Dani tried to mould her frown into a saintly smile. But failed, badly. Why did everything have to revolve around how her sister looked and not what she did? But then what did Desere do, apart from smile and preen in designer dresses and do her father’s bidding? Desere made vacuous an art form. Thankfully. At least now Zac was lost somewhere in the empty corners of her sister’s brain. ‘Deanna, you look amazing. As always.’
‘And you could too. If only you’d make an effort. Look at that tracksuit. So shapeless.’ She unzipped Dani’s top to expose a bit of cleavage. ‘Doesn’t show off your best assets. Next year we’ll get Luigi to design the team outfit—he’d know how to work it for you. Now, we need to get going.’
‘I don’t need assets when I’m working and I need to be comfortable on a team-bonding trip...wait...’ Dani zipped her top up to her chin, then held up her finger. ‘We need to get going?’ Reality seeped into her muddled head. Thinking straight since Zac’s kiss two days ago had been almost impossible. For some reason every time she found herself next to him in the treatment room she wanted to add things to his stupid list. ‘Firstly, wives and girlfriends are supposed to be banned from the hotel. And secondly, you’re dressed...down. You didn’t just drop by to say hello to me, did you? You’re coming with us? On the helicopter sky tour and the jet-boat ride?’ She struggled to control the irritation. Typical Desere to muscle in on the perks of the job. When would she stop interfering in her life?
‘Daddy wanted all his girls here to up the wow factor for the media coverage. It’s our last chance before you go into closed camp in Rotorua tomorrow. So, I guess you could say I’m working too.’ She smiled the famous Desere Danatello smile, slightly tilted jaw, perfect teeth and come-to-bed eyes. The spontaneous look she’d spent years perfecting. ‘We can’t all indulge ourselves with a little profession. Some of us need to uphold the family reputation.’
Desere tapped Dani on the nose as if she were her pesky chihuahua. And for a moment, Dani imagined how wonderful it would be to run off back to her cosy anonymous cottage, and leave them all to it. Her sisters, father, the whole charade. But leaving them without a physio would only bring more shame on the Danatello name—like she hadn’t made a profession out of that already.
Her big sister scrutinised her. ‘Okay, let me wield some magic. Just a little hitch of the strap here. A stray lock of hair here. A smudge of lip gloss. Pinked-up cheeks.’
‘Desere, I can manage quite well on my own.’
‘Never turn down an offer of help from an expert, darling.’ Dani had given up trying to stop her doing this. She sucked in the nightmare—as soon as Desere was gone she’d wipe the mess off. Easier to do that than to have her sister sulking. Desere stepped back to admire her handiwork. ‘Pretty. And I don’t think I’m the only one to think so.’
Dani’s heart hammered against her rib cage. ‘Oh?’
‘Oh? Dr Delicious, oh? Dr you’re-just-too-good-to-be-true. Dr can’t-take-my-eyes-off-you.’ And now the nightmare came with a cheesy soundtrack. ‘Come on, Dani, the man’s hot for you.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Strange, I know, when you spend the day wearing shapeless tracksuits. But hey, who am I to judge?’
‘Because that’s what you do best.’ What the whole Danatello clan did. Poor? Don’t bother speaking to us. Unimportant? Average? Get in line.
Years ago Dani had longed for a regular sister she could confide in. To talk about things like the earth-shattering kiss. About the confusion Zac had wreaked in her body and her head. To ask what to do. What to say. How to feel. But Desere surely wasn’t the right person. Had never been. Since the death of their mother Desere had moulded herself into being Daddy’s right-hand woman.
In the end Dani had learned it was easier to keep her own counsel—or share with her friends, the people she could truly trust, back home in Wellington. Far away from this madness. ‘Zac’s just a colleague.’
‘Don’t frown, darling. You’ll get premature lines. Maybe you should start with some fillers soon?’ Desere blotted her lips on a tissue from the jewel-encrusted tissue box. Stacked high with cologne, deodorant, fluffy startlingly white face cloths, the executive suite bathroom lacked nothing. ‘Colleague or not. The man’s a god.’
A god with a dirty mind. And hot hands. And a list... Dani bit the inside of her cheek and held back the smile. ‘Haven’t noticed.’
