had. But you needed to get there yourself.’
She shook her head and sat down, not sure if she was relieved that her idea was one he approved of or annoyed that he’d already thought of it and had let her panic for nothing.
‘So what’s the plan?’ she asked in resignation, and listened as he outlined his thoughts, only objecting when she thought she had something valuable to add.
And even though she knew he was good at his job—even though his calm and commanding presence gave her some stability—she still found herself saying the words that mingled with her every thought.
‘This is going to work, right?’
He looked at her, and something on her face prompted him to sit in the chair opposite her. He placed his hands on her arms and the heat seeped through her jacket right down to her blood.
‘This is going to work. And I would know, since I’ve already seen you in action when you haven’t had the time to plan anything.’ He squeezed her arms. ‘You’re good at what you do spontaneously, and you still have some time to prepare now, while Connor is with them. Think about how awesome you’re going to be with weeks of preparation and fifteen minutes of practice.’ He smiled, and her lips curved in response. ‘This is going to work.’
‘Thanks,’ she said as he stood, and something made her want to offer him the same comfort, even though she knew he didn’t need it. ‘Blake? I’ve seen you work. And your passion, your dedication, doesn’t come close to anything I’ve ever seen before. I know you didn’t have to get new investors, or do as much as you have to save our jobs when the hotel would have probably been more successful if you had downsized.’ She shrugged and then continued softly, ‘I’m still not sure why you agreed to this, but I’m thankful that you did. We all are.’
He nodded, with a mixture of emotions on his face that were complicated enough that she didn’t try to read them.
Instead, she simply said, ‘Shall we do this?’
* * *
‘As you can see, this is the best place to see Cape Town from and look around. Families—tourists and residents alike—all come here to experience the best of the Mother City. This is such an integral part of the family culture of Cape Town—the culture our tourists specifically come for—and now you get to experience it for yourself.’
Blake smiled, though he was sure their two potential investors barely saw it. Not when they’d hung on to Callie’s every word from the moment she’d introduced herself in the conference room that morning. She had done so confidently, as if they had always expected Mr Vercelli—who had insisted they call him by his first name, Marco—and Mr Jung to arrive at the same time.
He looked over at the two men who were admiring the view of Cape Town from its signature attraction. Mr Jung caught his eye and nodded, as though silently agreeing that this might be one of the most beautiful places in the world, his grey hair blowing in the wind. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he wielded a lot of power.
Blake had his finger in pies that didn’t have anything to do with the hotels, and in his previous dealings with Mr Jung he had been fair and open to suggestions. And that meant fertile ground for his expansion plans, he thought, and knew he had to do everything in his power to make sure this proposal was the best it could possibly be.
‘At sunset, this experience is even more beautiful.’
Callie smiled at him, acknowledging that these were words she’d said to him once before. Except then it had just been the two of them, and Blake had felt something inside him longing, which was decidedly not the case now.
‘I think that would be a...er...wonderful thing, Callie.’ Marco’s Italian accent was thick, and his words were punctuated by pauses every now and then, but otherwise his English was flawless. ‘I would love that.’
‘And I would love to bring you up here.’
She smiled again, and Blake knew that part of the reason she was handling these businessmen so seamlessly was because of their appreciation of that smile.
‘If you invest, our hotel’s connections with the staff here would mean we wouldn’t even have to wait in line.’
She smiled again, and Marco burst out laughing. She even coaxed a smile out of Mr Jung.
‘You have a firecracker here, Blake,’ Marco said. ‘I might even steal her for one of my hotels in Italy!’
‘You would have to get through me first,’ Blake said, and saw Callie’s eyes widen. It reminded him of her expression just before they’d almost kissed that night so long ago, when he had pulled her in closer to him...
She bit her lip and he realised that he’d been staring. And that Marco was looking at him with amusement.
He turned his attention back to the Italian man and smiled. ‘Unless you invest, Marco, in which case we can negotiate!’
The boisterous laughter that erupted from Marco made him think that perhaps he hadn’t lost face. But he’d nearly lost his composure, he thought, and forced himself to focus.
Clearly the businessmen weren’t the only ones captivated by Callie’s smile. Her proximity made him say things, do things that he wouldn’t otherwise. Even as she stood now, prim and proper in a black dress and red heels, a matching jacket lying over her arms, he wanted her with a need that surpassed even that which he had felt for Julia.
He cleared his throat. ‘Now that you’ve had a chance to see it for yourself, gentlemen, you can understand how the Elegance’s proximity to Table Mountain is an asset for the hotel. We arrange for free shuttles on request, to drop and fetch our guests at the location, with the added benefit of guided tours if the guest desires it. We’ve also negotiated special rates for families with the Table Mountain tourism management, so all our guests will be able to enjoy this experience together.’
He assumed that the nods from both the men meant they were on board thus far. Now, he thought, to keep going for the next seven hours...
* * *
‘I think we actually pulled that off,’ Callie said as she watched the two businessmen being escorted back to the Elegance from their final stop at the V&A Waterfront, where they’d had dinner.
As soon as they’d been driven away she turned and grinned at Blake.
‘We did,’ he agreed, and shocked her by picking her up and spinning in a circle.
She laughed, but when he put her down and they stood in each other’s arms she felt herself wanting him. She wanted to slide her hands around his waist and pull him close. To celebrate the success of the day. The stars gleaming down on them seemed to encourage her, seemed to tell her that it was the perfect moment to lean forward and kiss him.
But a couple of people nearby whistled at them, and broke her from her trance. She stepped back from him and smiled at their spectators. And when she turned back to Blake he was smiling at her.
‘What?’ she asked, wondering what the strange look on his face was.
‘Nothing,’ he responded, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
His hand
