by Alice Gaines
Cissy scanned the crowd. As a friend of the bride, Cissy had not only gotten Nicole in as her plus-one, but Cissy’d been able to determine if Adam had received an invitation and what his RSVP had said. Attending. Party of one.
“How did you know he’d be invited?” Cissy asked.
“Just a guess. I thought he’d be here to support his friend, the bride’s brother.”
“Ah, the quarterback.” Cissy arched an eyebrow. “And you know that how?”
“You see them together all the time in those magazines about famous people.”
Lord knew facing Adam would be difficult, with lots of painful memories of how he’d abandoned her. Her father had become convinced Adam was trying to ruin Westmore Hotels. Everyone at the company agreed. Nicole had resisted at first. No one wanted to think the person she’d most loved was doing something to hurt her. But her father had pointed out that Adam had been opening resorts in direct competition with Westmore’s. Sometimes even on the same island. And then his advertising had started picturing “old, boring hotels”—with pictures of facilities that looked remarkably like her father’s—in contrast to his own, more exciting places. There was no way to miss the message there.
Of course, her father had also suspected one of his ex-wives was in on the game. Number three, to be exact. He’d felt sure Vivian was working with Adam, but he’d never managed to convince Nicole of that. No matter how angry Adam might be at her, he’d never stoop so low as to become involved with a harpy like Vivian.
“Adam, the quarterback, and the TV sports doctor all play basketball at the same gym,” Nicole said. “I suspected both of the brother’s friends would be invited.”
“And I was able to tell you if he’d accepted,” Cissy said. The information that he’d come alone hadn’t truly been necessary for Nicole’s plan, but it made things easier. Unfortunately, it had also reminded her of her most adolescent fantasies.
Then suddenly, on the other side of the room, there he was. She didn’t so much see him as feel him. He stood with his back toward her, but no one could have mistaken him for anything but the alpha male he was.
God, it had been ten years, and the sight of him still took her breath away. When she’d known him before, he’d worn a uniform, on duty driving her father’s limousine. But she’d caught glimpses of him in tattered jeans that fit him like a second skin and T-shirts showing off his boxer’s build. He’d traded all of that for business suits—as she’d watched his climb in the hotel business through the trade journals—and tonight, a tux tailored to his broad shoulders.
The woman behind him tapped him on the arm, and he turned and spotted Nicole. His blue eyes registered shock for a second, and then his features settled into a bland expression, but the tense set to his jaw told her he didn’t find facing her again, even after the years, a neutral experience. The woman who’d tapped his shoulder glanced from Adam to Nicole and back. She’d obviously noted the tension between them.
Despite herself, Nicole couldn’t help but drink in the sight of him. He’d changed, but he was still the handsome man she’d given her heart—and her innocence—to. He’d abandoned her, and now he was her competitor in business. Lately, he’d been avoiding her. But no more.
“There’s your prey,” Cissy whispered.
“I’d hardly call him that.” The rapid beat of her heart called him something, but not that. In fact, he seemed more like a predator than prey. Nevertheless, she’d planned this meeting so she could finally talk to him and make an appeal to his sense of fairness. He didn’t have her father to fight any longer. Did he really want to hurt her?
No matter the reasons for the encounter, she’d been the one to set it up, which gave her some advantage. He might block her from contacting him in his office, ducking her calls for a meeting or saying he isn’t in. But to avoid her tonight, he’d have to turn tail and run—something Adam Morrow would never do.
“Hold this,” she said, handing her glass to Cissy.
“Are you going to confront him about what we think he’s doing to Westmore?”
“That’s what I came for.” Nicole made her way through the crowd toward him. With each step, her heart fluttered—in fear of what he’d do or say, but also with the old excitement that came from merely being in his presence. This would be as awkward as when she’d first met him, when she’d made herself go to the garage at her father’s estate to introduce herself to the handsome young chauffeur she’d been watching since he’d arrived.
True to form, he didn’t back off, but neither did he approach her. He simply stood his ground and allowed her to come to him.
The woman who’d tapped him earlier shifted her gaze from him to Nicole again. Adam acted as if the woman had disappeared. In truth, everything in the room ceased to exist for Nicole. The club, the ballroom, assembled guests—mere phantoms hanging around the periphery of her vision as she walked up to the man who’d broken her heart.
“Nicole,” he said. The sound of her name on his lips almost made the years fade away. Almost. Too much had happened for that.
“Hello, Adam,” she answered.
“Nicole Westmore, this is Marie…” He touched the elbow of the woman next to him.
“Allendale,” the woman supplied.
“Nice to meet you.” So, he hadn’t come with Marie Allendale—not if he had to ask her last name. He’d probably met her here, and she could be his latest conquest. The fashion designer the tabloids had him hooked up with a couple of years earlier had returned to her business in Australia, and they hadn’t mentioned another lover. None of that should matter. It didn’t. Really.
“I need to speak to you,” Nicole said.
“That’s my cue to exit,” Marie said.
“Not necessary,” Adam said.
“You two have business.” Marie touched his arm. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
With that, Marie disappeared into the crowd, leaving Adam with Nicole. He wasn’t exactly scowling, but he didn’t look at all pleased to see her.
