Steeling My Haart (8 page)

        
“Yes,
as you know I live near there, so it’s my local go-to place.
 
I’ve been going ever since they
opened.
 
I’m surprised I haven’t
seen you there before,” she said.

        
“I
don’t go a whole lot anymore, though…” He sighed as a disheartened look crossed
his face. He looked at her regretfully as he shook it off and smiled just as
the waitress brought their cheesecake.

        
After
devouring about half of the huge slice of the most delicious cake Emma had
tasted in a while, Bruce insisted on paying the bill. They left and hadn’t
wandered far before they hit the most exclusive shops.
 
Bruce was an enthusiastic shopping buddy
and even convinced her to try on a few dresses in Christian Dior.
 
Even though she could afford to shop in
places like this occasionally, she never chose to spend so much on clothing.

        
After
leading Emma into the dressing area, the sales assistant had brought her an
armful of dresses Bruce had chosen. She had to admit the guy had taste.
 
He also seemed to have an eye for coloring
and when she tried the first dress on she knew that even the exorbitant price
tag wouldn’t stop her from buying it.
 
She could afford it and it had been so long since she had an opportunity
to properly dress up. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, it was as if the
dress had been made for her.
 
It was
a deep burgundy, made from silk with a chiffon overlay that made the sweeping
floor length skirt hang to perfection of her tiny hips. The bodice was made of
the same material but draped over one shoulder and wrapped around the back
gathering at the narrowed waistband. It showcased her amazing figure perfectly.

        
“My
goodness, Miss McKellan, you look absolutely stunning.” The sales assistant
drew in a sharp breath as Emma stepped out wearing the dress. She handed her a
pair of heeled pumps and a clutch bag that complimented the dress perfectly she
stated, “Your boyfriend out there is going to be the luckiest man this evening
with you on his arm.” She smiled. Emma decided not to correct her and as she
walked out of the changing room to find Bruce, the look on his face as she
stepped out to him said it all.
 

        
The
sharp intake of air she noticed him take followed by the look of pure
admiration in his eyes made Emma feel suddenly bashful. She became hyper aware
of being watched as she was standing there in from of him. He walked over to
her and held her hand whilst she turned a full circle for him, showing off her
stunning figure. Without hesitation he leaned over and caressed her gently on
the cheek with his thumb as he spoke quietly, “Emma, you are stunning. We’ll take
it all,” he said, turning to the assistant. She blushed and retreated to get
dressed. She wasn’t sure what just happened out there, but she felt something
between them had shifted as he looked at her. As she walked away, she could
feel the heat of the gaze upon her back as she entered the cubicle.

        
When
she had changed, she stole a few minutes to herself in the dressing room.
 
She needed to be careful and had to
remind herself to keep things strictly on a professional level with Bruce. She
had felt something out there and it was close to causing her a real problem.
Pulling herself together she walked back into the shop and felt instantly on
edge. She noticed that Bruce was just putting his credit card away and picking
up the few bags from the counter. He took her hand once again and they left the
shop.

        
“Bruce,
you can’t pay for that. I won’t let you. It’s way too much.” But he silenced
her by putting a finger over her lips and looking her straight in the eyes,

        
“Shh.
I will if I want to, and you looked stunning. I will be more than proud to be
taking you out tonight wearing that dress. It was made for you. When you walked
out of that room looking so lovely and shy it just made me realize just how
attractive you are when you let your defenses down a bit. I’m making it my
mission this week to make that happen more often,” he promised her as they
walked on.

        
Blushing
again, she turned away from him as he led her out of the shopping center and
out in to the early evening sunshine. She couldn’t focus on much except for the
sensation of her hand in Bruce’s and the way it was making her heart beat
faster. Bruce walked on in silence, seemingly lost in his own world, only
glancing at her occasionally. She caught him smiling nervously each time she glanced
back.
 
They walked a short distance
down the sidewalk and Bruce hailed a cab to take them back to the hotel.

        
A
comfortable silence had settled between them in the cab and they soon arrived
back at the Mandalay Bay.
 
Bruce
steered her over to the reception desk in the lobby and handed over their
shopping haul. As they were standing at the desk Bruce rested his hand gently
on her lower back.
 
