The Billionaire's Housekeeper Mistress (14 page)

‘I see you’re wearing Liz Davenport,’ Serena remarked, naming the designer who’d created
neon butterfly
.

‘Yes,’ Daisy answered in surprise, not being so familiar with the fashion scene that she could actually recognise individual styles.

‘She seems to have gone all gaudy this year.’

Daisy smiled to take the sting out of the snipe. ‘I guess, with your colouring, you don’t wear bright colours well.’

‘Each to their own,’ she said, giving Ethan a mocking look as she parroted his words. ‘I much prefer European designers. James bought this Christian Dior suit for me in Paris.’

‘How lovely for you!’ Daisy said sweetly. ‘I hope your outfit gives you as much pleasure wearing it as I’m having wearing mine.’

She sniffed haughtily and patted James’s arm. ‘Let’s move on to our table, darling. I’m dying of hunger.’

‘Got to feed the beauty and the beast,’ he said jokingly, grinning at Ethan. ‘Good luck with Midas Magic!’

‘Good luck with your choice, too,’ Ethan replied.

They moved on.

As she and Ethan resumed their seats at the table, Shannon raised a hand and said admiringly, ‘Daisy, I salute you. That was a brilliant piece of sticking it right back at Serena.’

‘Believe me, give Daisy a challenge and she rises to it every time,’ Ethan declared, making them all laugh again at how challenging she had been to him.

Daisy was awash with pleasure. Ethan was proud of her. And he’d said so many complimentary things about her, leaving his friends in no doubt he held her in high regard, she was beginning to believe anything was possible between them, no limits at all on their relationship.

The races were watched and commented upon between the many courses of their lunch. Mickey had to leave the party when two other horses he’d trained were running. He returned each time in a celebratory mood after the horses had performed well, one coming second, the other third.

‘Waiting for the big one,’ he told Ethan with ebullient confidence.

The big one
was preceded by an amazing ceremony. A helicopter hovered over the field beyond the finishing line as a man carrying a box descended on a rope to a podium which had been set up over there. A string of models wearing gold catsuits moved out across the racetrack, forming a line between the podium and the stage in the parade ring. The man unlocked the box to reveal what actually was a golden slipper. He presented it to the model closest to him, who passed it to the next,
and so on down the line to the stage while an operatic tenor sang ‘Nessun dorma’.

‘Time for us to go,’ Ethan said, taking Daisy’s hand as he rose from his chair.

‘Go where?’ she asked. Mickey had already left the table to ensure everything was right for Midas Magic.

‘To one of the owner’s boxes beside the stage. We have to be on hand for the presentation if Midas Magic wins.’

As she leapt up to accompany him she saw that James Ellicott and Serena Gordon had already vacated their table. It only took a few minutes via a long elevator to arrive at the parade ring. The master of ceremonies was still introducing the jockeys who were to ride and photographers were everywhere, taking shots of the scene. A formal usher opened the gate for Ethan and Daisy to enter the fenced-off area and Ethan escorted her to the only empty box left—the rest of them already occupied by groups of people.

‘Most of the horses are owned by syndicates,’ Ethan explained. ‘Mickey talked me into buying Midas Magic outright so we’re on our own here, Daisy.’

Together, she thought happily.

They didn’t have long to wait for the big race. They watched it on the huge television screen set up for the crowd and Daisy found herself sharing Ethan’s excitement as Midas Magic shot to the front at the turn and sped away from the rest of the field, winning by seven lengths as though he was in a league of his own.

‘What did you feed that horse, Ethan?’ James Ellicott yelled out from his box.

‘It’s all in his genes,’ he yelled back. ‘You should listen to Mickey about bloodlines, James.’

Daisy couldn’t help grinning at the vexed look on Serena Gordon’s face. She felt like a huge winner today.

Ethan took her up on the stage with him for the presentation. He made a charming speech, giving all credit to his friend for the win, calling Mickey a brilliant trainer, then smiling at Daisy while saying Midas Magic had brought some magic into his life and he hoped it would last for a long, long time.

Some magic…her?

