‘Yes and yes. Small details. But that settles it; Sean Beresford is going to have to find me a mega replacement venue. Whether he likes it or not.’
‘Well, you did have one bonus. The lovely Sean. In the flesh. I didn’t think that the millionaire heirs to the Beresford hotel chain turned up in person to break bad news, so he scores a few points on the Rosemount approval board. And, oh my—tall, dark and handsome does not come close. And he seemed very interested in you. I think that you might be on to a winner there.’
The memory of a pair of sparkling blue eyes smiling down at her tugged at the warm and cuddly part of Dee’s mind and her traitorous heart gave just enough of a flutter to make her cover up her smirk with a quick sniff.
Dee pressed her lips together and shook her head. ‘Charlotte Rosemount, you are such a total romantic. Can I remind you where that has taken us in the past? I lost track of the number of frogs we had to kiss back at catering college before you finally admitted that not one of those boys was a prince. And then you had the cheek to set me up with Josh last year.’
‘It was a simple process of elimination!’ Lottie grinned and then twisted her face into a grimace. ‘I did get it wrong about Josh, though. He looked so good on paper! His dad was even a director at the tea company and he had the looks to die for. But sheesh, what a loser he turned out to be.’
‘Exactly!’ Dee nodded. ‘And it took me six months to find out that all he wanted was a stand-in girl until someone more suitable came along. No, Lottie. Handsome hotel owners do not date girls who deck them. Well-known fact. Especially girls who give them extra work and refuse to go along with their get-rid-of-the-annoyance-as-quickly-as-possible schemes.’
‘Perhaps he likes a girl who can stand up him. You are a change from all of the gold-diggers who hit on him on a daily basis. And he liked your Earl Grey.’
‘Please. Did you see him? That suit cost more than my last shipment of Oolong. That is a man who fuels up on espressos and wouldn’t let carbs pass his lips. He will pass the problem on to someone else to sort out, you wait and see. Big fish, small pond. Passing through on the way to greater things. Just like Josh. I think he only turned up to tell me so that he could tick me off his to-do list.’
‘But he is trying to find you a replacement venue. Isn’t he?’
‘His assistant is probably run off her feet at this minute calling every hotel in London which is still available on a Saturday two weeks before the event. The list will be small and the hotels grotty. And he is not getting away with it. I need a high-class venue and nothing else will do.’
Lottie was just about to reply when the telephone rang on the wall behind them and the theme song for The Teddy Bears’ Picnic chimed out. She scowled at Dee, who shrugged as though she had not been responsible for changing the ring tone. Again.
‘Lottie’s Cake Shop and Tea Rooms,’ Lottie answered in her best professional voice, and then she reached out and grabbed Dee by the sleeve, tugging hard to make sure that she had her full attention. ‘Good morning to you, too, Sean. Why yes, you are in luck, she is right here. I’ll just get Dee for you.’
Lottie opened her mouth wide, baring her very white teeth, and held out the telephone towards Dee, who took it from her as Lottie picked up a menu and fanned her face. The message was only too clear: hot.
Dee looked at the caller ID on the phone for second longer than necessary and lifted her chin before speaking.
Time to get this game of charades started the way she wanted.
‘Good morning, Flynn’s Phantasmagorian Emporium of Tea. Dee speaking.’
There was a definite pause on the other end of the phone before a deep male voice replied. Excellent. She had put him off his stride and victory was hers.
Shame that when he replied that deep voice was resonant, disgracefully measured, slow and confident. It seemed to vibrate inside her skull so that each syllable was stressed and important.
‘That’s quite a name. I am impressed. Good morning to you, Miss Flynn.’
The way he pronounced the end of her name was quite delicious. ‘I have just made it up, and that’s the idea. And how are you feeling this morning, eh? I hope that there is no bruising or delayed mental trauma from your exciting trip to the tea rooms yesterday evening. I wouldn’t like to be responsible for any lasting damage.’
She almost caught the sound of a low chuckle before he choked it. ‘Not at all,’ Sean replied in a voice that was as smooth as the hot chocolate sauce Lottie made to pour over her cream-filled profiteroles.
‘Excellent news.’ Dee smiled and winked at Lottie, who was leaning against her shoulder so that she could hear every word. ‘So, does that mean you have found me a superb replacement venue that will meet my every exacting need?’
‘Before I answer that, I have a question for you. Are you free to join me for a breakfast meeting this morning?’
Dee held out the phone and glanced at Lottie, who rolled her eyes with a cheeky grin, stifled a laugh and headed off into the kitchen, leaving Dee to stare at the innocent handset as though it were toxic.
‘Breakfast? Ah, thank you, but the bakery opens at six-thirty, so Lottie and I have already had our breakfast.’
‘Ah,’ he replied in a low voice. ‘Misunderstanding. I didn’t mean eating breakfast together, delightful as that would be. But it would be useful to have an early morning meeting to go through your list of exhibitors and put a detailed profile together, so that my team can work on the details with the venue you decide on. Pastries and coffee on the house.’
Dee squeezed her eyes tightly shut with embarrassment and mentally kicked the chair.
Sean Beresford had not only made her toss and turn most of the night, worrying about whether the event was going to happen, but apparently those blue-grey eyes had snuck in and robbed her of the one thing that was going to get her through the next two weeks: the ability to think straight.
Of course, a breakfast meeting wasn’t about bacon butties and wake-up brews of tea that would stain your teeth. She knew that. Even if she had never been to one in person.
How did he do it? How did he discombobulate her with a few words? Make her feel that she was totally out of her depth in a world that she did not understand?
It was as though he could see through the surface barriers she had built up and see straight through to the awkward teenager in the hot-weather cotton clothes on her first day in a London high school. In November.
She had known from the first second she had stepped inside that narrow off-grey school corridor that she was never going to fit in and that she was going to have to start her life from scratch all over again. She was always going to be the outsider. The nobody. The second best. The girl who had to fight to be taken seriously in anything she did.
But how did Sean see that? Did she have a sign painted in the air above her head?
This had never happened to her before with any man. Ever. Normally she just laughed it off and things usually turned out okay in the end.
Usually.
Dee inhaled a deep breath then exhaled slowly. Very slowly.
Focus. She needed to focus on what was needed. That was it. Concentrate on the job. Her entire reputation and future in the tea-selling business was dependent on it. She couldn’t let a flash boy in a suit distract her, no matter how much she needed him to make her dream become a reality.
Dee looked out of the tea-room window onto the busy high street; the first sign of pale winter sunshine filtered through the half-frosted glass. The sleet had stopped in the night and the forecast was for a much brighter day.
Suddenly the urge to feel fresh air on her face and a cool breeze in her hair spiralled through her brain. She quickly glanced at the wall clock above