‘Yes, you have. But how did you know what I would want?’ she asked in perplexity. ‘I didn’t even know myself until now.’
Daniel shrugged.
‘It wasn’t difficult,’ he replied with a touch of smugness. ‘I asked Wendy Fulton for her advice on the practical equipment. As far as the décor went, I just tried to match it to the way I saw you. Efficient, conservative, but a romantic at heart.’
Beth stared at him with her lips parted and her heart thudding. It’s unfair! she thought. No man on earth has a right to that kind of clairvoyance. Especially when he’s as heartachingly gorgeous as Daniel Pryor. A tremulous warmth began to pulsate through her entire body and, as she stood mutely staring at Daniel, she knew how easy it would be simply to rush into his arms. Easy, but fatal. The image of her brother-in-law Greg flashed into her mind and alarm bells rang. Daniel was standing there with his hands on his hips, surveying her out of half-closed eyes with just the same mocking, inviting smile she had once found so irresistible in Greg. The memory made her go cold and rigid with dismay.
‘It’s very nice,’ she said stiffly. ‘Exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much.’
Daniel looked at her calmly. ‘No transports of delight, huh? OK, Beth, we’ll play it your way. But one of these days I’ll find out how to get through that cool façde to the real woman underneath. And that’s a promise.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘WHERE are you going?’ cried Beth.
‘Back to the barn,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘I want to see if my filly has arrived.’
He hurried away with such long, furious strides that Beth couldn’t have kept up with him if she had wanted to. And she wasn’t at all sure that she did. For some reason she had lost the urge to quarrel with him. Suddenly she felt mean, hateful, a spoilsport. It was obvious that Daniel had been looking forward to giving her a wonderful surprise and she had spoilt it all by the coldness of her reaction. Why did she have to worry so much about whether he was trying to seduce her? Couldn’t she just relax and go with the flow instead of trying to keep herself safe all the time? Remorsefully she hurried after him to apologise. He was just coming out of the main barn when she caught him up and laid her hand on his arm.
‘I’m sorry, Daniel,’ she said impulsively. ‘I’m thrilled with the barn. Honestly, I am. And I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.’
He looked at her with a brooding expression for a moment longer, then a faint smile touched the corners of his mouth.
‘No harm done,’ he assured her. ‘And Eric says my filly won’t be here for a couple of hours. So how about coming for a trail ride with me up into the hills? We could take a picnic.’
Beth’s eyes widened.
‘I’d love it,’ she agreed. ‘But I should warn you I’ve never been on a horse in my life before.’
Daniel gave a low growl of laughter.
‘In that case I’ll find you a walking armchair,’ he promised.
The trail ride was fun although Beth was alarmed to discover that the horse’s back seemed much narrower once she was actually sitting on it. But the bay mare was friendly, and did nothing but shake her bridle and snort resignedly when Daniel hoisted Beth aboard. He showed her how to hold the reins correctly and to set her feet so that only her toes were in the stirrups and then they headed off down a trail overhung by eucalyptus trees and glossy red Chinese fire bushes which had escaped from the garden. Now and then Beth caught a glimpse of the blue hills high above them but most of the time she was content to concentrate on staying in the saddle. It was pleasant to feel the hot sun beating down on her back and to smell the mingled aromas of dry grass, leather and horseflesh. There was no sound but the creak of the saddles, the shrilling of insects in the dry grass and once the lazy drone of a light aircraft overhead. Bit by bit Beth felt herself begin to relax. At last they came out in a sunny clearing on top of the hill.
‘Well, this is it,’ said Daniel, dismounting. ‘My favourite picnic spot.’
He flung the reins over his horse’s head and came across to help Beth. As she stepped down on to firm ground she had the sudden unnerving sensation that her legs were made of rubber, and had to clutch at the stirrup leathers.
‘Oops,’ she said. ‘My bones seem to have vanished.’
Daniel grinned.
‘You’ll get used to it,’ he assured her. ‘But since it’s your first ride I’ll take pity on you and get the lunch ready myself. Just a minute and I’ll fix you a place to sit.’