Daisy tried to caution herself not to read too much into everything Ethan said today. She was riding such a dizzying high, it was difficult to grasp any down-to-earth common sense. Nevertheless, she did manage to remind herself that when Ethan set out to do something, he carried it through, covering every detail. He was determined on having a happy day which meant giving her one, too. Midas Magic winning was icing on the cake—two million dollars’ worth of icing! He was probably so happy, wonderful words were simply spilling off his tongue.

And continued to do so.

On their way back to their party in the Winning Post, they were accosted by Lynda Twiggley. ‘Ethan!’ she cried, pouncing on his arm, her eyes glittering with gambling triumph. ‘What a fabulous win! Congratulations! I bet on Midas Magic again.’

‘Splendid!’ he tossed at her.

She gave Daisy a saccharine smile. ‘And
you’ve
certainly come up in the world, Dee-Dee.’

Ethan pointedly picked her hand off his arm, saying in a cutting tone, ‘Ms Twiggley, my partner’s name is Daisy Donahue, who, I might add, is well worth knowing. A loss to you. A win to me. Have a good day!’

He swept Daisy off, leaving Lynda Twiggley’s mouth agape. It was marvellous! Bubbles of joy inside Daisy burst into giggles as they rode the elevator up to the restaurant.

‘What?’ Ethan asked.

She sucked in a sobering breath, but her eyes were still dancing with laughter as she looked up at him. ‘I did hate being called Dee-Dee.’

‘Insufferable woman! I hated how she treated you. I was right to rescue you from her, Daisy.’

‘Yes, you were,’ she had to agree. Despite all her heartache over the past few months, she was in a far better position at the publishing house and whatever happened with Ethan, she was happy to have had him in her life.

Ethan felt intensely gratified by this admission from Daisy. She had been at war with him for so long, holding out against his siege, only giving in under force. To have her freely concede that he had been right to push for where they were now really did make him a winner.

There was not the slightest bit of tension coming from her for the rest of the day. She was completely relaxed with his friends, showed open affection towards him, delighted him with her attitude towards everything, and incited a burning build-up of desire which took all his willpower to keep under restraint until he had her to himself again.

The moment the door of the apartment was closed behind them, she was in his embrace and kissing him back as feverishly as he kissed her. They were on fire together, couldn’t have enough of each other, and she discarded her
clothes as urgently as he discarded his, leaping onto the bed, welcoming him with open arms, her legs winding around him in fierce possession. The sex was fast and incredibly intense, mounting swiftly to an explosive climax that was totally out of his control but he didn’t care. She shared it with him and she was all his…all his…

Until the telephone rang.

D
AISY
automatically reached out and picked up the telephone receiver from the bedside table, not even wondering who was calling, her mind still floating from the pleasure of the deeply intimate connection with Ethan. It was a jolt to hear her mother’s voice.

‘Oh, good! You’re home! I thought you might still be out partying.’

‘Partying?’ Daisy repeated, trying to get her wits together. She sat bolt upright and shot Ethan a warning look, putting a silencing finger on her lips.

‘We saw you on television, standing right next to Ethan Cartwright when he was presented with the Golden Slipper. It was such a surprise. We couldn’t believe our eyes. You didn’t tell us you were going out with him.’

The chiding tone caused Daisy’s heart to skitter all around her chest. She took a deep breath to shoot some oxygen into her brain, knowing she needed an explanation that sounded reasonable. ‘Well, Mum, it was our first date and I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure. I mean he’s such a high-powered person, I felt nervous about going out with him, fitting in with his
friends. It might have ended up awful, so I didn’t want to tell you about it. But I actually had a wonderful time. It was a marvellous day.’

‘Your first date.’ Her mother sounded pleased. ‘You looked beautiful, dear. Such a gorgeous dress and headpiece. Did you buy it especially?’

‘Yes. I splurged, but the outfit made me feel good so it was well worth the money. Lucky I have such a highly paid job now.’

‘And it’s lovely that you’re spending your money on yourself instead of on us.’

‘I didn’t mind that, Mum.’

‘Well, thank heaven it’s behind us. Or I should say thank Ethan Cartwright for his good advice. When we saw you together on the television, your father wasn’t as surprised as I was. He thought the man must have been sweet on you all along to have offered his help with our financial problems. Will you be seeing him again, dear?’

