by Sara Daniel
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One Night With the Bride
Copyright © 2013 by Sara Daniel
ISBN: 978-1-61333-531-4
Cover art by Mina Carter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Also by Sara Daniel
More Than a Fantasy
One Night With the Bride
A 1Night Stand Story
By
Sara Daniel
~Dedication~
For David. For better or worse, richer or poorer, I’ll always be your bride.
Chapter One
“It’s a week before my wedding, and you’re giving me what?” Surely no one would consider such a crass idea an appropriate prenuptial gift. Caroline Sunburst turned to her best friend, Sabrina, who appeared just as shocked.
“A one-night stand,” her mother repeated, patting a plastic card into Caroline’s hand as if the gifts were perfectly natural, expected even. “And one for your maid of honor, too. Sabrina, you need some excitement to spice up your boring life.”
Although too well-trained to make a scene in the crowded, elegant restaurant frequented by the society ladies of San Diego, Caroline would not accept the gift. Faithfulness and trust were her top requirements—she didn’t want a relationship like her parents had.
“Mother, I’m committed to being faithful. Blake and I agreed we won’t have affairs or cheat on each other.”
“How noble of you.” Her mother sniffed her displeasure. “You have a week to squeeze in a lifetime of passion. Lord knows there’s not a speck of it to be found between you and Mr. Stuffed Shirt.”
Needing support, she glanced at her friend again, but Sabrina seemed too caught up in her own shock over receiving such an inappropriate gift from an impeccable, proper society matron.
“You like Blake.”
“Sure, I do. He’s the future of Sunburst Hotels and knows how to make a business profitable.”
Caroline squeezed the card until the edges dug into her flesh. She’d been brought up to manage every aspect of the hotel business and her competence exceeded that of the other executives, even though her contributions were denied equal consideration by her family and corporate management.
“However,” her mother continued, “I have a hunch you and Blake have as much fun in bed as your father and I do, which is to say none. When we do have sex together.”
Ugh. “I do not need to hear this.”
“Actually, since you are following in our footsteps, you do.”
Caroline tapped the gift card against the restaurant table. Once, long ago, she’d experienced passion. Or maybe it being first love and her not knowing better caused her to imagine so. Anyway, it didn’t matter. Weighted by her father’s strong disapproval, she and her lover had gone their separate ways.
“The match has been set up through Madame Eve and paid for in advance, but the gift card will pay for any extras you want at the Alvarado Ranch.”
She lurched, bumping the table with her knee and sloshing the water in their glasses. “Where?”
“I couldn’t exactly book a room at a Sunburst property, now could I? You need to go someplace far enough away no one will recognize you. I suggested this location, and Madame Eve immediately agreed.”
The logo on the plastic card came into focus, teasing her eyes. The Alvarado Ranch Resort. The Google alerts about Javier Alvarado and his Montana business came regularly. Despite having no money for horses of his own, he’d shown a natural affinity for the animals as a stable hand where she practiced for equestrian competitions in high school.
Together, they concocted elaborate plans to combine their love of horses and her destiny as an hotelier. The resulting fantasy resort allowed people to pretend to be ranchers for a week while enjoying all the comforts of an upscale life. They even envisioned the house they’d build on the grounds, designing it right down to the “Home is Where My Horse is” craft sign hanging on the front door.
But she’d bowed to her family’s pressure, while he built their dream alone.
Her mother hadn’t stood up to her father when he’d forbidden all contact with Javier. Surely, she wouldn’t have set Caroline up to have a final fling him. No, the one-night stand was simply scheduled to take place at his location. He might have knowledge of such setups but would hardly arrange one for himself where his employees might get wind of it.
She’d go to his resort, satisfy her curiosity over what he’d become, and spend the night alone. When she returned home, she would delete the Google alert and marry Mr. Stuffed Shirt…er, Blake…without a single hesitation over what might have been.
Pulling out her phone, she texted Blake to tell him about the trip, but saw no reason to mention the one-night stand. She would absolutely not sleep with anyone besides her soon-to-be husband.
***
Javier Alvarado ducked out of the way of the spirited stallion’s hooves and grasped the reins, whispering in Spanish to the agitated animal. A moment later, the hum of a helicopter cut through the stillness of the afternoon, and he squinted at the object arriving from the southwest.
So, Mr. Pallson, the latest applicant for the president of operations position, came for his interview after all. Six hours late.
“Can you believe I’m going to offer this inconsiderate ass an incentive bonus to move here?” he muttered, stroking the horse’s velvet muzzle.