Deftly he unsaddled the horses and spread the saddle blankets on the ground, motioning Beth to sit down. She rolled her eyes in surprise but obeyed. The blankets smelled strongly of horse and yet it was rather pleasant to be sitting there on the sunlit grass, leaning against an ornate Western saddle and watching Daniel unpack various small packages of food. Before long he had a simple but appetising meal prepared. Crusty French bread, butter, ham, crisp red apples and a bottle of white wine.
‘I’d like to know what you think of the wine,’ he said, pouring her some in an acrylic glass. ‘It comes from a vineyard in the Napa Valley that’s one of my pet projects.’
Beth sipped cautiously, appreciating the light fruity bouquet.
‘It tastes great to me,’ she said. ‘Although I’m no expert. But whatever made you get involved with a vineyard?’
Daniel shrugged.
‘Well, the young couple who make this came to me and asked for a loan,’ he said. ‘On the face of it it didn’t look too promising. They’d been in business before and a fire had wiped out their entire stock and their insurance just wasn’t adequate to cover the damage. But they knew what they wanted and they wanted it very badly. They’d done their homework and they were prepared to work hard. I couldn’t ask any more than that, so I gave them the loan they needed. That was five years ago.’
‘And now?’ asked Beth.
‘And now they’re doing very nicely,’ said Daniel. A smile touched the corners of his mouth. ‘And so am I. I’ve been lucky in my investments.’
‘Or shrewd,’ suggested Beth.
‘Or shrewd,’ he agreed, without any false modesty.
‘What made you buy this place?’ asked Beth, gesturing at the valley below.
Daniel grinned ruefully.
‘Mainly the fact that I wanted to be a cowboy when I was a kid,’ he said. ‘I found Boston stifling. And even when I grew up I felt the same way. Three-piece suits and boardrooms and cocktail parties just aren’t my style. I like to be outdoors.’
‘So do you spend much time here?’ enquired Beth lazily. She was finding it rather difficult to butter French bread lying down, but felt too rubber-legged to get up.
‘Not as much as I’d like,’ replied Daniel, plucking a piece of grass and chewing it. ‘Although I have been here more often in the last year or so since I gave up directing movies.’
‘Why did you give up?’ asked Beth. ‘You were awfully good at it.’
‘Thank you,’ said Daniel, throwing away his piece of grass and reaching for a plate. ‘Pass me the ham, will you? Now, where were we? Why did I give up the movies? Several reasons. I got tired of the rat race, getting up before dawn, fighting the freeways, constantly hustling people. And I’d made more money than was decent. So I decided I’d use some of it to help other people achieve their dreams.’
Beth flashed him a startled look. ‘That’s very noble of you!’ she exclaimed.
‘Noble? Hell, no! It’s been fun,’ protested Daniel. ‘I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.’
‘So what kind of dreams have you put into action?’ she asked.
Daniel smiled reminiscently.
‘Let me see. A candy store in Solvang, run by a paraplegic girl with the face of an angel and the brain of a Swiss banker. The Napa Valley vineyard, a computer software firm, a boatyard in the San Francisco Bay area. And about twenty others, including yours.’
Beth shifted uneasily, somehow resenting the way Daniel lumped her in with the rest. I want to
be special to him, she thought. And then, looking at his muscular body stretched lazily beside her, realised what a dangerous ambition that was. He reminded her of some jungle cat lazing here in the golden sunlight, apparently drowsy and harmless, but full of potential menace. Something about the way his eyes narrowed and his tongue rubbed along his lower lip made every nerve in her body quiver with alarm. Hastily she sought to change the subject.
‘So will you ever make another movie?’ she asked.
‘Probably not.’
‘Not even that sequel you said you were going to do?’
‘What sequel?’
‘I don’t know. To something called Destiny’s Favourite. You told the reporters at the fashion parade in LA that you were thinking of doing it.’
Daniel threw back his head with a sudden rumble of laughter. Then he whistled a few bars of a haunting little melody.
‘Oh, that? No! Destiny’s Favourite was a television soapie that gave Sunny and me our start years ago. It was really popular and people are always clamouring for another series, but I don’t have any serious intention of making one. That was just a bit of timely fantasy to throw the reporters off the scent.’
