‘Yes. I’ll help you save the Azure, if that’s what you really want.’
‘It is.’ The words came fast enough, but did he hear a flicker of doubt behind them?
‘You might want to wait and hear me out before you make that decision.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sure.’
‘Really? Because I think you want something more. And I can give that to you.’ He could see her considering it, the temptation on her face clear.
‘What?’ she finally asked, a little grudgingly.
And here they were. His one chance to win her away from this place. ‘I recently took over a chain of hotels—mostly in the UK. I want to turn them into luxury spa hotels—and I think you’d be the person to help develop the spa aspect of them.’
Temptation gave way to shock as her eyebrows rose, frozen high on her forehead. ‘I don’t... I don’t know what to say.’
Which meant she was considering it, right? Time to press the advantage.
‘You’d be home in Britain, with your family,’ he said, knowing he was sweetening the deal with every word. He’d spent enough time with her that week that he knew what she wanted—even if she wouldn’t admit it. ‘Finn would have your parents close too. You’d have support, help—and a generous, regular salary. If you really wanted, we could bring the Azure under the chain umbrella, put a new manager in charge...but it would still be yours and Finn’s.’ He had no idea how that would even work, or what his lawyers would say about it, but he’d say anything to get her to take the deal.
To have a reason to keep her close, to see her regularly, to have her in his life. However he could get her.
But it was more than that, he insisted silently. It was the right thing for her, too. And an opportunity most people would bite his hand off for.
Not Sadie, though. She still looked torn.
‘Just think about it,’ he said, and she nodded absently, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
He couldn’t resist. The timing was wrong, nothing was as he had planned, they still had business to resolve, but he had to kiss her now. Before he went insane with wanting it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SHE KNEW WHAT he was going to do a split second before he moved, could see it in his eyes, the way they softened and warmed. And, just like last time, Sadie knew she should pull away, back off, escape.
Except she didn’t.
His hand came up to her waist and she let it, drawing a breath that burned her lungs at the touch. And when he dipped his head, she raised her chin to meet him, her lips aligning perfectly with his, as if they were meant to be kissed.
As if she’d been waiting her whole life for this.
Had that small, contented noise really come from her mouth? From the way Dylan wrapped his other arm around her, hauling her tight against his body as he deepened the kiss, she suspected it had. And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that their whole week together had been building up to this. She didn’t know if it was history repeating itself, or the future imposing on her determination to cling onto the past, but this, this moment, this kiss, had always been inevitable.
It was what followed that was completely unclear.
After long, long, perfect moments Dylan pulled back, just enough to allow air between their lips again. His face was still so close that she could see every fleck of colour in his eyes, every hint of worry in his expression. He didn’t know what happened next either, and somehow that made her feel a little better.
‘So you’ll think about it?’ Dylan cleared his throat. ‘My business proposal, I mean.’
Her eyes fluttering closed, Sadie let out a low laugh. All business, this man. ‘Yes. I’ll think about it.’
His hands dropped from her waist and she stepped back, sucking in the air that seemed to have disappeared for the length of their kiss.
‘We should get back,’ Dylan said. ‘I have something great planned for tonight, and you’re not going to want to miss it.’
Something more spectacular than that kiss? Sadie doubted it. ‘There’s not much more to see anyway. Just the gift shop. If you think you can live without a magnetic Library of Celsus...’
‘I don’t think I need anything more to remember this day by,’ Dylan said, his gaze fixed on hers. ‘I won’t be forgetting our time in Ephesus in a hurry.’
‘Neither will I,’ Sadie admitted.
They made their way slowly back down the hill, inches separating them. Sadie wondered if she should be holding his hand—back when she’d last kissed someone for the first time, that had been the sort of thing you did afterwards. But, then, Dylan had never struck her as a handholding type.
She had too much to think about to make conversation on the drive back to the Azure, or do more than clench her jaw a little tighter when they passed the spot where they’d stopped earlier. Dylan’s offer, for one, quite apart from that heartstopping kiss.
Why was he offering her this now? He’d come here to help bail out the Azure, but now it seemed he had other plans entirely. And as much as she appreciated him thinking of her...she couldn’t help but wonder if this was just his way of keeping her close without actually having to commit to her in any way.
It was a stupid thought. They’d shared one kiss, that was all. But if they did decide to take things further...what happened next? What could happen, when Dylan had made it very clear that he wasn’t the sort of man who stuck around?
Maybe she needed to separate the business from the personal—except that was impossible when her late husband’s legacy was her business, and his best friend’s job offer might just be a coded message for, ‘Let’s be friends with benefits.’
No, that wasn’t fair. Whatever there was between her and Dylan, it was more than that, she could feel it. What was between them mattered.
But not enough for him to change his whole life philosophy—if she even wanted him to.
She sighed. If she took the job, it would mean abandoning her commitments here. And even if it was what she wanted to do, was it worth the risk to her heart? Dylan Jacobs had held a tiny corner of it for a very long time, she finally admitted to herself, and if she let him take more...well, she might not get it back.
And that was a big risk to take, for anyone.
‘You okay?’ Dylan asked.
She nodded, then realised she was already parked outside the Azure. When had that happened?
‘What’s the plan for tonight?’ she asked unenthusiastically. She needed a long bath and an early night to think about her options, but it was Dylan’s last night.
He flashed her an enigmatic
smile as he climbed out of the car. ‘Just meet me in the lobby at eight. It’s a surprise.’
Just what she needed. More unexpected things happening in her life. ‘Can you at least tell me what I should wear?’
‘Anything you like.’ He leaned back inside the car and pressed a swift kiss to her lips. ‘You always look beautiful to me.’
And then he was gone, skipping up the steps to the Azure Hotel and leaving Sadie feeling more confused than ever.
* * *
Dylan refused to pace the lobby this time. The car was waiting outside, he was suited and booted in his best dinner suit and a crisp, new white shirt. Everything was going to be perfect.
As soon as Sadie showed up.
She didn’t keep him waiting too long. He turned as the elevator let out its familiar ping and watched breathlessly as the doors opened and Sadie stepped out.
‘Wow.’ He’d been aiming for something more eloquent, but from the pink that hit her cheeks, honesty worked just as well. ‘You look spectacular.’
‘Thanks.’ She looked down at her red cocktail dress and swirled her hips a little, making it rise and fall. The movement made every muscle in Dylan’s body tighten.
If he didn’t know better, he’d say that Sadie had plans for tonight, too.
‘I’ve been saving it for a special occasion,’ she said, taking his arm as they walked out of the hotel together. ‘I thought that tonight might fit the bill.’
‘I hope so.’ Now that he was close enough he could feel the slight tremor in her hands, hear the tiny wobble in her voice. Dress aside, she wasn’t as confident as she was making out. It made him feel a little better, actually—because his confidence was giving way to nerves by the second.
‘I, uh, I emailed you the proposal. For the Azure, I mean.’ Had she? He hadn’t checked. And that in itself told him that his priorities were shifting. ‘We could look through it later tonight, if you wanted...’
Dylan shook his head. ‘It can wait until tomorrow.’ Tonight couldn’t be about business, he could sense that. It needed to be about them. But the two were so closely linked...would they really be able to untangle them?