Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari
Chapter Sixteen
Candace
I close the hotel room door behind me and sigh again, groaning at the thought that I have to wait a whole night to see him again. It feels like it’s just too long. It’s not fair.
I hug my arms across my chest as I lay back on the bed, still fully dressed. I should get ready for bed, take off my makeup, get some rest. But I can’t stop thinking about Sean. I don’t want to stop thinking about Sean.
About his strong arms, and the way it feels when he wraps them around me. About the gentle words, he speaks right into my ear. The way his fingers and tongue brought me to a kind of ecstasy I have never known, so intense and powerful. How handsome he is, how charming. How he makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world that matters.
Oh, god. I have it bad. And we haven’t even done it yet.
And we only have a week together.
I shut that thought out of my mind, choosing instead to think about mentally undressing him. About how he’ll look underneath those expensive tailored clothes. I don’t have any doubt that he’ll look like a movie star there as well. It’s easy to see that he takes good care of himself and that he appreciates the finer things in life. I’m sure that includes membership to exclusive international gyms or even a personal trainer.
I start to imagine what it would be like to take his clothes off, the way he did for me. To put my hands all over his skin. And I find myself wet all over again, rolling over to bury my face in the pillow with a groan of frustration. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.
* * *
I wake in time to have a shower and dry my hair before we’re due to meet, conscious that I want to look and feel my best today. There’s a nervous energy thrumming through my whole body, making me feel electrified. I can’t sit still, and I end up heading downstairs to the lobby earlier than planned because I’m too restless to wait any longer.
And when I see him waiting for me, his tall body folded into one of the chairs near the reception area, I can’t help but grin. It seems we both had the same feeling.
“Morning,” I say, bounding over to him, unable to contain my enthusiasm. I don’t even care if I come off as some inexperienced, eager kid. I can’t hold back the way that I feel.
“Candace,” he says, standing up and smiling at me. “You look amazing, as always.” He holds me at arm’s length to assess me before swooping in for a kiss and then offering his hand.
I take it, and he begins to lead me out of the lobby and onto the street.
“What are we doing today?” I ask. “I mean, aside from the obvious.”
He chuckles. “I thought I’d treat you to the VIP experience. Have you ever had a personal shopper?”
I snort. Surely, he must know that I haven’t. “That sounds expensive.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Sean says. “I’ve got it covered. You just focus on having a good time today.”
“I can’t let you pay for everything,” I protest. “It’s not fair.”
“Of course, it’s fair,” he says, as we step outside and over to a waiting taxi. “If I’m offering to take you somewhere that costs a lot of money, it’s only right that I should be the one to pay for it.”
“But I don’t want you to think that I’m some kind of… gold digger,” I say, getting in and then having to wait for his response anxiously as he goes around the car to the other side.
“I don’t think that of you,” he says, settling in next to me. “Like I said, it’s my treat. I want to do this for you. Please – let me.”
I sigh, settling back against the seat as the driver sets off. “I don’t suppose I have a choice, do I?”
Sean grins. “Now you’re getting it. If it makes you feel better, I’ll set a budget with the shopper so you can’t just buy everything and anything. Would that help?”
“Yes, it would,” I nod. It makes me feel a little more like this is a controlled situation. Like whatever I pick won’t be beyond what he was expecting. The worst thing would be for me to pick out something I wanted him to buy for me, only to see the look on his face if it turned out to be far more expensive than he had budgeted for.
We pull up outside a luxury department store, and Sean gets out first to hurry around to my side and open the door for me. Then he leads me out by the hand and into the store, and after a short elevator ride, we emerge onto a floor full of luxury womenswear brands. A woman in a chic uniform steps forward to greet us with a smile. I guess part of her job must be figuring out who her customers are and when they’ve arrived, so she can be there to find them no matter what.
“Good morning,” she says. “Are you ready to begin your shopping session?”
“Don’t look at me,” Sean says, as I glance up at him. “I’m just going to go buy a new suit. This is all about you. Let Shelly here guide you, and don’t be afraid to tell her what you want either. I’ll see you in a little while.” He kisses me, a lingering kiss that leaves me with enough to get by on for at least an hour without him, and then disappears.
“You’re so lucky,” Shelly enthuses, leading me through to a smaller room set out with plush chairs and a couple of private changing booths. “We don’t often get customers with this kind of budget shopping here, and we have a lot of customers.”
That makes me groan internally. So much for having a sensible budget. “Shelly,” I say. “Do me a favor. Whatever that budget is – could we maybe spend less than half?”
Shelly looks a little disappointed, but she nods. “Certainly. You’re in charge, of course.”
“I really appreciate that,” I say, feeling like it’s one small victory, at least.
What follows is a couple of hours of what seems like madness to me.
Shelly starts by doing an accurate assessment of what will suit and fit my body without so much as reaching for a measuring tape, and I’m baffled by how amazing all of her choices are. We start from there, and then she tweaks her suggestions according to my likes and dislikes until she’s provided me with what must surely be the perfect wardrobe.
And I can’t believe I’m even accepting it, but after the first hour, Sean comes and joins us with a brand new suit folded up inside a garment bag, and sits quietly to wait and watch. Shelly makes sure that we’re both provided with refreshments at every stage of the way, with our every need being catered for.
If this is what being a VIP is like, I think I could really start to get used to it.
“There’s just one problem with all of this,” I say, looking at the items I’ve allowed Shelly to keep to one side as perfect for me. It isn’t anywhere close to half the budget, she assures me, and yet it looks like an awful lot. “I’m not going to have room in my luggage to take all of this home.”
“Shelly, you must have some nice suitcases for us to choose from?” Sean says mildly, sending her scurrying off to another department to bring us some samples.
I shake my head in wonder. “I don’t know how you can just spend all of this money so casually,” I say. “Are you sure this is really alright?”
“I’m sure,” he says, setting down the men’s fashion magazine Shelly had brought to entertain him. “Listen, Candace, you don’t have to feel bad about accepting gifts from me. I’ve made a lot of money in my life, and I haven’t had a lot to spend it on other than myself. It feels good to do something for another person. And especially a person as jaw-droppingly beautiful as you.”
I blush at the compliment, but I don’t quite feel convinced just yet. Surely, there must be more to his story than he’s letting on. There must be something else he could spend his money on if he wanted to.
“Isn’t there anyone else?” I ask. “Someone from your past, even? You never had any children…?”
Sean cocks his head sideways at me with a funny smile. “No, Candace,” he says. “I don’t have children, and there’s nothing to tell about my past. There’s no one you need to be worried about.”
“Oh, well, not worried,” I start because I really do want to get to the bottom of this – to find out conclusively if he has any ex-wives or even significant ex-girlfriends hanging around. But just at that moment, Shelly arrives with a wheeled trolley showcasing different options of designer suitcases, and I have to cut off the thought – saving it for another time when we can speak alone.
But it hasn’t left my mind. I’m going to find out about Sean’s past sooner or later – because a man who is this gorgeous and this good at his job must surely have someone important in his life at some point.
