‘OK, how about we play this game of tennis?’ she suggested nonchalantly.

‘I’m ready when you are.’ Daniel laughed and spun his racket. ‘But I think I should be fair and warn you I’m not going to give you any quarter.’ He paused before adding, ‘Just because you’re an old broad.’

‘Old…!’ Keira gazed at his teasing grin in amazement before bursting out laughing.

‘A spectacularly attractive old broad,’ he added, his grin broadening, ‘but an old broad for all that.’

‘I’ll give you old broad, Daniel Cassidy. Just let me give you notification that I won’t expect any more consideration than I’ll be giving someone who’s still wet behind the ears.’

Two hours later Daniel knocked on the door of Keira’s room.

‘Your escort for lunch, my dear.’ He held out his arm very formally, his laughing eyes running over her recently showered figure now dressed in tailored denims and a pale chambray shirt, its cuffs folded neatly back from her wrists. ‘All refreshed?’

‘I think so.’ She walked beside him to the lift. ‘But, much as I hate to admit it, my old broad’s bones may ache tomorrow.’

They laughed together as they stepped into the elevator.

‘Burton has lunch set out on the back patio.’ Daniel glanced at his wristwatch. ‘And luckily we’re not late. He gets his knickers in a knot when I am.’

The lift doors slid open and Daniel led the way along the hallway to the right.

‘Where did you learn to play tennis like that anyway?’ he asked and Keira grinned.

‘I had my first lesson when I was eight and I played competitively until I was, oh, about your age.’ Her smile faltered. Until she had married Dennis and he’d decided the game wasn’t something he could better her at so it was phased out. “I used to do pretty well,’ she added flatly.

‘Pretty well?’ Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I’m no slouch and you sent me to the cleaners. We’ll have to have a rematch.’

They had reached the double doors that opened out on to a covered patio which overlooked a beautifully landscaped pool a couple of steps below the level of the house. Green fernery hung from the beams of the transparent fibreglass patio roof and the scent of newly mown lawns drifted on the clear air.

A pristine white cloth covered a table that would comfortably seat half a dozen people, and just outside the open double doors was a side table which held bowls of salads, cold meats and fruit.

Daniel handed Keira a plate and helped her to servings of tender carved chicken breast and thinly sliced ham. She relaxed slightly, knowing she had been dreading having to face Eden Cassidy over the meal, and she was more than a little relieved to find Daniel’s uncle conspicuous by his absence. So far.

‘Will we be dining on our own?’ she asked casually as she added crisp lettuce and celery to her plate.

‘Probably. You’ll have me all to yourself.’ He shrugged easily when Keira gave him a warning look. ‘My grandfather’s having a light snack in his room. He’s decided to rest before the party, which is pretty sensible of him. And Eden never sits down to lunch, he eats on the run.’

Daniel spooned potato salad on to his already overflowing plate.

‘Eden can’t leave his trusty fax machine,’ he continued. ‘In fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my uncle and his fax were joined at the hip. It would probably take major surgery to separate them.’

‘Your suspicions are unfounded, Daniel. There’s nary a scar,’ said a deep voice from the doorway, causing Daniel and Keira to start guiltily. ‘I trust you have no objections if I join you both for lunch.’

Keira glanced sideways at Daniel to see his eyes widen as they took in his uncle’s relaxed figure as he leaned casually against the door-jamb, strong arms folded.

Eden Cassidy had changed from his formal suit into a pair of grey tailored trousers and a short-sleeved white knit shirt that fitted his muscular body to perfection.

‘I know.’ The younger man recovered quickly from his surprise. ‘Megan’s manning the phones and faxes,’ he suggested easily, and his uncle’s lips quirked as he stepped out on to the patio.

‘Not the way you mean, Daniel. Megan has a couple of personal calls to make. She’ll join us in a while.’ Eden crossed to the side table and began helping himself to some food.

Before Daniel roused himself to seat her Keira moved on slightly unsteady legs to sit down at the table.

In a formal suit Eden Cassidy’s attraction had had a rather remote quality about it. But dressed as he was now, his tanned skin accentuated by the white of his shirt, well, Keira had to acknowledge she wasn’t unmoved by his compelling magnetism. He was as charismatic as he was reported to be.

