30 #3
“Sorry?” Jerome looked down at her confused.
“The fashion show? Where was it supposed to be held?”
“At some hotel, I think. Here in Leeds.”
“We used to do fashion shows at the bar. Down in London.”
“Really?” Jerome’s face softened, his previous agitation forgotten.
“Uh-huh. It was great fun and was always very successful. Especially if there were celebrities involved.”
Jerome cocked his head to the side. “You sound as if you miss it.”
Dani shook her head from left to right and twisted her mouth. “Sometimes. It’s a different buzz, the atmosphere in a bar than a restaurant.” She was slightly jostled by someone behind her causing her to step a little closer to Jerome.
“Yes it is. I love La Casa because it feels, well it feels like my home.” Jerome’s eyes lit up and he chuckled.
“Well of course it does.” Dani grinned back, picking up the play on words.
“But Sky gives me that excitement. It’s like I step into a different world, detached from La Casa. I sometimes feel a little guilty when I’m there, having such a good time,” he huffed mildly.
“It’s almost as though you’re cheating on La Casa,” Dani snorted, looking down into her glass again and Jerome’s face dropped for a split second.
“I suppose it’s like a parent having to choose which one is their favourite child.
” She looked back up at him and her heart lurched at the intense way he was staring at her.
“Choosing your favourite… um business, that is.”
Jerome nodded slowly and suddenly Dani’s mouth dried up.
She swallowed hard but there was no moisture there at all, so she lifted her glass and took a gulp.
Jerome licked his lips and stepped forward, closing the already small gap between them, his sudden close proximity caused Dani to heat up.
Shit, what was going on? They were in a school, surrounded by hundreds of people and he was looking at her in a way that made her feel like there wasn’t a single person in the room.
It felt like the air had been sucked from the huge room, all sound and sense had been removed, vanished, and it was just the two of them.
Say something, for goodness sake, anything she pleaded with herself.
Her cheeks heated as she stood rigid, spell bound by those magnificent hexagonal eyes, unable to look away as his head seemed to inch closer to her.
Or was it because she was leaning? Drawn to him.
Dani took a deep breath, he was close enough so that she could inhale his distinctive and intoxicating scent and the effects of it did the same thing every time.
Her pulse raced, her heart beat sped up and the hair on the back of her head prickled.
Then from nowhere, her brain seemed to jolt back to life from its halted state, and an idea burst into her head.
“You could do the fashion show at Sky,” she blurted out.
Those eight words shook Jerome out of the unexpected intimate moment and he drew a deep breath, straightening. The spell broken, the moment disappearing.
“I’m sorry?”
“You could hold the cancelled fashion show at Sky.”
“Oh, I see.” His brow creased, still reeling at the hasty change of atmosphere, from intimate and warm to decidedly cooler and serious.
“It’s certainly big enough and has the right high profile. You could do it on a Monday when it’s normally closed. Early.” Yes that’s it, focus on work, thought Dani. “January, yes January’s a good time to do it, when trade slackens off and it would also give you time to organise it.”
She rambled on hardly taking a breath. Jerome regarded her with a mixture of awe and puzzlement.
Not a few seconds before, he was seriously contemplating kissing her in the great hall of his children’s school.
He had an inexplicable compulsion to do so.
As though her presence was a powerful magnet; pulling him towards her, drawing him into her magnetic field.
And he was totally powerless. He realised she’d felt it, picked up on the shift of chemistry and defused it before it was too late, before they crossed more boundaries.
“It would be excellent publicity for Sky, not that you need it,” Dani continued, on a roll now, her adrenalin pumping through her, after the highly-charged atmosphere only a few moments earlier.
She had no idea what had just happened or what Jerome was thinking but as she allowed herself to glimpse up at him she noted his eyes had flattened.
Part of her was devastated that she’d purposely pushed him away with talk of business.
The other part of her wanted nothing more than to let the obvious chemistry explode between them.
Self-preservation, she reminded herself, mentally patting herself on her back.
“The press would be all over you for doing a charity fashion show. And you could promote Level One too. Use the salon.” She finally took a pause.
Jerome took a deep breath and smiled softly down at her beautiful expectant face. “That’s really not a bad idea.”
Dani’s large brown eyes lit up as she beamed up at him.
It took Jerome every ounce of willpower not to bend down and kiss her hard, until she couldn’t breathe.
