Chapter Ten

When Daniel had done a reccy of the school last week he’d discovered to his delight that the school hall was located to one side and had a double door fire exit into the playground. It was an exit just wide enough to squeeze a car through.

At least he hoped it was.

William and Simon, who’d been given special permission to leave their class to say hello to him, jumped up and down, clapping their hands as Daniel carefully manoeuvred his beloved Ferrari through the doors, exhaling in relief as he made it.

‘Better than the cardboard taxi?’ he asked as he climbed out. Of course as a two-seater convertible it wasn’t exactly taxi material. Poor Mary and Joseph were going to have to sit on the boot.

‘A squillion times better,’ Simon squealed. ‘This play is going to rock.’

Daniel cast his eye over towards William, who was staring at the car, touching it with his hand. ‘How about you, William? Is this taxi more to your liking?’

‘Yes, Sir,’ he whispered. Then he raised his head and gave him the most heart-stopping grin. ‘Awesome.’

‘Yes, Daniel,’ he chastised gently. ‘Or, if you prefer yes, Tennis Legend. Or even Oh Great One.’

William giggled before turning his attention back to the Ferrari. Daniel turned his to the woman next to him, headmistress Cindy Stevens. She’d come to watch him drive the car in, no doubt terrified to death he’d crash it into the stage. ‘Thanks for agreeing to this.’

She put a hand to her mouth, laughing. ‘Oh no, it’s us who should be thanking you. The children will be so excited when they see it. The parents, too, especially the dads. It’s very kind of you.’

She’s so young, Daniel thought. Wasn’t it a sign of growing old when head teachers looked younger than you did?

‘Can we practice getting in and out,’ Simon asked, opening the Ferrari door.

Daniel chuckled. ‘You know exactly how to get into it, you’ve done it often enough. And I’m sure you’ll have a dress rehearsal later today.’

‘We certainly will,’ Cindy Stevens confirmed. ‘Mary and Joseph will need to practice sitting on the back so they don’t slip off when we do it for real tomorrow.’ She turned to him and … was she fluttering her eyes? Or was it his imagination? ‘You’re sure you don’t mind them clambering over your gorgeous car?’

‘Simon assures me he’ll show Mary how to clamber carefully.’ And no, he wasn’t going to think about that part. Instead he was going to focus on how thrilled his nephew had been when he’d told him what he was planning. And the joy on William’s face as he’d watched the Ferrari driving in.

Cindy Stevens gave him another of her warm, and yes, definitely flirtatious smiles. ‘I can assure you we’ll take good care of it.’

‘It’s a girl car,’ William said quietly. ‘Isn’t it, Daniel?’

Cindy laughed. ‘Oh, then we’ll take good care of her, won’t we boys? Now, I think it’s time you headed back to your classrooms.’

They were almost out of the hall when William suddenly stopped and turned round. ‘Thank you, Daniel.’

And suddenly Daniel didn’t care if Mary dented the bonnet as she climbed onto it, or if little Toby smeared his greasy fingers all over the shiny paintwork. It would be worth it for that moment.

The following day Melissa couldn’t believe the excited boy she was taking back to school for his nativity was the same boy who’d been so dismissive of it earlier in the week.

‘I thought you said the play was going to be rubbish,’ she remarked as she parked up.

‘It was.’ William gave her the secretive smile that seemed to be his trademark recently.

‘So why are you so happy about being in it now?’

‘You’ll see.’

She supposed she’d have to content herself with that. And the fact that her shy son couldn’t wait to play his part in the nativity he’d scorned a few weeks ago.

She spotted Daniel sitting on one of the chairs in the school reception area, his head bent over his phone, and her heart gave its customary flutter.

‘What are you doing here so early?’ she asked as they walked towards him. ‘The play doesn’t start for half an hour.’

He unfurled his long legs and stood up. ‘Well, hello.’

In her determination to play it cool, she’d forgotten that part. Stupid. ‘Sorry, hello.’ Why was it suddenly so hard to get her words out? ‘I was just surprised to see you here so soon.’

