The plain truth was it made her feel easily dispensable from his life.
And the bitter truth was…he wasn’t from hers.
CHAPTER NINE
FOR Daisy there was no escaping from the fact that if Ethan Cartwright could deliver his side of the deal, it would make a very positive difference to her entire family. Taking it meant she would have to act quickly on the offer for it to appear all above board. The most natural reaction from her was to look pleased, excited about the wonderful opportunity for her father to benefit from Ethan’s financial expertise.
She worked hard at giving precisely that impression when she arrived home, bubbling over with the news that her boss would make time on Monday morning to advise her father on where he might better place his superannuation funds. The look of hope that sprang into her father’s eyes relieved the tight band squeezing her heart. It was definitely worth being Ethan’s mistress to lift the depression that had sapped the happiness from her parents’ lives.
There was no pretence about their pleasure and excitement.
Daisy steeled herself to the sticking point and made the call.
The sound of Ethan’s deep, rich voice giving his name in response sent a shiver down her spine. The memory of how it had been in bed together was suddenly very sharp. She did want it again—wanted him. Too much. Which was where the hurt would come in. But she’d weather it somehow.
She took a deep breath and poured warmth into her voice. ‘Ethan, it’s Daisy. I want to thank you again for your offer, and Dad wants to thank you, too. I’m passing you over to him.’
Her father took the receiver and expressed his gratitude, as well as confirming he would keep the eleven o’clock meeting on Monday morning. Then apparently Ethan requested to speak to her again.
‘Yes?’ she asked somewhat breathlessly, her pulse quickening at the thought of him bringing up the relationship he expected to have with her.
‘Work on the games room—the shelves and bar—begins on Monday,’ he stated matter-of-factly. ‘I’ll be leaving early for work to make time for your father. I’ll need you here to let the tradesmen in. And supervise as usual. Can I count on you?’
‘Yes. No problem,’ she assured him. ‘I’ll keep checking what they’re doing against the plans Charlie Hollier drew up.’
‘Fine! I’d appreciate it if you also keep leaving me your little notes at the end of each day. Progress and problems.’
‘I will,’ she promised.
‘I’m glad you’ll still be around, Daisy. I would have missed you if you weren’t.’
‘Well, I’m glad I rate that much,’ she said dryly. ‘Have a good weekend, Ethan. I guess I’ll see you when I see you.’
She put the telephone down before he could say anything more personal, making it difficult to transmit to her parents that nothing out of the ordinary was going on. She knew they wouldn’t accept the deal if they knew about it. Now that it was already in train, she had to make it work right so they would never suspect what Ethan was extracting from her as his reward.
Monday was not an easy day for Daisy at Hunters Hill. While she assiduously supervised the work being done, her mind kept fretting over what was going on between Ethan and her father at their meeting. It wasn’t certain that anything would be agreed upon. Her father had always been a cautious man with money—budget-ing, saving. He might find Ethan’s advice too much of a gamble to take. In which case, she wouldn’t have to be Ethan’s mistress and there’d still be the financial problem at home.#p#分页标题#e#
Weirdly enough, she found herself willing the deal to go through.
And she honestly didn’t know if this was because she wanted her parents to feel secure for the rest of their lives, or because she actually did want an affair with Ethan, regardless of its being a primrose path that would inevitably dwindle out. He was, without a doubt, the sexiest man she had ever met. If she could just let herself enjoy having him for the rest of this year or until he lost interest in her…surely she could manage that if she kept her head on straight about it ending sooner or later.
Her nerves were totally strung out by the time she arrived home and her mental ambivalence was finally settled by her father’s announcement that he had placed his financial affairs in Ethan’s hands and was convinced there would soon be an upturn in their fortunes. He wouldn’t go into detail about the decisions made. Ethan had insisted on absolute confidentiality regarding the advice given. However, her father’s happy demeanour clearly demonstrated he believed in it and trusted it.