‘Then you need your eyes tested. Okay. Let’s go.’ Picking up her clutch her sister opened the bathroom door.
But she wouldn’t let the Zac subject drop.
In the hallway. ‘‘Do you know how highly Daddy rates him? Word is, as soon as this tournament’s over the doc’s jumping ship.’
This was news. ‘Oh? To where?’
‘Bigger and better. National teams? Olympic committee?’
Dani shouldn’t have been surprised. He was good at what he did. At everything he did. Seduction. Kissing...
In the lift. ‘He’d be a great asset if he were to stay here permanently. If you know what I mean.’ She winked.
Getting tired of the innuendo Dani went for plain talking. ‘Let’s get this straight. You want me to ask him to stay on? Like what I say to him will make a difference? I’m sure Zac will do whatever he wants to without me interfering.’
‘I’m not asking you to interfere. But there are other things you could do to make it more...attractive for him to stay.’
Was this for real? Desere honestly thought it would be that easy to entice a man into signing a contract? But then, heck, she’d done it with Joseph. But what about the life Dani had so carefully created for herself? In Wellington? Far away from the Auckland Jets. ‘You want me to seduce him? Does Daddy know? What about his rules?’
‘Since when did you ever follow Daddy’s rules, sweetie?’
‘Ouch.’ But sure, she had a point. And Dani had set her heart on finding favour with Davide again. But not like this. There was a limit to how far she was willing to take this thing she had for Zac. And it ended with that kiss. ‘No way. No way.’
In the lobby. ‘I’m just saying, you could encourage him to stay after the tournament. It wouldn’t be such a hardship. Just look at him.’
Dani followed her sister’s gaze to the huddle of men waiting for them in the middle of the hotel lobby. Without intending to, without seeking him out, he was the first man her eyes settled on. As broad and tall as the players any other man might have faded into the mass of testosterone and sharp shaven jaws. But Zac stood out, radiating charisma and confidence. His smile, as always, turning her steady heart rate to a jumping mess. Damn him.
Desere’s voice lowered as she wrapped Dani into a hug. ‘Think about it, sis. It’s not all about you. It’s about family. Family’s what’s important. Keep the doctor here. What is it they say? Take one for the team. Do it for Daddy.’
Love her or hate her, and Dani regularly veered between the two, Desere knew exactly where to stick the knife. Dani rose above her sister’s stupid idea, looked beyond her and over to Zac. If anything happened between them it would be pure and based on honesty.
‘No, Des. Not happening. I’m not prostituting myself for anyone. Ever. Paul’s fake proposal was bad enough.’ There’d been too much pretence in her love life already. She’d never do that willingly. Even if it meant the rift between herself and Davide never healed.
But now wasn’t the time or the place to further this conversation. There were cameras. And even though on the red carpet she’d let them get to her, she was never going to allow that again. She jutted her chin, sucked in her stomach and breathed in. This time she would show them.
‘Give them your best smile, Daniella. And think about it. Catching a man for Daddy would be easy payback.’ Desere pulled away slightly. A frown line she would have been mortified to know about appeared on her forehead; the light in her green eyes dulled a little. For the first time ever, Dani glimpsed a flicker of weariness. ‘It’s not so bad. Honestly.’
*
* *
So plan A hadn’t quite panned out the way Zac had imagined. The whole colleagues thing had morphed suddenly into way more than that. Crazy didn’t describe it. One minute he’d vowed not to flirt. The next he’d had her in his arms.
It had taken hours to slow his tachycardia, to deal with the excess adrenalin surging round his body. And he’d given up trying to extinguish the image of her face from his brain; it was getting close to a point where he couldn’t think straight. There was a duel raging between his head and his heart.
Which was why he needed to have that conversation with her. The one that went, Great kiss, but...
Before he got in any deeper.
Trouble was, she’d perfected the art of avoidance. Or tried to wither him with a stare any time he got too close.
And now with Davide and Matt at some important coaches’ meeting, he and Dani were playing minders to a bunch of hyped-up athletes.
Having been assigned the last helicopter he was running late but caught up with her at the front of the jet-boat queue trying to keep twenty-two men under control.
