Web of Deception - By Nina Blake Page 0,27

man to contribute a little something,” he teased.

She whacked him gently on the shoulder. “I know that.”

Kate might not be worried about her biological clock. That didn’t stop Daniel having his own concerns. He was only thirty-five and as a man he could father children at any time, but he wanted to have a family while he was still young.

He wanted to be out there taking the kids to swimming lessons, teaching them how to throw and catch, kicking a football with his son. He didn’t want to be a tired old man resting on the couch while his kids played on their own. Or worse, with the nanny.

“You don’t feel time is running out?” he asked.

“I’m not going to leave it to the last minute and wait until I’m forty, if that’s what you mean. I’m not waiting until it’s too late. But I still have some time left on the meter.”

“What if you don’t find the right man?”

Kate leaned over and picked up the rope handle of the toboggan. “Don’t worry. I’m not putting any pressure on you. I don’t want to have your babies. We’re just here to have a good time.”

That’s what she thought.

Daniel took the toboggan handle from her, taking Kate’s gloved hand in his other hand as together they made their way up the hill.

He’d wanted to sleep with her since the moment he’d first laid eyes on her and now his plans had expanded somewhat. Marriage had been the last thing on his mind whereas a family was something he’d always wanted. He’d pushed it to the back of his mind for so long, largely because that was the one thing in his life that he couldn’t do alone.

Kate had been clear that she wanted marriage. Just not to him. That was fine. He didn’t want her to be married to him.

It fell in with his plans perfectly.

Chapter Eight

“You’re late.”

So this was Daniel’s father. Roger Webb obviously wasn’t interested in greeting his son with affection or making a good first impression on Kate.

Then again, he’d probably seen Daniel with all sorts of women hanging off his arm. There was no reason she should mean anything to him.

Roger was seated in a corner booth in the hotel restaurant. Kate looked at him and saw Daniel in thirty or forty years time. The man’s hair was silver, striking against his olive skin and dark eyes. Though his face was heavily lined, he had good bone structure.

“I told you we’d be late,” Daniel replied curtly.

Roger Webb took to his feet and stretched his arm out to shake Kate’s hand, his expression softening.

“So this is the reason you’re late.” An appreciative smile washed across Roger’s face. “Now I see her, I understand completely. Some things are worth waiting for.”

Daniel introduced them and Kate was struck by more than the physical likeness between the two men. Daniel, too, could be demanding one minute, then charming the next.

He pulled out Kate’s chair for her as he told his father, “It’s not quite as you think. Kate’s not like other women. She wasn’t spending hours in the bathroom grooming herself and getting ready. We were out tobogganing. That’s what kept us.”

Roger stared at Daniel as the three of them sat down. “Tobogganing? That’s a new name for it.”

She knew exactly what he was suggesting. Was she supposed to be embarrassed by his silly innuendo? She didn’t care. She wasn’t about to be intimidated simply because the man was implying she’d slept with his son. Or because he was Daniel’s father. Still, she would be polite.

“You should try it,” Kate said. “Tobogganing, that is. It’s so much fun and anyone can do it. You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to be willing to have a go, and not worry about looking silly.”

Roger Webb looked down his nose at her. “Where’s the challenge in that? I’m a highly accomplished skier, even at my age. I didn’t come here just to frolic in the snow.” He flicked the fingers of one hand as though brushing away her suggestion.

Kate shrugged. “Each to his own. By the way, thank you for your invitation to drinks earlier. I would’ve loved to come except I was wasting my time frolicking.”

She shot him a sly smile, which he returned, before looking across at Daniel. “I can’t stay late. Sarah has a headache and I don’t want to leave her alone too long.”

“Sarah is Dad’s new partner,” Daniel explained.

“Girlfriend,” his father corrected. “She’s not my