by Romy Sommer
Westerwald didn’t handle embarrassment well. They preferred their royals dutiful and dull, and Max had never had an inclination to be much of either.
The States had been kinder to him. No-one here had expected him to be anyone but himself and no-one expected him to fall in love at first sight. Least of all himself.
He poured all his infamous charm into a smile. “At least give me this afternoon. I’ll even pay. Sky’s the limit. If there was anything you ever wanted to do in Las Vegas, this is your chance.”
Phoenix clutched her clothes to her chest. “One afternoon but I get to choose how we spend it?” She paused, looking down at the slender fingers fisted around her clothes. “Deal. But you’ll need to take this back.”
She slid the ring off her finger and handed it to him, careful not to touch him. Max took the ring, keeping his victory smile to himself. An afternoon was all he’d need to remind her of what was so special between them. He’d have his ring back on her finger soon enough. And this time it would be a proper ring, with the most elegant diamond he could find.
This wasn’t exactly the quality, getting-to-know-you afternoon he’d had in mind. Max pressed his foot down on the gas as the vehicle beneath him skidded sideways on the soft sand. He yanked at the steering wheel, only just missing the makeshift barrier by inches. There was no time for relief, though, as he hurtled towards the next corner. Phoenix’s dune buggy was already two car lengths ahead, with the chequered flag visible in the distance.
He put his foot flat on the pedal but it wasn’t enough. Phoenix’s buggy careened over the finishing line a few yards ahead of his.
When he climbed out the vehicle, adrenaline still pumping, heart racing, and swept Phoenix off her feet, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Her heart hammered against his chest, her full, round breasts pressed against him. Her pupils were wide and black as sin, swallowing the softer chocolate brown of her irises. She swallowed nervously, but didn’t push him away.
His lips met hers in a crushing, possessive kiss, no less urgent on her part than on his. She tasted of excitement and passion, and he responded by pouring everything of himself into that kiss.
When they finally broke apart, she ran light fingers through his hair. “Now if you drove the way you kissed, you might have beaten me.”
“Oh?” he asked, reluctantly letting her slide from his grasp to stand on her own feet. But he kept an arm loosely around her waist. It was good to have her back in his arms again, where she belonged.
“All or nothing. As if you had nothing to lose.”
“Don’t you have anything to lose?”
“Nothing.”
Nothing to lose and no responsibility. There’d been times in his life he’d have given anything not to feel responsible for other people. But there was a flip side to being responsible. “But then you have nothing to live for either,” he pointed out.
She shrugged. “Tell me you didn’t feel alive sliding down that hill at a hundred miles an hour.” Her face glowed with exhilaration, but he was sure her feverish flush had more to do with the kiss than the dune buggy race.
“Where did you learn to drive like that?”
“I had an ex-boyfriend who raced motorbikes. He bought me my first bike and taught me how to ride.”
He forced his jaw to unclench. The afternoon was too short to spoil with talk of the other men in her life. And of course there had been other men in her life, and he better just get used to that idea. “So what’s next? The zip-line in Fremont Street or the Stratosphere bungee?”
Though he’d rather not do either. Right now he’d much rather take his bride back to his hotel room and make love to her.
“Been there, done that. I need a shower.” She shook her head to prove the point, scattering sand. They were both dusty and sweaty from the race.
“Fantastic idea.” He still had his arm wrapped around her waist. He slid his hand further down, to hook in her jeans pocket. From her sudden, sharp intake of breath he knew she hadn’t found the intimacy of his touch undesirable. Quite the contrary.
The first time he kissed her yesterday, they’d stood exactly like this. Admittedly, they’d both been cleaner then. And less sober.
Dragging in a shaky breath, Phoenix swatted his hand away and pulled out of his embrace. “Separate showers.” She sent him a glare frosty enough to scare a normal man. “And no champagne.”
Max forced a laugh and grudgingly stepped away. “Suit yourself.”
So they headed back to his hotel and showered. Separately.
He was waiting when she emerged from the bathroom, fresher and sparklier than before, with all traces of both the strenuous afternoon and last night’s revels gone, and for a moment he was sure her memory had returned. She was back in the bathrobe, the pale rounds of her breasts visible where the fabric gaped, and his blood pounded at the sight. But when he touched her, caressing her bare collarbone, she stepped out of reach, eyes distinctly cool.
What wasn’t cool was the flush that blossomed where his fingers had touched her skin. She couldn’t deny the chemistry between them, nor would she be able to avoid it much longer.
“Where are my clothes?” She eyed the now empty armchair where she’d discarded her jeans and T-shirt.
“Housekeeping have taken them for cleaning. You had half the desert in them.”
“I hope you don’t think you’re going to keep me hostage here with nothing to wear but this bathrobe?”
He shook his head. “I got you something a little more suitable. You’re not going to need jeans or a bathrobe where we’re going tonight.”
Without a word, she followed his gaze to the living room where a small mountain of branded boxes stood ready and waiting.
“I wasn’t sure of your size, so I asked them to send up a range.”
Her jaw dropped open. “What exactly do you have planned for this evening?”