She nodded towards him but her manner was as cold as the ocean. ‘Joseph, get back here, the boat’s leaving in a minute. Manu, put the ball away. It’ll end up in the water and you with it.’
Zac shook his head. Since she only responded to anything rugby-related at the moment he went for that. ‘Don’t worry, princess, they’ll quieten down once they’re on the boat. Nothing like a thick metal seatbelt to inflict restraint.’
She fixed him with that stare again. ‘Sorry. You talking to me?’
‘Don’t see anyone else who might fit that description. Apart from possibly our new superstar game maker turned diva, Jaxon. Or your lovely sister.’ He nodded over to where Desere stood in the shade in the highest heels and tightest jeans he’d ever seen. Whoever christened her as demure needed their eyes tested. And as for dazzling Deanna...Dani beat them in both stakes, hands down.
Desere waved her middle three fingers and winked. At him? No. At Dani. Strange. But that was sisters for you. ‘She just winked.’
‘Ignore her. She’ll be going soon. For a start she’ll never get on the boat in those shoes, and secondly, the wind and the spray will ruin her hair and she’d never let that happen. She’s only here for the photos. But I’m sure she’d love to talk to you. She’s a big fan. Apparently. Go ahead. Meanwhile I’ll attempt to do our job and control the mob. Any time you feel like helping, jump right in.’
‘So I guess this isn’t a good time to talk about that kiss?’
‘What...?’ She held his gaze. He watched the temptation to soften flicker across her eyes, the desire to talk about what was simmering between them, the determination not to. ‘No. Never will be.’
She folded her arms over her chest and stared into middle distance as if something really important had snatched her focus. Then she gasped and stalked up to one of the players. ‘Joseph. Is that...?’ she hissed, obviously trying not to alert the circling media to the crisis. ‘A hip flask? Give it to me. No alcohol. You know the rules.’
Okay, backup needed. Knowing how much the success of this trip meant to Dani, and knowing when to call a halt to high jinks, Zac stepped in. He took the silver canister out of the flanker’s hand and slipped it into his pocket. His good humour failing fast. ‘What the hell are you doing? Where did you get this? You know it’s out of bounds.’
Joseph shrugged. But his eyes flitted over to his wife, and back. Before Zac could intervene Dani was at her sister’s side. Or rather, in her sister’s face. ‘You brought this for him? Well, thanks for the support.’
Desere flicked her hand nonchalantly. ‘Let loose a little, sis. I was trying to help. He’s missing me and needs to chill out. Like you.’
Clearly her sister didn’t realise the importance of this for Daniella. ‘Desere, alcohol is strictly banned. The others are bound to get jealous if Joseph flouts the rules. That could cause a ruck and bad morale.’
‘Yes, Zac. I know. I’m very sorry.’ She pouted and for a second Zac really thought she meant it. But the light in her eyes belied her true feelings. Like her father, Desere said the right things but you never quite knew what was going on behind the eyes.
Whereas Daniella was so different; everything she felt or thought was written on her face plain as day. And, weird, he kind of just knew with her. Knew when to get close, knew when to back off. When to kiss her. When to tease. Knew how much she wanted him. How much she pretended not to.
He’d never had that before. Understood someone so completely. It was unnerving and comforting at the same time. And he didn’t know what to do with it. Walking away was proving all kinds of difficult.
Desere’s pout changed to a smile. ‘And sex is banned too, that right, Dani?’ Her pupils flared like she was sharing some kind of private joke. She tapped the side of her nose. ‘But we both know we can get round it if we want to...’
From where he was standing he could see Dani’s hands fisting at her sides. She closed her eyes as red seeped into her cheeks. No—slammed into her cheeks, ears, tip of her nose.
She stepped forward, her shoulders rigid. Her mouth a thin taut line. And he wrestled down the need to speak out for her. The need to help. But what he knew of Dani so far was that she wouldn’t thank him for fighting her battles. No matter how painful it was to be on the sideline.
‘Just go, Desere, before the press get a hold of this. You’re making things ten times worse. And, while you’re at it, stop interfering in my life. I don’t want to see you until final day. You got it? Go.’