‘Yes. He’s invited me to a tennis party at his house.’

‘No need for you to be nervous about that,’ her mother said confidently. ‘You’re a better player than most people.’

‘I’m over my nerves now, Mum. I’ll be fine.’

‘I was thinking…Easter is coming up next week. The whole family will be here as usual. Why not invite Ethan to come to Sunday lunch?’

A vision of her family swarming around him, probably assuming things about their relationship they shouldn’t assume and making stomach-squirming comments, played havoc with the nerves she had just declared in fine condition.

‘I think it’s too soon for that,’ she said, inwardly re-coiling
from any move that might bring rejection and the crushing of a dream that she hoped might come true, given enough solid time together.

‘It would be a nice way of showing our appreciation for what he’s done for us,’ her mother pressed.

‘Mum, it was business,’ Daisy said emphatically. ‘Ethan would have been rewarded for it, taking a commission on the deal.’ Her cheeks burned. She couldn’t look at him.

‘But that’s so impersonal, Daisy,’ her mother argued. ‘And what he did was personal. It was because he was pleased with you. You told us so yourself. And it’s obvious he’s still pleased with you. Ask him if he’d like to come.’

Daisy gritted her teeth and thought hard. ‘He probably has family of his own to go to at Easter.’

‘Well, if he has, he has. There’s no harm in extending an invitation.’

‘Okay. I’ll let you know.’ Please, God, let her stop now, Daisy prayed.

She didn’t.

‘You’ll be coming home anyway, won’t you, dear? We haven’t seen you since you took up your new job.’

Her free time was exclusively Ethan’s. That was the deal. But surely he’d understand she had to attend the family get-together at Easter. ‘Yes, I’ll be there,’ she answered unequivocally, not wanting to make some excuse unless she was forced to.

‘It will be such a happy day,’ her mother rattled on. ‘Ken and Kevin are both employed again. Your father has paid off Keith’s business debts, and we can now afford to send Violet’s boy to a special school for autistic children.’

‘That’s great!’

It really was—alleviating a lot of stress in her sister’s
life. Money was not the root of all evil, Daisy thought. It could be a huge blessing.

‘Well, I’ll let you go, dear, but do ask Ethan if he’d like to join us for Easter Sunday. He’ll be most welcome. Such a handsome man, too,’ she added in a tone overflowing with benevolence, causing Daisy to fly into a panic.

‘Mum, don’t get ideas. This was a first date, remember. It doesn’t
mean
anything.’

‘Of course it does, Daisy. It means that he likes you and you like him. Now don’t do anything to spoil it, dear. I thought you looked perfect together. Bye now.’

Daisy fumbled the receiver’s return to its cradle, dropped back down on the pillow and closed her eyes. Tight. To shut out the dreadful embarrassment of knowing Ethan had overheard that conversation and had undoubtedly pieced together her mother’s side of it.

She felt him shift onto his side, prop himself up to examine the expression on her face, felt his eyes probing under her skin. A featherlight finger teased one corner of her mouth. ‘It doesn’t
mean
anything?’

For some reason his repetition of those words hurt unbearably. She opened her eyes and attacked with defensive ferocity. ‘You know perfectly well why I’m here with you, Ethan. Just because you’ve taken me out of your closet hasn’t changed the deal, has it?’

He frowned. ‘Weren’t you happy with me today?’

‘That’s not the point! My parents saw the presentation of The Golden Slipper on TV, saw us together, and my mother has leapt to the rosy conclusion that we’re a match made in heaven.’

His mouth quirked in amusement. ‘Maybe we are.’

‘Don’t make fun of it!’ she cried, hope giving her
heart a painful kick. ‘I have to deal with this now. My family always get together at my parents’ home at Easter. They’ll be full of questions about you and…’ Her eyes pleaded to be let off his hook. ‘I know you demanded all my free time, but I’ll be breaking our family tradition if I’m not there with them.’

‘No problem.’ His eyes glinted with determined purpose. ‘I’ll go with you.’

She stared at him, her stomach curdling at the thought of what he’d be walking into. ‘I’m only asking for one day with my family, Ethan. Not even one full day. Lunch on Easter Sunday will be enough.’

