Her Billionaire Santa

by Allen, Jewel

  Katy went down to breakfast, and Marcus wasn’t around yet. Stamping down her disappointment, she walked to the sideboard loaded with cheeses, thin slices of ham and roast beef, yogurts, and cereals. There were also chafing dishes of eggs and sausages. She took a plate of cheeses and meats just as Marcus entered the room.

  Katy’s breath caught in her throat as she glimpsed him looking handsome in a blue sweater that looked good with his beard.

  She took a seat at the table and started eating, acutely aware that behind her, Marcus was moving along at the buffet table.

  Jay and Talia entered, hand in hand, laughing at a private joke. Talia broke away from her husband and ran up to Katy, hugging her.

  “Did you see the snow today?” Talia practically squealed.

  “Yes,” Katy said, amused by her friend’s excitement.

  “I’ve arranged for us to ride in horse sleighs. Further up the mountains, there’s fresh snowfall. The first time in ten years, Jay says. It’’ll be so pretty.” She turned to Marcus. “Won’t you please join us?”

  Marcus was considering her request, casting a glance toward Katy.

  “If Katy would like me to,” he said.

  Katy gazed into his eyes. “Yes.”

  “Then I would love to.”

  Katy pretended to be busy buttering her bread slice, remembering belatedly that she didn’t even care for butter. Gladness bubbled within her.

  After breakfast, an SUV took them to the foothills of the Mondragón mountain range, where two dreamy old-fashioned sleighs waited for them. Garland decorated the horses, and they wore fancy feathered headdresses that bobbed in the breeze.

  The wind picked up, stinging Katy across her cheeks and penetrating her coat, but there were blankets to cover them, if they wished, from head to toe. Burrowing in them, Katy warmed up. Marcus climbed in after her, tucking the blankets carefully around Katy and then him. She could feel his arm next to hers.

  Talia and Jay climbed into the other sleigh.

  The drivers flicked the teams of horses into a slow trot. They moved smoothly over the fresh snow, leaving tracks that sparkled in the sun.

  Katy turned her face up to its warmth and then opened her eyes to Marcus gazing at her intently.

  Katy’s body tingled. To her surprise, he put an arm over her shoulders and clasped her gloved hand in his. Then he raised it out of the blanket and kissed it.

  Katy’s drew in a quick breath, her body on fire. He pulled her close, snuggled against his chest.

  The horses wore sleigh bells, jingling as they made their way up slopes and into a field of snow. She looked over her shoulder. They were the first leaving tracks here. She hadn’t seen anything so beautiful. Back in New York, there would be slush and grime.

  This was pure beauty. Sweet nature.

  From the other sleigh, Talia waved at them. Katy waved back. She owed Talia. This was turning out to be a good day, a better day.

  Katy flashed Marcus a smile, overflowing in her happiness.

  His expression softened. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on her lips.

  To add to the magic, snowflakes began drifting down on them. One landed on her nose. Another. Each time, Marcus chased them with a kiss.

  She giggled. “There’s several on my lips.”

  His gaze grew heated.

  Katy’s toes curled in her boots when he kissed her like he never wanted to let her go.

  Maybe there would be miracles this Christmas.

  ***

  MARCUS

  Marcus reveled in Katy’s goodness. In the way she tucked her head on his shoulder.

  He couldn’t get enough of her.

  Unfortunately, it was time to head back. He held her close, savoring her sweet scent and having her in his arms.

  He recalled the sweet night when he and Katy snuggled for warmth. He hoped he could hold her close night after night, in the near future.

  The sleigh stopped at the castle. He turned to Katy so he could do the gentlemanly thing and help her out. There was no graceful way out but into his arms before jumping off.

  “Oh,” she said, breathless as he swung her out of the carriage and onto the ground. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Her eyes reeled him in, and he couldn’t look away.

  Up on the steps, Talia and Jay walked on into the castle.

  Marcus cleared his throat and gestured for Katy to go ahead. Talia met them and whisked Katy off. Katy gave him a sunny backward glance.

