“Why is my mind telling me it’s got something to do with a woman?” Bart was giving him that Cheshire Cat grin again.
“Go home, Bart.” Dare walked over to the door and held it open. “This one's got nothing to do with you.” He softened his statement with a brief smile.
“Alright, my boy. But if you need any advice you know who to call.”
It would be a dark day before Dare turned to Bart for advice on women. The man had married and divorced three times already. Still, he chuckled. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
After Bart left Dare walked over to the large bay window that looked out onto the ocean breaking against the shore. He crossed his arms and as he stared out onto the blue water his mind, as it had done so many times over the past few months, went back to Erin Samuels.
He’d pulled the hotel records and checked her out. Erin Samuels, student at Canucka College in Vancouver, Canada. Her home address was recorded as well as her cell phone number and e-mail address. For emergency contact she’d conspicuously left it blank. She probably didn’t want her family being informed of her antics while on spring break. She could have any number of reasons. He’d seen guests leave out that portion before.
So he'd had all her information for the past three and a half months and he’d done absolutely nothing with it. Wimp. He grimaced as he berated himself inwardly. He wanted to see Erin Samuels again.
Dare gave a bitter laugh. He knew what she was but he’d held out long enough. He had to see her again, if even for the sole purpose of getting her out of his system. First order of business, he'd get his P.I. to check everything out, make sure she was still at the location in the file. Then he'd go there himself.
His mind made up, he went over to the desk and pressed the intercom.
“Yes, Mr. DeSouza.” Cool and efficient, the voice of his personal assistant crackled through the speakers.
"Book me on a flight to Vancouver, please. I want to fly in day after tomorrow.”
“Very well, Mr. DeSouza. Consider it done.” Always discreet, Claudia didn’t ask for any further details. She knew he would tell her all she needed to know.
Satisfied, Dare grabbed his keys and headed for the door. Erin Samuels was in for quite a surprise.
CHAPTER FIVE
Erin’s first day on the job was a whirlwind of activity. The party of twenty-two showed up at one o’clock and after that there was a steady stream customers so that by the time the restaurant closed at ten o’clock that night she was worn to a near frazzle. How was she going to keep up with this pace, pregnant as she was?
She’d rejoiced at the job offer and she’d appreciated it. Really, she had. But what she hadn’t anticipated was to be on her feet for twelve hours at a stretch with only two fifteen minute breaks and a half an hour for lunch.
That night when she got home, despite her best intentions, she was too tired to tackle step two in her plan - look for a cheaper apartment. She needed to move as soon as possible but her search would have to wait one more day.
Day two was almost as busy as the first. Benny’s Restaurant was clearly a popular destination for all three meals of the day. From the moment Erin got to the restaurant she was kept running back and forth between the kitchen and the tables. Now she realized why ‘Yogi Bear’ as she’d come to think of him had hired her on the spot. She’d learned he’d lost a server the day before and clearly he had too much business to be short-staffed.
The work was tiring but her greatest consolation was the tips. She was almost collecting enough in tips as she would from her salary. Yet another perk of working at a restaurant and one she was so grateful for. She was saving every cent of it for the time when she’d need it most.
By nine o’clock that night the ache in Erin’s feet turned to numbness and she kept glancing at the clock, willing it to speed up toward closing time. The crowd in the restaurant had thinned out with just a few diners lingering for dessert and coffee. Those, she could handle. With a sigh she was turning toward a high stool by the counter, intending to rest her feet for a minute, when a man, tall and dark-haired in a dark, immaculately tailored suit, walked in.
Erin frowned, feeling a twinge of recognition, and then her heart lurched as she recognized the man who filled the doorway. She could never forget those steel-gray eyes, eyes that now held her transfixed. It was Dare.
Suddenly feeling faint, Erin grabbed for the counter and held on. What was he doing here? He was from another time, another life. How in the world had he ended up at the very restaurant where she was working, thousands of miles from Santa Marta? He hadn’t come looking for her, had he? He was walking toward her now, his eyes never leaving hers, and she stumbled back against the counter then froze. There was nowhere to run.
Why had he come? To insult her again? To throw her wantonness in her face? Her breath caught in her throat, her anxiety rising, knowing that his appearance could only mean trouble.
Dare was right in front of her now, looking down at her as if the two of them were the only people in the place.
“Erin Samuels. We meet again.” His lips curled in a sardonic smile as he rested a hand on the counter beside her, trapping her into a corner.
“Dare, what are you doing here?” Her voice was little more than a strained whisper. She was fighting to regain her composure but his nearness, the earthy fragrance of his cologne, were overwhelming her senses. At that moment all she wanted to do was lean into him, feel his hard body against hers, have his arms wrapped around her. But it would not happen, it could not. Not when he despised her so much.
That thought ripped her out of her trance. Dare hated her. He’d used her then thrown her out of his bed. Now he’d strolled back into her life thinking she would do what? Swoon and throw herself at him again? He must be out of his mind. She glared up at him as he towered over her. “Excuse me but I have to get back to work.” Her voice was as cool as the steel of his eyes. “I’m sure there is someone else who can assist you." If he thought she was going to serve him he’d better think again.
She stepped around him, intent on putting as much distance as possible between them.