The Billionaire's Holiday Bride

by Nadia Lee

  Dane was skeptical, but he didn’t want to argue. If Sophia wanted to think the best of everyone, so be it. As far as he was concerned, after this conversation, he was finished with his debt to his father. A debt incurred because Salazar had helped Sophia when nobody else would.

  “You’re missing dessert,” Dane said.

  “I had a few bites. I don’t need to eat the whole thing to know it’s good.” Salazar tilted his head. “Why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend?”

  There it was again. Girlfriend. “I’m only here to tell you something Mom told me once, when I was struggling with how to win Sophia back.”

  Salazar’s expression said he was bored, but the intensity of his gaze betrayed him.

  “She said love requires the merging of two souls in order to be complete, which can’t happen if they’re encased in stiff, stony shells of pride. That second part describes both of you to a T.”

  Salazar sighed. “You have a point?”

  “When I asked her why, if she was so wise, she hadn’t been able to fix your marriage, she said it was too late.”

  “It is.”

  And for the first time, Dane saw his father sag, as though the weight of all those wasted years rested upon his shoulders. The sight evoked a rare sympathy in Dane, one that made him want to turn around and return to Sophia’s side. He didn’t like feeling things like this. “Bullshit,” he said, his voice firm.

  “Says the boy in his thirties.”

  “It’s never too late unless you’re dead.”

  “Really. Is that why you still haven’t made Sophia your fiancée?”

  Dane reined in his temper…barely. “I’m going to let that go, and I’m going to tell you something—once—so shut up and listen. You’re in your sixties, but given your current robust health, you might live to be the ripe old age of a hundred. Think about that, then ask yourself if it’s still too late.”

  Salazar shook his head. “We’ve done and said things that are just…too hurtful to be erased,” he muttered.

  “I destroyed Sophia’s lifelong dream.” Which still gave him nightmares. Even now he wondered if she could go beyond forgiveness to being with him unconditionally. He understood her fear about the possibility of having a disease like her father, but if she accepted Dane’s love, surely she could embrace the future he wanted to share with her.

  Salazar turned away for a moment, gazing at the garden, then met Dane’s eyes. “Don’t forget, I was involved in that too. If I hadn’t been such an asshole to you, you might not have—”

  “None of us knows what might’ve happened. We only know two things: what we have now, and what we want to have in the future.”

  Dane paused. That should do for the obligatory father-son moment. He returned to the dinner, leaving Salazar staring out into the nighttime garden.

  Chapter Twenty

  Vanessa tried her best to look happy and relaxed, but as she left La Mer with Justin, her shoulders were almost touching her earrings. Not content with crashing the wedding party, Barron had invited himself to their home. Stella, thankfully, had gotten the hint. After patting his hand gently with a warm smile, she’d grabbed a cab back to their hotel.

  Justin rested his hand on his wife’s knee during the drive, but the connection didn’t seem to help, at least not enough to make her chill. Both of them were hyper-aware of Barron following their car, his driver Miles, maintaining a precise distance on the freeway behind them.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “It’s not your fault. You can’t control Barron.”

  Nobody could, and they both knew it. Justin wished he could do something to help alleviate her distress. She hated being forced into situations.

  And Barron crashing their family events definitely wasn’t something she was keen on. Justin wasn’t either. Barron wanted everything to go his way. There was no other option as far as he was concerned.

  At their arrival, their nanny said, “Ryan’s sleeping now. I changed his diaper half an hour ago, so it should be good. Do you need anything else?”

  “Not at all. Thank you,” Vanessa said.

  As the nanny slipped out, Barron walked in. “Is he asleep?”

  “Of course. It’s actually quite late,” she said.

  Justin squeezed her shoulder. He’s old. He means well. He’s too set in his ways to know any better. From the way her muscles stayed knotted under his hand, it probably didn’t help much.

  “Can you tell me what you’re doing here?” she finally asked, in a surprisingly calm, rational voice.