‘Fine!’ he said. ‘We’ll roll up for lunch on Easter Sunday.’

Daisy closed her eyes again as she tried to swallow the sickening surge of panic. There was no moving him. He was bent on having his own way, relentlessly ruthless about getting it.

‘Your mother did invite me, didn’t she?’ he said without any doubt in his voice.

‘Yes,’ she bit out between gritted teeth.

‘Then tell her I accept.’

Daisy summoned up one last effort to change his mind, shooting him a begging look. ‘We’re a big family, Ethan. And because I’ve never brought anyone into it, they’ll pepper you with questions and size you up like you wouldn’t believe.’

She had invited Carl when she’d believed in their love for each other, but he had always found some pressing reason not to be available when she’d wanted him to accompany her. From the arguments preceding their break-up, she’d realised he resented her family and the hold it had on her, taking her away from what he
wanted to do. If Ethan also resented their claim on her…

‘It won’t worry me, Daisy,’ he said, obviously not caring about being put in a hot seat. ‘I’m curious about them, too. I’ll enjoy meeting such a close-knit family. I haven’t had one myself.’

She heaved a resigned sigh. He was resolved on accompanying her, no matter what. She could only hope he did enjoy himself and somehow, miraculously, feel he could become a part of her family because there was no long-term future with him if he couldn’t.

The week slipped by all too quickly.

Daisy’s emotions were worn ragged, fretting over how her family would receive Ethan and vice versa.

He peppered her with questions about them, memorising all the names and connecting the children to the right parents, doing his homework before making an entrance. Applying good business practice, Daisy thought, but meeting a diverse group of people whose life experiences were nothing like his was much more complex than sitting down with a bunch of clients with similar interests—namely big money and what to do with it. She remembered how she’d hated him for being what he was—obscenely rich, stunningly handsome and sinfully sexy. Her brothers and sister could feel the same way.

It did alleviate a little of her inner stress when he showed a particular interest in Joshua, Violet’s autistic son. She explained that he didn’t seem to relate to people at all. It was as though he was locked into a world of his own and he was obsessed with numbers, always counting everything. It was important to simply accept this, not treat him as odd, and Ethan assured her he understood.

But he didn’t understand what he was walking into. She had to stop him from buying a huge basket of chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs for the children. Their parents, who couldn’t afford such expensive luxuries, might resent such largesse, although she couldn’t bring herself to tell him so, saying only she’d be taking a bag of little Easter eggs to be hidden in the garden for the treasure hunt, and too much was too much. It would be enough if he gave her mother a box of chocolates as a thank-you gift.

The family day loomed as a nightmare.

She had no happy dreams about it at all.

In fact, she was fairly certain it would end the dream she had been nursing.

She and Ethan came from different worlds which were too far apart to bridge the gap. Common sense had told her that this was an ill-fated attraction, leading only to bed while lust was running hot. She should have stayed in the closet for the rest of this year—deal done and free to run. That wouldn’t have raised any family problems and she wouldn’t be feeling so horribly torn, wanting the impossible.

Ethan was acutely aware of Daisy’s tension over this coming visit with her family. He gradually came to realise she didn’t believe he could fit into her world. Proving to her that she could fit into his only resolved half the problem that had made her keep him at a distance until he’d forced her into a relationship with him.

She hadn’t come into it feeling it was right for her. She’d done it for her family. That close-knit unit meant more to her than anything else and Ethan was beginning
to sense he had to win acceptance and liking from every one of them to free Daisy of her misgivings about their connection.

This was a completely foreign situation to him. He’d been more or less detached from his parents since boyhood. While he was quite fond of both of them, they played absolutely no part in his relationships with other people. That was his personal business, nothing to do with them. He didn’t seek their approval. They never showed disapproval. The decisions were his. He was the one who had to live with them. That had been drummed into him for as long as he could remember.

This definitely was not the case with Daisy. How he reacted to her family and how they responded to him was obviously a huge issue in her mind. He’d met her father and liked him, but money had been the only agenda at those meetings, not his daughter.

All he knew for certain was he had another battle on his hands.

And Daisy was worth fighting for.