Trouble on Her Doorstep (14 page)

It had been so long since she had felt so close to another human being. Lottie and the girls were her best friends, and she loved every one of them, but this was different, felt different; this was special.

It had been ages since her last boyfriend in the tea house. Years of watching other girls go on the dating scene, and comforting them with tea and cake as each broken heart had healed and they’d gone out again so full of hope.

Not for her. She did not want that emotional destruction. She knew that she was too different for most men. Too quirky. Too obsessed. Too unusual.

She was not the girl that the boys in catering school introduced to their parents. She was the girl they dated until someone better came along. And it had taken her a while to realize that she was not putting up with being second best. And she never would.

Until Sean had shown her that she was a woman a man could admire and want to be with.

Sean had chosen her. Picked her out. Made her feel special. Made her feel that she was capable of running her own business and making her dream come true.

Sean. The man who was holding her in his arms at that moment.

The man who meant the world to her. But she was too afraid to tell him.

She revelled in every sensation, her eyes closed, locking each tiny moment into her memory. The heady aroma of Sean’s body wash or aftershave blended with the subtle scent of laundry lavender, and a lot of Sean that only a long day in a hot office could produce. If only she could bottle that aroma, she would never be lonely again.

This was one man who had listened to what she wanted and helped her make it happen in a way which was even better than she had imagined.

She wanted this moment to last as long as possible. She wanted to remember what these little bubbles of happiness felt like.

‘You are most welcome,’ he replied, the sound muffled as he spoke into her hair, but the sound reverberated through her skull and came to rest in the centre of her heart. Where they exploded into a firework display of light and colour.

Exploded with such force that they made her shuffle back a little so that she could look up into Sean’s face and trace the line of his jaw with her fingers. Her reward was to see his eyes flutter just a little as her fingers slid down onto his neck and throat.

This man had pressed buttons that she did not even know that she had.

‘If you ever see that Frank Evans, be sure to thank him for me.’ She grinned. ‘Because it seems to me that I came out with a pretty good deal.’

Sean rested his hands on her hips and nodded. ‘True. The Beresford Riverside is a rather more impressive venue than the Beresford Richmond Square, and you did get it for the same price. That was what you were referring to...wasn’t it?’

Dee dropped her head forward onto his chest with a short laugh, only too aware that she was blushing and her neck was probably a lovely shade of scarlet.

When she did dare to lift her head, Sean was looking at her, his eyes more blue than grey in the artificial lighting above their heads, and as her eyes locked onto his the intensity of that gaze seemed to penetrate her skin.

For one fraction of a second all the need and passion of this remarkable man was revealed for her to see.

In one single look.

It took her breath away and she lifted her head higher. So high that, when his head tilted and he pressed his lips against her forehead, and then her temple, she was ready.

More than ready.

She was waiting for his kiss.

She had been waiting all day for his kiss, to see him again and to hear his voice.

And it had been totally, totally, worth the wait.

Sean took one step forward, and before Dee realized what was happening he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, his fingers working into her hair as he pressed his mouth against hers, pushing open her full lips, moving back and forth, his breath fast and heavy on her face.

His mouth was tender, gentle but firm, as though he was holding back the floodgates of a passion which was on the verge of breaking through and overwhelming them both.

She felt that potential, she trembled at the thought of it, and at that moment she knew that she wanted it as much as he did.

Her eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his back and leaned into the kiss, kissing him back, revelling in the sensual heat of Sean’s body as it pressed against hers. Closer, closer, until his arms were taking the weight of her body, enclosing her in his loving, sweet embrace. The pure physicality of the man was almost overpowering. The scent of his muscular body pressed ever so gently against her combined with the heavenly scent that she knew now was unique to him.

It filled her senses with an intensity that she had never felt in the embrace of any other man in her life. He was totally overwhelming. Intoxicating. And totally, totally delicious.

And, just when Dee thought that there could be nothing more pleasurable in this world, his kiss deepened. It was as though he wanted to take everything that she was able to give him, and without a second of doubt she surrendered to the hot spice of the taste of his mouth and tongue.

This was the kind of kiss she had never known. The connection between them was part of it, but this went beyond friendship and common interests. This was a kiss to signal the start of something new. The kind of kiss where each of them was opening up their most intimate secrets and deepest feelings for the other person to see.

The heat, the intensity, the desire of this man, was all there, exposed for her to see ,when she eventually opened her eyes and broke the connection. Shuddering. Trembling. Grateful that he was holding her up on her wobbly legs.

Then he pulled away, the faint stubble on his chin grazing across her mouth as he lifted his face to kiss her eyes, brow and temple.

It took a second for her to catch her breath before she felt able to open her eyes, only to find Sean was still looking at her, his forehead still pressed against hers. A smile warmed his face as he moved his hand down to stroke her cheek.

He knew. He knew the effect that his kiss was having on her body. He had to. Her face burned with the heat coming from the point of contact between them. His heart was racing, just as hers was.

Dee slowly, slowly slid out of his embrace and almost slithered onto the floor. And by the time she was on her unsteady legs she was already missing the warmth of those arms and the heat of the fire on her face.

She had to do something to fight the intensity of the magnetic attraction that she felt for Sean at that moment. Logic screamed at her from the back of her mind: they were both single, unattached and they wanted one another.

She had never had a one-night stand in her life. And, if she was going to do it, this was as good a place as any, except of course it would never be casual sex. Not for her. And, she suspected, not for Sean either.

Would it be so ridiculous if they spent the night together?

Sean gently drew her back towards him so that their faces were only inches apart at the same height.

His hand moved to her cheek, pushing her hair back over her left ear, his thumb on her jaw as his eyes scanned her face, back and forth.