  Inside, servants moved about, getting ready for the Christmas Eve Ball. A couple of them nearly smacked into him with a ladder. Marcus smiled to himself, even though part of him still didn’t feel the Christmas spirit.

  His feelings for Katy had changed, however. He was surprised to realize he was no longer as sad about Amanda as much as he wanted to have Katy in his arms again.

  He ran into Jay on his way to his bedroom. “You’re coming to the ball, aren’t you?”

  Marcus grinned. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  KATY

  After the sleigh ride, Talia whisked Katy away to a pink parlor. “What is this all about?” Katy asked.

  Talia grinned. “Remember when you turned a wild burro into a sleek horse?”

  Katy blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “That time when you helped me get ready for the ball back in Lexington,” Talia reminded her.

  “Oh. Yes.” Katy smiled at the memory. “That was the funnest thing.”

  “Well, I can’t make you up and dress you myself, but I can hire someone to do it.”

  “That’s nice of you, Talia, but totally unneces—”

  The door busted open. In walked a pint-sized dynamo, her hair coiled in a tight bun. She had black-rimmed glasses and eyes that could slay a dragon.

  “Too late,” Talia told Katy. “Sorry.”

  “And where is my project?” the new arrival asked, her voice gravelly.

  “I suppose she means me?” Katy whispered to Talia.

  “Here she is,” Talia said, urging Katy forward.

  “My name is Patrice Arent,” the dragon-slayer said, clipping her syllables. She sized Katy up and down. “Well, you will take some work.”

  Katy and Talia exchanged glances, trying not to laugh.

  “I am so grateful for your help,” Talia said.

  “Bah.” Patrice waved her hand. “It’s nothing, Princess. Of course I would come. Anything I can do to help her Royal Highness.”

  “How about turning my friend from a quiet beauty to a stunning woman?” Talia said.

  Katy stared at Talia. “Talia. I am perfectly fine blending in with everyone.”

  Talia guided her forward gently. “That’s the thing. You’ve always blended in. I think it’’s time that the focus is on you instead of charities or other people.”

  Katy shook her head. “I’m sorry. That’s not me.”

  “Silence!” Patrice’s voice boomed. She walked all the way over to Katy, reached up, and poked her on the collarbone. “I agree with the princess. Why should you cover your beauty?” She peered at Katy. “I can already see the possibilities.”

  Katy’s apprehension increased. “If you have a white dress, or cream…”

  “No.” Patrice stepped back and stroked her chin. “Those blah colors will not do. Maybe an orange…or a red…”

  “You have a red cloak that will go so good with that,” Talia pointed out. “You’ll look so pretty being taken to the castle gates in the sleigh with your cloak on.”

  Katy stared at her friend. “And where will I be coming from?”

  “From the back.” Talia plotted. “You will have a grand entrance. That way Marcus, er, the audience, will get a chance to admire you and your dress.”

  Katy fanned herself. “Oh dear.”

  “Enough talking.” Patrice’s eyes gleamed. “Let’’s get to work.”

  First, Patrice measured Katy
, giving continuous commentary throughout. “Flat chest, pale skin, stick-thin arms. Thin lips, long hair. Humph.”

  A mortified Katy stood there, enduring the fitting.

  Talia interjected. “Patrice, surely Katy’s not as much work as you’re describing her.”

  “I am not describing her. I am being honest while assessing her weaknesses.”

  “What about her strengths?” Talia insisted.

  “Strengths?” Patrice gave her a blank look. Then she grinned. “I am just fooling, Your Highness.”

  “Noble profile,” Patrice said, studying Katy as though she were a specimen. “Long, healthy hair. Beautiful eyes. Amazing lashes. Her soul shines through her eyes.”

  “That’s better.” Talia patted Katy on the back and winked.

  “I brought a few dresses,” Patrice said. “We’ll take in what we need to.” She seemed to be looking right at Katy’s chest area.

  Katy felt small and insignificant.