‘Why did you do that?’ asked Beth.
‘Well, good old Warren was obviously hell-bent on telling them all about our boating accident,’ said Daniel with a touch of bitterness. ‘I didn’t want every detail of my first meeting with you splashed all over the glossy papers. Did you?’
To her surprise, he trailed his finger slowly down the inside of her arm. Beth flinched and looked up at him to see that his eyes were fixed on hers with smouldering intensity. Her heart began to beat faster and for some reason she had difficulty breathing. Why would Daniel care so much about gossip writers discussing their first meeting unless...? She left the thought unfinished and looked hastily away.
‘No,’ she said in a high, unnatural voice, aware that her cheeks were flushing. ‘It must be awful to have your private life on display like that. I’m glad you stopped Warren.’
Coolly, almost insolently, Daniel seized her chin and turned her face back to his so that she could not avoid looking at him.
‘Speaking of Warren, what is happening between you two now?’
Beth’s heart was beating so frantically that she felt it would leap out of her chest. A helpless tide of longing swept through her, making her feel weak and shaky. Daniel was gazing down at her so intently and tilting her chin with such passionate urgency that she knew at any moment he would kiss her. And not just a butterfly brush on the lips, either. If she revealed that she had broken off with Warren permanently, what would Daniel do?
A fierce, throbbing warmth spreading through every part of her body warned her all too clearly of what she would like him to do. Desperately she took in a long, uneven breath.
‘Oh, nothing’s changed,’ she babbled brightly. ‘Warren’s still in New York right now, but of course when he gets back, he’ll come straight to see me.’
‘Of course,’ sneered Daniel, releasing her chin with a jerk. ‘You’re still too much of a fool to see that he doesn’t really love you and that he isn’t going to marry you. But I can see it a mile off.’
Beth scrambled to her feet, feeling suddenly that a rug in a sunlit clearing was not the safest place to be when Daniel Pryor was crouching beside her with that sort of expression on his face.
‘Oh, so you’re the expert on love and marriage, are you?’ she demanded in a voice that was meant to be cool, but sounded unexpectedly ragged.
Like a panther springing into action, Daniel too rose to his feet. Her height gave her no advantage, for he towered a good six inches above her and was lean and hard and muscular to match. His fingers closed around her arm like a handcuff.
‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ he snarled.
‘Have you ever been in love?’ she challenged.
His eyes were like dark, smouldering beacons.
‘Once,’ he agreed hoarsely. ‘When I was young and as gullible as you are.’
‘And did you marry?’
‘No. She wouldn’t have me.’
A succession of emotions flitted across his face. Pain. Anger. Contempt. Indifference. Beth felt a flare of jealousy towards that unknown woman who had rejected Daniel. Why had he loved her and why didn’t she care for him? Even worse, the momentary hurt in Daniel’s eyes sent a twinge of sympathy shooting through Beth. She felt a dangerous urge to take him in her arms and comfort him. Ruthlessly she suppressed it.
‘So that makes you an expert on everyone else’s love-affairs, does it?’ she demanded sarcastically.
A stormy expression blazed in his eyes.
‘I learnt a thing or two, yes.’
‘Enough to tell me what I should be doing, I suppose?’
With a sudden, ruthless movement he crushed her against him, holding her so hard that she could feel his warm, aroused maleness against her.
‘I could not only tell you what you should be doing. I could show you,’ he said hoarsely. ‘But I’m not going to do it. You accused me once already of manipulation and I’ve had a gutful of this pretence that I’m hustling you in a direction you don’t want to take. When you come to me, sweetheart, you’ll do it willingly. From here on in, if you want me, you’ll have to make the next move. Now let’s get the horses saddled. We’re leaving.’