She shivered
slightly as a strange and slightly uneasy sensation ran down her spine. She
quickly scanned the large lobby, not quite sure what she was looking for or
what it was that was unsettling her. It wasn’t the hand now resting on her
lower back that was unnerving her, but in fact standing there with Bruce was
more of a reassurance. Shaking off the feeling as best as she could, she
followed as Bruce approached the reception desk.

        
“Could
you please make sure that these get delivered safely to our room, ma’am?” he
asked the receptionist.

        
“Of
course, Mr. Jenson, I will make sure that your bags are safely delivered to
your suite right away, sir,” she replied as she took the bags from him.

        
“Oh,
and could I inquire as to whether the booking enquiry I made this morning has
been confirmed?” Bruce asked.

        
“Let
me look, sir.” She glanced at the monitor in front of her and tapped a few
keys. “Oh, yes, Mr. Jenson, as you requested, your appointment is in scheduled
in half an hour. If you and Miss McKellan would like to make your way down
right away and one of our employees will be waiting to assist you?” she said as
she shuffled the papers that had just printed into some order. She placed them
into an envelope and handed it to Bruce across the desk.

        
“Thank
you. We will head straight there.” As he took the envelope the receptionist
offered him, he turned to Emma and smiled. “Right, now for surprise number one
of today. Follow me.”

        
“Where
are we going?” she asked as she raised her eyebrow at him.

        
“You’ll
find out soon enough. Now hurry up, and come on! It’s quite a walk to where we
have to be.” He tugged her hand again and led her down the long corridors of
the hotel towards the Conference Centre a small smile crept on to his face.

        
“I
didn’t think we had tickets for the conference until tomorrow,” she queried,
looking at him with a frown

        
“We
don’t! Today is mainly a trade day and not much use to us.” He stated, still
grinning away.

        
“So
why are we going down toward the conference center, then?” the baffled reply
came.

        
“It’s
a surprise, and for your information, we aren’t going to the conference center.
 
We have to go past it to get to where we
need to be.
 
You don’t do surprises
very well, do you?” He laughed.
 

        
“No,
I guess I don’t.” She stopped talking suddenly, as she spotted what she thought
was a familiar outline ahead of them.

        
At
the back of a group of people walking a way ahead of them down the corridor,
she saw the back of a vaguely familiar masculine figure. He was wearing a
leather jacket and a smart pair of dark jeans and a pair of biker boots. He was
sporting fairly long dark blonde hair, tied neatly into a ponytail. She was
convinced other than the long scruffy hair it could have been Charlie. He was
in deep conversation with a group of the other people and she assumed that they
were delegates for the conference tomorrow.

        
As
he turned to face her, she swore again that it was Charlie, but the guy in
front of her was a lot better built than she had remembered him being and had
quite a long beard covering his face. She tried to catch his eye but from that
distance it was impossible. She tried to squint to see if she could get a clear
look at his face and he turned and stared at her for a moment. She instantly felt
chills creeping over her body. But no sooner had the mystery man glanced her
way, he was ushered by the other people in the group in the opposite direction.
Shaking the strange feeling she had she walked on with Bruce. He had been
chattering away to her excitedly unaware of what had just happened. She began
to wonder if the mystery man had indeed been Charlie. If so, why was he
here?
 
And if it was him surely he
would have come over to her.

        
Suddenly,
Bruce’s animated voice broke through her daydream, “We’re here!” and turning to
the attendant at the desk, “We have a private tour booked for Mr. Jenson and
Miss McKellan,” he stated.

        
“Right
this way, Mr. Jenson, Miss McKellan. David will be out to show you around in a
few minutes. Please take a seat and help yourself to the refreshments set out
over there while you wait.” The attendant was efficient and led them into a
room with a couple of overstuffed couches and a flat screen television mounted
on the wall. The aquarium was playing a video about the good that the Mandalay
Bay Shark Reef was doing for conservation across the world. Emma slowly came
back to reality goose bumps still evident across her arms when she realized
Bruce had brought her for a private tour of the aquarium.

        
“How
did you know I like these places?” she asked.

        
“I
didn’t, to be honest, but I have always wanted to visit here when I have been
before, just never had the right person to come with.” He smiled confidently.
“Oh, you are shivering, are you warm enough?
 
Here,” he said, catching sight of her
arms. He shrugged off his jacket, and wrapped it round her shoulders. “Take my
jacket.”

