“I don’t know.” Then he shook his head as if he wasn’t hearing right. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to play the piano at a party here at the resort tonight?”
She shrugged. “It’s just background music during dinner.” But she wasn’t quite so calm inside, and talking about it now was making her kind of nervous.
He tilted his head at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you could play the piano?”
“It wasn’t a job requirement,” she joked, more to calm her growing anxiety than anything.
His mouth quirked. “No, I guess it wasn’t.”
Her humor over, she bit her lip. “Actually, do you mind if I leave a little early? I need to get myself ready and I’d like some time to myself.”
He gave a wayward smile. “You creative types are all alike.”
“Blake—”
“Feel free to leave early,” he agreed. Then his eyes slowly settled on her mouth. “But before you go…” Hunger jumped the distance between them. “I do think there is one requirement of your job that needs revisiting.”
She knew what he was getting at. Her heart raced with a growing excitement. “Blake, we can’t make love in here every afternoon.”
“Who said we can’t?”
“But I have to go now,” she said, knowing she was weakening.
“In a minute,” he murmured, sending her an intimate look across the desk. “Come and give me a kiss goodbye first.”
She wagged a finger at him. “That’s all, Blake. One kiss and no more.”
“Trust me.”
She moved toward him. “Okay…”
Half an hour later she left the office a very satisfied woman, amused at how easily she had fallen for his trickery. Of course, she couldn’t fully blame her boss. She’d wanted to fall for it.
“Lady, you’re far too dangerous to let loose on our male guests,” Blake said, watching Samantha step into high heels. She wore a beaded jacket over black evening pants that flattered her slim figure, and she’d curled the brunette strands of her hair into a bubbly halo around her gorgeous face.“You think I look okay?”
“More than okay. You’ll knock ’em dead.” He stepped closer and went to pull her toward him but she put a hand against his chest, stopping him.
“Wait! You’ll mess up my lipstick.”
Blake was amused. “I’d like to mess up more than your lipstick, beautiful.”
Her blue eyes smiled back at him. “You already did that this afternoon. ‘Trust me,’ remember?”
He gave a low chuckle. “I remember.” Even now he felt the stirrings of desire, so he stepped away from temptation. “Come on. I’ll drive you up to the Manor.”
“I can call the valet.”
“That’s okay. I want to look over those documents Gavin gave me about the new bungalow. It’ll be a good chance to study them without the phones ringing.” It was an excuse but she looked so good that he wanted to make sure she got home okay. If anyone hit on her they’d be sorry.
Ten minutes later they walked down the corridor toward the ballroom, but as they got closer she suddenly stopped. “Blake, please. Don’t come in with me. You’ll only make me more nervous.”
“Okay. I’ll be in the office until you’re ready to go home.”
“But—”
He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll wait for you.”
He looked up and saw Erica and Christian coming toward them. They were a distance away so he nodded at them then turned and walked in the other direction, taking the private elevator up to the office. He didn’t care that they’d seen the kiss. He did care that they might think Samantha was his weak spot.
Christian had proven his integrity months ago, but the other man had his own weak point—Erica. It could make him blind to whatever his fiancée was up to, Blake thought, then winced. She may not be up to anything at all, he corrected, aware his hard attitude toward his half sister was diminishing with each passing day.
Yet he couldn’t discount Erica was fooling him as well as Christian, though he was feeling less and less that was the case. He was usually a pretty good judge of character—when emotions weren’t involved. Unfortunately finding out he had a half sister had brought out an emotional response in him. He hadn’t liked that.
And he didn’t like the emotional response he was feeling now as he sat down at his desk and saw the file with the résumés. It all came back that Samantha was actually going to leave. It had either been let her go in three weeks’ time or lose her now. He hadn’t been able to bear the thought of the latter.
And he wasn’t up to reading those résumés right now either, he decided, putting them to the side. He would deal with it when he had to and not before.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been working when he heard piano music drift up from the bottom floor. He sat back in his chair and listened. Samantha was clearly talented as she went from one tune to another, even throwing in some classical music. He heard clapping at the end of that one, though whether it was for Samantha or in honor of the birthday guest, he wasn’t sure. The music started up in another medley of popular tunes, so he figured it was for Samantha.
And rightly so.
Unable to stop himself, he knew he had to see her play in person and not merely listen from afar. He got up from his desk and went downstairs, hearing the clink of glasses and cutlery and the murmur of voices, but it was the music that drew him as he approached the ballroom.