  A stream of women came into the sitting room, bringing dresses on hangers: a purple chiffon, yellow so bright as to blind the eyes. A colorful collage of art. One by one, she tried each dress. Most looked okay.

  Patrice held up a red one. By then, Katy’s nerves were shot. She wondered if the red dress with wide straps and all that shimmer would be too much.

  “Go and change,” Patrice instructed her.

  Behind a screen, Katy slipped the dress on. When she was done, she turned this way and that, admiring her reflection. Then she stepped out, to gasps from the other ladies.

  “What do you think?” Patrice asked Talia.

  “I love it, as I suspected I would. What does Katy think?”

  Katy couldn’t speak for a long time. “I like it a lot, but the color…”

  “It looks fabulous on you.” Patrice waved at her. “As Princess Talia said, the color is a wonderful pick. A lot of times, it comes down to how you carry yourself, your attitude.”

  When Katy moved, beads on the dress sparkled. She knew she wouldn’t be able to blend in like she used to.

  A tuck here, a tightening there, and Patrice declared Katy done.

  Patrice told Talia, “I wish to respectfully remind her Highness that I also offer tuxedo services, if any of your male guests need to be measured.”

  Talia’s eyes shone. “That is a great idea.” She summoned for a servant to take a message to Marcus.

  The servant returned shortly. “He says he already has a tux, Princess.”

  For some reason, the mere thought of Marcus shrugging on a tux made Katy’s heart thrum with excitement.

  “I bet he looks good in it too,” Talia told Katy, winking.

  For the second time that afternoon, Katy fanned herself.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  MARCUS

  Marcus adjusted his tux collar and studied his reflection in the full-size mirror in his guest suite. His eyes looked unusually bright, mirroring the happy feeling he felt inside. His movements were sure and full of pleasure. He felt like a kid getting ready for Christmas.

  Marcus and Katy were the only guests staying at the castle so far, but soon that would change. Jay mentioned something about his brothers coming home for Christmas. Then there would also be the requisite celebrity guest list from all over Europe.

  Marcus descended two sets of stairs until he reached the first level. He only needed to follow the din of music and conversation to know where the party was. The ballroom was packed, with an orchestra playing instrumental Christmas music on the stage. Guests milled around a gigantic trimmed tree.

  Jay caught sight of him and motioned him over. Marcus weaved his way through the crowd and joined his host by the stage.

  “My brothers,” Jay said with a general sweep of his hand. “Armando, who is currently living in Mongolia. Diego plays professional soccer. Felipe studies art in Italy. Alvaro is our resident rock star.” Jay’s eyes clouded over for a moment. “We have another brother, but he couldn’t come.”

  “Couldn’t come or didn’t want to come?” an older lady said. She looked like a blonde version of Jay, so it wasn’t a surprise that it turned out she was his mother.

  “And you are the famed Marcus James,” Jay’s mother said.

  “Famed?” He arched an eyebrow.

  “Everyone knows about your Christmas contest. How very generous.”

  Marcus’s smile waned. “Unfortunately, some people deride it as a stunt.”

  “Well, I agree. It’s a brilliant stunt.”

  Marcus bit his tongue and stayed silent. He glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Katy.

  Jay’s cell phone beeped. He glanced at the screen. “If you will excuse me, it’s Talia.” He listened intently for one moment and then turned to Marcus.

  “She needs your help with something,” Jay said. “Can you meet her by the castle’s main door?”

  “Of course,” Marcus said, though the request baffled him.

  Easier said than done. The crush was hard to penetrate. Marcus tried hard to make progress, and when he finally did so, he had to adjust his tuxedo, having had to squeeze between people.

  A guard opened the door and announced, “Miss Katy Stevens.”

  Marcus chuckled to himself. Leave it to Talia to play matchmaker.

  The thought blew through his mind like a leaf in the wind as his mind went blank. For Katy was a vision in her red cloak, the white fur surrounding her head like a halo, sitting in a horse-drawn carriage, yards of a dreamy red material billowing under her.

