She shrugged, pushing past me as I opened the door.
‘Don’t mind me,’ I muttered, watching her disappear up the stairs as I hung up my coat.
‘Daniel!’ Emily’s excited squeal carried down the stairs. She should have been on the stage.
Just my luck, Daniel was sitting on the sofa, looking completely at home.
‘Hi, Olivia. Been somewhere nice?’
‘Hi—’ I got no further.
Emily busily taking off her coat and dumping it on a nearby chair, interrupted. ‘We’ve been to this fabulous bar tonight. Café Lulu, just off Charlotte Street. Really nice, wasn’t it, Olivia? Absolutely packed. Loads of people. Met Olivia’s cousin there. Barney. Of course you know him? He was with some friends. If I’d known you’d be here by now, you could have joined us. Why didn’t you phone?’ Emily stopped for breath.
Daniel looked bemused by the rapid information download. ‘I did. A couple of times, but it went straight to voicemail.’
I glanced at Emily remembering her switching off her mobile, saying she didn’t want Daniel ringing mid-date.
‘So how was Barney?’ asked Daniel looking at me. ‘Hasn’t he set up some speed-dating business? That’s what Kate told me at Piers’s wedding.’
Emily’s mouth opened and shut, her eyes widening with a quick-say-something look.
‘Loathsome as ever.’
‘Are you ever going to let sleeping hamsters lie?’ he teased.
‘Nope.’
‘Surprised you met up with him. What happened to your hate-hate relationship?’
‘Strong as ever,’ I said, shooting a now-look-what-you’ve-done glare at Emily. ‘Sadly, we bumped into him. Tea anyone?’
‘I’d love one, Olivia,’ said Emily.
Daniel frowned at her. ‘Thought it kept you awake.’
Blithely she completely ignored him and muttered, ‘Must take these shoes off,’ before disappearing to her room.
Hoping to escape I headed for the kitchen, only to find Daniel on my heels.
‘You know, Olivia, perhaps you should try one of Barney’s speed-dates.’ The gentleness in his voice made me wish things were different. ‘Get a man of your own.’
A furious blush raced along my cheekbones, I could feel it.
‘No good waiting around, hoping things will change.’
My stomach lurched, that horrible dip-in-the-road-feeling. How embarrassing. I kept my head down. If I looked at him, I might burst into tears. God, how mortifying. He knew how I felt about him. And so typical of him, giving me a gentle warning off.
Suddenly his arm was around me and he was giving me an awkward hug.
‘Olivia, I care about you.’ His fingers brushed the top of my arm and I started at the soft tingle they left. ‘I don’t want to see you hurt.’
I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat, breathing in the faint tang of citrus. God, he was lovely even when he was telling me he wasn’t interested. Don’t cry. Think happy thoughts. Smile. Pretend.
I managed a faint smile but tears were threatening to take over. ‘Think I’ll forget the tea,’ I said in a strained voice, and fled to my bedroom.
* * *
Daniel frowned as he followed Emily back into her room. There were undercurrents present this evening that he couldn’t keep up with.
