Even their father had been impressed with how the shy little blonde girl had blossomed into a lovely teenager and confident, beautiful woman with straight As, and a first-class honours degree from a famous university under her belt.
It was an education designed to open doors. And it had.
He loved Annika and was the first to admit that she had achieved her success by working as hard as he had to make it happen. Yet he did wonder sometimes how things would have turned out for them all if their father had not been there to pay for the private education, with a solid back-up plan and financial edge to give them the support they needed.
Things might have been different for all of them if his father had not insisted that all of his children should grow up together: same school, same house most weekends and holidays.
Three children with three different mothers living in the same house had not always been easy—especially for his stepmother—and they had fought and bickered and had vicious pillow fights just like any other children. But Tom Beresford had forged them into a family and he had done it through love and making sure that each one of them knew that he would always be there for them. The one constant in each of the children’s lives.
For that, he was prepared to forgive his dad’s womanising ways. Rob never stopped teasing him that his little brother was letting the side down by staying faithful to every one of the lovely women who had agreed to put up with a light and fun relationship with him while it lasted.
Sean Beresford did not do long-term commitment. He had seen first-hand the fallout from that kind of life when you were working twenty-four-seven, and he was determined to learn from his father’s mistakes.
But to succeed on your own? With parents who worked overseas? That took a different skill set.
Dee was definitely a one-off.
Suddenly aware that he had been totally focused on Prakash and Dee, Sean bent his head over the conference-centre booking system and one thing was only too obvious: Prakash was not going to be very busy for the next few weeks. Far from it. Compared to the previous year, bookings over the winter had fallen by over forty per cent and were only picking up now for spring weddings and business meetings. Summer was busy most weeks but the autumn was a disaster.
Something was badly wrong here. The recession had hit some London businesses more than others, and large conferences were a luxury many companies could no longer afford. Events booked a year in advance were regularly being cancelled.
Sean stretched up and ran his fingers along the back of his neck, anxious not to make a fool of himself. But the girl in the flowery cotton dress and leggings distracted him by strolling across through to the other room, totally confident and completely at ease, with Prakash and his assistant making notes as they walked.
Their half-whispered words tickled the back of his neck and Sean yearned to drop everything and join in the conversation instead of focusing on the work.
Well, at least they would have one happy customer.
The conference centre at this luxury hotel was in a different league from the facilities at Beresford Richmond Square, which was designed for large seminar groups. Most of the time companies booked the whole hotel for the event and organized special catering and personalized planning.
That did not happen too often in a hotel this size... Maybe that was something he could look at?
Sean quickly checked the hotel brochure. Conference delegates could have a ten per cent discount if they stayed here. At Richmond Square it was fifty per cent. And he already knew that this hotel was never fully booked. Ever.
Perhaps he should be thanking Dee for giving him an idea.
He looked up as the door to one of the ground-floor meeting rooms opened and a stream of hotel guests walked past him towards the sumptuous buffet he had already spotted being laid out.
Slipping in right behind them, Dee smiled back at him over one shoulder and waltzed into the dining room with Prakash leaving Sean to stare after her. And the way her dress lifted in the air conditioning as her hips swayed as she walked.
Suddenly light-headed, Sean blinked. Food. Now, that was an idea.
Sean stood in silence as the chatting, smiling strangers filled the space his newest client had left in her wake, and watched as Dee looked over her shoulder with a wry smile, shrugged her shoulders, then turned to laugh at something Prakash said, before they were swallowed up by the businessmen who were clearly desperate for brunch after a hard morning.
The last thing he saw was the slight tilt of her head and a flash of floral cotton as she sashayed elegantly away from him. Every movement of every muscle in her body was magnified, as though a searchlight was picking her out in the crowd for him alone.
This was a girl whom he had only met in person for the first time yesterday.
Strange that he was even now reliving the moment when her body had been pressed against his arm.
Strange how he was still standing in the same spot five minutes later, watching the space where she had last stood. Waiting. Just in case he could catch a glimpse of her again.
The prettiest woman in the room.
And a very, very tantalising distraction.
Sean breathed out slowly through his nose and turned away.
Before Sasha, the old Sean would have already flown in his lady and made dinner reservations, or drinks that would stretch out into the evening with a long, slow languorous seduction as a nightcap.
But now? Now long-term relationships were for men who stayed longer in one place than a few days or weeks at most. Men who were willing to commit fully to one woman and mean it.
His gaze flicked up to the place where Dee had just been and lingered there longer than it should have.
They were different people in so many ways, yet there was something about Dee that made him want to know her better. A lot better.
He would love to have the luxury of being able to take personal time in London, but that was impossible if he wanted to get his job done before leaving for Paris. Even if that temptation came in the shape of a tea-mad beauty who was different from any other girl that he had met for a long time.
A cluster of older men in suits burst into the reception area, blasting away his idle thoughts in a powerful rush of financial chatter and cold air.
Sean gave a low cough and straightened his back as he nodded to the guests.
Nothing had changed. The work had to come first.
He owed it to his father and the family who were relying on him to get things back on track. There was no way that he could let them down. Not now. Not ever.
Not after all that his father had done for him. For all of them.
Sean looked up at the screensaver on the computer: The Beresford Riverside. A Beresford Family Hotel.
There it was. The Beresford family. His rock when things had collapsed around him when his mother had been taken ill. His rock when his father had remarried but kept the children together, making sure that they all felt loved and cherished.
His family was all he had. And he was not going to let them down.
Dee was a lovely girl and a new client. He had been friendly and gone beyond the call of duty. The last thing either of them needed was a long-distance relationship which was bound to end in heartbreak and tears—at both ends of the telephone. From now on he had to keep his guard.
His family had to come first.
It was time to get back to work.
Tea, glorious tea. A celebration of teas from around the world.
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