Then she turned and stepped onto the boat without looking back.
He took the place next to her, the seating so tight he had full side-on contact with her body. Felt the simmering anger shake through her, the swell of her breast on every ragged intake of breath. Felt the touch of her knee against his, the pressing of her thigh. Inhaled her sweet smell. Angry, happy, everything he experienced was coloured with her. She even made the regulation navy coverall look sexy. Drove him nuts.
So, okay, maybe he could help her. Keep a satisfactory distance, but help, like a colleague would. Like he should have helped Tom. Yeah, like a friend would. It wouldn’t mean anything more, anything deeper. He’d help, then get the hell out.
She barely lifted her eyes to meet his, watched as each of the team scrambled, jumped or dived into the boat. ‘Bloody Desere. God only knows who else drank that stuff. Look at Jaxon. Doing stupid things.’ She craned her neck and indicated their star player, standing on the deck of the boat. Arms outstretched behind Manu, they were doing a Titanic, screaming, ‘My heart will go ooooon.’
‘So which one’s supposed to be Kate Winslet? I don’t think Manu’s got the ass for it.’
Underneath her frown Zac glimpsed the beginnings of a smile. The frosting was starting to melt. She nudged him. ‘Stop making me laugh. I’m trying to be cross with Desere. Indulge me.’
If only.
He took a chance to squeeze her hand under the folds of the nylon coverall, understanding that regardless of her brave face she must be hurting somewhere. Her sister had directly contravened the very rules Dani was trying to uphold. But she’d slammed her defences up and needed to feel in control. That was the kind of thing he did too. He got that. But understanding it didn’t help any. He just wanted to put a smile back on her face. ‘I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it. She doesn’t know how much this means to you.’
She pulled her hand from his grip. ‘Well, she should. Now stop with being nice. I’ve spent my life fighting Desere. It’s just business as usual. Don’t you have any siblings you fight with?’
‘Yes, a sister, much younger. We might have fought if I’d actually got the chance to spend any time with her. I was shipped off to boarding school when she was still in nappies. School became my family, my home.’ Where he’d met the guy he’d considered a brother to him—and then let him down so badly. Guilt sliced through him like a knife. He closed the doo
r on that and focused on Dani. ‘Hell, I’m no expert on relationship skills.’
‘So we’re two of a kind, then, in more ways than one. You enjoyed boarding?’
‘Sure. I made a few good mates there.’
‘And yet your eyes are saying something else entirely.’
Damn, she was perceptive. He turned away slightly so she couldn’t read any more into it. He usually managed to keep a lid on things, and never shared his history past a brief overview. He skirted the subject. ‘What was it like at your school?’
‘Okay. I get the message. Keep out. I understand if you don’t want to go there. My need for privacy is way more than skin-deep too.’ She shrugged. ‘My school was okay. If it hadn’t been for the fact I was a Danatello and following in Desere’s footsteps. I had spectacularly glamorous stilettoes to fill, but I did learn a lot of extracurricular stuff.’ She raised her eyebrows.
‘Oh? You have skills in other areas?’ He leaned closer. ‘Show me sometime?’
‘Not likely.’ Her lips kicked upwards at the corners. ‘But you’ve already seen the photos.’
‘Lady Godiva...? You started all that extreme partying at school?’
‘Hard not to. A whole lot of rich celeb kids, way too much cash and little regard for authority. But that’s all behind me now. I’m a good girl.’
‘Sure you are.’ The memory of that kiss hovered between them like an invisible thread. Pulling, tightening. She looked up at him through thick black eyelashes and he saw the struggle there. The heat. So now would be a good time to bring the subject up. ‘What did Desere mean about the sex ban and we can get round it. You told her about the kiss?’
‘No.’ She glanced around warily, but the boys were distracted by putting on their overalls and finding their seats, and the hum of the engine masked their voices. ‘Of course not.’
‘The list, then? You’ve been fishing for suggestions?’
‘Get real, Zachary. You’re not the subject of my conversations.’ He guessed the tone was meant to deter him. But it ratcheted his attraction instead.
The Last Doctor She Should Ever Date Page 6