Aside from the obvious? “For a start, dinner at Le Cirque.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve always wanted to eat at Le Cirque.”
He only just stopped himself in time from saying ‘I know’. She didn’t like that he remembered so much while she remembered nothing.
Yesterday, in that blissful, whirlwind day they’d spent getting to know each other, she’d told him how frugally she lived, scraping together every spare cent for her trip around Europe. Money was the only thing she lacked, and Max wasn’t above awing her with it to keep her at his side until she succumbed to the passion burning between them.
Max placed his hand on Phoenix’s lower back as they threaded between the tables, enjoying the soft sway of her movement beneath his hand. He must remember to thank the lovely lady at the concierge desk for her superb taste. The wrap-around silk dress in a delicate shade of teal moulded to Phoenix’s curves like a second skin. It was classy and sexy at the same time, and he was having a problem keeping his hands off her.
The famous restaurant, with its decorated walls and swathes of bright-coloured fabric overhead, was surprisingly intimate and elegant for a room decorated to resemble the inside of a circus tent. The maître d’ seated them at one of the most sought-after tables, at a picture window overlooking the Bellagio’s famous fountains. Lyrical piano music underscored the muted sounds of conversation. Max held out her chair for her, before taking his own seat across the table.
While Phoenix studied the menu, Max chatted to the sommelier, finally ordering a bottle of wine from his own vineyard. In the time it took for the wine to arrive, he entertained Phoenix with a history of the wine they’d be drinking. Her eyes didn’t glaze over, and she asked intelligent questions, so he figured she wasn’t faking being interested.
“You love what you do,” she observed, smiling and softening towards him as she first breathed in the aroma of the wine, then took a cautious sip. “Nice. Though I have to admit I know absolutely nothing about wine except how to drink it.”
“Then you’ll be my most honest critic.�
�� Her honesty was one of the most appealing things about her. He swirled the wine around in his glass. “Last night you told me you moved to Vegas because you lived here as a child. Tell me about it.”
“I’m the one at the disadvantage here. You already know so much about me. Tell me about yourself.”
He shook his head. “I’ll get my turn.” He wanted her to talk about herself, to relax and open up. In his experience, most people felt more comfortable talking than listening. He’d been trained to be a very good listener.
Phoenix didn’t look at him but focussed her eyes instead on the view beyond the expansive windows. “The year we lived here was the happiest time I remember. Not that I wasn’t happy a lot in my childhood, but my mother was still alive then. She sang in a show at one of the big hotels. She had the most beautiful bluesy voice imaginable.”
Her mother, he remembered, had died less than a year after they’d left Vegas. Phoenix had been only ten. He couldn’t imagine losing his mother. He’d been so lucky, surrounded by adoring parents, his beloved grandmother, nannies, and a brother who’d been in equal measure his best friend and greatest rival.
“My father had a day job playing piano in a classy restaurant much like this one,” she continued. “We had dinner together as a family every night, and then Mom would read me a bedtime story, tuck me into bed, and go out to work.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Most of the time.” Her restless fingers played with the stem of the wine glass. “But like everything in life, it didn’t last. Daddy hated it – playing piano for people who barely heard it. As with all true artists, he needed to be challenged, to try new things. So he joined a rock band, Mom left the show, and we followed him on tour. After that, I don’t remember spending more than six months in any one place.”
“Must have been tough getting a decent education when you kept moving.”
She shrugged again. “I got the best education anyone could ask for. I’m a graduate of the University of Life.” She smiled that wide smile that lit up her face and made her eyes sparkle. There were gold specks in her dark eyes, he noticed, that gave her a luminous quality. “There’s probably not much I haven’t seen or done. And I read a lot. You can find out everything you need to know from books.”
He didn’t disagree. But her education was a world away from his. He thought of the six years he’d spent in an elite French boarding school, tied to a desk where books had been dry and dull, and life beyond the windows had seemed to pass him by. He’d dreamed of a life like hers.
He’d been destined for Oxford and the kind of studies that would turn him into a good diplomat, an asset to his country. A dull asset to his country. Until he’d bucked the system and chosen to study wine-making in California instead. His father had hit the roof and their relationship had never been the same since. Never would be, now his father was dead.
“What are you thinking about?” Phoenix asked. She laid a hand on his, and the heat radiating from her was both electric and calming at the same time, like being burrowed in bed beneath a warm duvet during a storm.
“I think we should order our meal. Have you chosen yet what you want?”
She frowned and released his hand.
Once he’d summoned the waiter, and they’d placed their orders, Phoenix turned her direct gaze on him.
He tensed. He’d told her a lot about himself yesterday. Now in the clear light of day, or at any rate the clear light of the sunset deepening over the desert, he was sure those confidences were better kept in the dark. He didn’t want to freak her out until she knew him better.
“Tell me about your family,” she prompted.
He sucked in a breath. This was the question he most hated. From the moment he’d been old enough to talk he’d been cautioned not to talk about family. One never knew what would make its way to the ears of the press. Which was why last night he’d chosen the most discreet chapel they could find in Vegas and why he’d used his fake ID.
