Tempted by the Tycoon's Proposal

He laughed, the deep rumble working its way through her. ‘Don’t tell Lily that; she’ll be dragging you outside in all your hotel finery, wellies or not.’

She laughed too, the joyful image he painted coming alive in her brain. ‘Any time.’

‘Any time?’ he repeated, clearly not believing she was serious.

A smile continued to tease at her lips, the idea of doing exactly that with both Lily and him far too appealing. Appealing and just as unrealistic. Her breath stuttered in her chest and it took her a second to recover.

‘Don’t look so surprised about it, Jack,’ she murmured when she could. ‘I’m not afraid of a little mud.’

No, she was more afraid of enjoying their company a little too much.

He pursed his lips and nodded. ‘Or crawling underneath tables to play hide-and-seek with my daughter...’

In spite of her unsettled thoughts, she laughed some more. ‘She was actually star-gazing.’

‘With her torch?’

‘I take it you’ve done that with her before?’

‘She’s a little obsessed.’

‘There are plenty worse things she could be obsessed with. Take slime, for example; it gets everywhere.’

‘Oh, no, we’ve been there too. You should have seen the clean-up fee they charged on my last hotel suite.’

Her eyes snapped to his. ‘Am I to expect the same?’

‘Oh, dear...’ He cringed, his boyish hesitation tickling at her. ‘I’d forgotten who you were for a second.’

She had too. She wanted to be someone different; she wanted to be the kind of woman who would date someone like Jack.

He stopped walking, encouraging her to do the same. ‘Forget I mentioned it?’

‘That depends...what’s it worth?’

His eyes darkened, his hands lifting to cup her upper arms and hold her still. The wind, the rain, the passers-by, all fell away. ‘Name your price.’

Price. She’d asked for that and her cheeks warmed against the cold night air while her mind seared with her answer: a kiss.

It was written in her face, in her eyes, she was sure. But she had no right to ask for such a gesture, no right to even think it. It was foolish and...no, she couldn’t.

She turned back towards his car. ‘The rain is picking up; we should head back.’

He was slower to follow, as if he too had been caught in the same momentary fairy tale, but then he was there, his arm back around her waist, bringing his warmth and his comforting presence.

But they’d had their meal, the night would be over soon and tomorrow both Jack and Lily would be back to being just guests in her hotel. The sooner she accepted that, the sooner she could protect herself from getting too attached.

Don’t you think it’s a little late for that already?

‘So, what do you say, Sophia?’ Jack said into the sudden quiet, and lustful heat wedged its way into her throat. He wanted to know her price...

‘Will you have another dinner with Lily and me?’

Phew. No, not phew. She went from overheated to cold and back to overheated in a heartbeat. Another dinner was worse than some flirtatious demand. Wasn’t it?

She gave him a quick look, saw the wish for her to say yes in his imploring greys, and lowered her eyes back to the path.

You can’t say yes. He’s your hotel guest. You’re attached enough already.