Her eyes opened wide and she drunk him in—all of him. The way his hair curled dark and heavy around his ears and neck; the suntanned crease lines on the sides of his mouth and eyes. And those eyes—those amazing blue eyes which burned bright as they smiled at her.

She could look at that face all day and not get tired of it. In fact, it was turning out to be her favourite occupation.

Sean was temptation personified. And all she had to do was reach out and taste just how delicious that temptation truly was.

Did he know what effect he was having on her? How much he was driving her wild?

Probably.

Panting for breath, she rested her head on his chest, listening to the sound of Sean’s heart under the fine cloth, feeling the hot flood of blood in his veins and the pressure of his fists against her back. She could have stayed there all night but suddenly the silence of their private space was broken by the loud ringtone from the mobile phone inside Sean’s jacket pocket.

‘That can wait,’ he whispered and carried on stroking her hair. ‘Now, tell me about the tea. What delicious aromas can the hotel expect...?’ But he never got to continue because his phone rang again, and this time is was a different ringtone.

‘Oh, I don’t believe it.’ He sighed, stood back, tugged out the phone and checked the caller ID. ‘It’s my dad’s personal line.’ He shook his head. ‘I am so sorry about this. Stay right where you are. Two minutes.’

* * *

Dee sat down at the reception table just inside the door and watched Sean stride out into the main hotel space, the phone pressed to his ear. He was pacing up and down, one hand pressed against the back of his neck in a nervous gesture that she had seen him use a couple of times.

She pressed her fingers to her mouth, which was feeling slightly numb, and covered a chuckle. He didn’t even realize that he was doing it.

Dee stood up and strolled into the kitchens between the display areas. She was just about to pour some water when one of the flyers dropped to the floor in the cool breeze from one of the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that was still half-open.

But, instead of closing it, Dee stepped onto the stone courtyard area outside the conference room and slowly inhaled the cool evening air.

After the heat of the past hour it felt deliciously cool on her hot skin.

In the cool February air she could see the lights of the high-tech businesses, city offices and homes which lined the opposite bank of the river Thames. The hotel was partly shaded from the riverside public footpath by landscaped grounds and trees creating a calm and open feel.

It was exactly what she wanted: no white plastic underground basements, just a well-lit and modern space which opened up to the air whenever she wanted.

There was a faint rustling from the room behind her, and Dee looked over one shoulder as Sean came to join her on the terrace. His face was in shadow but she would recognize his shape anywhere.

A soft and silky Sean-warmed suit jacket was draped over her shoulders and she snuggled into it as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

She could feel the warmth of his chest through the many layers of clothing as he pressed his body against her back and wrapped his arms around her waist so that they were both facing the river and the superb view of the city spread out in front of them.

It was as if they were the only people alive at that moment and in that space.

Instinctively she leant backwards so that the back of her head was resting on his chest. The beat of his heart was steady in her ears, then faster.

She did not need to hear it to know that it grew faster for her.

Sean was breathing faster, his pace matching her own.

‘No stars tonight,’ she whispered and pointed up at the clouds which had already covered the crescent moon. ‘But you can still make a wish if you like. You don’t need a shooting star to have your dream come true. I know that now. So tonight is your turn.’

His reply was a hoarse whisper and she felt his hands slip away from around her waist as he spoke. ‘I wish I could. But I can’t. In fact, I have to go and get packed straight away.’

Dee slowly turned around in the circle of his arms so that they were facing one another, and suddenly a shiver ran across her shoulders. In the light from the room she could see the new harsh lines on Sean’s face. All easy chatter and smiles had been wiped away as if they had never been there.

‘Packed? I don’t understand. You are not due in Paris for another few days and you’ve only just got back. You told me that yourself. You don’t need to get packed tonight.’

He licked his lips and looked at her, his gaze darting across her face. ‘I thought that I had at least a week. But that telephone call changed everything.’

Sean lifted his chin as though he was preparing himself.

‘I am sorry, Dee, but I am booked on a flight to Chicago. We have an emergency at the new Beresford hotel we opened at Christmas and they need me to help sort things out. I have to go. And I have to go tonight. So you see, I’ll be gone by the morning.’

Dee stepped backwards and out of his arms, her fingers running down his shirt sleeves so that she was clinging on to him with only a thin layer of fine cotton.

‘Tonight? Do you really have to? We have worked so hard on this together. I...I was hoping that you would be here for the festival tomorrow.’

Dee turned and stared out into the dark night. Her eyes fixed on the movement of the wind in the trees that she could just see in the light from the hotel. There was a cold, damp wind blowing up from the river and she could feel the moisture cooling her face. But it didn’t help to cool the fire burning inside her head.

She felt as though she had been caught in some kind of tornado that had been spinning her round and round from the moment she’d met Sean. Spinning so fast that she had never truly had the chance to get her feet back on the ground.

She had always known that his work in London was temporary, but Paris was only a few hours away by train. They might have had a chance to stay in touch and to stay close. If they worked at it.

If they both wanted it enough.

If he wanted it as much as she did.

He was leaving.

Just as her parents had decided to leave behind the cold, grey British winters and go back to the sunshine and the life that they loved. Just as her friends from catering college had left for jobs all over the world. Just as Josh had gone back to his real girlfriend and left his stand-in, second-best girl standing on the pavement outside his apartment reeling from what the hell had just happened.

She had coped with saying goodbye and managing the shock. And she still had Lottie and Gloria and the girls in the baking club. She could cope with saying goodbye to Sean. She was going to have to; he wasn’t giving her any other choice.

It wasn’t meant to be this hard.

She just wanted him to stay with her so badly.