Everything about her fascinated him; her wit, her enthusiasm, her kindness.
She had the ability to make him forget everything that worried him and see only light, brilliant vibrant light that seemed to shine from within her.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“And it would mean Liz would get to do her fashion show after all,” added Dani.
There it was; the slap to the face. The wakeup call.
The not so subtle reminder from Dani that he was married.
Jerome clenched his jaw. What was he doing?
What on earth did he think was going to happen?
He was married and Dani wasn’t the kind of girl that went after married men.
If she was, Jerome knew he wouldn’t be interested in her. He smiled tightly at her.
“Yes, it would…” before he could thank her, Jerome’s eye caught his mother approaching them with, if he wasn’t mistaken, Adam’s father. His eyebrows rose in surprise, witnessing Gia in full flirt mode and from what Jerome could tell, Ray was blissfully lapping it up.
“Is that Adam’s father?” he asked. Dani turned around in the direction in which Jerome was looking.
“Er, yes.”
Gia beamed over to Jerome as she saw him. “Ah, there you are.”
“Hello, Jerome.” Ray put out his hand for Jerome to shake.
“Hello, Dr Holmes.”
“Ray, please,” corrected Ray. “I was just bringing back your mother.” Ray turned to Dani. “Adam and Chloe are waiting by the car. They asked me to come and get you.”
“Oh, okay. We’d better go, then.”
Dani turned back to Jerome to say goodbye.
“See you tomorrow.”
He smiled warmly at her, “Domani.”
“Domani,“ Dani repeated softly and then reluctantly turned to Gia to hug her. Ray nodded a curt goodbye to Jerome and then turned his full attention to Gia.
“So, I’ll be hopefully see you soon?”
“Si, I’m looking forward to it,“ she smiled coyly.
“Goodbye, then.”
“Arrivederci, Raymoundo.”
Ray and Dani unwillingly left Gia and Jerome to head back to the car park.
“You seemed to be quite friendly with Gia,” Dani commented as they walked through the school’s corridors that lead out to the car park.
Ray beamed. “She really is something. I could listen to her talk all day.”
“Evidently,” Dani said wryly. “So it’s the accent, then? Not the fact that she’s absolutely gorgeous?” Dani snorted.
“Oh no, that as well,” he laughed. “They’re all a bloody good looking lot. I can’t believe Gia has three sons over thirty.”
“Yes, I know. They’re all really nice and charming in their own way. But I only really know Jerome, because we work together,” added Dani.
Ray slowed down his pace when they reached the door and looked at Dani. Arching his brow, he countered, “Evidently,” causing Dani to blush. She stepped through the open door and walked quickly to where she could see Chloe and Adam by their car.
The children were already buckled up in the car and Ray leaned in to congratulate them on their performance. Rosie was almost falling asleep, but perked up once she saw her grandfather. Ray said his goodbyes to Chloe and Adam, then turned to Dani.
“It was nice seeing you, Dani. I’ll be in the restaurant on Thursday.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I’ll be booking a lunch at La Casa for my senior and junior partners.”
“Oh, okay, then. See you then?” Dani stretched up and gave Ray a peck on the cheek. “Goodbye Ray.”
“Arrivederci Dani.“ Ray winked at her and Adam snorted.
“Steady on there, Raymoundo!“ he chuckled and slipped into the driver seat.
SAM WHITELY CONTEMPLATED HIS next move. Scott had been pleased with the photos and footage, but Sam wanted to get something more conclusive.
He’d been in this business for five years now and had always managed to get his clients what they needed.
But he never missed an opportunity to get that something extra, go that bit further.
He enjoyed the challenge. Sam knew he was at a disadvantage here in this luxurious setting.
There weren’t enough people to hide himself amongst, so it was important to blend in and not stick out.
Sam sat in the grand dining room of the main hotel and forked around his delicious red snapper.
There were roughly twenty guests in the restaurant and no sign of Liz and Jonathan.
They were obviously holed up in their room.
He took a long drink from his beer. There were really very few options.
It was still early, he hoped he’d get lucky again and spot them in the grounds but he’d be on foot and the grounds were so extensive without a golf cart and a guide, he wouldn’t be able to cover the area.
Sam quickly finished his meal and gathered up his camera.
Well, if he had to have a guide with him, so be it, he could use him for his cover.