“I’ve been trying to reach you,” she said. “I’ve left a lot of messages.”
“The fact I haven’t returned your calls ought to tell you something.”
“It tells me you’re being exceedingly rude,” she said.
“Exceedingly rude?” he repeated. “You sound like your father.”
He meant that as a slap. The two men had hated each other. Both of them were so stubborn. Her father hadn’t been a saint, but after the death of her mother when she was small, he’d been all Nicole had. And he’d always loved her, although he’d expressed it in odd ways. Old-fashioned ways someone like Adam couldn’t have understood.
Once, she might have believed Adam loved her more than he loathed her father. Now she had to wonder. And find out.
“I never offered my condolences on your loss,” he said. “I hope you’ll excuse me for not saying something before.”
“I didn’t come here to fight about my father.”
“I would hope not,” he said. “This is a wedding reception, after all.”
“Adam, please don’t be angry. It’s been ten years.”
He let out a breath, and his shoulders relaxed a little. They’d shared so much. Even now, her body retained a physical memory of him. Just being this close to him—enough to feel his body heat—set off sparks along her nerves. The same excitement that had been so potent back then still retained its power. Could he really not feel that?
“I’m not angry, Nicole,” he said.
“Then why…?” She stopped herself before she said too much—things like “Why are you trying to kill my company?” “Why won’t you answer my calls?” “Why are you acting so hateful?”—all the things she wanted to ask. But they wouldn’t help her.
“Why won’t you meet with me?” she asked finally.
“What’s the point?”
“I might have a business proposition for you.”
“You don’t have anything I want.”
She recoiled. She’d steeled herself for a lot, but not such outright rejection. He said it so coldly, as if their time together had meant nothing to him. But then, maybe it hadn’t and she’d only believed he’d loved her. No, even he couldn’t have faked it that well.
“That didn’t come out right,” he said.
“If that’s how you feel…” She hadn’t expected this to be easy, but she hadn’t planned on indifference. She hadn’t forgotten the feel and the taste of him, and she’d thought he’d feel the same. She’d never, in her life, tell him he didn’t have anything she wanted.
“Look,” he said. “This is an awkward place for this conversation.”
“Agreed.”
“Call my office again. My assistant will give you an appointment.”
“Thank you.” He probably meant it, but she’d get no further with him there than she had here.
“Can you excuse me? I need to rejoin my friends,” he said.
Only then did she notice the two men standing not far off, taking an obvious interest in her conversation with Adam. The quarterback, who’d given the bride, his younger sister, away during the ceremony. And the television doctor. Adam’s two friends. Both were as striking in their good looks as Adam. Or close. No man matched Adam.
And he’d just rejected her. She didn’t have anything he wanted? The emptiness, the coldness, closed around her heart again.
…
Seeing Nicole again had felt like a punch to Adam’s gut. He’d have to finally admit to himself that he’d been avoiding her for just that reason. He’d never gotten over her. After years and years, just the idea of laying eyes on her gave him a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had power over everything else in his life. But the thought of facing the woman he’d loved—the woman who’d dumped him for European royalty—terrified him.
Yeah, their past had been complicated. Their present continued in that vein. He’d originally planned to take Nicole’s father down. He’d even gone into partnership with one of her father’s ex-wives to do it. Vivian hated Nicole, and the feeling was mutual. No matter what happened with his plot to get revenge, he’d need to keep the two women apart or things could get ugly.
Now, he stood on the outskirts of the reception crowd, sipping a martini. A damned good one, as a matter of fact. Grant had paid for this wedding for his little sister, and he’d declared if he had to attend another one after his own, he’d need something stronger than champagne. He couldn’t have known Adam would need fortification as much as Grant did. The drink went down easy.
Nicole was out there somewhere. Probably on the periphery, too. She never had been good with people but preferred to remain alone. Confronting him must have cost her. And then he’d gone and told her she didn’t have anything he needed. Nice going. The words hadn’t only been cruel—they’d been a lie. As long as she existed in the world somewhere, he’d need her.
The other two showed up out of nowhere, Ryan with a mug of beer, and Grant, another martini glass.
“Why are you hiding out over here?” Grant said. “I thought I was the one who was wedding-phobic.”
“I could get that way,” Adam said.
“I have the solution,” Ryan said. “I met a very adventurous lady, and she came with two friends.”
“Not in the mood,” Adam said.
“I think you’d better take his temperature,” Ryan said to Grant. “Our friend here is sick.”
“Very funny,” Adam said.
“Seriously?” Grant asked. “When are you not in the mood?’
Adam lifted his martini. “Never mind. It’s nothing a few of these can’t fix.”
At that moment, a waiter with a tray of martinis went by, and Adam exchanged his empty glass for a new one.
“Come on, Adam,” Ryan said. “What’s eating you?”
Adam spotted Nicole then, and damned if he could keep his eyes off her. As he’d guessed, she stood apart from the crowd, a nearly full flute of champagne in her hand. Why did she always have to look so damned vulnerable? And why had he hurt her? His mean remark still gnawed at him, even though she deserved it.
