Her mom’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“I did spend time with Hugo while you were gone. He told me he went to the hospital with his sister, who is pregnant. He was so thrilled to get to play the part of big brother for her that it was amazing. He never said it, but he put his own needs aside, his own questions about what happened when he and his siblings were younger, and just reacted, protecting his sister.”
“That’s lovely.” Her mom’s voice was soft, compassionate.
Erin smiled. “He’s had a rough life.”
“Hugo or Josh?”
“Both, I guess. They are nothing alike. But they have a sense of responsibility and some sort of weird male pride that makes them think they are in charge of everything. I saw Josh through Hugo. Trying to spare everybody by taking on all the burden himself.”
“What about him telling the other woman?”
She licked her lips. “Everybody has a breaking point.” She didn’t tell her mom that she suddenly realized she was “the woman to confide in” in Hugo’s story. No matter how wonderful their time together, she knew he’d hit his breaking point the day they went into the attic to look at decorations. She’d forced him into a corner, and he’d decided they should leave the office—go for hot cocoa. But she’d set up the scenario.
Josh’s female friend had sworn that Josh had simply needed a release valve, someone to talk to, and now Erin totally understood that. Even as forgiveness for Josh filled her soul and gave her peace, her relationship with Hugo came into perspective.
While she was worrying that she was falling in love, he was working out his past, probably appreciating that he could drop a tidbit here and there and not fear that she would judge, because she’d endured hardship too.
He might never explain the whole of it, but he was talking to her. She would always be the woman who helped him through the hardest days of his life, but he would never love her. She would always remind him of his terrible past.
Even if she was the person who helped him fix it.
This wasn’t the beginning of something wonderful. It was the end of something horrible for Hugo.
And if it was the beginning of anything, it was a heartache for her.
CHAPTER TEN
WHEN RONNIE RETURNED Erin to the Harrington Park Hotel, Hugo stood at the door, waiting for her.
“How was their trip?”
She looked up at him, her gaze locking with his for a few seconds as she stared into his eyes. Then she glanced away. “Good. She loves everybody. Had it not been for Noah getting cranky, missing me, I think she could have stayed forever.”
Feeling as if something was off, but not able to identify it, Hugo carefully said, “That’s good, right?”
“Yeah. Sure.” She sighed and shook her head. “Actually, it’s excellent. I know how she’s longed for her family, and you bringing us here gave her a chance we never would have had without you, if only because we couldn’t afford it.”
He casually put his arm around her, feeling, for some reason or another, that she needed reassurance. “Nonsense, you’re the best. Some day your business is going to really take off and you’re going to be the ‘it’ girl for events in Manhattan.”
She smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “That’ll be great.”
What she said was good, but like her eyes, her voice didn’t back up the sentiment of it. Not knowing what to do, he left her, veering off when they reached his office. But sitting at his desk, reading progress reports, the feeling that he had to fix this overtook him. He didn’t like that something was troubling Erin. He also realized that with her mum and son home, they wouldn’t sleep together tonight. His big bed would be cold and lonely, but this feeling he had wasn’t about him.
Erin was off. She couldn’t be unhappy. Her son was home. She’d probably hugged and kissed him a million times.
So, what the hell was it?
After an hour of contemplation, he was still stymied. He couldn’t stand the thought that something was wrong and shoved himself out of his desk chair and headed to the kitchen, where he instructed Louis to send up a sample tray of everything he and his staff had created that day. Then he called Erin and told her to meet him in the penthouse.
When the elevator opened for her to enter, the little penthouse kitchen was filled with everything from lobster to pudding.
She sniffed the air and groaned with pleasure. “What’s all this?”
“Food to sample. Louis doesn’t just have to feed a hotel filled with guests on Christmas Eve. He’s got to make breakfasts, lunches and dinners for their entire stays.” He motioned to the counter lined with samples. “What you see right here is him trying to pin down his restaurant menu.”
She walked over and sniffed the air. “And we’re the guinea pigs?”
He laughed. “Or you could say we’re the lucky people who get to taste test.” He picked up a bit of lobster, dipped it in butter and popped it in his mouth. “The man is a genius.”
She laughed. “And we’re both going to have to join a gym when we get back to Manhattan—” Her breath caught slightly.
And Hugo knew why. Mentioning Manhattan shoved them back to reality, back to being a businessman and the woman he employed to plan his events.
Even as his heart jolted at the thought of not seeing her after this wonderful affair, he wondered if they really did have to part. Maybe what had started out as an affair had turned into something solid? Something real?
Maybe that was what she was feeling? The confusion of a temporary arrangement edging over into something permanent.
It should have scared him. He’d never believed he was the kind of guy who’d find love. He didn’t think he had time for love or a big enough place in his life. But what he experienced with her was so different, so important, it filled his heart.
The shock of it should have made him at least pause and consider the consequences. Instead, the longing he’d been battling since she’d arrived in London had him patting the stool beside his. Taking a chance. “Sit.”
With a nervous laugh, she did as he said.