The proud animal snorted and shook its head.
Javier smiled in spite of his frustration and dug a sugar cube out of his pocket. Breaking wild horses kept him sane. He needed to fill the administrative job before throwing in the towel on the entire venture and working as a simple ranch hand with no other responsibilities. He no longer remembered or cared who he’d been trying to prove himself to when he started.
After brushing down the stallion and mucking out the stall, he took his time settling the animal, then checked his phone to see if his assistant, Alberto, thought the interviewee’s excuse worthy of Javier’s time. The only t
ext came not from an employee but from Madame Eve.
Your one-night stand has been scheduled. Tonight. Room 1502.
What the hell? Dust caked his skin and clothes; he smelled like horseflesh and sweat and ached from head to toe. He’d be lucky to muster enough energy to clean up, and if he did, a mountain of urgent paperwork waited on his desk. Getting lucky in any other sense didn’t figure into his plans.
He’d once dreamed of the fun diversion. Not long after The Alvarado Ranch Resort opened, Madame Eve contacted him, needing to use his ranch to accommodate a 1Night Stand request. His personal life sorely neglected and his sex life nonexistent, Javier half-joked he wanted a complimentary one-night stand in return.
She promised to set him up, but when she didn’t deliver immediately or in the following months, he eventually forgot about it.
No way. No woman will want me the way I smell right now, he texted back.
She’ll want you. And you’ll thank me later. Eight o’clock. Don’t be late.
***
Caroline thanked the pilot and stepped from the helicopter, the hot wind swirling her hair around her face.
“Ma’am, allow me to take your bag.” A portly man in a three-piece suit rushed forward. “Mr. Pallson failed to mention a companion.”
She repeated the unfamiliar name. “Mr. Pallson?” If he was her one-night stand, he would be quite disappointed. She should have contacted Madame Eve to clarify she wouldn’t have sex with anyone.
“The interviewee.” He looked beyond her to the helicopter as if expecting someone else to emerge.
“I came here alone. I’m Caroline Sunburst.” Flying to a resort in the middle of nowhere a week before her wedding while a million tiny details waited to be dealt with at home was foolish enough. All for the possibility of a glimpse of Javier.
The man gaped at her.
She winced. Way to blow her chance of anonymity. The Sunburst hotel chain’s upscale reputation preceded her everywhere.
He clasped her hand and pumped it enthusiastically. “Ms. Sunburst, we are honored to have you apply for the position. Come, I will give you a tour before the interview.”
Her mind whirled with confusion. Madame Eve’s service surely didn’t expect her to interview for the one-night stand. “I’m not—”
“Actually, Alberto, I’ll do the honors of the grounds tour,” a male voice with a faint Spanish accent announced. Javier stood before her in the flesh—dirtier, more disheveled, and unfortunately a bit smellier than the Internet images led her to believe.
“Very good, sir. I look forward to meeting you again later, Ms. Sunburst.” Alberto bowed and disappeared, leaving her alone in the blinding Montana sun with the man who’d once asked her to cast her family and privileged life aside to live with him and everything he owned in the back of his pickup truck.
His gaze swept over her, giving away nothing, not contempt, not lust, not regret. “You’re not here to interview for the president of operations position.”
“No.” Her father had been right to forbid her to exchange her plush bedroom for the bed of Javier’s truck. She would have forever regretted her decision and blamed him, leading them to self-destruct. But good gracious, if they’d survived those early years, her dream job would be hers. And so would Javier.
Instead, she’d let her family talk her into resigning her VP position with Sunburst Hotels to focus on her new role as society wife to the man who won the coveted promotion she’d worked her whole life for. “I’m here as a guest, but I would still love a tour.”
“Come with me.” He offered a dirty hand but immediately pulled it back. “Sorry. I refused to clean up for some asshole who couldn’t respect my people and my time enough to show up for the interview when he promised. I’ve been breaking a horse while I waited.”
“You sure he hasn’t been breaking you?”
Laughter cut through his solemn expression, and white teeth gleamed in his handsome brown face.
She trained her gaze on the flat expanse of land around them, steeling herself not to give in to the inevitable attraction. Thank goodness the sweat and dirt caked on him kept her from wrapping her arms around him and kissing him the way she longed to.
They’d had their chance together and lost. In a week, she would marry someone else. She ought to return to the helicopter and demand the pilot take her straight home.
Chapter Two
The helicopter took off without Caroline while she fell into step with her former lover. He walked her around the outside of the hotel. When they came to a line of employee golf carts, he climbed into one and gestured for her to join him.