‘Ah. Cindy …’ he grinned down at William. ‘That’s Ms Stevens to you … well, she wanted to talk to me about some stuff.’

‘Stuff?’

His eyes didn’t quite meet hers. ‘Yeah. I think I’ve been roped in to do some tennis lessons at the school next term.’

She found she wanted to giggle. ‘Oh dear. But I’m sure the kids will be grateful.’

‘Umm. It’s not the kids I’m worried about.’

Before she had a chance to quiz him on his rather obscure reply, William tugged Daniel’s arm. ‘She doesn’t know,’ he whispered, though it was loud enough for Melissa to overhear.

Daniel glanced over at her, his eyes amused. ‘Okay. I won’t ruin the surprise.’

Her heart stuttered as she looked from Daniel, to her son. Oh dear. She’d been so careful about not letting her own feelings for Daniel develop too deeply, she’d been oblivious to William’s. His eyes shone, his cheeks were flushed and he bore all the signs of hero worship. How had he moved from wariness to adulation so quickly? ‘What surprise?’ she managed finally.

William gave her another sneaky smile. ‘Not telling.’ Then he dashed off to his classroom before she had a chance to even wish him luck.

‘He seems so much happier about this play now.’ She observed, giving Daniel a long, meaningful look.

‘Yes, he does.’

His eyes danced back at her and once again Melissa’s heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. This is too easy, she thought in a panic. Sharing secrets with her son. Coming to watch the nativity together. It’s what families did, but Daniel was only a friend.

‘Melissa?’ He reached to touch her cheek. ‘What’s wrong? You’ve gone quiet on me.’

‘Sorry.’ She swallowed, forcing the tendrils of fear to the back of her mind. ‘I’m just nervous. It’s the first time William’s had any lines to say in a play.’

Daniel cupped her face in his large, warm hand. ‘He’ll ace it.’

Her heart did a slow somersault and her eyes didn’t seem to want to leave his. Almost imperceptibly his fingers tightened and he dropped his gaze to her mouth.

‘There you are.’

At the sound of Alice’s voice, Melissa jumped and Daniel dropped his hand to his side, but not before he’d given her a rueful smile.

‘We were waiting for you.’ Melissa tried to find her voice. ‘I thought it would be more fun to sit together.’

‘I doubt it’ll be fun wherever we sit,’ Richard grumbled behind Alice. ‘An hour and a half of watching a bunch of seven-year-olds mumble or forget their lines. It’s hardly entertainment.’

Alice gave her husband a sharp dig. ‘Keep your voice down,’ she hissed. ‘Some parents are actually looking forward to this.’

They trooped into the hall and filed into a row near the back. The chairs were small and Melissa was acutely conscious of Daniel’s large frame sitting next to her. As his muscular thigh pressed firmly against hers, it sent a ripple of heat through her.

‘How wonderful to see such a keen audience.’ The head teacher’s voice floated over to them and Melissa glanced up to find Ms Stevens smiling down … at Daniel. ‘But as our guest of honour, we’ve saved Mr McCormack a seat at the front.’

A flush crept over Daniel’s cheek and Melissa had to stifle a giggle. She’d never seen him look anything other than fully in control. ‘Umm, thank you, but I’m here with my sister.’

Ms Stevens wasn’t having that. ‘Oh, I’m sure she won’t mind you watching from the front.’

Sat on the other side of her, Melissa could feel Alice shaking with suppressed laughter. ‘Not at all,’ Alice replied agreeably. ‘Guests of honour should definitely sit in the front row.’

Daniel shot his sister a murderous look, muttering, ‘you’re dead meat,’ under his breath before following Ms Stevens down to the front.

‘Well, look at that,’ Alice murmured. ‘It looks like our Cindy Stevens has a crush on my brother.’

‘Yes.’ Melissa didn’t find the situation quite so funny when she saw Ms Stevens patting Daniel’s arm and smiling into his eyes. ‘Why is he the guest of honour?’

Alice shrugged, avoiding her eyes. ‘He didn’t come to last year’s play. Perhaps she’s just realised who he is.’

