“So how’d you do it?” Bill asked. “Did you wait until the preacher asked you to repeat your vows or did you just not show up?”
“I really don’t want to talk about this,” Aubrey said, suddenly sounding very prim.
“Oh, come on! I’ve never met a real runaway bride before! You’ve got to give me something!”
Hugh had never seen this side of Bill before. They’d only met in person once and most of their interactions had been over the phone. Right now he found him incredibly obnoxious. “Bill…” he began but was ignored.
“How long had you been dating this guy? Or…or been engaged to him? Did you leave him a note? Did you have a fight?”
Unfortunately, Hugh wanted the answers to all those questions too, and he found himself leaning in a little bit closer in hopes of finding out what had really happened.
Aubrey looked helplessly from one to the other before her shoulders sagged. With a sigh of resignation she said, “Fine. We weren’t together very long at all. No engagement. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and…and I chickened out. I threw my suitcase out the window and shimmied out after it.” Then she focused her eyes on Hugh. “And you know the rest.”
Yeah. He knew the rest. And he felt even more unsettled now that he knew the beginning. Why would you impulsively agree to marry someone and then back out? Hugh couldn’t understand it.
Maybe he had at one time in his life, but not anymore. Being impulsive only led to bad things. Maybe Aubrey understood that. Maybe it was why she backed out. But did she love that guy Paul?
“If you two will excuse me,” Aubrey said as she rose from her chair and turned to walk away.
“Hey, come on, Runaway Bride!” Bill called after her. “Don’t go!” But Aubrey was halfway across the bar by then.
“She has a name, dammit!” Hugh sneered at Bill before going after her. He caught up with her next to the pool and noticed she had her suitcase with her. “Aubrey! Wait!”
She rounded on him, her eyes wide, her expression sad. “What? What do you want, Hugh? Do you want to humiliate me in front of more people?” She looked around the deserted pool area. “Well, there’s no one here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find Tim and get a cab.”
Hugh reached out, placing a hand on her arm to stop her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I…I didn’t think. I was surprised to see you, and all night I’ve been wondering about what your story was and… I acted like a jerk. I’m sorry.”
She stood silently and seemed to consider his words. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. I really need to find a hotel.”
“No, you don’t need to. Stay here tonight. The room’s on me. It’s the least I could do.”
“Hugh… I don’t think…”
“Please, Aubrey. What I just did in there was…”
“Reprehensible?” she supplied.
He nodded. “Yes. Please let me do this for you. I’ll arrange for a town car to take you to the airport tomorrow when you know what flight you’ll be on.” He could see the war going on inside her head and felt horrible about his behavior. That was not his thing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had done something so stupid.
“Okay,” she finally said.
“Really? You’ll stay?”
“It’s only one night and it is getting late.”
Hugh couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.” They stood there in the moonlight for several silent moments before he remembered to speak again. “Come on. Let’s go to the front desk and we’ll find you a room.”
“Are you sure it won’t be a problem?”
“You may end up with the same room you had earlier with Hollingsworth. Will that be a problem?”
“Are you fishing for more to the story or are you genuinely concerned?”
He deserved the jab so he took it. “Genuinely concerned.”
“It will be fine,” she said with a small smile.
“Okay. Good. But I’ll ask Tim if anything else is available—just in case.”
“Thank you.”
Together they made it to the lobby, where Tim looked up and quickly hid his surprise with an easy smile. “Good evening, Mr. Shaughnessy. I didn’t expect to see you back this evening.” Then he turned to Aubrey. “And it’s good to see you, Miss Burke. Are you ready for me to get a cab for you?”
“Tim,” Hugh began, “we are going to provide a room for Miss Burke this evening. Can you tell me what we have available?”
“Yes, sir,” he said pleasantly as he searched his computer screen. “We currently have two rooms available. One is the room Miss Burke had earlier and the other is”—he paused and looked up at Hugh—“in your building.”
“We’ll take that one,” Hugh said, then realized how he’d worded it. “I mean she’ll take that one. Not we. She. Alone.” Oh, for the love of it, just shut up!
Tim smiled at Aubrey. “Give me one minute and I’ll have your key for you.”
“Thank you,” she said as the two of them shared a smirk at Hugh’s obvious embarrassment.
Five minutes later, Tim had her checked in. “Do you need help with your luggage, Miss Burke?”
“I’m fine, Tim. But thank you. Have a good night.”
“You too, miss.”
Hugh took the suitcase and led the way out of the building. “I’ll show you the way since—obviously—I’m going the same way.”
Luckily Aubrey didn’t rib him about his faux pas and together they walked silently toward the back of the property.
“This is all really beautiful, Hugh. You’ve created something stunning here.”
He stood a little taller with pride. “Thank you. This one is one of my favorites.”
She turned her head and looked at him. “You have more than one?”
Nodding, he said, “Twelve. But this one is my newest and it’s probably the one I’ve put the most personal touches on.”
“Wow. I can’t imagine what that’s like—owning twelve luxury resorts. Where are the rest of them?”