“Who is she?” Grant asked.
Oh, hell. He couldn’t hide anything from these two. “Remember the woman I told you about, the one who inspired me to get into the hotel business?”
“Is that her?” Grant said.
Both men turned to stare at her.
“Nicole Westmore,” Adam said. “And don’t look at her. It’ll make her uncomfortable.”
Grant whistled softly between his teeth. “You’re still hot for her.”
“I thought she was hot for me, too, but then she got engaged to a prince from a small European country,” Adam said. “I found out watching TV one night.”
“She doesn’t seem to have a prince with her now,” Ryan said.
“Yeah.” If she was a princess, he’d never heard about it. And being a royal would have kept her too busy to run her late father’s failing business.
“What are you going to do?” Ryan said.
“Nothing,” Adam answered.
Grant clapped Adam on the shoulder. “He’s going to get drunk, like any sane human male when he sees his ex—”
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Adam said, but that didn’t stop him from downing his martini.
“Maybe she still wants you,” Ryan said. “She had the best. Why would she want the rest?”
“It’s been too long.” But had it been? She’d pretended confidence when she’d confronted him, but he knew how vulnerable she’d been when she was younger. That person was still in there. Her eyes gave her away. They still held the hurt that had made him want to protect her back then. She didn’t know how to fight then, and she probably still didn’t.
He, on the other hand, knew little else. He still went with his boxing instincts. They’d served him well in business.
“Wait a minute.” Ryan pointed in Nicole’s general direction. “Westmore. Isn’t that the hotel chain you’re trying to take over?”
“Her father’s company,” Adam said.
“The man you used to work for,” Ryan said.
“As a chauffeur, for one summer.” The bastard treated his staff as if they weren’t fully human, and so he had constant turnover. “Old man Westmore nearly had a coronary when he discovered his daughter had fallen in love with the help.”
“So, what happened?” Grant asked.
“When things got tough, Nicole went along with her father’s wishes.” She’d chosen the bastard over him. Since then, Adam had planned and plotted, going to great lengths to show both of them who was the better businessman. At first, he’d just competed with Westmore’s company. He had more devious plans now.
He’d taken money from Vivian to get his own company off the ground. Together, they’d figured out a way to take over Westmore’s hotels through stock buy-outs, and the upcoming fatal blow—a vote of no confidence in the CEO. Vivian seemed thrilled to sink Nicole now that Nicole’s father had died. Did Adam really feel the same way after seeing Nicole again? Oh, hell.
“The two of you were lovers, right?” Grant asked.
Adam drained the last of his martini. “I took her virginity.”
Grant whistled again. “You two have a messed-up history.”
“You could say that.”
“Here’s what Dr. Ryan recommends,” Ryan said. “See if the spark is still there. If not, just walk away.”
“And if it is… Well, we’re not players for nothing,” Grant said.
Seduce Nicole? First of all, could he? The guys were right. If there was no spark, nothing was lost. But if the old flame hadn’t died out for either of them, well, it was worth exploring. Sex with her had been so amazing. She went from zero to top speed as soon as he touched her. It was the ultimate turn-on. He’d never come across another woman who responded so hotly to his touch. Sex with Nicole wasn’t an exercise in creating orgasms. It was a full-body experience.
“You’
re thinking about it,” Grant said.
“It’s a bad idea,” Adam said.
Grant grabbed another martini from a waiter and exchanged it for Adam’s empty. “It’s a great idea.”
“At least one of us will have some fun tonight,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, this is my baby sister’s wedding,” Grant said. “I’d better behave myself.”
This time, Ryan put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “You can do it, Adam. Put the old ghost from your past to rest.”
Would he be doing that tonight? Could he? Maybe the whole mystique of sex with Nicole was something his memory had created. He’d been a horny kid when he’d known her before. He hadn’t gotten laid as often as he did now. If the two of them had sex—and it was only nice—he’d be able to put her out of his mind once and for all.
He was still playing with the idea when Nicole sealed the deal by walking out onto the balcony alone. He could talk to her there, apologize for the cutting remark, and see where the conversation led. He could find out if the passionate woman he knew so long ago still lurked under her now-cool exterior.
“You talked me into it,” he said. Then he made his way around the crowd, toward the balcony and a date with his past.
…
Ten years earlier
The princess showed up in the garage as Adam was polishing the Bentley. She belonged on this crazy-ass rich estate, but up in the window, where he’d first seen her. Distant. If he so much as looked at her, he’d end up staring, as if he’d never seen a pretty girl before, so he kept his focus on his job and pretended she wasn’t there. She was too perfect for motor oil and guys like him.
“Hi.” Her voice was soft. Shy. “Are you going to be working here now?”
“Just for the summer.” That didn’t come out too steady, so he took a breath. “I’m going to business school in the fall.”
“Really? Then you’ve graduated from college.”
He was the first in his family to do it, unless his long-lost father had planted babies all over the country and some of them had gone to college. “Yeah, and I got into Princeton for my MBA.”
“That’s great.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Nicole.”
Okay, now he couldn’t pretend to ignore her. He set his rag on the Bentley’s hood and grasped her fingers…smearing polish all over them.