Melissa wasn’t sure she believed her friend, but she kept quiet and tried not to watch as Daniel bent his head to listen to something else Ms Stevens was telling him. By the time the lights dimmed for the start of the play she found she was gritting her teeth. Didn’t the Head realise she was fawning over Daniel? And it was making her look ridiculous?

Daniel was fed up. Sure, he had a great view of the stage, but where he’d been looking forward to an hour of having Melissa’s body tucked against his, now he was left sitting next to the head teacher. He hadn’t wanted to do that when he’d been at school and, sweet as Cindy Stevens was, he didn’t want to do it now.

But then Simon walked onto the stage, and Daniel forgot all about where he was sitting. Wow, his nephew was good, he thought with a touch of smugness and a heap of pride. Of course he’d always been confident, so to hear him deliver his lines in a strong, clear voice shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise, but still. His chest puffed a little.

As Mary and Joseph discussed their need to go to Bethlehem, Daniel sat straighter in his chair. He didn’t want to miss this. Four children tugged at a large sheet and suddenly a beam of light – pretty cool for a primary school production – fell on his Ferrari.

The crowd gasped, then clapped, but Daniel didn’t notice. His eyes were glued to William as he opened the car door and stepped onto the stage to join Simon (Joseph) and Mary.

‘I’ve got a pick up for Mary and Joseph. No surname.’ His voice wobbled a little but the words were clear and Daniel felt his chest swell even further. When William caught his eye and gave him a shy smile, he feared it might burst.

‘That’s us,’ Simon replied. ‘Can you take us to Bethlehem?’

William slowly scratched his chin. ‘No problem. My taxi can get you there super fast.’ The audience chuckled and William and Simon shared a grin. ‘But you’ll be lucky to get a room … mate.’ Daniel held is breath as William frowned, then said in a rush. ‘It’s packed because of the census.’

His hands itched to clap, but he settled for watching the grin on William’s face as he showed his passengers onto the car, and then leapt into the drivers seat.

The rest of the play plodded along. Words were occasionally forgotten, some costumes unravelled and the big star the Three Kings were following fell half-way through the scene, but Daniel guessed that was part of the pleasure of a school nativity. And though he was admittedly a touch biased, he reckoned Simon, William and his car stole the show.

As the audience finally filed out Cindy took the opportunity to bend his ear back some more and it was a while before he could extract himself from her very friendly clutches. A few years back he’d have enjoyed her attention. Might even have considered asking for her number. Now all he wanted was to escape and find Melissa. A woman who was beautiful yet didn’t know it. Whose cool exterior hid a centre so soft it was afraid of getting hurt again.

His progress out of the hall was hindered by a few parents wanting his autograph. Knowing it was the fans who’d helped make his career so memorable, he clamped down on his impatience and signed anything thrust under his nose. When he finally made it out of the hall and into the car park he found Alice and Melissa waiting for him.

‘Why did those people want you to sign things?’ asked the boy who, a few weeks ago, had hardly dared look to at him, never mind voice such a personal question.

‘Damned if I know, William. Perhaps they thought I was somebody famous.’

‘Are you?’

He laughed. ‘Not as famous as you and Simon. At least not after tonight’s performance. You rocked the place.’

‘The car rocked,’ Simon shouted. ‘Did you see how surprised everyone was?’

‘Yes, yes.’ Alice clutched her son’s arm. ‘It was great, you were all great. But it’s late and your dad’s already in the car, waiting.’

‘Goodnight Joseph,’ Daniel bent to give his nephew a high five, whispering, ‘I’d ditch Mary if I were you. She seemed a bit serious.’

‘I hardly think you’re the one to give my son relationship advice,’ Alice mocked, looking pointedly at Melissa. ‘Bye everyone.’

‘I think it’s time for us to go home, too,’ Melissa said, hugging her coat around her.

‘I’ll walk you to your car.’

‘Where’s yours?’ she asked as they set off towards her Golf. Then the penny dropped. ‘Oh, it’s in the hall, isn’t it?’

‘Yep. They asked me to wait until everyone had gone before driving it away. Obviously worried I’ll run over a small child.’

