You know that I am going to, one way or another. ‘
‘Yes. I know. It is your hotel. It’s just that...’ She sucked in a breath then exhaled on one long string of words. ‘I am seriously nervous because this is the biggest thing that I have ever done on my own and I know that it’s mad but my whole future depends on this being a big success.’
Then she stopped, but Sean kept looking at her with that smile on his face, as though he was waiting for her to carry on.
Then without waiting another second he stepped forward, pushed open the doors to the conference suite with both hands and stood to one side.
Then he nodded towards the space behind him, reached out and grabbed her hand. ‘Come on.’ He smiled. ‘Show me what you have done. Show me what your imagination has created. Share it with me. Please.’
For the next ten minutes Sean walked slowly around the room as Dee explained each of the display panels in turn, starting with the history of tea production, then slowly walking from stand to stand.
She didn’t need to. But he liked hearing her voice, so he let her carry on.
The whole room was decorated in co-ordinating shades of green with stencils of green tea leaves against cream, pale gold and emerald green. There were plenty of stands for the exhibitors, power points, fresh water dispensers. And a portable professional kitchen. All ready for the morning. He couldn’t have been prouder.
‘So this is where the magic is going to happen. I love it. Professional, elegant and attractive. It’s a hit!’
‘Do you really think so?’ Dee screwed up her mouth.
‘It looks fresh and inviting. And the colour scheme is great.’
His hands moved in gentle circles on her shoulders, up and down her arms, and slowly, slowly, the stiffness in Dee’s neck relaxed and she felt her shoulders drop down from around her ears.
‘You must think that I am a total idiot,’ she chuckled. ‘All of this work for a one-day festival of tea. The world will not end if nobody turns up to drink the tea and buy the china. And on Sunday I can go back to the tea rooms and carry on as normal. I know that; I’ve known that from the start. But being with you and working in the hotel here has given me so many ideas for new projects, and new ways I can sell my blended tea, I can hardly sleep at night. It is so exciting. So, whatever happens tomorrow, thank you, Sean. Thank you for helping me.’
His response was to step forward and gather her into his arms, holding her tight against his pristine shirt, not caring that he was crushing his superb suit jacket in the process. Holding her with such tenderness and warmth that she melted against him with a gentle sigh. Instantly his chin slid down and rested on the top of her hair, and his arms relaxed their grip and rested gently on her back.
It had been so long since she had felt so close to another human being. Lottie and the girls were her best friends, and she loved every one of them, but this was different, felt different; this was special.
It had been ages since her last boyfriend in the tea house. Years of watching other girls go on the dating scene, and comforting them with tea and cake as each broken heart had healed and they’d gone out again so full of hope.
Not for her. She did not want that emotional destruction. She knew that she was too different for most men. Too quirky. Too obsessed. Too unusual.
She was not the girl that the boys in catering school introduced to their parents. She was the girl they dated until someone better came along. And it had taken her a while to realize that she was not putting up with being second best. And she never would.
Until Sean had shown her that she was a woman a man could admire and want to be with.
Sean had chosen her. Picked her out. Made her feel special. Made her feel that she was capable of running her own business and making her dream come true.
Sean. The man who was holding her in his arms at that moment.
The man who meant the world to her. But she was too afraid to tell him.
She revelled in every sensation, her eyes closed, locking each tiny moment into her memory. The heady aroma of Sean’s body wash or aftershave blended with the subtle scent of laundry lavender, and a lot of Sean that only a long day in a hot office could produce. If only she could bottle that aroma, she would never be lonely again.
This was one man who had listened to what she wanted and helped her make it happen in a way which was even better than she had imagined.
She wanted this moment to last as long as possible. She wanted to remember what these little bubbles of happiness felt like.
‘You are most welcome,’ he replied, the sound muffled as he spoke into her hair, but the sound reverberated through her skull and came to rest in the centre of her heart. Where they exploded into a firework display of light and colour.
Exploded with such force that they made her shuffle back a little so that she could look up into Sean’s face and trace the line of his jaw with her fingers. Her reward was to see his eyes flutter just a little as her fingers slid down onto his neck and throat.
This man had pressed buttons that she did not even know that she had.
‘If you ever see that Frank Evans, be sure to thank him for me.’ She grinned. ‘Because it seems to me that I came out with a pretty good deal.’
Sean rested his hands on her hips and nodded. ‘True. The Beresford Riverside is a rather more impressive venue than the Beresford Richmond Square, and you did get it for the same price. That was what you were referring to...wasn’t it?’
Dee dropped her head forward onto his chest with a short laugh, only too aware that she was blushing and her neck was probably a lovely shade of scarlet.
When she did dare to lift her head, Sean was looking at her, his eyes more blue than grey in the artificial lighting above their heads, and as her eyes locked onto his the intensity of that gaze seemed to penetrate her skin.
For one fraction of a second all the need and passion of this remarkable man was revealed for her to see.
In one single look.
It took her breath away and she lifted her head higher. So high that, when his head tilted and he pressed his lips against her forehead, and then her temple, she was ready.
More than ready.
She was waiting for his kiss.
She had been waiting all day for his kiss, to see him again and to hear his voice.
And it had been totally, totally, worth the wait.
Sean took one step forward, and before Dee realized what was happening he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, his fingers working into her hair as he pressed his mouth against hers, pushing open her full lips, moving back and forth, his breath fast and heavy on her face.
His mouth was tender, gentle but firm, as though he was holding back the floodgates of a passion which was on the verge of breaking through and overwhelming them both.
She felt that potential, she trembled at the thought of it, and at that moment she knew that she wanted it as much as he did.
Her eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his back and leaned into the kiss, kissing him back, revelling in the sensual heat of Sean’s body as it pressed against hers. Closer, closer, until his arms were taking the weight of her body, enclosing her in his loving, sweet embrace. The pure physicality of the man was almost overpowering. The scent of his muscular body pressed ever so gently against her combined with the heavenly scent that she knew now was unique to him.
It filled her senses with an intensity that she had never felt in the embrace of any other man in her life. He was totally overwhelming. Intoxicating. And totally, totally delicious.
And, just when Dee thought that there could be nothing more pleasurable in this world, his kiss deepened. It was as though he wanted to take everything