Chapter 1 - The Return of Daniel HarringtonThe man who had almost hit Ivy with his SUV stood on the pavement for a long moment, watching her thin coat disappear around the corner of the brick wall.
He didn't look like a man accustomed to having his money rejected. He looked amused. And intrigued in the specific way a man who spent his life surrounded by sycophants behaves when someone finally tells him the truth.
He tossed the bills back into his wallet, slid behind the wheel of his black SUV, and drove up the hill toward the Harrington estate.
Thirty minutes later, the grand front doors swung open.
Stella Harrington rushed into the foyer, her face flushed with maternal excitement. Diane trailed behind her, holding a glass of iced tea and looking bored.
“Daniel! You’re finally here!” Stella gasped, throwing her arms around her son’s neck.
Daniel Harrington kissed his mother’s cheek, but his dark eyes were already scanning the grand hall.
“Flight was delayed in London,” Daniel said, setting his travel bag down by the oak bench. “It’s good to be back, Mom. Diane.”
“Welcome home, brother,” Diane sighed, checking her manicure. “You missed all the excitement. Mom hired a new maid. She breaks dishes, drops groceries, and has a positively tragic attitude.”
Daniel’s expression shifted subtly. He remembered the fierce, exhausted young woman with the spilled oranges and the sharp tongue at the crosswalk.
“Is that so?” Daniel asked smoothly. “Where is she now?”
“Probably in the basement doing laundry where she belongs,” Stella said dismissively, looping her arm through his. “Come into the study, darling. We have so much to discuss. The board meeting for the merger is next month, and—”
“Give me five minutes, Mom,” Daniel interrupted gently, pulling away. “I need to wash up from the trip.”
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Instead of heading upstairs to his suite, Daniel walked straight down the back service corridor toward the kitchen.
He didn’t find Ivy in the kitchen. But he did find her half an hour later, carrying a heavy stack of dry linens through the courtyard just as the sun dipped below the tree line, leaving behind a bitter, freezing November chill.
