‘Sure you’re not.’
‘I just think he could’ve had the decency to say goodbye at the airport like everyone else does.’ Daisy hugged her handbag against her stomach. ‘I mean, how hard is that?’
‘Maybe he doesn’t like saying goodbye,’ Kate said.
Daisy thought about Luiz’s mother leaving when he was a small child. Had she explained to him where she was going or had she just left? Had he waited for her day after day, not sure if she would ever return? She thought of him being brought up by his older brother, only a child himself, struggling to keep the family together. Their tragically injured father living out the rest of his days in sickness and dependency. Was that why Luiz was so restless and rootless? He hated being tied down. He shied away from commitment. He didn’t bond with people because people always let him down one way or the other.
Wasn’t that why he always had a call to make or an email to check? He used business to distance himself. It was a barrier he used to keep himself separate from anything emotional. Was he developing feelings for her—fledging feelings he didn’t know how to handle? Like the feelings she wasn’t even game to name? Was that why he’d put the drawbridge up, making her think his conference call was far more important than seeing her off? Was it foolish to hope she would be the one person to dismantle the defences he had built around himself?
The last four days had been much more than a sex-fest. He had taken her to dinner and shows, spent hours with her, talking about everyday matters. He had told her things he had told no one before—secrets and confidences. He had allowed her in. He seemed to enjoy her company in whatever context. All those times she’d found him looking at her with a contemplative expression on his face were surely not the product of her imagination. It was as if he was imagining the possibility of a future with her.
Or had that been just wishful thinking on her part?
As they were checking in a young man dressed in the uniform of Luiz’s hotel came rushing over. ‘Miss Wyndham? This is from Luiz Valquez. He asked me to give it to you.’
Daisy took the small square package. ‘Thank you.’
‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ Belinda asked.
‘What is it?’ Kate peered over her shoulder. ‘Is it a ring?’
Daisy peeled back the giftwrap to find a small lingerie box inside, tied up with a scarlet bow. She undid the bow and opened the box and lifted out of the bed of tissue a pair of dainty lace knickers as fine as a silky cobweb. There was a card poked in amongst the tissue.
‘What does it say?’ Belinda jostled against her shoulder.
Daisy looked down at the dark scrawl of the letter L.
Belinda gave a cynical exhale. ‘His initial.’
‘What if it stands for love?’ Kate asked.
Daisy folded her fingers over the card, her heart lifting on a faint breath of hope. ‘Come on. That’s our boarding call.’
* * *
It was raining when Daisy landed in London. Her father was there to meet her and ushered her out of the arrivals hall with a hand firmly at her elbow. ‘You have some explaining to do, young lady,’ he said. ‘That clip of you dancing with Luiz Valquez has gone viral. I didn’t sacrifice everything to bring you up to act like a slut the first moment I turn my back.’
‘I was dancing, Dad. I was enjoying myself. You should try it some time.’
He frowned at her. ‘Why him? Why not some decent guy who’d do the right thing by you? This is not what I wanted for you. You could do so much better.’
So much better than what? Daisy thought. Who could be better than Luiz? He was everything she wanted. She couldn’t imagine wanting anyone else. He had awakened her with his touch. Her body responded to him as if it had been waiting for him all this time. How could she settle for anyone else with the memory of his caresses still echoing throughout her body?
‘Attraction doesn’t work that way,’ she said. ‘You should know that. Remember how you chased after Mum until she finally gave in? Yes, I thought you might.’
‘That’s not the same at all,’ he said. ‘I loved your mother.’
She stopped walking to look at her father. ‘What if I told you I was in love with Luiz?’
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he threw back his head and laughed so hard his eyes watered. He brushed the moisture away with the back of his hand, still chuckling but with a cynical tone to it that made her stomach feel uneasy. ‘Did he say he was in love with you?’
‘No, but I think he’s coming round to—’
‘He’s looking out for himself, that’s what he’s doing,’ he said. ‘And I’m not referring to his big sponsorship deal everyone is talking about.’