She did so, eager to learn the bad along with the sugar-coated press releases. She’d left Javier for a reason.
They circled the premises for an hour as he explained the workings of the resort, the chores the guests could help with, and the available activities. In between fun, games, and pampering, he’d created a real working ranch, regardless of whether the customers discerned a difference.
While she debated throwing her name into the hat of candidates for the president of operations position, he stopped the cart in front of a bar disguised as a wooden ranch house. The large rocking chairs on the front porch served as outdoor seating, giving patrons a full view of the stables.
“I need to run home and shower, so I can at least shake your hand. The bar is air-conditioned, if you don’t mind waiting here.” He spoke to her with the polite distance of an acquaintance.
“Sounds perfect.” Yet, disappointment plagued her as she followed him across the smooth wooden planks to the front door. This man meant so much more to her than a colleague or congenial stranger. She missed the intimate connection they’d once shared.
Pulling the door open, he called across the room, “Mac, the lady can have whatever she wants.”
“Anything?” the burly bartender asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Anything,” he repeated with absolute certainty, pinning her with his gaze. Her disillusionment vanished, and she shivered with anticipation. For her conscience’s sake, she should have worked her engagement into their earlier small talk.
A traitorous part of her never wanted him to know.
“What would you like?” the bartender asked, as Javier left her alone.
Strolling over, she sat on a stool. “Iced tea, please. Have you worked here long, Mac?”
“Since the boss opened the doors.”
A loyal employee. Caroline smiled. “He’s created an amazing place.”
“He envisioned combining a working man’s world with high class luxury.” The barman handed her a tall glass with a lemon wedged on the rim. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think it would work, but he proved me wrong.”
She squeezed the lemon into the glass, grateful to have something to occupy her hands as second guessing invaded her thoughts. Would he have made their relationship work against the odds, too? Wondering how far away he was at the moment, she changed the subject. “So where do you all live? Is there a town close by?”
“Twenty miles. A lot of us live there. Some commute farther. My wife and I live in the country. A few ranch hands stay on the premises.”
“Javier is one of them?” She still knew him well enough to be confident he’d live on site, despite his responsibilities extending beyond those of a simple ranch hand.
“He has his own place, two buildings over. Don’t even think about going there,” Mac warned. “In all the time I’ve been here, he’s never taken anyone inside with him—no employees, not his friends, nor a single girlfriend.”
She bit her tongue to keep from asking about his current girlfriend status. None of her business. Anyway, having never invited her to his house, a relationship couldn’t be serious.
She shifted uncomfortably on the stool. Despite welcoming Blake in her physical house, their relationship cruised on a superficial level. She never let him inside her psyche, and he showed no interest in checking it out. Yet the pending wedd
ing pointed to a more serious relationship. If she critiqued Javier’s intimacy levels, she needed to examine her own.
A family entered through the front door, pulling her from her uneasy musings. The parents ordered drinks and snacks, and Caroline chatted with the kids. From the East Coast, they’d enjoyed their ranch vacation so much the previous year, they’d returned as repeat customers.
The kids’ contagious enthusiasm combined with their parents’ high praise for the staff sent her into another spiral of wishful thinking. If only she’d been part of building her and Javier’s dream destination from the ground up.
The mentality at Sunburst Hotels shunned big dreams. Her innovations had been stifled from the start. Life with Blake would be little more than an exercise in maintaining the status quo.
After the family took their food to the porch, another couple came in and ordered margaritas.
“We’re on our honeymoon,” the lady announced. Her husband splayed his hand across her ass, and she kissed him fully on the lips then straddled him on the bar stool.
Their public display of affection stabbed Caroline with longing. In a week, she, too, would be on her honeymoon but couldn’t imagine acting so unrestrained with Blake, even in private.
“You know, we’re going to take a rain check on those drinks.” The groom lifted his giggling bride in his arms and staggered for the door.
“Newlyweds,” Mac muttered, more amused than annoyed, pushing the couple’s abandoned cocktails toward her. “On the house.”
“No thanks.” Raising the iced tea to her lips, she tried to remember acting so embarrassingly lovesick. Memories flashed so swiftly and vividly, she reached for the nearest margarita to blur them.
Javier came into focus anyway. He strode into the bar, radiating his ever-present aura of raw sexuality. Freshly showered, with dark, wet hair curling around his ears and broad shoulders stretching his clean cowboy shirt, he epitomized everything she found irresistible in a man.