Free The Firebrand Who Unlocked His Heart by Anne Fraser Page B

the table was a portable TV with a computer console attached.
    ‘I bought him a new, bigger TV for his last birthday,’ Daniel said. ‘I don’t see it.’
    Colleen thought that a large flat-screen television would be totally out of place in this bedroom, but again decided to keep her counsel. The walls in Harry’s room were decorated with posters, some from movies and others of cricketers and rugby players.
    ‘Ah. Good lad. I see he supports Wasps. Next to the London Irish they’re the best,’ she said.
    Daniel wandered across to the bookshelves and was looking through the books. He seemed bemused. ‘I didn’t know he read this! I thought he was still into Harry Potter. Isn’t every kid under fifteen into Harry Potter?’
    ‘Children move on in their tastes quite quickly,’ Colleen said, keeping her voice neutral although she was dismayed. Daniel had a lot to learn about his son.
    Next to Harry’s bed was a bedside table. On it was a photograph of him and his mother, similar to the one Daniel had shown her. The pair had their arms wrapped around each other and were smiling into the camera. There were other photos pinned to a notice board onthe wall. Photos of Harry with friends, a team photo of him with the school cricket team as well as one of him in swimming trunks holding up a cup. There was also, touchingly, an old photograph of Daniel when he must have been five or six. He’d clearly had not long finished devouring an ice cream as there were traces of the treat still clinging to his mouth and a couple of tell-tale drips on his T-shirt. An austere-looking man was holding him in his arms rigidly, as if unused to holding a child, but the little boy was looking up at the man with such devotion it made Colleen’s heart ache for him.
    Daniel came to stand next to her and unpinned the photo from the board. ‘I remember this,’ he said, his voice ragged. ‘It was taken one summer when my father came to stay. He and I had spent the day looking for fossils down on Chesil Beach. It was the only day I can remember the two of us on our own just having fun. My father worked day and night at his business. He was a bit of a workaholic.’ He smiled wryly. ‘I guess we had that in common.’
    If Daniel’s father was as distant as he looked and sounded, no wonder Daniel struggled with his own child. Slowly the pieces were beginning to fall into place.
    Daniel placed the photo back on the table. ‘I had no idea Harry had this. There should be one of Harry and me.’
    ‘You’ll have other, good days together,’ Colleen said. ‘Just give it time.’
    Daniel smiled tightly ‘You may have gathered by now that patience isn’t one of my strengths.’
    There was little Colleen could say to that.
    ‘Okay, let’s pack up everything in this room.Photographs, posters, books, his game console, even his duvet and cover.’
    She started removing the posters from the wall. She had to stand on a chair to reach one that was higher up. As she stretched, the chair wobbled, but before she could fall strong arms grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the chair. Daniel set her down on her feet and she stumbled against him. She felt the muscles of his chest against her back and his arms tightened around her. Her skin sizzled and she found herself leaning into the warmth of his body. She closed her eyes. It felt so good, so right. Unlike anything she’d ever felt with Ciaran. Horrified at the direction her thoughts were going, she stepped away.
    ‘Oops,’ she said.
    She turned around to find Daniel looking at her with the strangest expression on his face. The air was suddenly filled with an almost unbearable tension. Her heart was pounding so hard she could almost hear it. Quickly she stepped away and pretended to survey the room.
    ‘Now, what next?’ she said to cover her confusion.
    Harry’s bed was covered in a duvet with figures from a recent movie. Colleen decided to take that, too. As she lifted the pillow to