Robyn Donald - One Passionate Night

But he wanted to. Hell, he wanted to desperately.

The reception loomed ahead as a far bigger trial than this wedding, because it was longer. Hours, maybe. But there was no getting out of it.

Meanwhile, he would have had to be careful not to let his frustration show. And not to drink. He had to be stone-cold sober to perform as he wanted to perform tonight.

‘Love the hair,’ he complimented after his mouth lifted. ‘ And the dress.’

He could have added love what’s in it , but he didn’t, of course. That would have been crass. And Daniel was not crass.

Aroused, but not crass.

She stared up into his eyes with the oddest expression. Kind of dazed.

‘Better than blonde?’ she asked with a charming tilt of her head.

‘Much,’ he said. ‘You made a beautiful blonde, but you’re a ravishing brunette.’ He certainly wanted to ravish her. Right now.

She smiled. A happy smile. No, a dazzling smile.

Daniel stifled a groan and managed to smile back. ‘I’ve always been partial to brunettes,’ he said truthfully.

Vince stopped any further conversation with a touch to Daniel’s elbow. He led them over to the table to sign the pretend papers, which they did, along with Brad and Louise. Cameras continued to flash. The video rolled on. Daniel murmured a discreet ‘thank you’ to Vince, who said he would be going straight home to tell Beth all about it.

Beth, it had been obvious last night, thought this whole pretend wedding thing was so romantic. There again, Beth had always been an incurable romantic.

‘Smile, please,’ the photographer ordered. ‘The groom! Smile , please.’

Daniel smiled.

CHAPTER TEN

‘EXCUSE me a moment, please, Charlotte,’ Daniel said, and pushed back his chair.

Charlotte’s eyes followed him as he stood up and walked to the table where her father was seated. There was an empty chair next to her dad, her mother having temporarily vacated it.

The reception had been in full swing for over an hour, with the entrée and the main meal having been served. Charlotte had chosen the menu herself, but hadn’t really enjoyed any of the food. In fact, she’d just picked at it.

From the moment Daniel had said she was ravishing, her hunger hadn’t been for food.

Her eyes were still glued to him when he suddenly glanced back over his shoulder at her. Embarrassed at being caught staring, she pulled her eyes away and picked up her glass. She might not have eaten much but she’d been downing the wine. Chardonnay. Her favourite.

‘See what I told you would happen?’ Louise whispered to Charlotte. ‘He can’t take his eyes off you.’

‘More like the other way around. I… I’ve never wanted a man like I do him. I think I will take him away on my honeymoon holiday after all.’

Louise gave a softly knowing laugh. ‘Aah, so you know now what I feel when I’m with Brad. Nothing like a bit of good old-fashioned lust, is there?’

‘Lust…’ Charlotte frowned. ‘How can I be sure that’s all this is?’

‘What else, at this early stage? Goodness, don’t go thinking what you feel is love , girl. I have to admit, if I wasn’t so taken with Brad, I might bat my eyelashes in Daniel’s direction as well.’

‘Did I hear someone mention my name?’ Brad said from his seat on the other side of Daniel’s vacant one.

Louise rolled her eyes. ‘Amazing how his ears always prick up every time he hears his name. That’s men for you. Yes, Brad, we were both talking about you and how yummy you look in your tux.’

‘I was thinking the same about you, babe.’

‘What, how good I’d look in your tux?’

Brad laughed. ‘You’re a crack-up, Lou. You really are. Aah, here’s Dan back again. Ready for your speech, mate? We’re on soon.’

‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ Daniel replied as he sat down. ‘Your dad tells me he’s up first, Charlotte.’

‘What were you talking to him about?’ she asked, her mind still pondering Louise’s assertion that what she felt for Daniel was just lust.

‘Nothing for you to worry about.’

The MC’s announcement that the father of the bride was going to speak had Charlotte falling silent, but her head was still spinning. She supposed Louise was probably right. Louise knew what she was talking about where lust was concerned, whereas Charlotte was a right novice.

But even if it was just lust stirring her, Charlotte still worried that several days spent with Daniel could make her feelings for him deepen. Louise was made of tougher stuff than she was. She didn’t appreciate the risk.

But Charlotte couldn’t see herself resisting the temptation. Not unless tonight was a disaster.

Her father’s tapping the microphone cut into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. The speeches. It was not a moment she’d been looking forward to.

‘I’m not one for giving speeches, as you probably all know,’ her father began. ‘I’m a farmer and farmers are at their best with their backsides on a tractor and their mouths shut.’

Everyone laughed. Everyone except Charlotte. She was too aware of Daniel sitting next to her, too strung up with nerves.

‘We’re best left in the country, too. But I’m not just a farmer. I’m a father, too. And a father will do anything for a daughter. So here I am in this fancy city hotel, eating fancy food and drinking fancy wine. But I can tell you right now that I’ve never had a happier day in all my life.’

Charlotte jumped in her seat when Daniel suddenly picked up her hand and squeezed it. ‘Do try to look a little happier,’ he whispered. ‘You’re supposed to be wildly in love with me. Smile a bit more.’

Somehow she found another smile, though her mouth was beginning to ache with all the smiling.

‘Yes, that’s it,’ he said, giving her hand another squeeze. ‘Not long to go now. Hang in there.’

‘Of course, we all know that Charlotte has not followed the usual path of a country girl,’ her dad continued. ‘There were moments where I thought I would never see her as she is today. As a bride. And for that I have to thank Gary. I only had to know my future son-in-law for ten seconds before I understood why our Charlotte had fallen head over heels with a man I thought she hardly knew. As for Gary…have you ever seen a man so handsome, or so much in love?’

Everyone clapped and cheered. Charlotte wanted to cry.

‘They say you can tell a man by his actions more than his words. Gary told me to keep this a secret but I want to tell you that just now, my new son-in-law is going to pay for this wedding.’

More clapping and cheering.

Charlotte, however, was speechless.

‘Oh-oh,’ Daniel said out of the corner of his mouth. ‘You don’t look pleased. I thought you’d be happy that your father wouldn’t be out of pocket.’

‘But it wasn’t your place! I would have paid him back after I told him we’d separated. Every single cent.’

‘Hey, hush up, you two,’ Brad said.

They hushed up, leaving Charlotte to simmer in silence. If he’d been her real groom, it would have been an incredibly generous gesture. As it was, she suspected it was more a corrupting gesture, a type of advance payment on services to be rendered.

The thought infuriated her. But it also flattered her. Right from the start, Daniel’s pursuit had been incredibly aggressive. Clearly, he would stop at nothing to have her.

What woman wouldn’t thrill to a man being so taken by her charms? What she had to keep remembering, however, was that it was just a sexual interest. Wealthy playboys like Daniel didn’t want women for anything else. They might pretend to value other things in their partners, but the bottom line was sex. Plus the challenge of the chase. Charlotte suspected that once she’d capitulated and he’d had her a few times, Daniel’s passion would begin to wane.