Instead his stepfather had sent his deputy in her stead—a man who had delivered his message with a cruelty that had exercised Daniel’s self-restraint to the utmost.
As he strode towards the revolving doors, the message echoed in his ears.
‘Ghosts get no visitors. Dead is dead, Danny boy. Dead is for ever, and you are dead to the Rosso family.’
He nearly missed the movement that had caught at the edge of his vision.
Dyed blonde hair caught back in a messy ponytail, blue eyes filled with anguish... The woman leant against a marble pillar that mostly concealed her from the guests that dotted the foyer. Her breath rasped in heaving gasps that indicated a full-scale panic attack.
With an abrupt turn Daniel veered off and halted in front of her. ‘Are you OK?’
Stupid question, but the words seemed at least to steady her slightly, and she blinked her eyes in rapid succession.
‘I’m fi...’ she began, then gasped out a half-laugh. ‘No, I’m not.’
Daniel gestured to a concierge. ‘Water, please.’ Turning, he held an arm out to the woman. ‘Let me help you. You need to sit down.’
‘Thank you.’
He watched as she visibly pulled herself together, almost as if through sheer will power. Her breathing was still ragged, but no longer desperate as she pushed away from the fluted column and stood with one hand resting on it.
‘I’ll be fine.’ She nodded her thanks to the hotel staff member who came over with a bottle of water. ‘Really.’
‘Is there someone I can call or get for you? Or...?’
‘No!’ The syllable was a touch too sharp. ‘Really, I’m fine now. Thank you for your help.’
‘I’ve hardly helped.’
He studied her for a long moment, saw the vulnerability still in her eyes, along with an anxiety she was clearly doing her best to mask.
‘But I’d like to. How about I buy you a drink? Stay with you until I’m sure you’re OK?’
Surprise touched with an understandable wariness etched a frown on her face.
‘No, thank you.’ The words were polite but final. ‘I don’t drink with strangers.’
‘And I don’t leave damsels in distress on their own in hotel lobbies. We can have a drink here. In the public bar, full of plenty of people. If you’re in trouble maybe I can help you.’
‘What makes you think I’m in trouble?’
Daniel shrugged. ‘Instinct. I’m a lawyer. Lots of my clients are in trouble. You get to know the signs.’
‘Well, in this case you’ve misread the signals. I appreciate your concern, but I’m not in trouble and I don’t need any more help than you’ve already given me.’
The words, though softly spoken, were uttered with determination, and Daniel knew he should go on his currently less than merry way. But his instincts were usually bang on the button, and the idea that this woman was in dire straits of some sort persisted.
Not his business. Though there was more to it than that. Dammit, she was beautiful. Wide blue eyes were fringed with thick dark lashes and unenhanced by make-up. A few tendrils of blonde hair had escaped the ponytail and framed a classically oval face. Slender and long-legged, she held herself with a poise and grace that added distinction to her beauty.
As if made uncomfortable by his scrutiny, she shifted from foot to foot and turned her head slightly to one side.
‘If you don’t need my help then perhaps we could just enjoy each other’s company? You wouldn’t think it to look at me, but I am a scintillating conversationalist.’
He accompanied the words with a wriggle of his eyebrows and to his surprise, and perhaps hers, her lips curved up into a smile. Though she still her shook her head.
‘Humour me. One drink. So I can be sure you are OK. You can ask the staff to keep an eye on us, if you’re worried. In fact I think they already are.’
The smile vanished and her eyes shaded with a hint of anxiety as she glanced round to where the concierge still watched them.