They were approaching the building but Hugh stopped at a bench just beside it and sat down. When Aubrey looked at him questioningly, he said, “I hope you don’t mind. I thought we could at least sit down while we talk.”
With a smile, she sat down beside him and kicked off her sandals. “They’re killing me. They look great but they’re not made for walking.”
“Now that’s a shame,” he said with a wink.
Aubrey blushed. “So…um, your other resorts?”
“Oh, right. Okay, so we’re here in Napa, and then we have one down south in San Diego. We’ve got one in Hawaii and one in Montana. We have more on the East Coast. There’s Maine, upstate New York, Michigan, Vermont, and South Carolina. Then we cross the pond”—he chuckled—“for one in London, and the farthest one is in Sydney.”
“Australia?”
He nodded. “I don’t get there as much as I’d like, but it’s beautiful. Very different from what we have here, but it takes my breath away every time.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Do they all look like this?” She motioned to their surroundings.
“No. Each of them is different. The only common thread is how I keep them small. I don’t want big, sprawling properties with hundreds of rooms. I like a smaller, more intimate surrounding. I like guests to think of my resorts as a true retreat—a respite from their everyday lives. Someplace they can come and relax and go home refreshed.”
“It sounds fabulous,” she said wistfully. “You must be very proud.”
“I am. I always wanted to do it, but I never thought it would be on this scale. I’m very blessed.”
“So where’s the next one going to be?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“My family has been hinting—loudly—how they’d like me to build one close to home so they’l
l see me more.”
“It sounds nice. Do you have a big family?”
“There are six of us kids,” Hugh said with a grin.
“Oh my goodness!”
“How many siblings do you have?” Hugh asked.
Aubrey looked at the ground and combed her hair back behind her ear. “I’m an only child.”
Hugh couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for her growing up, but chose to keep it to himself. “Well, we are a big crowd when we get together.”
“Does everyone still live close to home? Is that why they want you to build a resort there?”
The question gave him pause. She had a point. Most of his siblings were either on the move or not living close to home. Why were they giving him grief about needing to build in North Carolina if they weren’t going to be there?
“Hugh?”
“What? Oh, sorry. My mind wandered for a moment. We’re all scattered. My dad is still in the house we all grew up in, and my oldest brother—Aidan—he lives a couple of miles away. He’s going to get married soon but I think he and Zoe are going to stay in the area. My brother Quinn is still in the area, but he owns a chain of auto shops that specialize in restoration and he travels a lot. Then there are the twins—Riley and Owen. Neither of them live close to home and they both travel with their jobs.”
No need to announce that Riley was one of the biggest rock stars in the world. He’d found out the hard way—and more than once—that once you mentioned Riley Shaughnessy was your brother, women tended to fixate on it and chose to keep on hanging around in hopes of meeting him.
Lesson learned.
“Your poor mother. All those boys!”
Hugh smiled sadly. “Yeah. We gave her a hard time, but she finally had her little girl. My sister Darcy is the baby of the family. She just started her first year of college. She’s only a couple of hours from home and we’re not sure where she’ll want to go after she graduates. I have a feeling she’ll be a traveler too.”
“I couldn’t imagine growing up with five older brothers. You all must have scared away every boy in a twenty-mile radius!”
“More like a thirty-mile one,” Hugh said. “But she does all right and she knows if she ever needs anything, we’re all here for her.”
“That’s nice.” A yawn escaped before she could help herself. Looking down at her watch, she said, “I know this may sound lame, but it’s getting late and it’s been a long day.”
Hugh stood and held out a hand to help her to her feet. He lingered for a moment, enjoying the feel of her hand in his before letting go. “Your room is on the third floor. Come on, I’ll walk you up.”
“Tim said you stay in this building too.”
“It’s the only building with a fourth floor. I took the whole floor as my apartment.”
Aubrey nodded. “I’m sure it’s beautiful.”
It was right there—the opportunity to invite her up—and God knew he wanted to. But then he looked at her white dress and it all came back to him.
Her wedding.
Hollingsworth.
No, he might be attracted to Aubrey, but there was no way he was going to act on it. She may have said she and the guy hadn’t dated long, but it had still been only a few hours since they’d broken up and he had no intention of being someone’s rebound.
No matter how much he wanted that right now. Especially after sitting here in the moonlight and simply enjoying their conversation.
They walked into the building and waited for the elevator. Once inside, Aubrey turned to him. “I want to thank you—again—for all of this. I appreciate the room tonight and not having to drive around looking for a place to stay.”
Hugh stuck his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching her. “Like I said, it’s the least I could do.”
“I guess we both did some stupid things today—to one another. I suppose we’re even now.”
Is that what she thought? “Aubrey, I didn’t say those things as a way of getting back at you for what happened earlier in my office. You have to believe me. It was just me putting my foot in my mouth.”
“I believe you, Hugh. I do. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you defensive.”
“Okay. Good.”
