel contended easily, and Keira let out a breath in disbelief. “Trust me, when he’s in the car Eden spends most of his time on the phone or with his head stuck in his papers. Megan drives. Didn’t you notice Megan was at the wheel?’