On the way back down Beth brooded over the things Daniel had said. She felt hurt and angry about his accusations, although she also had to admit there was a kernel of truth in them. He was right about the way she kept pretending she didn’t want him, when in reality her whole body was on fire with longing for him. Yet what else could she do? She didn’t want to rebound from one disastrous relationship into another and she really didn’t know enough yet to trust him, although she had certainly learnt more today. For once he had let some of his habitual wariness slip, and for the first time she had glimpsed the vulnerability of the man beneath that confident, arrogant exterior. But his revelations were tantalisingly incomplete. Was Sunny Martino the woman he loved? And why did he keep seeing her if she wouldn’t marry him? And why on earth should Beth care? With a determined effort she pushed the whole disastrous subject out of her mind and tried to enjoy the rest of the ride.
When they reached the barn a horse-box was already drawn up outside and Daniel, with a curt apology to Beth, helped her dismount and then handed over both horses to Eric before vanishing into the barn. Eric smothered a grin as Beth hobbled across the driveway.
‘Jenny has just made some fresh coffee if you’d like some,’ he advised. ‘And she might have some liniment for the sore spots too.’
‘It’ll need more than liniment,’ muttered Beth. ‘It’ll need major surgery.’ But she made her way along under the loggia to knock on Jenny’s kitchen door.
‘Hi, come in,’ said Jenny, pushing open the screen door. ‘Where’s Daniel?’
‘In the barn with the new filly,’ replied Beth. ‘And I’d kill for a cup of coffee.’
Jenny smiled, rolling her eyes in mock alarm.
‘No need for that,’ she assured her. ‘How do you like it?’
‘With milk, please. No sugar.’
The coffee was strong, hot and reviving. To accompany it Jenny produced a plate of small, ball-shaped doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam.
‘Try my Aebleskiver,’ she urged. ‘They’re a local delicacy.’
‘Mmm, delicious,’ said Beth appreciatively. ‘Have you known Daniel long, Jenny?’
She told herself that she was only making conversation, but she knew that there was more to it than that. The truth was that she was hungry for every crumb of information she could get about Daniel. Jenny’s eyes took on a far-away look and her lips moved as if she were calculating.
‘About twelve years,’ she agreed. ‘Eric and I handled the horses for him on some of his early movies. Then when he bought this place he offered us a job here.’
‘What’s he like to wo
rk for?’ asked Beth casually.
Jenny’s eyebrows shot up.
‘Unpredictable,’ she replied. ‘Infuriating. A lot of fun. All those things and more. Daniel’s a strange guy. In some ways he really brings out the best in people. He gets you to do things you’d never believe you were capable of. But he’s maddeningly aloof about himself. You never really know what he’s thinking or what he’s planning because he doesn’t give much away. And he likes to be in control of things, to feel that he’s the boss and he’s directing what’s happening. Mind you, that often works very well. He’s made some wonderful movies. Have you seen any of them?’
‘I saw Alvaro’s Choice,’ agreed Beth.
‘What did you think of it?’
Beth sighed.
‘It was brilliant,’ she admitted. ‘The cinematography was superb, the directing was amazingly raw and powerful and I have to admit that Sunny Martino acted magnificently in it.’
‘You have to admit,’ echoed Jenny thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you like Sunny, then?’
Beth flushed. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said. ‘I’ve only met her once.’
Jenny looked at her keenly.
‘Well, she’s a pretty tough cookie,’ she admitted. ‘And Daniel is certainly very attached to her.’
‘Is he?’ asked Beth too quickly.
Jenny’s eyes met hers. An uncomfortable expression spread over her face. She pleated the edge of the tablecloth between her fingers and looked down.
‘Look, I may be right out of line in saying this, Beth, but be careful with Daniel, won’t you? I don’t quite know what the situation is between you two, but I wouldn’t like to see you get hurt. Daniel’s a pretty dynamic guy, with a lot of women running after him, but the only one I’ve ever seen last for any length of time is Sunny Martino.’
Beth felt a heavy painful feeling in her throat as if she had just swallowed a large stone.
‘Are they lovers?’ she asked awkwardly.
Jenny gave her a worried look.
‘Most people seem to think so,’ she said. ‘I honestly don’t know for sure, but I think it’s likely. There’s a rumour that Sunny is secretly married to somebody else, but personally I doubt it. But I do know she comes up here quite often and she always stays at Daniel’s house. What goes on between them I have no idea. But just...be careful, Beth. OK?’
The Bride of Santa Barbara Page 12