She should be scared—or prepared—for it to be a seduction.
CHAPTER NINE
BACK AT THE AZURE, Dylan hung behind as they arrived in the lobby, waiting for Sadie to disappear before he put his last-minute plan into action.
It only took a moment to realise that Sadie was doing exactly the same thing. The woman was incurably curious.
‘Go on,’ he said, making a shooing motion with his hands. ‘You go get yourself all dolled up for tonight.’
‘You’re sure?’ Sadie remained hovering next to the reception desk, her hands clasped in front of her. Behind the desk, the woman on Reception rolled her eyes in amusement. ‘You don’t need me to call and book anything? What about a taxi?’
‘I have it all in hand,’ Dylan assured her. Which was only partially a lie—he knew exactly what he needed to do to get it in hand. Sadie just had to leave the area first. ‘And if I don’t, the lovely...’ He waved at the girl behind the desk.
‘Esma,’ she filled in promptly.
‘Esma here can help me. So go. Get ready.’ For a moment he thought she was about to object again, then she nodded sharply and started to head for the lifts.
He should let her go. Anything else would just make her more curious, more determined to find out his plans. But still...
‘And, Sadie?’ he called after her. She paused and turned back to face him. ‘Don’t wear black tonight.’
Sadie’s frustrated expression was its own reward.
Once he was sure she’d really gone, and the lift lights had ticked up to the higher floors, Dylan turned to Esma.
‘Okay, here’s the thing. I have a plan, but I need a little help.’
‘Whatever you need, sir,’ Esma replied cheerfully, and he wondered if she’d been ordered to give him anything he wanted, just to make sure he invested. Probably, he decided. No one who worked with people all day was ever naturally that cheery by late afternoon.
‘Great,’ he said. ‘Here’s what I need...’
A few phone calls later and it was done. Cars booked—thanks to Sadie’s reminder about taxis—and the best table reserved at the restaurant of the swankiest and newest hotel in Kusadasi. As an afterthought, he’d also booked a room. Not—despite the voice at the back of his head telling him what a great idea it would be—to try and convince Sadie that friendship wasn’t enough.
No, if Sadie was serious about coming up with a new plan, and doing whatever it took to save the Azure, then she needed to know what she was up against. And so did he. The Paradise Grand Hotel was the place to go for that. By the time she’d taken a good look at the place and its rooms and restaurant, Sadie would know exactly how much work they had ahead of them.
Letting himself into his suite, he headed straight for the shower, whistling as he went. Everything was coming together nicely.
It wasn’t until he was lathering up, water sluicing down around him, that it occurred to Dylan that Sadie might think the evening could be something other than just business.
And would that really be so bad?
They’d made it past the memories of last night and through the strange, close moments on the beach. If he wasn’t mistaken, there had been a definite...softening in Sadie’s attitude to him since he’d confessed to the almost-kiss she apparently couldn’t remember.
Maybe this was more than just business. Maybe it could even be a second chance at something he’d never really had a first chance at.
But no. Tonight wasn’t the night.
Even if he did want to try and win one night with her, one glorious stolen moment, it couldn’t be tonight. Before anything at all could happen between them, they had to hammer out the work side of things. Mixing business and pleasure never ended well, in his experience.
But once their plan for the Azure was secure, he’d have a whole new proposal to put to Sadie.
He couldn’t just take his usual, casual approach to a hook-up—because Sadie wasn’t like his usual conquests. They had history, for a start. And she’d been clear on the friendship front, for good reasons. Her place was here in Turkey, with Finn and her memories, much as he wished he might be able to persuade her to move on from that. He couldn’t compete with the commitments she’d made—and even if he could, would he really want to? So he’d be upfront about what he could offer—and it wasn’t forever. He was a short-term fix at best—in business or otherwise. That had to be clear before he could take things further, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair—on either of them.
Tonight would be all business.
Decision made, Dylan shut off the shower and told himself that putting on his best suit for the evening was all about the destination, not the company.
* * *
Don’t wear black. What kind of fashion advice was that? And who was Dylan Jacobs to tell her what she should or shouldn’t wear anyway?
Except...if tonight was about them for once, instead of business, maybe this was just his way of hinting at that. Letting her know she was off duty tonight; that she could retire the black suit, relax and just enjoy being there with him.
She had to admit it did sound appealing.
Eventually, she picked out a navy halterneck cocktail dress that showed off her slightly pink shoulders, and slid it over her showered and lotioned skin. It was fancier than anything she’d have worn to the restaurant at the Azure or to a bar, but not too over the top. And he had said to dress up...
With a decisive nod, Sadie picked out her highest silver heels and added a little eyeliner to her usual make-up.
When she finally made her way down to the lobby, she was glad she’d made the effort. Hanging off the arm of Dylan Jacobs could be enough to make a girl feel positively plain by comparison at the best of times, but the suit he’d chosen for the evening only made things worse. Charcoal grey and perfectly cut, it accentuated all the wonderful things about his body that she’d tried not to stare at on the beach that morning. With a crisp, white shirt open at the neck he looked the epitome of relaxed elegance.
Sadie stood up a little straighter and hoped she didn’t fall over in the unfamiliar heels.
‘You look fantastic,’ Dylan said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. ‘And navy—’
‘It’s not black,’ Sadie interrupted quickly. ‘That was your only stipulation.’
‘Is definitely you
r colour—that was all I was going to say.’ Dylan flashed her a smile as he took her arm. ‘Come on, the car is waiting.’
‘Okay,’ Sadie said, once they were both settled in the back seat of the car. ‘I’m dolled up, we’re in the car—now will you tell me where we’re going?’
‘What’s the best, most luxurious and prestigious hotel in Kusadasi?’
‘The new Paradise Grand,’ Sadie answered promptly, then frowned. ‘Wait. Why are we going there?’
‘To check out the competition,’ Dylan said. ‘If you’re really ready to go with a new plan to save the Azure, you need to know exactly what you’re up against.’
She should have worn a black suit.
Hopefully the car was dark enough that he couldn’t see her embarrassed blush. What had she been thinking, imagining this could be anything more than just business? Wasn’t that what they’d agreed? And what she’d insisted on from the start?
This was why he was here, in Turkey. Anything else was completely incidental. She had to remember that.
‘Here we are,’ Dylan said a while later, as the car pulled to a halt. Jumping out, he headed round to open her door before the driver could, and she took his hand as she stepped out of the car.
At least now she knew what she was really there for, she could give it her full attention.
The new Paradise Grand Hotel was on the outskirts of town, a little further than most tourists would like—but there the similarities with the Azure ended. Sadie was pretty sure that any guest would put up with the mildly inconvenient location in return for the splendour the Paradise Grand offered.
The hotel building rose out of a garden of palm leaves and greenery, all glass and steel and white stone. Her hand on Dylan’s arm, Sadie climbed the steps and the automatic doors opened with a swoosh.
Inside, the lobby was every bit as impressive as the exterior. The centre of the building was open all the way to the glass roof—some twenty storeys up—and every floor had a balcony overlooking the majesty of the central foyer. An ostentatious fountain burbled in the middle, surrounded by more local flora. Sadie swallowed as the chattering sounds of what had to be a full-occupancy hotel filled her ears.