She smiled. ‘It was a lovely thing you did. Everyone got a kick out of it.’ She smoothed a hand over William’s hair. ‘Especially this one.’

‘It wasn’t entirely altruistic. I got a kick out of it too.’

‘Yes.’ Her eyes darted over his shoulder. ‘It seems Ms Stevens is one of your biggest fans now.’

‘Jealous?’ He asked softly, for her ears only.

‘Hardly.’

But her reddening cheeks gave her away. Maybe he was getting to her, after all. ‘You know, you needn’t be jealous,’ he whispered as they reached her car. ‘I only have eyes for you.’

She slid him a glance and he grinned.

She shook her head, but smiled back.

A weary looking William climbed into the back seat. ‘I think you’ve got one tired little boy on your hands,’ he remarked, running a hand over William’s rumpled looking hair.

‘I think you’re right.’ Melissa helped him do up his seat belt. ‘It looks like driving taxis is more tiring than I thought.’

Daniel said goodbye to William and closed the car door. ‘Probably not the best time for me to push for an invite back to yours then.’

‘No.’ She hesitated, then surprised the heck out of him with her next words. ‘You could come round tomorrow instead, if you like. I make a reasonable chilli.’

His heart bounced beneath his ribs and he opened his mouth to accept, but then cursed. ‘Damn. I finally get invited round for a meal and I can’t make it.’

‘It’s okay.’ She opened the driver’s door, eyes downcast. ‘Perhaps another time.’

Clasping hold of her shoulders, he turned her towards him. ‘If I could be there tomorrow, I would. Believe me.’ After checking William wasn’t watching – his head was leant back against the seat, his eyes closed – Daniel lightly touched his lips against hers. It was the softest of touches, yet still it had his heart skittering. Before his baser instinct took over and he did what he really wanted to do – pin her against the car and take his fill – he stuffed his hands into his pockets. ‘I’ve got to fly to America tomorrow. I’m committed to playing in a big charity tennis tournament. I don’t usually take part in them abroad, too much time away from the academy, but the organiser is a friend, and I’m a sucker when a pal gets down and begs. I don’t think they’ll shift the date of the tournament, even for me.’

Her lips curved and his heart squeezed. ‘Okay.’

‘How about we make it the following Sunday? I fly in that morning so I might not be at my dazzling best, but after a week of hotel food, a home-cooked meal would go down a treat.’

She nodded, but Daniel had the feeling she was starting to regret her original offer. In a bid to remind her why she’d want to see him, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her against him. She was such a perfect fit – tall and willowy but soft and warm – he had to suppress a groan. ‘Why are you looking so worried? You’ve only arranged to have me over for lunch.’ Tilting his head back slightly he found her mouth again, nibbling at her lips before he slid his tongue between them and deepened the kiss.

She swayed with him, her arms moving to clasp his neck and pull him further towards her. Reluctantly, while he still had some willpower left, he pulled away. ‘Of course, you could decide to use me for sex.’

Laughter shot out of her. ‘You’re incorrigible. How can you make a woman want you, and then laugh with you, in the space of a few seconds?’

‘That’s only the beginning of my talents.’ The sparkle in her eyes gave him all the encouragement he needed. With a quick check to confirm William was out for the count, Daniel dived back for another kiss. This time the need rose more forcefully and he pushed her back against the car, wedging her body against his.

‘Goodbye, Melissa.’

One of the parents shouted out to them as they walked past. While Melissa gasped and uttered a croaky acknowledgement, Daniel regretfully took a step back. ‘As a tennis player my timing was always impeccable. As a man, it’s starting to suck.’

She seemed to be finding it as hard as him to regain her breath. ‘Oh dear. Caught kissing in the school car park. My credibility is shot.’

‘But look who you were kissing,’ he reminded her, dragging her towards him for one last kiss. ‘I’ll see you in a week. Be good.’

‘You, too. Don’t go flirting with any more head teachers.’

He acknowledged her words with a wave of his hand. There was no fear of him doing that. He had a feeling he’d finally met his match.