Daisy might be all soft brown eyes and sedu
ctive curves, but she was also a nightmare on legs. Devious. Wilful. Utterly untrustworthy. And that assessment didn’t even take into account her ability as an actress to slip between multiple personas—one minute, a warrior queen, standing her ground in his office, the next, falling asleep on his sofa like an overtired child.
But was he marrying all of them or one of them?
A small draught swept across his shoulders and he heard the door to his office open softly. Around him the air seemed to ripple and tighten, and he knew without even looking round that it was Daisy.
The light through the window lit up her face and he was struck again by her luminous beauty. But not enough to break the uneasy silence that was filling his office.
‘Your doorman let me in,’ she said finally.
Her voice was brittle, like an eggshell, and she gave him a small, tight smile.
‘He recognised me from the other night.’
He nodded.
She bit her lip. ‘I can go if you want...’ Her voice trailed off.
He watched her hovering in the doorway. A different Daisy again—not defiant or afraid so much as apprehensive.
‘Why are you here?’ There was no inflection in his voice.
‘It’s almost three o’clock.’
He heard her swallow.
‘You didn’t eat much breakfast.’
Her face was still.
‘And then you didn’t come back for lunch. So I brought you some food.’
Hesitantly she held up a brown paper bag.
Her eyes were searching his face and he realised that she was worried—worried about him—and shock spread slowly over his chest like a bruise.
‘It’s pizza. Four cheeses with extra olives. And a margherita.’ She breathed out. ‘I remembered.’
She made a small, shapeless gesture with her hand and set the bag down on the floor. Edging backwards, she said quickly, ‘Anyway, I’ll just leave it here and if you feel hungry later—’
‘Did they use pecorino or Parmigiana?’
Daisy stopped. Her pulse quivered.
‘Pecorino.’
‘Light or heavy on the sauce?’
She swallowed.
‘Light.’
‘Okay.’
He was studying her face, his green eyes utterly unreadable. She held her breath until finally he held out his hand.
‘Do you want to eat here or in the boardroom?’