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“You're right,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “He'd have loved it.”
“I know. And I think about it every time I come here. I think about him. I wish like hell I could have shared it with him,” Sebastian said.
We stayed outside for a few moments, standing in silence, just taking everything in and remembering my father. It was a beautiful, if unplanned, tribute to my dad, and it somehow heartened me to know that Sebastian felt his loss every bit as keenly as I did.
“Come on,” he said, clearing his throat. “We'll have plenty of time to play, but we need to grab dinner and meet some people first.”
Dinner. Yes. I was starving, and the idea of eating was suddenly very appealing. Of course, this would also be my first work meeting, which made me nervous, but Sebastian had promised to keep the drinks flowing and said that it would be a fun, low-key meeting. He promised that it would be more of a social, than a formal gathering. Just a few people, some dinner, some booze and we'd be back early enough so that I could relax before getting to bed.
The thought of curling up in that cozy bed with the ocean air blowing through the patio door was something I was very much looking forward to. But first, food. Then sleep.
And to think, we still had five more days in paradise. I wasn't so sure it wasn't all a dream, but if it was, it was a dream I never wanted to wake up from.
CHAPTER NINE - SEBASTIAN
When Violet stepped out, dressed and ready to go to dinner, I nearly groaned aloud. I'd told her it was to be a dressy evening, and she didn't disappoint in a little black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Her hourglass figure made it easy to forget she was Charles' daughter, the same little girl who used to wear pigtails, Minnie Mouse dresses, and had scrapes on her knees.
No, that little girl was very clearly long gone. She'd been replaced by the woman before me, a woman with feminine curves, alluring cleavage, and a smile that could take a man's breath away. I had to force myself to look away from her, to banish all of the inappropriate thoughts that suddenly filled my mind.
“What?” she asked, her smile turning into a frown as she looked down at the dress. “Is this too revealing, maybe? I was afraid it might be too tight, but it's the only – ”
“No, no,” I said, nearly stumbling over my words. “It looks fine. More than fine, it looks great. You look great.”
The wind swept through her soft, wavy hair as she turned to look up at me again, giving me a shy smile and I could see the color rising in her cheeks.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look great too.”
Truth be told, she looked more than great. She looked hot as hell, and I knew I was going to have a hard time not staring at her all night long. I had to keep picturing her as the girl with pigtails that used to sit on my lap and tell me stories about how she was going to be the first woman to walk on Mars. If I couldn't keep my mind focused on Violet the kid, instead of Violet the woman, this wasn't going to be easy on me. Especially once alcohol was going to be involved. I didn't want to say or do anything stupid, after all.
But damn, she wasn’t making this easy.
“We're going to meet with a couple key players here in the region,” I said. “Paula Nichols and Steve O'Hare are overseeing acquisitions, and they're the ones who will decide where our next resort will be located.”
She listened as I talked about the business we were conducting; mainly looking at a few proposed sites and discussing the logistics and costs that would go into developing them. Normally, with a new assistant, you'd have to explain key industry terms, but I was pleased to discover that wasn't going to be the case with Violet.
She managed to keep up to speed with everything I was throwing at her, which was one reason I knew she'd be a great fit for the team. I could see her deserving and growing into a higher position soon enough, once she gained some experience and insight.
We rode in a limo over to the restaurant, which was a very nice place that overlooked the ocean. Paula and Steve were already out on the veranda, which had been reserved strictly for us. It was one of the perks of being a major player in the area and local economy. There was a fire going in a pit in the middle of the deck that added a touch of warmth since the air was getting to be a bit chilly, thanks mostly to the fact that we were right on the water.
“Paula, Steve, nice to see you again,” I said, shaking their hands.
I introduced them to Violet, and of course, she made a terrific first impression by shaking their hands and remaining very professional and polite, yet projecting confidence from every pore of her body. We made small talk for a few moments and I was pleased to see that Violet seemed to fit right in. She seemed to help make the meeting a little less stiff. She had Paula and Steve laughing and engaged in a lively conversation.
When we sat down for dinner and opened the menus, however, I saw Violet's eyes grow as wide as dinner plates.
“What's wrong?” I whispered to her.
“These prices...” she whispered back, covering her mouth discretely so the others didn't see.
“Don't worry about it, Violet,” I said. “It's all paid for, order anything you want.”
I felt a smile on my lips. I loved that she was so considerate of things like that. Yes, I had the money to cover such extravagant meals, but I liked that she didn't take it for granted. I'd learned that it was a difficult trait to find in a woman, at least, those in the circles I tended to run in. Now if only I could date someone like her, we'd be set.
I saw her still eyeballing the menu with a somewhat concerned look in her eyes as the waiter came over to ask about drinks.
“Who wants to pick the wine?” I asked. “One bottle of red, one bottle of white?”
“Sounds good to me,” Paula said with a smile.