But the laugh confirmed his suspicions. She’d never been nervous around him before. Recognizing that, he concluded the shift in their situation had to be the problem. Still, he didn’t have any answers. He was as baffled as she was.
There was only one way to handle this. Just keep doing what they’d been doing—enjoying each other’s company—and see what happened.
“Why don’t we play a food game? You close your eyes and I’ll feed you a bite of something and you try to guess what it is.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hugo…really…”
“Close your eyes.”
Skeptical, she nonetheless closed her eyes. Using a slim seafood fork, he took a piece of lobster, dipped it in butter and said, “Open your mouth.”
She opened her mouth and he set the lobster on her tongue.
She groaned with pleasure. “Mmm…lobster.”
“That one was easy.” He paused. “You’ve got a little butter on your mouth.” He leaned in, kissed it away.
Her eyes opened and she smiled. Hugo’s chest filled. He’d hated to see her sad, and in ten minutes he’d brought his Erin back.
“Close your eyes again. I don’t want you peeping.”
She laughed. He chose a small bite of filet mignon. “Open your mouth.”
She shook her head, fanning her beautiful red hair along her shoulders, but opened her mouth, and he set the filet on her tongue.
“Oh, God, that’s good. Perfect.”
“Louis is a genius.”
Her eyelids lifted and again she smiled. “So you’ve said.”
He leaned in. “I think I see sauce on your lips.”
“There was no sauce on the steak…” She stopped when his lips met hers. This time he put h
is arm around her waist, pulling her close, deepening the kiss.
He’d never felt so powerful or so happy that he could make someone smile. He enticed her nearer and nearer until she was on his lap. Then he kissed them both into oblivion, as he removed her T-shirt and she got rid of his jacket and tie.
He could have taken her right there in the kitchen, but with elevator doors that could open for anyone who had the code, he decided against that and drew her back to the bedroom with him.
After they made love, she fell asleep beside him, and that indescribable joy filled him again. The thought that he had found his place, his purpose, tiptoed through his brain, and for once he didn’t argue.
The beep of his phone floated back from the main living area, interrupting his thoughts. He eased out of bed, careful not to wake Erin as he slipped into his shirt and pants. He couldn’t believe he’d got so involved that he didn’t realize he’d left his phone behind and shook his head at the strength of whatever it was between him and Erin.
He grabbed a bite of watermelon from the fruit salad Louis had prepared and walked to the coffee table, where he’d left his phone. He hit a button and saw eight missed calls.
Eight missed calls?
And one voice mail.
“Hey, Hugo. Not sure what’s going on, but Sally’s gone back to Tianlipin. She’d thought you might have come to the hospital when she was released on Sunday and was surprised you hadn’t.” There was a pause, and then Jay added, “It’s odd. It’s as if she expects to see you now and again.”
Hugo’s heart stopped and he fell to the sofa in the seating area. Sally had talked about him? Expected to see him?
He slammed his phone on the sofa cushion with an unsatisfying thud and bounced up to pace, his thoughts going a million miles a second. Then he realized he’d been showing Erin around London on Sunday. He’d never followed up with Sally about her hospital stay because Jay had called him and given him a report.
He hadn’t given Sally a passing thought.
He bent and grabbed the phone again, calling Jay. “It never entered my mind to see her off on Sunday.”
Jay laughed. “No biggie.”
But it was a biggie to Hugo. A door had opened—
No. He’d opened a door by taking Sally to the hospital, talking to her, yelling at her now-fiancé, and then he’d forgotten about it.
“I wasn’t there either. She’d called telling me she was home. I’m assuming that’s Tianlipin. Look. Don’t make too much of this.”
Easy for Jay to say. He wasn’t the one on the outside looking in. Hoping for an opening. Praying for a way to show Sally his intentions were genuine and that he’d spent years missing her and Jay.
He’d found it, and then he’d walked away.
Still, he wouldn’t let Jay see his annoyance with himself. “Okay. Fine. Whatever.”
Erin strolled out of the bedroom, saw he was on the phone and motioned to the center island still filled with Louis’s goodies.
He watched the gentle sway of her hips and his mouth watered, the way it did every time he looked at her.
He told himself not to make too much of that either. Though he’d had all kinds of thoughts of permanency with her, those couldn’t be real. Not when he had so much else on his mind. He was in the middle of trying to renovate his family’s hotel and reconcile with his brother and sister…he didn’t have the mental energy left to get involved with a woman.
Which was the entire state of his life. Strong feelings or not, he was a ridiculously busy man. He could have fun with her, yes. But when they returned to Manhattan his life would get crazy again. Hotels would go up for sale. His brand would need reinforcing. And if he was lucky, his brother and sister would want him in their world.
Those were the things he’d worked his entire life for.
Those were his goals.
The things that had filled him with purpose and kept him from sinking into a black pit of despair after his mum had kicked him out.
He couldn’t abandon them because of a few days. Especially since Erin’s odd mood might have been because she was also recognizing their time together was ending.
