Daniel smiled at her briefly and continued his conversation with Martin while his wife carried on telling her what travels she and her husband had planned after the deal was done.
Sabrina listened politely and asked questions whenever the opportunity arose until suddenly her nose started twitching uncomfortably. She tried to hold back a sneeze, but too late. Her sneeze was too loud for polite society, she was sure.
“Bless you!” all three of them said in unison.
“Allergies,” Sabrina replied apologetically and pointed at the flowers while she rummaged in her small handbag to find her handkerchief. She never left home without it. As she pulled it out to clean her nose, something small and square fell out and onto the side table that housed the flower arrangement.
Her head snapped in its direction, as did everybody else’s.
Oh, no! One of the condoms she’d tucked into her purse had gotten tangled up with her handkerchief and fallen out. Instantly, Daniel’s hand elegantly swooped in, captured the errant Trojan and put it in his jacket pocket as if he were picking up nothing more than a candy wrapper.
Sabrina caught his look. Oh God, she’d embarrassed him. His face seemed agitated. His cheeks turned red. Oh no, he was furious!
“I think it’s getting late. Holly and I should head back. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me,” Daniel abruptly said to Martin.
Yes, she’d embarrassed him, and now he wanted to leave. Both Martin and Nancy had clearly seen the condom but been polite enough not to comment on it. Sabrina was hoping for the ground in front of her to open up so she could disappear in it, but instead she felt Daniel’s hand on the small of her back.
“Shall we, darling?” His voice was just as sweet as before. He was obviously trained in self control, keeping his anger in check while they were in the presence of their hosts.
She was in a daze when they said their goodbyes and Daniel led her out of the hall and back in the direction of the Mark Hopkins.
Sabrina felt horrible. She’d completely screwed up. This would get back to Misty, and then Holly would be in trouble. Instead of saving Holly’s ass, she’d managed to get her even deeper into trouble. She had to try and salvage what she could, for Holly’s sake.
“I’m so sorry,” she started.
Daniel gave her a surprised look as he continued leading her across the foyer of the Mark Hopkins they’d just entered. “Sorry?”
“I really didn’t mean to embarrass you. It was an accident.” Her voice was pleading, and she hoped he could hear the sincerity in it. He’d have to accept her apology. She hadn’t done it on purpose.
“Embarrass me?” He suddenly sounded bemused as he pressed the button for the elevator.
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to. I should have been more careful,” she rambled. She wasn’t cut out to be an escort. Something was bound to go wrong, and it had.
The elevator was empty when they stepped inside. As soon as the door closed, Daniel turned back to her. “You didn’t embarrass me. On the contrary.”
Sabrina gave him a startled look. “But then why did we leave so suddenly?”
He let his gaze wander over her body. “Because I can think of something much better to do with the rest of the evening than hang out at a boring reception.”
Daniel took a step toward her and placed his palm on the wall behind her. His head was only inches from hers, his eyes fixed on hers. She could smell his masculine scent, a faint mixture of cologne and man, and her stomach twisted itself into tiny knots.
“Oh.” She couldn’t say anything else, realization flooding her veins. The closeness of his body turned her brain into the consistency of porridge.
“You have to help me out here, Holly, but I haven’t been with an escort before, so I’m not sure what the protocol is.” She felt his breath on her face as he spoke to her in a low voice.
“Protocol?” she echoed breathlessly, being only too aware of his body virtually touching hers. She was pressed against the wall with nowhere to go.
“Yes. I don’t know, but … do you kiss?” His eyes were focused on her lips now. Had they been lasers, she would have been burned to a crisp within seconds.
“Y-yes,” she stammered helplessly.
His hand came up to cup her jaw, lazily stroking her with his thumb. His touch was electrifying. Instinctively, her tongue snaked out to moisten her lips, and if he’d waited for a sign from her, this was it. Daniel lightly touched his lips to hers, and a faint sigh escaped her mouth. And then with one sweep, he captured her mouth fully, demanding her surrender.