THE VALQUEZ SEDUCTION(73)

                Belinda downed another mouthful of raspberry cheesecake. ‘What exactly did your father say to him?’

                ‘Does it matter?’ Daisy sat back and folded her arms crossly. ‘He expected me to drop everything and go with him. What planet is he from? I have a career. I have commitments. I have responsibilities I take very seriously. What does he do? He flies around the globe to sit on a horse and whack a ball with a mallet.’

                Belinda scooped up a dollop of cream. ‘He raised a lot of money for homeless kids in Argentina.’

                ‘So?’

                ‘Come on, Daze. You’ve got to admit that’s pretty decent of him.’

                Daisy let out a long breath. ‘I wish he’d asked me first, you know? I mean, what sort of guy just assumes you’ve got nothing better to do than to wait for him to call?’

                Belinda licked some raspberry coulis off the end of her fork. ‘A guy in love doesn’t always think. They act first.’

                Daisy frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

                ‘Think about it. On the spur of the moment he asked you to stay with him a little longer but you declined. Then he flew to London after organising a surprise weekend getaway for you, which you also declined. Which, by the way, must have cost him a bomb. My guess is he’s not going to ask again.’

                ‘He didn’t ask.’ Daisy scowled. ‘He told me.’

                Belinda dug into the cheesecake again. ‘Maybe you should ask him this time.’

                ‘Ask him what?’

                Belinda gave her a level look. ‘If he’s not in love with you, then why hasn’t he been seen with anyone since?’

                * * *

                Luiz went through his warm-up routine in the changing room but his heart wasn’t in it. His head wasn’t in the right space. He couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t think of anything but of how angry Daisy had been. How she had looked at him with such icy coldness. How she had frozen him out when all he had wanted was to whisk her away to tell her how he felt. He’d pinned so much on that trip. He had organised it down to the finest detail. Roses, champagne, gourmet food—everything a girl with her heart set on romance would want. How had he got it so wrong about her? Had he been so blindsided by his feelings he hadn’t seen what was right under his nose?

                She hadn’t wanted him. Not the real him. She’d wanted a fling, an experience to look back on, just like all the other women who trailed after him.

                It infuriated him to think that all those chatty little exchanges to get him to reveal his innermost secrets had been a ruse. She’d probably been laughing at him the whole time. She’d had no intention of continuing their affair. Not with her posh school board turning their noses up at her choice of partner. She probably had some stuck-up merchant banker by now. Someone her father approved of.

                His gut twisted at the thought of her in another man’s arms. It sickened him to think of another man kissing her. Touching her. Marrying her. Having babies with her.

                He spun away and raked his head with his fingers. He had to stop thinking about her. It was over. He had to accept it. He thumped his fist on the lockers as if it would drum it into his skull. He. Had. To. Accept. It.

                The crowds were milling into the stands. Alejandro and Teddy were being entertained in the sponsors’ corporate marquee while he prepared for the game. The game he had spent years of his life training for; the game he was expected to win. The trophy was as good as his if he could just force himself to get out there and do what needed to be done.