Web of Deception - By Nina Blake Page 0,30
she couldn’t help herself.
The conversation had been tense so she was relieved when their meals arrived and discussion turned to less antagonistic subjects. Roger was genuinely interested in much that she had to say. More interested than he appeared to be in his own son. There were times when she thought she had his complete attention and, though flattering, she noticed he didn’t afford Daniel the same respect.
The meal was over much more quickly than she expected.
* * *
His father took to his feet as soon as their plates were cleared away. It was the kind of thing that had bothered Daniel greatly when he’d been younger but he didn’t care about it now. His time with his father was limited, a fact he simply accepted.
As they stood from the table, Roger took Kate’s hand into his own, leaned over and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
Daniel actually believed he meant it. He’d clearly enjoyed talking and sparring with her. Nevertheless the man probably didn’t expect to see her again. Not surprising really. Daniel didn’t keep the same woman for any length of time and he saw his father so rarely. Perhaps every six months.
But there was something his father didn’t know. Kate was different. She wasn’t like the other women in his life. He had plans for her.
“Make sure you think about Jennifer and Douglas,” Roger said, before turning and leaving.
The man simply couldn’t leave it alone. He had to make that one final dig. As though after all Daniel had said, he would now change his mind and throw good money after bad because of his sister’s half-baked plan.
His father spent far too much time worrying about Jennifer and very little on his son. That was abundantly clear.
Daniel had amassed a fortune, and money was the one thing his father respected above all else but even that hadn’t earned him his father’s respect.
Still, he seemed to approve of Kate. That was one thing, at least.
Looking across, Daniel saw her brow was knotted in thought so he reached for her hand. “Penny for your thoughts.”
Kate looked up. “You don’t want to know.”
“Try me.”
“I was just thinking that your father is impossible.” She paused, as if waiting for a reaction, then added, “He didn’t seem slightly interested in you, what you’ve been doing, the business, the deals you’ve made. I got the feeling you could jump off the top of the Empire State Building and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid. He was a lot more interested in your sister. And in me, for that matter.”
Daniel shrugged. “He’s always been like that.”
“That’s hardly an excuse.”
“I didn’t say it was, but he is my father. The only one I’ve got.”
“I’m sorry.” Kate looked down, then back up at him. “It’s just that I know you went to so much trouble to catch him. You came all this way just to see him for an hour or two. And I kept you from him when I went tobogganing.”
Daniel squeezed her hand. “No, you didn’t. I would still only have had an hour or two with him, regardless.”
“That doesn’t stop me from feeling bad about it.”
“Don’t.” He stood, motioned for her to do the same, then slipped his arm around her waist as they walked towards the foyer. “My father wasn’t the only reason I came here, remember? We’ve got two days skiing ahead of us. The whole weekend together. And we can’t let that perfectly good hotel suite go to waste, now can we?”
Kate’s lips curled to a sultry smile. “No, we can’t.”
“There are two queen size beds. We’ll need to test both of them out.”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Not to mention the sofa by the window.”
“Of course.”
“Then there’s the spa,” he added.
“We’ll have to make the most of that too.”
Daniel squeezed her waist as they stepped into the lift. “I’m so glad you agree.”
She looked up at him. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be wasteful.”
“You can make the most of it in more ways than one,” he said in a low voice.
“What do you mean?”
“You can show me exactly how little chemistry there is between us. Show me how little I mean to you, how shallow this relationship is.”
She stepped out of the lift ahead of him and glanced back. “I can be very, very shallow.”
Daniel quickly unlocked the door to their suite, ushering Kate ahead of him. Closing the door behind him, he looked up to see Kate was already sitting on the bed,