‘Do you?’ Daisy asked. ‘Do you really? You said you loved Mum but you never let her be herself. If you love me so much then why aren’t I good enough the way I am?’
Her father’s frown was dark and forbidding. ‘What’s got into you? Have you been eating too much sugar or something? You know how it makes you tetchy.’
Daisy repositioned her handbag strap over her shoulder. ‘Maybe I’ve finally grown up.’
‘You’re letting one silly little fling go to your head,’ he said. ‘You’ll forget about him soon enough. Once you meet Laurence you’ll see what I mean. He’s perfect for you. He reminds me of myself at that age.’
Great. Just what she needed. Another control freak in her life, hand-picked by her father.
Daisy kept walking towards the exit. ‘Make my apologies. I have other plans.’
‘You’re jet-lagged. You always get irrational when you’re over-tired. I can make it next week. How about that?’
She rolled her eyes as she faced him again. ‘Dad. Read my lips. Stop controlling me.’
‘A coffee?’
‘No.’
He sucked in his lips and then pushed them out on a sigh, giving her the little boy lost look that normally would have seen her cave in. ‘Does this mean you’ll be moving out of the flat?’
Daisy gave him a determined look. ‘I think it’s time, don’t you?’
* * *
Luiz stood a few metres away from the school gate, where an assortment of mothers and fathers and nannies or au pairs were collecting children. The icy wind was boring holes in his chest and making his eyes sting but he barely noticed. He had flown in that day after a week of playing charity matches in towns throughout Argentina. He had sent Daisy a few texts over the last few days but her replies had been distant and impersonal. He could hardly blame her, given how clumsily he had handled their parting back in Vegas. He hadn’t had enough time to prepare for her leaving. He’d put it to the back of his mind, not wanting to face the fact their relationship would be on hold until he could free up some time to be with her. Offering to cover her wages… He still kicked himself over that. Of course she would be offended. Could he have thought of a worse way to insult her?
But he had a surprise for her that would make up for it. It had taken him this time apart to realise she was the only woman he could ever love. Perhaps a part of him had known it right from the start. Wasn’t that why he had relaxed his guard? He had told her of his deepest hurts and she had listened with that gentle look on her face that made him feel as if a soothing balm had been spread over his raw wounds, finally giving them a chance to heal.
The last of the children were collected and the wind got icier as sleet started to fall. And then he saw her. She was dressed in a smart wool dress with a cashmere coat over the top and knee-high boots. A scarf was wound around her neck and her hair was in a tidy chignon at the back of her head. She had her head down against the wind-driven sleet but she must have sensed she was being watched for she suddenly glanced his way. Her eyes blinked and she touched the scarf at her throat with a nervous flutter of her hand. But then she gripped the strap of her bag a little tighter and stalked out of the school gates and towards the tube station a couple of blocks away.
He caught her before she got to the last wrought iron post of the school fence. ‘Daisy. Wait.’
She swung around to face him, her cheeks rosy-red and her blue eyes flashing. ‘I have nothing to say to you. I think my father said it all, don’t you?’
He frowned. ‘What has your father got to do with anything?’
She stood staunchly before him. ‘Why don’t you tell me?’
He took in her tightly set mouth and glittering eyes. ‘I’m here because I need to talk to you.’
‘I think you should find someone else to help you butter up your sponsors,’ she said. ‘I’m no longer available.’
A sharp pain seized him in the chest but there was no way he was going to let her see how much her cold statement hurt him. ‘That didn’t take you long. How long’s it been? A week?’
She raised her chin. ‘I’m sure you’ve filled my position seven times over.’
‘Is that what you think?’
‘It’s what I expect from someone like you.’
Luiz drew in a breath and slowly released it. ‘Right, well, then. I guess I should cancel my arrangements for the weekend.’
She glared at him. ‘How could you?’
‘How could I what?’
‘Sleep with me because of what my father said.’
‘Hang on a minute. I did not sleep with you because of anything your father said. I slept with you because I couldn’t help myself.’