A tiny frisson of sensation spiralled in the pit of her stomach and she swallowed to clear her suddenly dry throat. It had been years since a man, any man, had provoked just such a physical response in her, and she knew a shiver of startled trepidation. That it had to be this particular man who was responsible for her unexpected libidinous awareness had her heartbeats fluctuating as much with fear as that more undesirable emotion.

Daniel rushed to take the seat beside her and his uncle calmly slid on to the chair directly opposite her. Keira fancied she could feel the heat emanating from his body where their knees almost touched, and she rather doubted she’d be able to swallow any of the delicious food on her plate.

Her heartbeats continued to behave in a very erratic fashion and she couldn’t bring herself to meet what she knew would be coldly cynical blue eyes.

Resolutely she lifted a forkful of food to her mouth and it might have been ashes for all she tasted it. Her wayward senses seemed otherwise engaged. On Eden Cassidy.

Of their own accord her eyes slid from her plate to the white shirt moulding his midriff, moved to his muscular upper arms where the band of his shirt met smooth tanned skin.

Well-developed muscles and a tan. So he didn’t spend all his time running his empire, as his nephew had insisted he did.

Keira’s eyes rose to the dark V exposed by the open collar of his shirt and her nerve endings began tingling anew. How would it feel to move her lips over that smooth, inviting skin that stretched tautly across his throat, his chest?

Her fork paused on its way to her mouth and she hastily returned the untouched food to her plate. It would have been a mistake to put the food into her mouth. There was no way she could have swallowed anything just at that moment. Her throat had closed on the thunder of her heartbeats in her chest as they rose to all but choke her.

What could she be thinking about? Just a short time ago he had accused her of having an affair with his nephew and yet here she was, sizing up his attractions. And finding them almost irresistibly appealing.

Was she mad? She was completely shocked at her behaviour, behaviour that was so out of character for her. Men had held no interest for her and hadn’t since Dennis’s perfidiousness had opened her eyes to the fact that knights on white chargers weren’t necessarily as princely as they seemed.

This wasn’t the time to forget she’d made her choices years ago. All her energies were going into her career. And if, as she had been suspecting of late, she lacked the final drive to push her to the very top, then her achievements to date weren’t to be sneezed at. If life went on as it was now she’d be content.

And the very last thing she needed at the moment was a man to complicate things.

She shot another quick glance from beneath her lashes at Eden Cassidy. Especially a man as dangerous as he so obviously was. He had that blatant masculine magnetism that drew a woman’s attention, made her wonder impetuously what it would be like to tame such an animal, yet at the same time had her quivering with a heady apprehension at the peril involved in such an adventure.

Keira barely suppressed a self-derogatory laugh. She was getting fanciful in her old age. And foolish. Any woman who deluded herself into thinking she could bring this man to heel was simply asking for trouble of the capital letters variety.

‘Did you enjoy your game of tennis?’ Eden Cassidy’s deep voice broke in on Keira’s masochistic reflections and she blinked as she slowly brought her attention back to his words rather than the sound of his so seductive voice.

‘Tennis?’ she queried absently, and felt Daniel look at her sharply.

‘She should have,’ he put in quickly, and grimaced. ‘I would have enjoyed it more if I’d won.’

His uncle raised one dark brow in Keira’s direction. ‘So you outplayed my nephew, Mrs Strong?’ he remarked blandly enough, but the expression in his eyes embroidered his innocent observation.

‘Outplayed me? More like slaughtered me.’ Daniel grinned good-naturedly. ‘And the worst part about it is, I think she took it easy with me.’

‘I assure you, Daniel, I didn’t,’ Keira told him sincerely. ‘You were a very worthy opponent.’

‘Perhaps we could have a game some time,’ Eden put in, and Keira forced a smile.

‘Perhaps,’ she said just as casually. Not likely, Mr Top Gun Cassidy, she declared under her breath, her eyes meeting his. And she suspected he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Eden glanced at his wristwatch, the flash of gold gleaming in the filtered sunlight, once again drawing Keira’s attention to his strong, tanned hand. ‘Megan must have been held up. Daniel, could you go in and check with her? She may prefer Burton to take her something on a tray to have in the office.’

Daniel frowned slightly and glanced quickly from Eden to Keira before he stood up and did as he had been bidden. For once Keira wished Daniel had defied his uncle because now she was left alone with Eden Cassidy. Again.