  With a quick return of sense, Marcus took the steps and opened the carriage door to help her out. Her perfume reached his nostrils, making him ache to take her in his arms.

  As it was, he contented himself to holding her hand as she flicked her red skirt and stepped out. Arm in arm, they climbed the stairs.

  “Where did you come from?” he whispered, noting the swirls of snowflakes dusting her cheeks and ruby-red lips.

  “From the back of the palace,” Katy said.

  “A more dramatic entrance?”

  Katy grinned. “Talia’s idea.”

  “I have Talia to thank for a lot of things, I suppose.” He grinned back.

  Once inside, Katy shrugged off her cloak. Marcus, who was standing behind her, swallowed with difficulty. Her dress, with its wide straps, showed an expanse of creamy skin.

  Talia approached them, looking straight at Marcus. “You are such a dear. Would you mind keeping Katy company tonight? She’ll need a dance partner, of course.”

  With a smug expression, Talia floated off to mingle with other guests.

  Katy stifled a smile. “You are under no obligation to keep me company.”

  “I could say the same for you,” he retorted.

  “It’s the Christian thing to do,” she said solemnly.

  He shook his head and smiled. “Katy, you are something else.”

  She smiled back. “I’m teasing.”

  “I can’t tell. You’ve always been a step away from sainthood.”

  She chortled, sounding less than ladylike. “I can pull a prank, I’ll have you know.”

  “Oh?” As a waltz came on, he offered his hand and took her in his arms. “Tell me your dark secrets, Katy Stevens.”

  She bit her lip. “You promise not to think horribly of me?”

  “I promise.”

  Her eyes glowed. “In sixth grade, I let all the frogs out in science class.”

  “I am not surprised.”

  “In seventh grade, I poured honey in the shoe of a bully who was tormenting another girl in our class.”

  “I am absolutely scandalized.”

  “And you?” she said, sliding her glance over him. “What sorts of pranks did you do when you were younger?”

  “Oh dear, I need to keep count of this waltz, or it will be the death of me. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear your question.”

  She smiled a secret smile.

  He leaned close to her ear. As he spoke, his lips brushed against h
er skin. “You don’t want to know about my boyhood pranks.”

  “I don’t?”

  He shook his head. More brushes with his lips against her exquisite skin.

  “No, maybe I don’t,” she said, her color heightened.

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t get jailed. Even though I might have deserved it a time or two.”

  He twirled her around until they were both breathless, before coming together even closer than when they started the waltz.

  “I have been remiss,” he said. “I failed to tell you how beautiful you are. Stunning in that red dress.”

  “Thank you.” Katy blushed. “I will have you know it was Talia’s idea.”

  Quietly, he thanked Talia.

  “I don’t like drawing attention to myself,” she said.

  “I know. I’m glad you did tonight.”

  “And you look handsome,” she said.

  “Am I forgiven, then?” he murmured.

  Was he forgiven? What was there to hold on to? Bitterness and sorrow for his harsh words? Jealousy over the reporter? Loneliness and despair in generous spades?

  “Yes,” she said, “you are.”

  He had been holding her rigidly in his arms, bracing himself for her chilly response. Now he relaxed. Tears glistened in his eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Katy,” he breathed. “My sweet Katy. I deserved your anger. I hurt you terribly. My words. Throwing a fit. That stupid Jacuzzi party.”

  “Yes,” she said. “It was stupid.”

  He winced. “After what you told me about your father, I’m surprised you’re still talking to me.”

  She smiled wistfully. “I wish things could be different with my father, but they are as they are. I decided a while back that until I forgive him, I was only hurting myself. Still,” she gave him a sidelong glance. “Unfaithfulness is my biggest fear.”

  “Katy, it may not be much, but when I make promises, I keep them.”

  He kissed her palm, her thumb, her finger, until she trembled. She took her hand from his grasp and touched his face.

  Talia happened to come by, beaming from ear to ear.

  “All is well?” Talia whispered.

  Marcus studied Katy’s shining face. “I think it’s on the way there.”