Pushing open one of the large doors, he slipped inside and stood at the back, watching people half listening and half talking as Samantha played another piece of classical music. She didn’t see him, but she appeared totally at ease at the piano, concentrating on the music, her hands flowing across the keys, looking very feminine and beautiful. Suddenly he was so proud of her that a lump rose in his throat.
“She’s good,” a female voice murmured, and he glanced sideways at an attractive woman in her late thirties who’d come to stand beside him.
He wasn’t interested. “Yes,” he said, looking back at Samantha.
“You’re new here.” She thrust a manicured hand in front of him. “I’m Clarice, by the way.”
It would have been rude not to shake her hand, but he still wasn’t interested. “Blake.” He wished the woman would leave him alone so that he could concentrate on Samantha.
“Do you know the guest of honor?”
For a moment he thought she meant Samantha, then he realized she was talking about the birthday lady. “A casual acquaintance.” He didn’t feel the need to explain.
“I went to boarding school with Anne. We’ve been lifelong friends.”
“That’s great.” The music ended on a high note and everyone started to clap and it gave him the chance to move away. “Excuse me,” he said, taking a step.
Clarice put her hand on his arm, stopping him. “Would you care to have a drink later?”
He’d been approached like this many times but for some reason now he found it distasteful, though he hid it. He only wanted to see Samantha. “I’m sorry,” he said, being as nice as possible so as not to offend. “Not tonight.” He walked away.
And headed straight for Samantha getting up from the piano. She was laughing as some people rushed to talk to her, and as Blake weaved his way through the tables he could only think how much she lit up the room.
Then she saw him. “Blake,” she murmured, her blue eyes lighting up for him, sending an extraordinary feeling soaring inside his chest.
He reached her and put his hand on her elbow. “I think the lady needs a drink,” he told the group at large, making no apologies as he led her away.
“What are you doing here?” she said as he took her over to the bar.
“I could hear the music upstairs. It drew me to you.” He paused. “I’m totally in awe of you,” he murmured, pleased to see a hint of dusky rose color her cheeks.
“Thank you,” she said in a breathy voice.
For a moment they held one another’s gaze.
“Samantha,” Erica said, rushing up to them and kissing Samantha on the cheek. “You were wonderful!” In her excitement she kissed Blake’s cheek, too. “Isn’t she wonderful, Blake?”
For a split second he froze at Erica’s friendliness, but then he found himself relenting toward her even more. Anyone who liked Samantha so much deserved a little more consideration.
He gave his half sister his first ever warm smile. “Yes, she’s pretty wonderful.”
Erica seemed a little taken aback at his friendliness, but her self-possession soon returned as she spoke to Samantha. “The minute you started playing this afternoon, I knew you were good.”
Samantha laughed as she looked from one to the other. “Do either of you have an ear for music?”
“We know a class act when we see it,” Erica said, then winked at her half brother. “Don’t you agree, Blake?”
Blake nodded, his gaze returning to Samantha and resting there. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said, as everything inside him went still.
Samantha was class all the way.
Just then, the real guest of honor and her husband came up to thank Samantha for playing so beautifully. Then Anne asked Samantha if she’d play her a special piece of classical music.
And as Blake watched Samantha start to play the piano again, he realized this woman could be destined for better things than being his assistant. He wasn’t an expert at piano playing by any means, but he knew when something sounded good. It hit home then that he had no right to keep her here and hold her back from what could be her true vocation. He really did have to let her go. Somewhere at the back of his mind he’d still believed she wouldn’t leave. Now he knew different.
“You’re amazingly good at playing the piano,” he said later, once they were inside Pine Lodge and alone together.
She sent him an amused glance as she took off her coat. “Don’t start that again.”
He frowned as he took off his own coat and hung it on the rack. “I don’t understand why you didn’t take your music further. I’m sure you could be a world-class pianist.”
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I’m an average pianist. I know my limitations.”
He’d been raised to push himself to the limit. “Aren’t you putting those limitations on yourself?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think I am. There are lots of mildly talented people who don’t take it all the way. It doesn’t mean they’re wasting their lives. They can use it in other ways. Some people teach. Some people play for themselves. Others play at parties,” she said, her lips curving wryly.
“But—”
She put her hand against his chest. “I don’t have the passion for it, Blake. Really, I don’t. I like to play occasionally but that’s all.”