Trouble on Her Doorstep (6 page)

His mouth slid slowly down to her lips, making her take a sharp gasp that told him everything he needed to know.

This was a woman designed for pleasure, and given the chance he wanted to be the one to show her just how good that pleasure could be.

Shame that two cyclists just happened to be speed-racing past them at that very second, laughing loudly, followed by a woman on a mobile phone with a tiny yapping dog on a lead.

Perhaps this was not the place. Dee certainly thought so; she let him go so quickly that he almost overbalanced but held it together by keeping a tighter grip on her waist.

Dee grinned back at him, and suddenly it was as if the sunlight in the break in the clouds above their heads was focused on the genuine warmth of her delight. The grey was gone, replaced by an infectious smile which seemed to reach down inside his very being and twist by several hitches that steel wire of attraction that bound them together.

Irrepressible, fun, real. His sunshine on a grey day.

This was what he wanted. This was what he needed in his life.

This was probably why he stepped back, slid his hand from her hip and held his elbow out towards her.

‘May I have the pleasure of being your personal hotel guide on this fine February morning, Miss Flynn?’

Dee looked at his elbow, eyebrows high, as though she was getting ready to give him her very best snarky remark, then flashed him a blushing half-smile.

‘Well, if you can stand the scurrilous gossip this will create, I may be prepared to risk it,’ she replied and threaded her hand through the crook of his elbow. ‘Although, there is something you should know.’

‘You have a jealous boyfriend at home who is going to track me down and sort me out if I make a move?’ Sean chuckled as they strolled up the path away from the river, Dee leaning slightly into his shoulder because of the height difference.

‘Hah! Very amusing. Not a bit. No boyfriend, jealous or otherwise. I am working on my master plan to take over the tea trade one festival at a time. No time for boyfriends; hell, no. They are far too distracting to a lady entrepreneur like myself.’

‘Of course. I completely understand. Today Lottie’s Cake Shop and Tea Rooms, tomorrow the world. I can see it now. And a great idea for a franchise.’

‘I know. But the tea shop is only one of my many talents.’ Dee coughed dismissively. ‘I was quite serious this morning when I answered the shop phone. The tea-import business is at the very early stages and I am taking my time to think about the name of the company and how to brand myself. So important, don’t you agree?’

Sean opened his mouth to answer then looked down at this girl who was capable of rendering him silent.

Then he looked at her again in silence before replying. She was serious. Totally, totally serious.

And his interest in her just ramped up another notch.

‘I do agree. The right name and brand are crucial for creating the perfect image for your company. It has to be unique, creative but easy to recall. Not easy. Which is why there are a lot of companies making serious money working for clients who have exactly that problem.’

His reward was a short nod. ‘I had a feeling that you would appreciate my business sense, which is why I plan to launch my new company at the tea festival. That way I get the perfect feedback direct from the experts in the trade. It’s an ideal opportunity.’

Then she looked up at him with a sly glance.

‘Ah. So this is not just about the tea. Now I understand; you are taking a chance. That’s quite something. Brave.’

‘Daft more like,’ she replied and flashed him a light, quizzical glance though her eyelashes. ‘As a matter of interest... Were you...planning to make a move? Just curious.’

‘Might be. Miss Curious.’

‘Not Miss Anything. The name is Dee, but my friends call me Dee.’

Then she bumped her head against his side. ‘Dee.’

Sean slid his hand down his side and clasped hold of her fingers. ‘My friends call me Sean. Conventional, but I like it.’

‘Sean,’ she whispered and the sound was carried away in the breeze like the sound of the wind in the trees. ‘I like it too.’

He grinned and took a tighter hold of her fingers. ‘Let me show you my hotel. Somehow, I think it might be a perfect match. Ready to find out?’

* * *

‘Prakash! What on earth are you doing here?’

A slim, elegantly dressed man with a Beresford hotel name-pin on his lapel and a lively open smile turned towards them in the foyer of the stunning hotel. But he did not have a chance to reply because Dee squealed and practically pounced on him, pressing her chest against his suit before pecking his cheek.

