Billionaire's Holiday Bride: A Bad Boy Christmas Romance

by Serena Vale

  Charity should not demand recognition for one’s actions, she thought as she sipped at her second martini.

  The laughter of guests and patrons could be heard from every room that she visited and it reminded her of an internship she’d worked during her undergrad days in a sanitarium. To be able to hear people laughing at something that was funny only to them, or to be surrounded by people with illusions of wealth, intent, or modesty that was anything but possible certainly smacked of insanity.

  Worst were the false laughs that could only belong to women as they hoped to insinuate themselves among men who were stationed higher than themselves. Twice tonight already she had seen men and women from work slowly disappear from one room or another in the company of someone other than a coworker… or a spouse, in some cases. She had only seen one such pairing return and after only twenty minutes. When she saw the woman’s unclasped bra strap almost comically dangling out of the woman’s sleeve she realized that there could be no illusions as to what had transpired.

  And being in such close proximity to such things turned her stomach. It almost felt stifling, like she was suddenly in danger of being asphyxiated.

  “Air,” she whispered to herself. “I need some air.”

  She turned down a side hall and slipped out onto what appeared to be one the many balconies of the miniature palace. She stuck her head out just enough to see if anyone else was about. All she was an empty walk path that was backed by a trio of small potted evergreen trees and the feet of a couple of lounge chairs, but there was no indication that anyone else was present. Apart from that, the balcony was mercifully empty and she was pleased to have it to herself.

  She closed the glass door to the balcony behind her and leaned against it, temporarily keeping out anyone else. She waited there a few moments before stepping to the edge of the balcony and rested her weight on the concrete edge, looking out across the city.

  The hotel sat on the edge of the river and below the little pinpoints of light of the city on the far bank shined up at her. The honks of car horns and even the indiscernible chatter of people on the street were like signs of life on a desolate island.

  A small wind rushed over her as she exhaled a deep sigh of relief. The evening wind was warm and soothing and it felt as though she had just taken in a great deep breath of something more substantive than air. It was like she was breathing in life itself and purging some kind of a noxious gas that she was being forced to inhale.

  She closed her eyes and took several more calming breaths, purifying her lungs. The sounds of the city below still reached her ears and even that felt relaxing to her. The wind lightly brushed aside some of her thin tendrils of hair and she felt better just being alone and away from that gathering of people, even if only for a few minutes.

  She looked at her watch. She’d only been pow-wowing for just under an hour. It was only a little more than half of the time she had promised to allot herself for tonight. She felt good about that and considered her options. She had stayed long enough, or at least long enough to be polite and leave with etiquette on her side. More than enough people from work had seen her so no one would be able to say that she hadn’t shown up. She’d shaken enough hands, flashed a few smiles, and kissed enough asses to have been polite. That was all that was really required of her. Duty to king and country done, she pondered just calling it a night.

  “You’re as displeased with the function as I am,” said a man’s voice behind her.

  She yelped, startled from the sudden noise and spilled some of her martini on her hand, nearly fumbling the glass over the side of the balcony. She turned and looked for the source of the voice.

  Sitting half-concealed in the shadows between two of the shading trees was a man half-reclined on one of the lounge chairs. He was dressed in a gray suit that was quite contrary to the rule of tuxedos that men seemed to be all wearing tonight. He had a tie around his neck that was unkempt, like he had loosened a noose from around his throat and several buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing a small patch of hair underneath.

  He sat Indian style on the long cushion, which she realized was why she hadn’t seen him when she first came out. An empty glass sat in his hand from which even the ice had been drained. And Evie’s breath caught in her throat at the mere sight of him. He wasn’t like other men that she had seen tonight, dressed up in $10k tuxedos that they would wear only once and never again. There was something… different… about him. She couldn’t quite place it, but he seemed to be standing out from the rest of the men at the party the way she stood out from all of the other women.

  But better… she thought as she took in the sight of him.

  It wasn’t just the way he was dressed, but the way he looked. Even partially concealed she could make out enough of his looks to see that he was handsome. He was fair skinned, his chin was pointed and his face was covered in a depleted beard that was sandy in color. His scalp was the same color and looked as though it could have been neatly combed at one point tonight but somewhere along the way it looked as though his thick and wavy locks had succumbed to gravity, making him look a little rough around the edges.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, trying to regain her composure.

  “The party,” the man said, his voice deep as a canyon yet somehow as smooth and inviting as honey. He spoke with some kind of an accent, but one that she couldn’t quite place. “You’re bored with it… perhaps even a little disgusted by it.” He uncrossed his legs and sat forward, his face caught in just enough light to reveal a set of deep green eyes. “I can tell.”

  She didn’t know who this man was, but she could tell easily enough what he was. A benefactor certainly, but perhaps one of the less wealthier ones if he was dressed this way and allowed his appearance to be as rugged as this.

  It suddenly dawned on her that she needed to make a good impression.

