Page 31 of Planned Seduction
Chapter Seven
Amy was happy. Nope, more than that, she was absolutely, positively, 100 percent thrilled. It had been a month since Daniel had been to her flat, four weeks since he’d blown her away with his wicked, wicked mouth. In all that time, he hadn’t touched her. He hadn’t hugged her or even tried to shake her hand. He hadn’t kissed her. Not once. Not even a little kiss. Not even a peck on the cheek.
Daniel always kissed her on the cheek.
Not anymore. Now he was respecting her wishes. Keeping their friendship platonic.
She was delighted. Except maybe for the kiss-on-the-cheek thing.
Okay, so she wasn’t crazy about the fact that when they walked together, he no longer draped a casual arm around her shoulders. And maybe she felt a bit uncomfortable looping her arm through his, which over the years had kind of become habit for her.
Then there was the incident last Saturday, when he was eating his lemon meringue pie. What was that about, anyway? Their routine was standard. He’d cut off a piece with his fork, eat half of it then feed her the rest and so on, until the plate was clean.
Only last week, he ate the whole thing. The whole slice. He didn’t even push the plate over so she could help herself. She loved lemon meringue pie.
Otherwise, she was over the moon about the way their friendship was getting back to normal. Really delighted.
True, it had been a little awkward at first. Okay, it had been downright excruciating. Initially, she hadn’t known how to act around him. She couldn’t even talk without stuttering. She knew her cheeks had rivaled the color of the deep-pink tulips that were starting to blossom outside.
But things were starting to settle. Now both of them were fine. Happy as pie in their friendship. Everything was hunky-dory. Except maybe for the kiss-on-the-cheek thing.
Amy started as the phone rang, jarring through her thoughts.
“Hello?”
“Amy?” The voice was feminine and anxious.
“Yeah?”
“Hey. It’s Lexi.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d received a call from Lexi. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Um…well, no, not quite.”
Amy went cold. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s Daniel. He’s had an accident.”
Spots dotted her vision, and she struggled to breathe. “Oh God. Please no.”
“No, no. Don’t panic. It’s not serious. At least, I don’t think it’s serious. Daniel does, but then, you know Daniel. He thinks stubbing his toe is serious. It wasn’t really an accident. Well, I guess that would depend on how you define accident—”
“Lexi! What happened? Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s fine. I think. He was kind of attacked.”
The hairs on Amy’s neck stood on end.
Visions of violent, masked men assaulting Daniel, leaving him half-dead on the pavement fighting for his life, floated before her eyes. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Daniel went wherever he thought he could find a good picture, regardless of the risk he exposed himself to.
She forced air into her constricted lungs and focused on Lexi’s words as opposed to her own burgeoning fear. “What do you mean, kind of attacked?”
“Well, he was mistaken for an intruder and hit with a cricket bat.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Who hit him?”
“See, here’s the stupid part. Um…I did.”