He finished the call with Jay, went back to the food and stayed in the moment as he and Erin ate lunch.
He reminded himself that this wasn’t a relationship. It was fun. And those thoughts he’d had when he’d called her to come up to the penthouse? They were foolish musings of a guy having a really great time with a very special woman. She was sad. He wanted to make her happy. Because that was what their relationship was about. Fun. Nothing more.
When she left the penthouse to go back to work, he returned to the office with his New York staff.
He didn’t wonder if she’d got home safely. At the end of her workday, he sent the limo to take her to her flat. But he didn’t call to see how she was. Didn’t go to the hotel first thing in the morning. He went back to the office with his staff, where he belonged.
* * *
Moving boxes was not how Erin had intended to spend her Wednesday morning, but with her workstation now overtaken by the painters, she had no choice. The mountains of paperwork on the desk Hugo used when he was in the hotel prevented her from usurping that area. So she’d had some workmen bring her small desk downstairs into Hugo’s office, but they’d dropped it in the middle of everything.
She shoved boxes against the walls, carving out a place where she could push the desk, and was thrilled when she had everything arranged. But a box fell off the old-fashioned filing cabinet and dumped its contents all over the floor.
“Stupid clutter!” She crouched to pick up the papers, file folders and envelopes scattered around. She knew she was out of sorts because her time with Hugo continually confused her. She shouldn’t like him, shouldn’t enjoy his company, but lately he’d been damned near irresistible, baffling her. Making her long for things she couldn’t have because as soon as they returned to Manhattan, he’d associate her with trouble, not success. And he wouldn’t want to see her anymore.
She almost launched the papers and file folders across the room, if only to get them out of the way. “Why do people save everything?”
But when she saw Sally Harrington neatly printed on the front of one of the red envelopes and Hugo Harrington’s name in the space for the return address, she stopped cold.
She looked at the postal stamp cancellation to see the date, then rifled through at least twenty dusty red and green envelopes—probably Christmas cards—with Hugo’s return address, mailed to James and Sally. His brother and sister.
Gobsmacked, she sat on the cluttered floor. He’d tried to get in touch with his brother and sister, but the cards had never gotten to the twins. Someone had held them back.
More secrets.
Her heart stuttered. She’d never had the feelings for another person that she had for Hugo Harrington. He was sweet, caring, and more fun-loving than she’d ever expected him to be. He’d sensed her mood the day before and dispelled all her fears, and dear God in heaven, she was falling for him—
Had fallen for him.
She loved him. Loved a man who would undoubtedly dump her when they returned to New York. Loved a man with secrets. And in her hand, she held another one. He’d tried to stay in touch.
She blew the dust off one of the green cards, staring at it as if expecting it to give her the answer. In a way, it did. Whoever hid the cards might not have wanted Sally and Jay to have them, but he or she hadn’t been able to toss them away either.
His mother?
Most likely. The stepfather who’d brought their hotel to ruins wouldn’t have been sentimental enough to keep them. But a mom trying to protect the twins from whatever Hugo might have said? She’d keep the cards. She might not have had courage enough to open them, but she clearly wanted the connection to Hugo and might have even hoped something good was i
nside. So, though she hadn’t summoned the nerve to open them, she’d kept them.
Erin stared at the small stack of cards, sadness permeating her soul. If Hugo had wanted to leave his family, had wanted his freedom, wanted the clean break, would he have tried to keep in touch?
Probably not.
The only conclusion that could be drawn from Hugo reaching out was that he had wanted to stay connected. And if he had wanted to stay connected, was it so far-fetched to believe that he might not have wanted to leave at all?
Did that explain why he’d bought this hotel—waited to buy this hotel?
And if he hadn’t wanted to leave, it had to have been his stepfather who’d pushed him out. A mother unable to part with cards from her son couldn’t have been the one to shove him out. But a stepfather who didn’t want an older child around, a child smart enough to remember the past and strong enough to make his wishes known, would definitely kick him to the curb. Especially since Hugo had said he’d caught his stepfather embezzling.
Poor Hugo!
Her heart squeezed. But she took a breath. She was only making assumptions.
She stared at the dusty envelopes. As an employee, it was none of her business. As his lover? He hadn’t told her the whole story of his past, but he’d told her enough that she knew she had to show him these cards.
She shoved them into the big manila envelope, set it on top of a filing cabinet and went back to work.
Twenty minutes later, she had her desk arranged. Her head down, she focused on last-minute details for the big Christmas Eve celebration, especially deliveries. Food was arriving now. Chefs were reconciling the purchase orders against packing slips, but so was she. Everything was checked and double-checked.
“Knock! Knock!”
Erin glanced up to see her mom at the door, sliding Noah to the floor. He ran to her. “Mum!”
Erin laughed as she hoisted him into her arms. “Since when do you call me Mum?”
Her mom sauntered in. “He’s been picking up the language subtleties like a little parrot.”
She pulled his cap off his head and smoothed his static-filled red hair before he bounced off her lap to explore the office. “What brings you here?”
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