  “No… no… not at all… I… I just…”

  “There’s no need to justify your feelings, miss. Nor is there any reason you should hide them,” the gray suited man said, rising to his feet. “I notice by your tone of voice – and more by the way you looked when you thought the balcony was empty – that you don’t care for the crowd inside or for what they represent, do you?”

  Evie was silent as the man rose to his full height. He was only slightly taller than she by an inch or so, but there was something imposing about him. He had broad shoulders and his hands looked full of muscle as they picked up his empty glass. On his right hand he wore a signet ring that had the mark of what looked like a roaring bear upon it.

  “Uh…” she tried to speak as he drew nearer.

  “Don’t be ashamed. I heartily agree with you.” He looked her over as he drew closer. She felt herself twitching in her shoes; his presence seemed warm somehow, like she had stepped close to a furnace that was only just beginning to build its heat. But there was something that was also patient and confident about him; like a general on a battlefield convinced that he couldn’t be beaten. She had seen plenty of men like him before and it was plain that he came from money, but he seemed oddly detached from it.

  There was something interesting in that.

  “Uh…” she echoed.

  He extended his empty hand forward. “Erik.”

  She slowly extended her hand towards him and took his palm in her own. His grip was firm, but also gentle. There was something reassuring in the way his fingers closed around hers, but there was simultaneously something dangerous about it. Like he was a man who could hold onto her and stab her with a knife if he so chose. But that he didn’t do anything of the sort showed her something that she had found in short supply tonight: character.

  “Erik?” she said, testing the word. “Erik…?” she prompted.

  “Let us just leave it at ‘Erik’ for tonight,” he replied with a small grin.

  There was something else that she hadn’t seen much of tonight: mystery. She smiled back at him. “Alright… Erik. Then, I suppose it would only b
e polite for me to say that you can call me…”

  “Evie,” he said, cutting her off. His eyes almost seemed to twinkle as he spoke her name. “Forgive me… I heard you speaking to some of the other guests. I overheard your name.” A little red touched his cheeks. “I couldn’t help but notice you.”

  It was her turn to blush and she pushed some of her hair up over her right ear as he freed her hand. “Oh, um… thank you,” she said, giving him a bright smile. She felt her cheeks flush at simply realizing that he had noticed her at all.

  “So… Evie…” he said, as if he too was testing the sound of her name. “Is that short for something?”

  “No.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “No? That’s too bad.”

  She looked him over. He spoke with the confidence of a man that was making simple conversation and none of the over-the-top flattery that some of the men she’d spoken to tonight had used… on other women, at any rate. “Why?”

  “I would have liked to learn more about you,” he said plainly as if he were discussing the weather with her.

  Her cheeks felt warm again and she could only vent that heat by smiling.

  “I heard you mention that you are a doctor?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yes… trauma surgeon.”

  “A lucrative business, I would imagine.”

  “It has its ups and downs,” she admitted.

  “And, the hospital… it is to your liking?”

  “It is and very much so.” As soon as she said it she realized that she wasn’t speaking to be polite. She was being honest with her answer and not simply doing what she figured her superiors would have wanted her to do. She actually was quite comfortable with the new facility and was pleased with all of the upgrades that had been made to it. “Do I have you to thank for that?”

  He gave a half shrug. “Is that really important?”

  A quick search of her feelings told her that it wasn’t. “No, I guess it’s not.”

  “I’m glad to hear,” he said, his voice soothing. “Then you are looking forward to the ribbon cutting on the new wing tomorrow?”

  She started to speak, but then recalled a small bit of uneasiness. “Actually, no.”

  “No?” he asked, genuinely surprised.

  “It’s not that I wouldn’t enjoy it,” she clarified, “but I’m due for a little time off. So I’m afraid I’m going to miss the whole thing.”

  “Are you? A pity,” he said, his voice full of genuine remorse. “Then surely you must have a good reason? Some pressing appointment, perhaps? A life-and-death surgery or some such thing?”

  She hung her head a little dejectedly. “Uh… no, I’m afraid not.”

  Erik looked at her with some small amount of confusion.

  She took a short breath. “I’ve been working nonstop for a while now. I’m supposed to be taking a couple of days off starting tomorrow. It’s my boss’s orders, really.”

  “Orders?” Erik’s look of confusion turned into something else that she couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t anger and it wasn’t disappointment, it was something in between the two. “Then I shall have to have a word with your superior. Make him see reason.”

  She giggled a little. “Why would you do that?”

  He shifted nervously on his feet. “You’ll forgive me for eavesdropping, but I could not help but overhear how you enjoy your work. Someone who is pleased by such a noble pursuit should not be forced to rest if they do not choose to do so.”

  She smiled warmly at the man across from her. “Thank you for saying so.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, his green eyes watching her with a kind of intensity she would have thought an artist to have when focusing on the model for a painting. “So, why would you choose to hide yourself away out here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing, Erik.”

  “Touché,” he added after a brief pause and a soft chuckle. “I’ll answer for you if you’ll do as much for me?”

  “Sure,” she said quickly before she realized that she hadn’t given the idea very much thought at all.

  “In all honesty my fiancé insisted that I come to this event. She seemed certain that it would be good for my… uh… business…” he said uncertainly, almost cautiously.

