She picked up the fork, speared a small chunk of cake and closed her lips around it, savouring the different flavours. Letting her tongue and the sensitive taste buds that made her job possible do the work before chewing for a moment and swallowing it down.
‘Oh, you tried the cake. Brave woman. Go on. Hit me with it.’
Lottie marched into her bedroom with a tray, sat down on the bed and bared her teeth in fear of the honest review.
Dee raised her eyebrows and licked her lips. ‘You put ground black pepper in the cream to offset the rosewater. And I am tasting orange zest and a hint of cloves and cardamom in the tea-scented sponge.’
‘Absolutely. I knew that you would get it. So? Lady Grey or a green tea?’
Dee took the tray out of Lottie’s hands. ‘Green. But a special one. This is good. This is very good. Congratulations, Miss Rosemount. You have just succeeded in creating one of the toughest tea-matching challenges I have ever come across. Please accept this hand-crafted medal.’
‘This is not a medal. It’s an exhibitors badge for the tea festival.’
‘Well, you don’t think I would face the ravenous cake-eating hordes without you there to serve it and bask in the glory, did you? And, after all, we can’t have tea without the cake to go with it! Foolish girl.’
Then Dee’s smile faded and she reached out and took Lottie’s hand. ‘Can you come with me? Just for a couple of hours. Please? Gloria and the gang will look after the tea rooms. I just... I just need a pal by my side today. It turns out that being a tea magnate is not half as much fun when you don’t have someone to share the excitement with. And I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect that at all.’
* * *
Sean dug into his pocket, pulled out his mobile phone and dialled the number with shaking fingers.
He had been up most of the night, talking to Rob, who was fighting health inspectors in Chicago, and his father, who was fighting to stay awake after two hours of pacing back and forth going over the business plans for the hotel chain and where Sean was going in his career. And his life.
Please still be there.
Please answer.
Please don’t throw the phone out of the window when you see who is calling you. Please take this call.
The only voice in the world he wanted to hear whispered, ‘Hello?’
‘Dee. It’s Sean. I’m standing outside the tea rooms but I won’t come in unless you want me to. Please say yes.’
The fraction of a second before she replied seemed like an eternity. ‘Sean? What do you mean you are outside the tea rooms? I thought that you would be in Chicago by now.’
‘Long story, but I’d like to tell you about it in person instead of on the pavement in the dark at the crack of dawn.’
‘Okay. Yes, Lottie will let you in.’
It took Sean three seconds to give a very startled Lottie a quick wave, then bound up the stairs two at a time and stand puffing and panting outside Dee’s bedroom.
His hand stretched out towards the door handle. And then he snatched it back.
Eyes closed, he blew out a long, deep breath, his head suddenly dizzy with doubt as the blood surged in his veins.
What was he doing here? What if she said, thanks, but no thanks? This was crazy.
He loved this woman and he had been willing to let her go because he was afraid of changing his life? Mad.
For once he was going to risk their future happiness on a crazy decision to trust his heart instead of his head.
And what if she said yes? She could be committing herself to a life where he could be on the road or in a different hotel most of the year. Was that fair?
Yes. Because he was just as determined to show Dee that he was able to give her a fraction of the love she felt for him.
And he had to do it now. Or never. Perhaps that was why he felt so naked. Exposed.
Sean straightened his back and just prepared to knock, but at the very second he did so there was movement on the other side of the door, and the handle turned on its own and cracked open an inch, then wider...and Dee was standing there.
Her eyes locked onto his as she looked at him with the kind of intensity that seemed to knock the oxygen from his lungs.
Then those eyes smiled and he took in the full effect of that beautiful face. No camera in the world could have captured the look on Dee’s face at this moment.
He felt as though the air would explode with the electricity in the air between them.
‘Hi,’ she whispered. ‘Has something happened to bring you back? Are you okay?’ There was so much love and concern in her voice that any doubts Sean had about what he had to do next were wiped away.
Sean stretched out his hand and stroked her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers.
‘I haven’t stopped thinking about what you said. And you were right. Leaving last night was my decision. So I did something about it.’
Sean breathed in, his heart thudding so loudly that he suspected that she must be hearing it from where she was standing so quietly, dressed in her kimono. ‘I know now that I will always love you, Dervla Flynn, and it doesn’t matter where I am in the world.’ He licked her lips. ‘I want to be with you. Love you.’
Her mouth opened to reply but he pressed one finger on her lips and smiled, breaking the terror. ‘You see, I’m not as brave as you are. As soon as I left you last night, I knew that I couldn’t leave the woman I have fallen in love with without trying to come up with some options.’
He grinned at her and slid forward so that both of his hands were cupped around her face as tears pricked her eyes. ‘I love you way too much to let you go. I need you, Dee. I need you so much. Nothing else comes close. What would you say if I told you that I would be working out of London for the next twelve months?’
Her reply was to fall into his arms and he swept her up, holding her body tight, tight, before tilting his open mouth onto hers in a hot, hot kiss.
He cupped her face with both of his hands, his thumbs wiping away tears and water from her cheeks, and then he poured into his kiss the passion and devotion, the fear and doubts, which came with giving your heart to another human being.
‘I didn’t expect to be saying this standing in a cake shop, but it doesn’t change a thing. I am so in love with you.’
‘Oh, Sean. I wasn’t sure I could go through with today without you. Can you forgive me? I have been such an idiot. Of course your family need you. You love them and want to do the right thing. I know what that’s like.’
‘Better than you think. I have done something rash—there’s a limo on the way to the airport at this very minute to collect two very special first-class passengers from a flight from Sri Lanka. I knew that you wanted your parents with you today to see all that you have done. Are you okay with that?’
‘Seriously?’ she asked, stunned. ‘You flew my parents to London for the festival? You did that for me?’
He nodded. ‘Seriously.’ His thumb was still moving across her cheek. ‘It’s time that I met your parents. Because I am thinking of taking a break for a couple of months and Sri Lanka is on my list of destinations. If you come with me.’
‘Oh, Sean. Do you mean it? Yes? Oh, I love you so much.’
He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his entire world contained within his arms.
They were still standing there, kissing