  “I want to see Ryan. And spoil him a bit.” Miles, the chauffeur, brought in four giant bags, undoubtedly full of rare and exotic toys from all over the world, placed them on the floor and left without a word. When Barron wanted to spoil, he spoiled.

  “That’s really not necessary,” she said.

  “Of course it is! He’s family and a baby.”

  She looked at Justin for reinforcement. Barron needed a tag team to contain him, and Justin stepped up.

  “What she means is, Ryan has plenty of toys already.”

  Barron jutted his chin. “It’s Christmas. He can always have more.”

  Vanessa pressed her temples.

  “Why don’t we sit down? You look stressed,” Barron said in that reasonable tone that he’d often used right before he pounced at the negotiating table.

  “Look stressed? Barron, I am stressed because of the way you’re behaving,” she said in a near-hiss. “You keep inviting yourself to events. Why? Is it because you know you won’t be turned away?”

  “Now, dear, I’m family.”

  “Yes, and you do whatever you want. You don’t care about my feelings or situation. For example, you showed up at my firm without even a call to tell everyone about my marriage to Justin.”

  “I only wanted to welcome you into the family,” he said stiffly. “Besides, you never had time for anything except your career as I recall.”

  “You crashed Mark’s wedding…”

  “I was in town anyway, and I wanted to see how you were doing with your pregnancy. Fair thing for me to be concerned about.”

  “And you just happened to be at La Mer tonight?”

  Barron drew himself up. “What is this, Vanessa? I won’t apologize for wanting to spend time with people I care about.”

  “Exactly what I mean. You just do whatever you want.”

  “Vanessa…”

  “Don’t Vanessa me. If I don’t draw a line in the sand, you’ll wind up taking the whole beach. I might be young, but I’m no pushover. If I were, I would’ve become my grandmother’s lap dog rather than a lawyer.”

  Justin put a hand to the nape of her neck and squeezed gently. “Barron, she wants you to respect her—our—boundaries.”

  “Would you have wanted me around this Christmas if I hadn’t popped up?”

  “Frankly, we were planning to spend it quietly after the wedding, just the three of us,” Vanessa said. “Justin and I are delirious from lack of sleep, and Ryan’s too young to travel long distances.”

  There was more to the decision, even though Justin outwardly accepted her explanation. She simply wasn’t that comfortable spending holidays with family in general. Her upbringing had totally screwed that whole scene up for her. Justin still marveled at how her family had fucked things up so badly.

  “Do you think Jane and Iain care that we crashed their dinner?” Barron glanced in Justin’s direction.

  He shrugged. “Probably not.” Jane was entirely too sweet, and if she was okay with it, so was Iain.

  “That doesn’t mean what you’re doing is okay,” Vanessa said. “You aren’t here to congratulate them on their happy day. I don’t want this to be about you or us. The focus should be their wedding.”

  Barron gave her a hard stare, then nodded once. “You’re right.”

  “I—huh?”

  Justin blinked. Had Barron just conceded?

  “I’ve been shameles
s, and I’m sorry if it bothers you, dear, but I don’t have the luxury of time.”

  “I don’t get it,” Vanessa said.

  Justin understood immediately though.

  “I’m old, you know. Older than your parents, and I’ve already suffered many losses.” His daughter and grandsons had all died. “I don’t have that much time left, and I’m afraid I won’t get to spend enough with the people I care about. Compared to that fear, well… everything else pales.” Vanessa frowned, and he continued, “You may not understand now, and I’m not going to insist that you come around to my position. You’re young, and you probably feel like you’re going to live forever, but believe me, things change. I feel my age every day.” He swallowed. “I have more money and influence than most, but they can’t stop time.”

  The fight went out of her. “Barron, I don’t want you to feel that way. I just…” She looked at Justin helplessly.

