Page 18 of Bound By Her Shocking Secret

Marriage.

As much as she wanted to leave right now, she knew they had to talk about this and get it sorted.

‘Okay,’ she said reluctantly, ‘if it’s not putting your staff to too much trouble.’

Daniel held out a hand, indicating that Mia should precede him out of the room. ‘Not at all,’ he replied smoothly.

When they walked into an elegant dining room, Mia noted that he’d taken off his jacket and tie. But he was still wearing a waistcoat which drew attention to his slim waist and lean torso. He managed to look both debauched and yet elegant.

Maybe it was down to the fact that she’d slept with him, so she knew just how debauched he could be...

Notwhere she wanted her mind to go now. Not when she was feeling so exposed.

There was a long table and two places set at one end. Daniel held out a chair for her and she sat down, trying not to inhale his scent, which was far too evocative.

A middle-aged woman appeared with starters. Mia’s mouth watered when she saw a pear and watercress salad with walnuts.

When the woman had left, Mia said, ‘I wasn’t expecting anything fancy.’

‘It’s not. Eat up.’

Mia took a bite of salad, the sweetness of the pear contrasting nicely with the peppery watercress and walnut. She had to bite back a groan of appreciation. She’d got used to throwing together any old thing to eat, after feeding Lexi, and it had been a long time since she’d had anything remotely sophisticated.

Daniel poured more wine into Mia’s glass and poured some for himself. ‘You never did tell me where your interest in food came from,’ he said.

Mia was suspicious of this innocuous direction in conversation, but she went with it. She’d made lots of meals for Daniel in her little apartment. She’d never seen food as sensual, or a precursor to passion, until she’d met him.

‘My mother. She was a great cook. An amateur, though. She taught me to appreciate it. I think she would have loved to train to be a chef, but we didn’t have the money.’

‘It must have been tough for her...being a single parent.’

Mia nodded. ‘She had to work hard to make ends meet.’

Daniel sat back. ‘And yet in spite of that you’re willing to let our daughter go through the same experience?’

Mia glared at Daniel. She’d walked into that one. She should have known he wasn’t making idle conversation because he was genuinely interested. This was all part of his strategy.

‘It won’t be similar at all. Because Lexi will know you and I earn a lot more than my mother did, so I can support us comfortably.’

‘Until you can’t.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

More staff appeared, to clear away the starter plates, and Mia forced a smile. When they were gone, she looked at Daniel.

‘What happens when you don’t want to model any more?’ he asked. ‘What will you do then?’

His question struck a nerve, because in all honesty Mia had been wondering the same thing herself. But he didn’t know that she was feeling ambivalent about going back into modelling.

She lifted her chin. ‘I can worry about that when the time comes. I might go back to school...get a degree.’ She’d always been interested in the arts, but the death of her mother and the need to survive had put paid to going to college.

‘And who would take care of Lexi?’

‘As you’ll be in her life, I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.’

Although, try as she might, Mia couldn’t quite visualise Daniel standing at the school gates, waiting to pick up his daughter. It was more likely to be an assistant in a chauffered car.

Mia felt a pang at that. She wanted more for her daughter.

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