But today Phoenix didn’t have a clue who he really was. She saw him as nothing more than what he’d become, a Californian vintner. There was a freedom in that.
He sipped his wine, taking a moment to think through what he would say, how to skirt the truth without lying. He valued honesty above all else, and didn’t want to start their married life with lies. “My father inherited the family business. He’s always been big on duty and family.”
“Was his death sudden or expected?” Phoenix cupped her chin in her hand, listening avidly.
“Very sudden. He had high blood pressure for years, but this was his first heart attack and he was dead within half an hour.”
Sympathy filled her eyes. She nodded. “How are you holding up?”
No-one but Grandfather had asked him that before now. Back home in Westerwald the only thing everyone had been concerned with was “what now?”
He’d told the old man he wasn’t sure. He still wasn’t. “We were never that close. Rik was always our father’s favourite son, the one most like him.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” Her gaze sharpened. She wasn’t going to let him get away with the evasion.
“Conflicted. I feel guilty that I didn’t make amends before he died. And of course I’ll miss him. He was a big presence in my life, even if we never saw eye to eye.”
“I sense a ‘but’ in there.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “But now that he’s gone, I feel as if I’m finally free of his expectations. Rik will take over the family business and I’m free to do what I want.”
“How does your brother feel having to take over the business while you get to do whatever you want?”
He shrugged. “Rik has always been big on duty and family too. He’s perfect for the job.”
“And what is it you want to do with all this freedom?”
This was how they’d talked last night. She hadn’t been afraid to ask him the hard questions. The déjà-vu was both surreal and reassuring. The same connection they’d had last night was still there. She understood him. She listened. It hadn’t been a mirage.
“I want to live life on my own terms, doing what I want, going wherever I want, when I want.” He took her hand, entwining his fingers through hers. “And with whomever I want.”
She caught the emphasis on his final word, and bit her lip. But she didn’t pull her hand away.
“And I want to make good wine. There’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction in making something that brings joy to others, even if it is only for a fleeting moment in time. Yesterday you told me that’s exactly how your father felt about being a musician.”
She nodded.
“And you told me you want to live life on your own terms too.” He grinned. “In those exact words.”
“I do.” She blushed as her words echoed between them. She shook her head. “But my terms don’t include marriage and children and mortgages.”
He laughed. “I can promise you won’t ever have to worry about a mortgage with me. And I’m in no hurry for children.”
“Tell me about your brother.” She was changing the subject, putting him off. That was fine by him. They had plenty of time to talk about starting a family of their own.
“Rik and I have always been close, though I guess we’re like dark and light. He’s the serious, thoughtful, dutiful one, and I’m the easy-going, push-the-boundaries one.”
She nodded again, expression thoughtful. “I never had any siblings. I’m always curious how other people manage to share their parents. I’m glad I never had to.”
“We never needed to share either. Rik was always our father’s child, and I was our mother’s. She had a higher tolerance level.”
“Were you that naughty? No, don’t answer that, of course you were.” She laughed, a husky, sensual sound. “But what are you doing here now? Shouldn’t you be with your family?”
He shrugged. “I’m here for the same reason you are. To have a party and celebrate the fact that it feels good to be ali
ve.”
Amusement lit her eyes. “And you thought getting hitched was a great way to celebrate being alive?”
“I didn’t expect to meet my one true love here in Vegas, but now it’s happened, everything’s changed. I’d rather be here with you than anywhere else in the world.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re insane, you know that? You don’t surely believe in true love and fairy tales, and all that nonsense?”
“Why not? Don’t you feel this connection between us?”
“What I feel for you isn’t a connection. It’s lust. Pure and simple.”
Pure and simple. Exactly the words he would have chosen for the state of his feelings for this wild, complicated, beautiful woman. But it wasn’t merely lust he was feeling. He was well acquainted with lust, and this was a whole lot more.
But if that was all she would admit to, he could work with that.
The waiter appeared at her elbow, sliding their plates onto the table. When he attempted to refill Phoenix’s wine glass, she put her hand over it. “No more for me.” She sent the waiter a smile that had the poor man near melting.
“Is there anything else I can get you, ma’am?”
“No, thank you.”
Alone again, her smile dropped as she turned back to him. “So did your parents fall in love at first sight and live happily ever after then?”
Max smiled, warmed by the memory of a family story he’d heard over and over. “Pretty much. It started as a business merger of sorts. She was a model, stunningly beautiful, and my father’s…board…decided she would bring a glamour and freshness to the company image. But from the moment they met, that was it. Destiny stepped in. By the time they married, they were very much in love, and haven’t spent a night apart since.”
“This must be a tough time for her then. So you plan to drop in on her while she’s still in mourning and say ‘Hi Mom, this is my wife. I know you haven’t met her yet, but wey-hey it was love at first sight.’?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” he admitted. “I tend to just go with the flow in life.” He stared at the reflections in the surface of the golden wine. “But I don’t want to keep this from her for too long – we don’t have secrets in our family. But you’re right, now probably wouldn’t be the best time to break the news. We’ll leave my family out of it for a while. But you’ll meet my Grandfather when we go back to Napa.”