  “Barron.” Justin put a hand on his great uncle’s shoulder. It seemed bonier than he remembered. Was that another cause for Barron’s fear of mortality? “You know we love you, but…if you want to visit, just coordinate with us in advance. We’ll make the time.”

  “Will you?” the older man murmured. His gaze settled on something far beyond either Justin or Vanessa. “Most people either fear me or want to use me. Ethel didn’t, of course. And neither does Stella. But most people don’t want me around much.”

  The soft words shamed Justin. He had never considered how Barron’s life might’ve been. His image as the powerful billionaire who crushed anybody in the way was worldwide. But Justin should’ve known better. He’d seen how much his great uncle had suffered in his personal life, and every time he’d lost something, he’d grown a bit more aloof and unapproachable.

  Vanessa colored. “I’m sorry.”

  Barron patted her shoulder. “I’m not talking about you, my dear. You only ask for things to help the people you love. You have never asked me for anything for yourself.”

  “Look, Barron…” She sighed. “I appreciate you wanting to spend more time with us and Ryan. It’s hard for me at times to think like that because that isn’t how my family was. Most of us wanted to avoid spending time with each other because it usually meant family events. You’ve seen how awkward they can be.”

  He nodded slowly.

  “So I can be thoughtless about things like that. But I’ll do my best… Just let us know when you want to visit. After all, we have this huge house…and it has three guest bedrooms.”

  “I’m sure Ryan would love to see you. He’s young, but he’s sharp,” Justin added.

  “Just like his parents. I knew it.” The twinkle returned to Barron’s eyes.

  “I’m sure he got some of your acumen, too.” Vanessa smiled. “After all, he is your great grandnephew.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Now, why don’t you send Miles to get Stella?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “How do I look?” Jane asked, then cringed. “I already asked that, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, and to repeat myself, you look amazing.” Vivian, Jane’s best friend from Paris, smoothed her train. “I love this dress. It’s really simple and classy.”

  “Yeah.” When Jane had seen it, she knew this was the one. Everything about the dress, the lines and the bodice and all, was clean. But it was also elegant, and the material was exquisite. It reminded her of Iain these days, who was no longer austere or sterile, but still very minimalist and straightforward.

  “Too bad about the timing,” Vivian said. “Otherwise you could’ve invited everyone from town and made them choke on their words.” The people in Paris had doubted Jane would make anything of herself. As far as they’d been concerned, she was just a girl who stayed home, cooked and cleaned. Nothing special.

  Jane shook her head. “I don’t care about stuff like that. It isn’t about my past. It’s about my future with Iain.”

  Vivian sighed. “He is hot.”

  “He sure is.”

  “And all his brothers are taken?”

  “Afraid so.”

  “Just my luck…” Taking a step back, Vivian studied Jane. “I can’t believe you have everything but something old. Ugh. David.”

  Jane shrugged. “What can you do? Brothers can be forgetful.”

  “He promised he’d pack ’em.” ’Em being a pair of pearl earrings that had belonged to Jane’s mother.

  “Well, you know what they say. Three out of four ain’t bad.” Thankfully the bouquet had a few blue flowers.

  Ceinlys walked in. “You look absolutely radiant, my dear.”

  “Thank you.” Jane flushed. “You look great too. Isn’t there a rule about not being more beautiful than the bride at a wedding?”

  And she did, in a bright blue dress that appeared to have been painted on. But given how young she seemed, she could pull it off better than women forty years her junior. Elegant chandelier earrings glittered under her hair. Each was made entirely of platinum and diamonds, and had a single sapphire among the clear stones.

  “Always the flatterer.” Her voice was as warm as heated caramel. “Now. Let’s see what we have here. I understand your brother forgot something.”

  “Yeah, but it’s okay. No big deal.”

  “Of course it’s a big deal. It’s your wedding.” Ceinlys pulled the earrings off and gave them to Jane. “I want you to have these, dear.”

  “Ceinlys! I can’t accept those.”

