The Valquez Seduction
‘So you don’t mind if he’s got money as long as he’s earned it himself?’
‘I would overlook his affluence for other far more important qualities.’
‘Such as?’
‘Moral fortitude.’
Luiz laughed again. ‘I guess that rules me out.’
A tiny frown tugged at her brow as she sat looking at him in silence.
‘What?’
She blinked and cleared her gaze. ‘Nothing.’
‘Why were you frowning?’
She put her drink down and flashed him a smile. ‘What does a girl have to do around here to get a guy to ask her to dance?’
* * *
Luiz led Daisy to the dance floor but, instead of the thumping music of all the nights before, there was a pianist playing a slow tempo romantic ballad. Right now she could have done with some head-banging music to knock the sprouting foolishness out of her head. What was she thinking? Luiz wasn’t marriage material. He might be funny and charming and sexy and intelligent and have the nicest eyes she’d ever seen, but he was way out of her league. He was an international sports star. He was the epitome of the freedom-loving playboy. Men like Luiz Valquez did not settle down to suburbia and raise two-point-two kids. He was not the type of man to fall in love, let alone with someone like her.
No, she would be sensible and stick to the plan. She would have her fun and then it would be over. After the Grand Slam he would go back to his life and she would go back to hers. They would never meet again and she would be fine about that. She would have to be fine about it. She had no business conjuring up unrealistic scenarios. Luiz might be a lot deeper than she had first thought him but that didn’t mean he would suddenly morph into ideal husband material. He would hate to be tied down to one woman. He was used to a banquet of them. She’d be lucky to even see him once during the next month. Surely he would find someone more exciting than her.
Luiz’s hand rested in the small of Daisy’s back. ‘You’ve gone quiet.’
‘I’m thinking.’
‘About?’
She looked up at him. ‘Will you see anyone else during the next month?’
His brow was deeply furrowed. ‘What sort of question is that?’
‘It’s not like you’ll be in London full-time. You might get lonely and—’
‘I might seem a little loose with my morals to someone like you but I don’t fool around when I’m in a relationship.’
‘But we’re not really in a relationship. It’s just a fling.’
‘Same difference.’
She looked at his frowning expression. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘I am not upset.’
She touched the corner of his mouth, where a knot of tension had gathered. ‘You’re grinding your teeth. I can hear it over the music. It’s really bad for your molars.’
He suddenly laughed. ‘I need my head read.’
Daisy peeped up at him again. ‘Why? Because you’re enjoying yourself and you didn’t expect to?’
He brought the tip of his finger down the slope of her nose. ‘I’ve never met anyone like you before.’
‘You really need to get out more.’
He was still smiling as he pulled her close. ‘Maybe I do.’
* * *
Because it was their last night together before she flew home with the girls, Luiz took Daisy to an exclusive restaurant where the chef had won numerous awards. He had booked a private dining room for them, which added to the decadence. She drooled at the delicious food as each dish was brought to their table. A seafood starter in a delectable piquant sauce, prime fillet steak with a colourful vegetable stack and crusty bread rolls with fresh butter for mains. All artfully presented and cooked to perfection, complemented with fine wines that burst with flavour with each sip.
‘My thighs are going to hate you for this,’ Daisy said as she finally put down her knife and fork. ‘I’ve eaten more in the last four days than I’ve eaten in the last four months. Years, even.’
He sat watching her like an indulgent uncle. ‘I like to see a woman with a healthy appetite.’
‘Yes, well, if only my appetite for exercise was as robust.’
His dark eyes smouldered. ‘Maybe you’ve been doing the wrong sort of workouts.’
Daisy felt a shiver go down her spine. ‘I hate exercising alone.’
‘So you prefer contact sports?’
‘Not until very recently.’
His mouth tipped up in a sexy smile. ‘Do you want dessert and coffee or should we go and get some exercise?’
Daisy pretended to think about it. ‘Hmm, let me see now…dessert or a hot, sweaty workout?’