  “Oh,” she said, feeling the sudden crushing weight of disappointment on her shoulders. She wasn’t entirely certain why, but the idea that this man was a contributor to the hospital had been a tad demoralizing. That he was engaged seemed even more upsetting. “You’re…” she paused, careful not to let the wrong words leave her mouth, “… a benefactor?”

  He nodded. “I am, in a small way.”

  “How small?”

  He shrugged. “I merely contributed enough to build the new wing. That was all.”

  Evie paused and a memory surfaced in her mind. She recalled the renovations done to the hospital… the new wing that was built… bringing everything in there up to code… She gasped. “But… the new wing… it cost twenty five million!”

  He nodded. “It did indeed, so my real estate experts told me. And every square inch of it was tax deductible.” He looked sadly at the ground. “Although that was not the reason I had it built. And the real reason was… well… I suppose I’m ashamed of the real reason and I preferred to have some private moments. That is why I came out here.”

  Evie’s mouth was slightly agape. No words came to her mind as to how she could respond to such a statement. The man standing before her was wealthy enough to build the entire new wing of the hospital and he shrugged it off like he’d only had the parking lot painting.

  There was something undeniably interesting about him.

  “Your turn,” he said, looking up.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, coming back to her senses.

  “The reason you chose to hide yourself out here?” he reminded her.

  “Oh… uh… I suppose… uh…”

  He waited for a few moments and when she failed to do anything more than stutter, he chuckled. “You just wished to get away from them because you simply don’t care to be around such a – shall we say – a tight-assed group of people?”

  Her manners were forgotten and she wondered only how he could have known this about her even though she had not said a word to him. “Uh… yes… I suppose you could say that’s true.”

  He nodded approvingly. “Good. I would too.” He looked down at his empty glass and then to hers. “Oh, where are my manners? Forgive me… you spilled your drink when I startled you. Please… allow me to get you another.”

  “Another?” she asked.

  “Yes. After that, I’m sure we can return to the solitude of this balcony… away from that rabble inside.”

  There was a strange tickle of excitement in the back of her heart at this suggestion and she felt that she could be oddly comfortable with it. “Yes… that would be nice.”

  He smiled and offered her his arm like a gentleman from one of those old fashioned movies that she had always laughed at as a child. But she wasn’t laughing now as she slipped her arm through his and they went back inside to find the bar.

  Chapter 3

  Evie lay in her bed staring blankly up at the ceiling with a fool’s grin on her face. Her mind kept rotating back to the previous night and the captivating man that she had met there. She replayed the entire event over and over in her mind like a loop function on a DVD.

  Erik. Just thinking his name excited her. The strange man was everything that she liked in a man: intelligent, forthright, honest, and even a little mysterious. That he was rich and spoke with an accent that she still couldn’t quite place had been unexpected bonuses.

  She reclined on her pillow, thinking of him and a multitude of questions rose up in her mind like bubbles in a soda. They had spoken so much last night and somehow she still didn’t know anything about him. She was bursting with a desire to know more about him. What was his last name? Where was he from? What kind of business was he in that he could afford to build a
whole new wing on a hospital? Why had he really bothered to go to that party last night? Why did he feel it was necessary to hide away like that when he should have been first in line to have his ass kissed? Why did it seem that he detested money so much?

  The last of the questions that rose in her mind was the most difficult to bear. It was one that she didn’t care to acknowledge, but also one that she couldn’t ignore either. Who was his fiancé?

  The question bit at her like a venomous snake. The feeling that coursed through her at thinking it wasn’t poison, but jealousy, which she felt was far more caustic. More, its effects were far more severe and lasting.

  She couldn’t stop her mind from pondering the question. The woman that had Erik both in her life and her bed was certain to be the subject of much envy. She built a list in her head of what a future-wife of the mysterious Erik’s was sure to be: wealthy, intelligent, successful, and perhaps even a little overbearing. The way Erik had been dressed and how he seemed so intent on looking humble despite his fortunes told her that he was anxious to be free in one manner or another.

  Maybe there’s trouble in paradise? The thought put a selfish grin on her face. That Erik should revert to bachelorhood was not at all un-appeasing. Her only problem in that was that she would have no way to explore that possibility, were it to happen.

  He’s getting married... and not to a low-income doctor, she reflected sadly. True, she wasn’t rich, but she wasn’t poor either. But a man like Erik was like a thoroughbred horse: he was meant to be paired with someone who would be nothing short of advantageous for him. It was as simple as that.

  Depressing though that was, she found that she had enjoyed his company last night. There was no denying that. She had enjoyed it to the point where had even been feeling a little adventurous. If Erik had hinted that he was there in any way for the same reason that other supporters of the hospital were – to get a little on-the-side-love of all things – she felt like she could have obliged him in that regard and enjoyed it. And she could have done so especially by the end of their time together. They had wound up speaking for nearly three hours, far longer than she would have anticipated staying there at the party. But every minute that she had spent with Erik felt well wort the effort. If only he’d wanted… more.