something special. Sean admired his mother and his grandparents more than he could say. They had taught him that hard work was the only way to make sure that you were never poor or hungry again. To build a legacy that nobody could take away from you.
No wonder his dad had adored her.
His dad usually had been working all hours of the day and night at one or another of the hotels, but if he was home when they got back, carrying their bags of assorted ‘treasures’, he’d used to laugh like a train and go through every single one and pretend to love it.
Happy days.
Happier days.
Sean inhaled a couple of sharp breaths.
It had been years since he had been to a street market and even longer since he had thought about coming here with his mother as a boy. Most of the time he would much rather have been playing football with his mates from school. But now? Now they were treasured memories.
Long years filled with good times and bad. Hard, physical work had helped to block out the bad. Long years when he’d usually been so exhausted that he collapsed into bed at night without the luxury of dreams.
Not much had changed there. He was still working so hard that sometimes the days just melted together into one huge blur.
When was the last time he had walked anywhere? He always caught a black cab or had a limo waiting to take him to some airport. There was no down time. There couldn’t be. His work demanded his full attention and he didn’t know how to give anything else but his best.
He had paid the price for the hugely successful company expansion.
Only, at moments like this, he wondered if maybe the cost was too high.
Sasha had been the last of a long line of short-term relationships. His friends had stopped calling because there was always some excellent reason why he couldn’t make their dinner or meet up for drinks.
All he had left was his family.
Sean stood in silence, overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells of the street market, and allowed all of those happy memories to come flooding back.
The sun broke through the clouds and filled the space with light and a little warmth. The birds were singing in the London plane trees which lined the street and, for the first time in months, he felt a sense of contentment well up inside him.
Shockingly new. Depressingly rare.
But for once he did not over-analyze how he felt or push it away.
He simply gave in to the sensation and enjoyed the moment. Each breath of the heady air seemed to invigorate him. The long-standing stiffness in his neck and shoulders simply drifted away. Gone.
He felt engaged and buoyant at the same time.
He shook his head and sighed. Maybe there was something to be said for leaving the hotel now and again.
And he knew precisely who to blame.
The girl who was strolling down between the market stalls, oblivious to the world, a grin on her face and a skip in her steps. Living in the moment and loving it.
Gorgeous, astonishing and totally pushing all of his buttons.
Dee Flynn was turning out to be the best thing that had happened to him in quite a while.
Forget the rules. Forget over-analyzing his schedule and responding to every email that came in. Time to take some of that personal time he was due and had never taken. And he knew who he wanted to share it with.
* * *
Dee dropped her head back and felt the sun on her face.
Oh, that felt so good.
Okay, it was a pale imitation of the sun she had grown up with, but right now she would take whatever sun she could get.
‘Sunbathing already? Does this mean that you plan to strip off any time soon? Because if you do I can sell tickets and talk up the tea festival at the same time.’
Dee chuckled from deep in her chest.
Sean. His voice was deep, slow and as smooth as fine chocolate. Unmistakable.
She couldn’t be angry with this man. Not when the sun was shining and she had a new venue which was ten times more impressive that the Richmond Square hotel—not that she would tell him that,
No wonder his dad had adored her.
His dad usually had been working all hours of the day and night at one or another of the hotels, but if he was home when they got back, carrying their bags of assorted ‘treasures’, he’d used to laugh like a train and go through every single one and pretend to love it.
Happy days.
Happier days.
Sean inhaled a couple of sharp breaths.
It had been years since he had been to a street market and even longer since he had thought about coming here with his mother as a boy. Most of the time he would much rather have been playing football with his mates from school. But now? Now they were treasured memories.
Long years filled with good times and bad. Hard, physical work had helped to block out the bad. Long years when he’d usually been so exhausted that he collapsed into bed at night without the luxury of dreams.
Not much had changed there. He was still working so hard that sometimes the days just melted together into one huge blur.
When was the last time he had walked anywhere? He always caught a black cab or had a limo waiting to take him to some airport. There was no down time. There couldn’t be. His work demanded his full attention and he didn’t know how to give anything else but his best.
He had paid the price for the hugely successful company expansion.
Only, at moments like this, he wondered if maybe the cost was too high.
Sasha had been the last of a long line of short-term relationships. His friends had stopped calling because there was always some excellent reason why he couldn’t make their dinner or meet up for drinks.
All he had left was his family.
Sean stood in silence, overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells of the street market, and allowed all of those happy memories to come flooding back.
The sun broke through the clouds and filled the space with light and a little warmth. The birds were singing in the London plane trees which lined the street and, for the first time in months, he felt a sense of contentment well up inside him.
Shockingly new. Depressingly rare.
But for once he did not over-analyze how he felt or push it away.
He simply gave in to the sensation and enjoyed the moment. Each breath of the heady air seemed to invigorate him. The long-standing stiffness in his neck and shoulders simply drifted away. Gone.
He felt engaged and buoyant at the same time.
He shook his head and sighed. Maybe there was something to be said for leaving the hotel now and again.
And he knew precisely who to blame.
The girl who was strolling down between the market stalls, oblivious to the world, a grin on her face and a skip in her steps. Living in the moment and loving it.
Gorgeous, astonishing and totally pushing all of his buttons.
Dee Flynn was turning out to be the best thing that had happened to him in quite a while.
Forget the rules. Forget over-analyzing his schedule and responding to every email that came in. Time to take some of that personal time he was due and had never taken. And he knew who he wanted to share it with.
* * *
Dee dropped her head back and felt the sun on her face.
Oh, that felt so good.
Okay, it was a pale imitation of the sun she had grown up with, but right now she would take whatever sun she could get.
‘Sunbathing already? Does this mean that you plan to strip off any time soon? Because if you do I can sell tickets and talk up the tea festival at the same time.’
Dee chuckled from deep in her chest.
Sean. His voice was deep, slow and as smooth as fine chocolate. Unmistakable.
She couldn’t be angry with this man. Not when the sun was shining and she had a new venue which was ten times more impressive that the Richmond Square hotel—not that she would tell him that,
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