LITMIR.BIZ

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seeing you in a few days?”

      “I told you I was doing a little job for Quinn Everard.” Dani leaned forward and sniffed appreciatively at the urn in the middle of the table. “Mmm. Pumpkin soup.”

      “Yes, I couldn’t believe the cheek of the man, after all he’s put you through.”

      The whole family had witnessed the deterioration of Dani’s professional reputation at Quinn’s hands. Dani tried to ignore the little pang of hurt at her mother’s words. “Anyway, he has a funeral to attend today so I came down with him. I need some shoes for the wedding.”

      “What colour is the dress?” Sonya asked quickly. “No, don’t tell me, I’ll try to keep an open mind.”

      Marcie appeared with a soup bowl and a platter of warm Turkish bread and set them down. Her mother looked pointedly at the urn. “Eat up, I have an appointment. Ryan’s picking me up any minute.”

      Dani ladled some soup into her bowl. “I thought you’d want to supervise,” she said dryly, “but we can do dinner later and maybe I’ll treat you to the movies or something.”

      Sonya looked uncomfortable. “I can’t, dear. I have an engagement. The theatre, actually.”

      “Oh?” That was unusual. Sonya hardly ever went out in the evenings. She swallowed her soup, watching her mother. New clothes, new hairdo, appointments and engagements … “Who with?”

      “Garth, actually.”

      “How is old Garth?” Dani was relieved. Garth Buick was the Blackstone company secretary and had been ever since Dani could remember. He was probably Howard’s closest friend, a nice man, she recalled. A widower for a few years.

      “He’s not old,” her mother said with an edge to her voice. “He’s very young and fit.”

      Dani’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth and the two women locked gazes for a long moment.

      Sonya reddened and looked away first. “Close your mouth, Danielle. It’s just friendship. He’s been teaching me to sail.”

      “Right,” Dani said weakly. “That’s great, really.”

      And it was, she told herself as she slathered butter onto the warm flatbread. Her mother had given her life over to raising her daughter and Howard’s kids and then running his household and being his hostess. Whatever Dani’s father had done to her, she’d completely withdrawn from relationships outside of the family.

      Either that or she’d been walloped with a massive dose of unrequited love. Dani wondered what it would be like to love someone so completely that you never wanted to risk it again.

      Was Quinn still in love with his wife? It must be six or seven years since Laura died. Did he still miss her, measure every other woman he met against her? Was Dani about to discover what her mother had all those years ago, that you couldn’t compete with a dead woman?

      Sonya’s smile was resigned. “I can just see your mind ticking over, my girl. Poor old Mum, the dried-up old prune, wasting away for the love of Howard.”

      Dani shook her head admiringly. How did the woman do it?

      “But no,” her mother continued. “He was so devastated when Ursula died. I knew then that he would never risk giving his heart completely again. And I didn’t intend to be one in a long line of his discarded women.”

      Clever woman, because that was exactly the way things had turned out. Howard was notorious for his womanising and had never committed to any of them.

      Her mother sighed. “I may as well get it over with. My appointment this afternoon is with a real estate agent. I’m looking at a house over in Double Bay.”

      “But …” Dani was stunned. Her mother leave Miramare? “You have a permanent right to reside in this house.” Howard’s will stated that.

      They both cast their eyes around the room and out to the vista beyond. The first-floor suite Dani had grown up in was much more informal than the rest of the house but still boasted spectacular views of Sydney Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. Sonya combined a love of antiques with a warm, comfortable style of her own. Miramare was a show home, she liked to say, but her suite of rooms was just a home.

      Dani could not imagine her mother anywhere else.

      “I rattle around here by myself now,” Sonya said broodingly. “And what if James Blackstone comes forward? Howard was convinced he was alive or he wouldn’t have left the mansion to him in the will.”

      “This is your home. You are legally entitled. James, if he exists, will just have to accept that.” She pushed her plate away, suddenly not hungry. “Besides, what about Marcie?”

      “There will always be a place for Marcie. She knows that.”

      “You’ve talked about it?” Dani frowned, a little indignant that her mother hadn’t shared this with her first.

      “I’m just looking, dear,” her mother said airily. “When Garth suggested this place was up for sale, I decided to have a peek, that’s all.”

      “Garth suggested … Wait a minute, doesn’t Garth live in Double Bay?” Dani didn’t know whether to be affronted or delighted, but in the end, delight won out. She couldn’t help grinning as her mother fidgeted. It was about time Sonya thought of herself after a lifetime of looking after everyone else.

      Sonya cleared her throat. “I’m not moving in with Garth, okay? I’m just looking at a smaller house that happens to be a few blocks from his.”

      Marcie passed by the table. “I’ve made up your bed, lovey.”

      “Oh, I’m not staying.”

      It was her turn to fidget as two sets of eyes swivelled toward her. “I’m twenty-seven, for crying out loud!”

      Marcie scuttled out, grinning.

      “Is he as nice-looking as his photo?” Sonya asked.

      Dani shrugged. They’d be here all day if she was to outline the myriad ways Quinn Everard appealed to her.

      “Do you like him, Danielle?” her mother insisted.

      “Would I spend the night with him otherwise?”

      Her mother’s piercing gaze made her feel about ten years old, as usual. She reconsidered her defensive attitude. It had rarely worked in the past. “I suppose. But he’s out of my league.”

      Sonya raised her aristocratic nose. “Must be hard to walk with that huge chip on your shoulder.”

      “You haven’t met him. He’s smooth.” And sometimes rough … “He owns himself, very self-assured. Supremely comfortable with himself, his place, his ability. And he manages to convey all this without making the minions around him feel inferior.” She rolled her eyes ruefully. “Even though it’s painfully obvious that’s exactly what they are.”

      Her mother rested her chin on her hand, a faraway look in her eyes. “You do like him,” she said softly, and a silence descended as Dani tried and failed to think of a suitable rejoinder.

      “Why don’t you both come to dinner and the theatre with Garth and me tonight?” her mother asked.

      Dani shook her head, somewhat relieved. “He won’t be back until late.”

      “Oh.” Sonya looked disappointed. “You, then.”

      “I’m not playing gooseberry.” She was pleased her mother was stepping out but one tiny part of her wanted to think about this for a while. Dani had few enough absolutes in her life already. To think that she may never visit her mother at Miramare again was a sobering thought. “I have heaps to do on this flying visit, honestly,” she lied, and decided to change the subject. “You’ll never guess who came to visit last week. Matt Hammond.”

      Sonya’s

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