        
“Thank
you, and I love aquariums. This is so sweet of you,” she said plastering the
best smile she could muster on her face and trying to shake the mood that had
suddenly taken her. Bruce’s jacket was warm and soft around her shoulders and
although she wasn’t cold, the gesture didn’t go unnoticed. As she glanced up at
him, his eyes sparkled with some unreadable emotion.

        
“We
are here to feed the sea turtles. I thought it would be something different to
do. And I have to admit, I’ve had this booked for a while because, even if
father had come, I was still planning on helping you enjoy the downtime we had
this week.”

        
“Really?
Sea turtles? Wow.” She expressed genuine surprise and her mood was soon
forgotten. “This is going to be amazing it really is.
 
Mr. Jenson, you are a bit of a dark
horse, aren’t you?
 
I’d have never
guessed you’d be so sweet under that business like persona you normally
wear.
 
If I forget to tell you
later, I am having a really good time today already.”

        
Bruce
grinned leaned in and surprising her again, he absent-mindedly flicked a
tendril of stray hair over her ear. “You are welcome, and for the record, so am
I.” Just then, the door opened, making them both jump.

        
“Mr.
Jenson, Miss McKellan, I’m Dave, your personal tour guide for today.
 
If you’d like to follow me this way,
please.”

        
The
aquarium tour was informative and especially enjoyable after they had the
opportunity to spend some astonishing time with the turtles. The whole day so
far had exceeded any expectations that Emma had and she was just beginning to
really enjoy the fact she was away from the mundane and empty life she left
behind in New York.
 
One thing that
was a huge surprise to her was how much she had actually enjoyed being in
Bruce’s company. Their rapport had become easier as the day progressed and she
found herself smiling more that she had in a long time. She was beginning to
feel totally safe in his company and her earlier apprehensions about him were
dissolving by the second.
 

        
As
they posed with the turtles for their souvenir photograph, she was grinning
widely. In the space of a few short hours, he had made her feel more special
than anyone had in a long time. She kept catching a brief smile here and there
and she managed to steal a few glances at him when he wasn’t looking. He was
infinitely more attractive than she had realized and she had to stop herself
from falling for him.

        
After
collecting the photos, their walk back to the suite was filled with animated
chat from both of them.

        
“I
cannot believe I’ve been up close and personal with such a graceful creature,
Bruce.
 
It was a truly magical
moment when the big guy took the food straight from my hand,” she stated in awe
as they sauntered down the main corridor towards the lobby.

        
“I
know. I have wanted to do that so much. Every time I’ve been here I have
considered it but it’s the sort of experience you need to share with someone
not do alone and it just wouldn’t have been the same with my father,” Bruce laughed.

        
“No.
I can’t see Arnauld enjoying that much, at all!” She smiled at the thought of
the older man even being near the turtles

        
“No,
he wouldn’t. He was never good at that stuff when we were kids, either. Nor is he
as nice to look at as you.” Emma blushed. Lines had started to blur and as she
looked up at Bruce about to say something but he immediately broke the tension
by chuckling, “And I still can’t believe you nearly pushed me into the tank
with the sharks. Do you really hate me that much?” He pretended to be offended
and clutched his hands across his chest. His eyes gave him away though as they
shone with humor.

        
“Bruce,
I could never hate you!” she exclaimed in mock horror. “You have truly been a
gentlemen all day. I just want to say that I am really grateful to you for
today. I also want you to know how very appreciative I am for this opportunity
here in Las Vegas.” Slowing as they reached the elevators that took them up the
suite, she turned and looked up into his attentive blue eyes. “I need to say
thank you for all you have ever done for me. You believed in me from day one
and you do not know how much I appreciated you helping me so much with my
career, too. You really don’t know how grateful I am that I met you all those
years ago. Really, thank you for everything.” She said sincerely.

        
“My
pleasure, Emma.” He took her hand again as the elevator arrived and ushered her
in. “Well, it’s an hour before we need to be heading out, so will that give you
time enough to get yourself ready?”

        
“Yes,
plenty of time. Where are we going tonight, then?” she asked excitedly.

        
“I’m
taking you to Paris tonight, Miss McKellan.” He flashed her a genuine smile and
at that moment he looked so happy and relaxed, and so goddam gorgeous, it was
hard for Emma not to smile back.