The elevator came to a halt on the third floor, and Aubrey took the suitcase from his hand. “I think I’ve got it from here.” She stepped out and turned to face him. “Good night, Hugh.”
“Good night, Aubrey.” She turned to walk away, and Hugh put his hand on the door to keep it open another minute. “Stop in before you leave tomorrow. Let me know when your flight is, okay?”
She nodded. “I will. Good night.”
Hugh let the door close and leaned back against the wall. “Yes it was,” he said. “Yes it was.”
* * *
Once inside her room, Aubrey tucked her suitcase out of the way and immediately walked over to the window to look at the view. The night was clear, the moon was full, and for the first time in a long time, she felt…hopeful.
This afternoon she had been dreading her future and thought all was lost. But now… Now it didn’t seem all that bad. She’d walked away from Paul and his ridiculous proposal plan and the sky hadn’t fallen. The world had continued to spin. Of course she had shut her phone off, so tomorrow things could be very different, but for right now, everything was all right.
For the next thirty minutes she went through her nighttime routine to get ready for bed, adding a nice hot shower to the mix. After climbing in and out of a couple of windows and crawling through the bushes, she was surprised she didn’t look worse.
Wrapped in a towel, she went through her suitcase and frowned at the white negligee. What the hell had she been thinking when she’d purchased and packed that thing?
That you were hopeful for a normal wedding night?
Not hardly.
There wasn’t a doubt in her mind Paul had expected her to sleep with him—and she would have—but to dress the part of the blushing bride was just foolish on her part. Aubrey didn’t have a choice but to wear it; her options were that or nothing, and she didn’t enjoy the au naturel thing.
Slipping into the white silk, she studied her reflection. And frowned. It was a beautiful garment, but no matter how much she adjusted the straps and fidgeted, it wouldn’t cover her the way she wanted it to. Not that it mattered. There was no one here to see her. Still, she couldn’t help but trace a finger over the scar on her chest with a sigh.
“And you should be thankful for it,” she said to herself as she turned off the bathroom light and walked into the large bedroom. The king-size bed looked absolutely wonderful and she realized how tired she was.
Pulling back the blankets and situating the pillows, she climbed in and made herself comfortable. It wasn’t hard to do. The sheets felt wonderfully cool against her skin and the pillows were the perfect firmness. It was almost as if someone has picked everything out just for her.
Turning off the light, she thought about Hugh Shaughnessy. Did he pick out things like the bedding and linens for his resorts? When she closed her eyes, it wasn’t hard to conjure up his face in her mind. He was one of the most attractive men Aubrey had ever met. Handsome, sexy, funny…and did she mention sexy?
Yes, Hugh Shaughnessy was all that, and even though he’d had a moment of jerkiness, overall he seemed to be a good guy. He’d gotten rid of Paul and given her a place to stay when she’d needed it. And he hadn’t thrown her out or had her arrested when she’d broken into his office.
So for a day that had started out seemingly bleak, it had ended fairly well. But where did it leave her? What happened tomorrow when she had to leave Napa? Aubrey knew she couldn’t leave her phone turned off forever, and there were going to be consequences for the way she’d handled things with Paul. But what else could she do? Where could she go?
> It was times like this she envied people like the Shaughnessys. What she wouldn’t give to have a sibling to turn to. Someone to support her and have her back. Someone who understood how unreasonable her parents were and could offer advice on what she was supposed to do with her life now.
There were no immediate answers. Every scenario she imagined involved going home and letting Paul have his temper tantrum, quickly followed by a lecture from her father on what a disappointment she was before he went back to ignoring her again.
Not exactly the kind of thing that made a person want to go home.
This time there were no windows to climb out. No escape route. No plan B.
Her eyes felt heavy and her limbs were starting to relax. She was just about to give in to it and go to sleep when she realized she hadn’t bothered to look for a flight for tomorrow. After Hugh had left her the first time, she had gone to the lounge and had a bite to eat, then met up with Bordeaux Bill. She chuckled. That’s how he’d introduced himself. Then he’d talked nonstop about the wine business—it had been all Aubrey could do to keep up.
And then Hugh had shown up.
Was it any wonder she hadn’t had time to book a flight?
She racked her brain and realized by turning on her phone, there was a chance she’d be tempted to listen to any voice mails. Then she’d get upset—or angry—and any hope of sleep would be shot to hell.
“I’ll do it in the morning,” she said around a yawn. Feeling like she’d found the perfect solution, she rolled onto her belly and got comfortable. Now that she thought about it, she’d go to the concierge desk and see if they could help with a flight. Then she could keep her phone off even longer.
Now that sounded like a plan.
Or maybe she could “accidentally” drop her phone in the pool.
That sounded like an even better plan.
Chapter 3
It was nearly eleven a.m. when Aubrey rolled over and looked at the clock. With a muttered curse, she kicked off the covers and jumped from the bed. What time was checkout? She went in search of the papers Tim had given her the night before. Finding them on the desk, she sagged with relief when she saw he’d noted a late checkout time of one o’clock for her. God bless that man.
Love Walks In Page 5