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‘And now I need the money,’ Emma admitted bluntly. ‘But don’t worry about me,’ she added brightly. ‘This job at the hotel is great experience, and I love it here. Lizzie told me about the vacancy for a chambermaid, and here I am.’
Emma opened her arms wide, as if embracing the world and everything in it, with the infectious joie de vivre Danny had always associated with the young girl.
‘I hope you don’t mind me crashing your blessing,’ she went on, ‘but I’m just about to finish my shift and I couldn’t resist peeping in.’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ Danny insisted. ‘You’re more than welcome to join us.’
‘Oh, no,’ Emma protested. ‘I couldn’t do that.’
‘Why not?’ Danny frowned. ‘I’ll speak to the manager for you.’
‘If you’re sure...?’ Emma’s face lit up.
‘I’m certain. It will be good to catch up. I had no idea you were married—’
Danny stopped—blanched—wanted to cut out her tongue. She knew immediately from the look on Emma’s face and Lizzie’s sudden tension that she’d said the entirely wrong thing.
‘Sorry—I didn’t mean to infer anything.’
‘It’s an easy mistake to make,’ Emma insisted. ‘But please don’t be embarrassed—I’m not. I couldn’t be happier.’
‘That’s obvious,’ Danny said warmly. ‘So the three of us are going to share this exciting trip into motherhood together? You are sticking around?’ she confirmed with Emma.
Emma was just about to answer when Tiago strolled up to introduce them to a man—presumably another polo player, from the look of him—who might safely be called intimidating if you were of a nervous disposition.
Thankfully, Danny was not. She was used to daunting men, she thought as she glanced at Tiago, but for some reason she clutched Emma’s hand a little tighter. She felt protective towards the young girl—and not just because Tiago’s timing was so badly off. The little she knew about Emma’s family suggested there would be no support for the young girl there, and Emma must be barely out of college—if she had even finished college at all.
There was a mystery here, Danny suspected. Emma had been such a promising student, and so serious about her career.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ Emma whispered discreetly, before pulling away to leave Danny to mingle with her guests. ‘I’m a lot tougher than I look.’
She would have to be, Danny concluded with concern as she noticed the daunting polo player staring after Emma. A vivacious, pretty girl like Emma would always attract plenty of male attention.
She turned back to Tiago, who was waiting to introduce her.
‘Danny, this is Lucas Marcelos—another reprobate on the polo circuit.’
‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Lucas,’ she said politely. ‘Welcome to Scotland.’
Danny’s heart plummeted when she noticed that Lucas’s attention was still fixed on Emma—though he covered his distraction fast, turning to face Danny with a stare that was piercing in its intensity.
‘Tiago warned me you were beautiful,’ he said, ‘but now I see he was understating the case.’
Lucas’s voice was deep and accented, and for some reason it sent shivers down Danny’s spine. She was glad when Tiago moved to stand between them.
‘You’re a lucky man,’ Lucas told Tiago. ‘I don’t know what you’ve done to deserve such a woman, but you should give me your secret.’
‘I love her. It’s as simple as that and as complicated,’ Tiago admitted as he looped a protective arm around Danny’s shoulders. ‘And she keeps me in line.’
‘Which you like?’ Lucas sounded incredulous at this.
‘Which I adore,’ Tiago insisted, in a way no man in his right mind would choose to argue with. ‘You should try it some day, Lucas—find out for yourself.’
‘That, my friend, is never going to happen.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ Tiago murmured, turning back to Danny as Lucas strolled away.
‘Wow!’ Danny released her pent-up tension in a gust of relief. ‘Was I just scorched by an overload of testosterone, or was that a hologram of a very angry and frustrated man?’
‘That, chica, was a good friend of mine who has taken more hits from life than he should have done. But I don’t want to talk about Lucas now. I want to concentrate on you—if you don’t mind?’