Then she stood back and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘Oh no, you’re working here. Sorry, Prakash. Especially since your boss is right here with me. Do you know Sean?’

Sean stepped forward and in an instant scanned the employee name-badge and mentally made the connections.

‘Prakash.’ He nodded. ‘Of course.’ They exchanged a hearty handshake. ‘Haven’t you just graduated from the management academy? I know my father was very impressed with the whole team.’

‘Thank you, Mr Beresford. It was tough but I learnt a huge amount.’

‘But what are you doing here?’ Dee pressed, looking into her friend’s startled face as she grabbed his arm. ‘Last time I saw you was when we graduated from catering college and you were all set to run your parents’ chain of family restaurants.’

Ah. So they’d been at catering college together. That would explain why Prakash Mohna was looking shell-shocked. He was probably terrified that Dee was going to start sharing some scandalous student prank that they had got up to.

As though a hidden sensor in the back of Dee’s head had detected that Sean was thinking of her, when she turned his way her face twisted into an expression that screamed out:
go on, say something snarky about students
.

‘Actually, I am the new conference manager. Started yesterday,’ Prakash blustered.

‘Conference manager.’ Dee laughed and thumped him on the shoulder. ‘That’s brilliant news. Because I, Miss Dee Flynn of Flynn’s Phantasmagorian Tea Emporium, need a conference room. In a hurry. Sean here—’ she flicked her head over her shoulder in his direction ‘—found out that I had been double-booked at another Beresford hotel. And several hundred tea lovers are going to descend on London looking for a tea festival a week on Saturday. Do you think that you can help me out? Because otherwise we’ll be setting up the stall in this gorgeous foyer.’

Her college friend flashed Sean a look of sheer panic before licking his lips and waving down a hallway. ‘Why don’t we check the booking system and find out?’

‘Is it computerized?’ Dee winced.

‘Well, yes, but we also have the printed booking sheet as back-up,’ Prakash replied, obviously confused, then he nodded. ‘Don’t tell me that you are still a complete technophobe? Dee!’

She held up both hands in protest. ‘Not a bit. I have a laptop. Lottie has set it up for me and I run my world-class tea empire from the comforts of my own home. Progress has been made.’

Then she turned and opened her mouth to say something with that glint in her eye which told Sean that she couldn’t resist giving him a sly dig, but Sean saw it coming and cut it off.

‘Human error caused the double booking at Richmond Square, so we are going to have to convince Dee that our systems can handle it.’

Sean looked up at Prakash who had pressed a finger to his lips as though he was finding the fact that his boss and his pal from catering college were on first-name terms very amusing.

‘I checked the system this morning, Prakash, and we had a cancellation which might fit the bill. Why don’t I leave you to look after Dee and sort out the details while I take care of some other business? I’ll be just over here if you need me.’

* * *

Sean looked up from the reception desk as Dee’s laughter echoed out across the marble foyer. She was strolling out of the main conference room with her arm looped around Prakash’s elbow.

Right now Prakash seemed to be doing a fine job of charming their latest client and keeping her entertained.

Strange that every time he looked up Dee just happened to glance in his direction and then instantly turn away. With just enough of a blush on the back of her neck to tell him she was only too aware that they were sharing the same breathing space.

Sean paused. For a moment there he thought... Yes, he was right. They were chatting away in what sounded like Hindi.

Of course. She had grown up in India. Nevertheless, it was still impressive.

Dee Flynn was certainly an unusual girl. In more ways than one.

He had made a mistake when he’d walked into the cake shop last night and taken her for a baker or shop assistant.

This girl was a self-employed tea entrepreneur who was organizing what sounded like a very impressive festival on her own.

That took some doing.

She couldn’t be a lot older than his half-sister Annika, who had grown into a lovely and talented photo-journalist. But when it came to organisation? Not one of her strengths, and Annika was happy to admit that, even to him.

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.