One evening—that was their deal. Sean had kept his side of the bargain. Now it was time for her to keep hers.
Shame it was so hard to remember that fact when he was so close.
She smiled and slipped off the bed.
Maybe Lottie was right—maybe it was time to celebrate everything that she had achieved and take time out to enjoy herself.
Why shouldn’t she enjoy his company for this evening? He had asked her to be his date. And that was precisely what she was going to be.
His date. Yes. That was it. Tonight Sean would be her date who she could rely on not to let her down. Even if it did mean never letting him out of her sight.
* * *
Sean rang the doorbell of Lottie’s Cake Shop and Tea Rooms. Twice. And heard the bell tinkle inside the shop.
There was a bustle of movement from behind the front door and he could see a dark shape slip forward; as he lifted his chin, the ornate half-glass door opened inwards.
A woman dressed in black was standing just a few feet away: slender, medium height and absolutely stunning.
So stunning that he had to do a double take for his brain to recognise who was standing in the doorway smiling at him with a quizzical look on her face.
It was Dee Flynn. Only not the hard working, tea-obsessed version of Dee he had half the week with.
She had been transformed into a completely different person.
This Dee was dressed in a black cocktail dress: sleeveless, with a high collar tied behind her neck with a ribbon. And a low-cut back. Totally hot.
Sean had seen enough French couture dresses, and had bought enough fashion for Sasha and Annika to know the real thing when he saw it.
The dress fitted her perfectly, the fabric draped close to her waist then flaring out over the slim hips to just above the knees.
Sheer black stockings covered long, slim but muscular legs.
Silk shoes with heels so high that for the first time during the week she came almost to his height.
In a flash he could suddenly feel the life force of this woman emanate towards him, and her energy sparkled like the jewels in the gold bracelet on her wrist. Intoxicating, invigorating and bursting with confidence.
She was effervescent, hot and so attractive he had to fight down that fizz of testosterone that clenched the muscles under his dress shirt and set his heart racing just at the sight of her.
‘Hello,’ he said, suddenly keen to break the silence and stop the ogling. ‘I thought it might be safer to stand outside just in case you had your judo costume stashed behind the counter. Last time I barely made it out alive.’ Then he grinned. ‘You look amazing, by the way.’
‘Why, thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.’ She nodded with her head towards the counter. ‘Do you want to come in out of the cold? I just need a minute to get my coat.’
‘No problem; we have plenty of time. No need to rush.’ He smiled and followed her into the warmth of the tea rooms. He was happy to be able to spend a few extra minutes alone with Dee before they joined the noisy crush of hotel guests and the management team, who were probably just hitting the bar back at the hotel.
Dee smiled back at him then swivelled towards the back of the room. Then, as he watched in horror, she flung both of her arms out into the air and launched herself towards the counter, as her right foot twisted over sideways and the girl literally fell off her shoe.
Sean leapt forward and grabbed her arm so that she wouldn’t fall, and heard her slow hiss of pain as she winced and exhaled sharply.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, looking into her face in concern.
Her response was an exasperated sigh followed by a sharp nod. ‘Fine. Just dandy. My ankle will survive. Unlike my dignity.’
Then she turned her back on him, feeling stupid and humiliated, and scrabbled to slip the silly shoe back onto her foot and fasten the strap tighter. But her trembling fingers let her down and the shoe fell to the floor.
Before Dee could reach down to scoop it up, she sensed his presence seconds before a strong hand slid onto each side of her waist, holding her firm. Secure.
She breathed in a heady fragrance of fresh citrus aftershave and testosterone that was all Sean, which made it impossible for her to resist as he moved closer behind her until she could feel the length of his body from chest to groin pressed against her back.
His arms wrapped tighter around her waist, the fingers pressing oh, so gently into her rib cage and Dee closed her eyes, her pulse racing. It had been a long time. And he smelt fabulous. Felt fabulous.
Sean pressed his head into the side of her neck, his light stubble grazing against her skin, and her head dropped back slightly so that it was resting on his.
Bad head.
Bad heart.
Bad need for contact with his man.
Bad, full-stop.
One of his hands slid up the side of her dress and smoothed her hair away from her face so that he could press his lips against the back of her neck.
‘Is there a rule somewhere that dictates that lovely ladies lose all sensible parts of their brain at the sight of shoes they can’t actually walk in? Because it does seem to be a very common affliction. I see it everywhere I go. Sad, really.’
Dee tried to pretend that it was perfectly normal to have a conversation with her back pressed against the pristine dinner suit of the most handsome and desirable man she had ever met.
‘Absolutely,’ she whispered. ‘They belong to Lottie, and she promised me that these were the latest thing in limo shoes. Dancing was out unless I wanted permanent disfigurement, but standing in one place could work. Would you mind holding me up here a little longer? I have a small problem standing up straight in Lottie’s stilettos and talking at the same time, and you might not be there to break my fall when I try to make it as far as the car.’
He chuckled deep in his chest as though suppressing a smile, and the sound reverberated across her collarbone, down her spine and into regions which were previously closed to reverberations of any kind.
Sean continued to breathe into her neck, and one of his hands slid up from her waist to move in small circles on her shoulder. The room began to heat up at a remarkably rapid rate.
She clasped hold of the serving counter as Sean gently, slowly, slowly, slid down the length of her body until he could reach down and pick the sandal from the floor.
It was quite remarkable that he also needed to touch the inside of her leg with his fingertips as he did so, sending shivers up and down her spine, which made it seriously difficult to breathe, focus and talk at the same time.
‘Over the years I have been dragged by the ladies in my family around every fashion shop and footwear retailer in London at one time or another so I could carry their loot home. And we never, ever, bought shoes which they didn’t try on in the shop and at least totter a few steps in. Walking any distance—now, that was different.’
She slowly lifted one of Sean’s hands from her waist, and pushed gently away from him, instantly sorry that she had broken the touch, but Sean had other ideas and held her even tighter this time as she turned to face him.
Without her shoes, her head came up to his chest and she leant back against the counter so that she could look into the smiling, quizzical, handsome face of a truly nice man.
His eyes never blinked or left hers, and her breathing seemed to match his; it was a few seconds before he broke the silence.
‘Did I mention that I am a hotel manager? Yes? I did? Well, we have these terribly practical health and