  “You can, and you will. It is, after all, a mother’s prerogative.” Ceinlys’s eyes were luminous.

  Jane’s mouth parted. Finally she said, “I see. Thank you.”

  Ceinlys turned to Vivian. “Would you by any chance have a tissue?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Ceinlys cleaned the pins and handed the earrings to Jane.

  Jane breathed in deeply and accepted them, her insides jittery with emotion. When she’d left her hometown to make her way in the world, she’d never thought, even in her wildest imaginings, that she would have this kind of fairy tale ending with her own prince and his amazing family.

  When she donned the jewelry, Ceinlys beamed. “They look better on you than me. My son is very lucky.”

  “I’m the lucky one,” Jane said. “I have a new set of loving family members now, and soon I’m going to have a doting husband and—at some point—children.”

  “It’s hard not to love you, Jane. I owe you so much.”

  She blinked up at her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

  “You helped Iain and me take the final step to reconciliation. And you’ve helped me change course. I wouldn’t be where I am if you hadn’t come into our lives. I am free and my heart is light.”

  Jane hugged Ceinlys, careful not to mess up either of their makeup or hair. “Thank you,” she managed to rasp, her throat tight with emotion. “I swear I’m going to make him happy. I’ll never do anything you won’t be proud of.”

  “No, Jane,” Ceinlys murmured. “You should always do what you want without worrying about my feelings. I know it’ll be the right thing, even if I don’t agree with it.”

  * * *

  Iain stood at the makeshift altar, barely managing to keep his pulse steady. Éternité’s loft had been completely transformed. Silver and white dominated the décor for the wedding, and there were two Christmas trees, their branches laden with glass balls and tinsel. One had a bride on top, anther a tuxedoed groom. Piles of brightly wrapped boxes sat under them. Iain knew they were all real gifts to be opened after the reception.

  Jane had promised that holidays would never again be something he dreaded or avoided. And she’d transformed his life profoundly since they’d first met over a year ago. She often talked about how he’d changed her life, but she was the one who’d changed everything for the better in his.

  Éternité’s chef de cuisine André sat on Jane’s side. It was a little odd to see the man in a suit, but somehow the look didn’t seem as artificial as Iain had imagined. He nodd
ed once when his gaze met the chef’s. André had been like a fairytale godfather to Jane, mentoring and guiding her. Without his help, Iain might’ve never had a second chance at convincing Jane that he wanted a life with her. So in that sense he owed the irascible, megalomaniac Frenchman.

  The pianist started Wagner’s famous “Here Comes the Bride,” and everything else faded into the background. Jane walked down the virgin road, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright.

  Mine. She is forever mine.

  Sweet satisfaction flooded him, the love he felt for her, staggering.

  When it was time for the vows, he took her small, delicate hand in his and gazed into eyes dark with emotion. “I, Iain Pryce, choose you, Jane, to be my lawfully wedded wife. People who know our story might call you a damsel in distress, but you’re the one who saved me. I promise to cherish and honor you, spend the rest of my life being your greatest cheerleader and a shoulder you can lean on—your lover and your best friend. We will walk hand-in-hand, looking forward to a future brighter than either of us can imagine. I love you.”

  She blinked away the bright sheen in her eyes, then said in a surprisingly strong voice, “I, Jane Connolly, take you, Iain, my shining knight, to be my lawfully wedded husband. Your generous heart and courage humble me, and life with you is the future I’ve always longed for. I will make you laugh with joy every day, fill your life with love and happiness. My heart is forever yours, and I can’t think of a better man to entrust it to. I love you.”

  When they shared their first kiss as husband and wife, Iain knew he had finally found inner peace. He was home.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Wow, can you make it any more obvious that you want to get back to Sophia?” Vanessa teased as Dane hurried toward his girlfriend after the obligatory dance with the bride. Why such a thing was obligatory, he could never fathom. He was certain Jane would rather be fooling around with Iain in some dark corner.