She frowned up at him. ‘But?’
His smile grew. ‘But nothing will ever top our Marilyn and Elvis party.’
She tossed her glorious autumn-toned hair. ‘I mean to make it my life’s work to eventually throw you a party that bests it, you know?’
Impossible. That was the night of their first kiss. The night he’d fallen in love with her. Nothing could ever beat that. ‘I look forward to it,’ he said instead. It might not be possible to beat it, but he meant to enjoy the ride.
He still couldn’t believe he’d come to love parties so much, but he’d discovered a party with Olivia by his side was a thing to be cherished. He half turned so he could slide an arm about her shoulders and draw her closer to his side. ‘And I promise you that I’m loving my birthday party tonight.’
She smiled and pointed. ‘You’re not the only one. Philippa is having a grand old time.’
At thirty, Philippa was the oldest of his half-sisters and a mischievous extrovert, not to mention an outrageous flirt and confirmed bachelorette. The two of them were complete opposites and yet they’d hit it off splendidly. Currently she was holding court in a circle of half a dozen of the most eligible bachelors in England. He couldn’t suppress a grin. ‘No surprises there.’ He searched the room. ‘What about Laurie? Please tell me she’s not hiding in some dark corner.’
‘Of course not. She’s in earnest conversation with a group in the room next door. They’re playing cards but it’s just a pretext to discuss politics.’
Laurie was his middle sister, much quieter than Philippa and shyer than Katie. They were getting to know each other—slowly. More slowly than he’d like, perhaps, but he was grateful to have her in his life and he suspected she felt the same.
He sent up a silent prayer for the information Jack had been able to unearth. And another for the fact that his sisters had agreed to meet him, and had agreed to become a part of his life.
His youngest sister’s laughter reached him from the nearby billiards table. As there were eight of them playing they’d obviously made up a new set of rules for the game. ‘It’s been great having Katie and Jemima down for the weekend. I’ve missed them.’
Olivia pressed closer to his side. ‘Me too, but she’s so happy.’
Two months ago Katie had taken up an administration position at the Tyrell Foundation when Judith retired. She had plans to take over the running of the office in the next few years. She worked so hard he had no doubt she would too.
He glanced at the couples swaying on the dance floor. ‘I’ve enjoyed having Eliza and Tariq to stay too. Your sister seems very happy.’
Olivia followed his gaze and her smile softened as she watched Eliza and Tariq swaying in each other’s arms. ‘I miss her terribly now that she’s living so far away. But she is happy and I’m so pleased for her. She, Tariq and little Ahmed make the perfect family for each other. I just knew she’d be a wonderful mother. And Ahmed is such a delicious baby!’
That made him grin. ‘Brownie is in her element tonight looking after not just one, but two babies.’
He harboured no grudge for the deception the sisters had played on him. He’d forgiven Eliza the moment he’d held her tiny baby and she’d pronounced him Uncle Seb. ‘We’ll return the visit in a couple of months,’ he promised.
He turned Olivia to face him more fully, both arms circling her waist. ‘You haven’t given me my birthday present yet.’ She’d been working on it for weeks. ‘Is it finished?’
A smile he couldn’t read touched her lips. ‘Oh, it’s finished, but I thought you might prefer a private viewing rather than a public one.’
‘Why?’
She took his hand and he followed silently as she led him through the house and up the stairs to their bedroom. A picture covered with a cloth hung on the wall opposite their four-poster bed.
He swallowed.
‘Ready?’
He nodded.
The cloth fell away and he couldn’t suppress a quick intake of breath. She’d painted him. Again. Nude.
He stared at it and his spine grew straighter, his shoulders broadened and his chin came up. ‘You’ve made me look... You’ve made me look like the king of all I survey.’
She didn’t say anything—just watched him as he continued to stare at the portrait.
It wasn’t just that he looked supremely satisfied with his kingdom... ‘You’ve made me look noble.’
‘You are noble.’
While she’d painted him in a pose reminiscent of some mythical Greek god, the man in the portrait was unmistakably human—virile and alive. He looked like a king. He looked noble. And yet he pulsed with unmistakable sexual desire.
That same desire flooded every inch of Sebastian’s being now—raw and scorching. He loved all the ways she saw him—all the ways she forced him to see himself. Not one of them was boring. She made him feel powerful and loved, and he wanted to give her everything.
He swung to her. A smile spread across her lips at whatever she saw in his eyes. ‘You like it, then.’
‘I love it,’ he growled, advancing on her until she was backed up against one of the bedposts. He trailed lazy fingers down the deep neckline of her dress. The pulse in her throat fluttered to pounding life, and a primal triumph flooded him. ‘I want to ravage you.’
She lifted her chin and her eyes glittered with desire. ‘That’s fortunate, because I’m in the mood to be ravaged.’
He claimed her lips and the passion between them flared to instant life—its intensity still had the potential to take him off guard.
When he lifted his head, long moments later, her eyes were as dark and needy as his must be.
She swallowed. ‘I’ve been thinking...’
‘I don’t want you thinking,’ he rasped. ‘I want you mindless with sensation and pleasure.’
She huffed out a laugh, but her pupils dilated. ‘You’re a wicked man.’
He bit back a grin. ‘Yes, but I’m your king.’
She tilted her chin. ‘And I’m your queen.’
That was true. ‘And what is it that my queen desires?’ He pressed in closer, leaving her in no doubt what he desired.
He revelled in her quick intake of breath. His hands travelled the length of her back, his fingers digging into her hips to draw her closer. ‘I just thought,’ she panted, ‘that it could be time to start adding to our family...to try for a baby.’
He stilled. He found it suddenly difficult to breathe. He craved a child with every atom he had, but... ‘I don’t want to rush you.’
She kinked an eyebrow. ‘Maybe I want to rush you.’
No rushing necessary. Not on his part. He was almost too afraid to hope—he had so much already and... ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m very sure.’ She pulled his head down to hers, a smile in her eyes. ‘Happy birthday, Seb.’
He kissed her with everything he had. He held her the way he meant to hold her for the rest of their lives. He loved her with a fire that would never go out.
‘Are you sure,’ she murmured against his mouth, ‘that this isn’t the best party you’ve ever had?’
Sebastian found himself laughing. ‘What if I tell you it’s one I’ll never forget?’
Her eyes danced. ‘That’ll do, for now.’ And then she pulled him down on the bed with her and it was a long time before either of them spoke again.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Michelle Douglas
SARAH AND THE SECRET SHEIKH
THE SPANISH TYCOON’S TAKEOVER
AN UNLIKELY BRIDE FOR THE BILLIONAIRE
A DEAL TO MEND THEIR MARRIAGE
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from HER LAS VEGAS WEDDING by Andrea Bolter.
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Her Las Vegas Wedding
by Andrea Bolter
CHAPTER ONE
“HERE COMES THE BRIDE.” Daniel Girard stood to greet his daughter as she entered his office. Audrey Girard plopped her flight bag down on a chair and gave her dad a peck on the cheek. As both the heiress to the Hotel Girard chain of fine boutique hotels and its director of public relations, she had a slew of things to take care of before their grand opening in Las Vegas. Not the least of which was to organize her wedding.
“When does Reg get in? You probably have more information about my fiancé’s schedule than I do,” she said. After all, her dad and Reg’s father, Connor Murphy, had been planning this marriage between their offspring for the past couple of years. Connor owned the Lolly’s chain of casual breakfast eateries that operated in several of the Girard hotels, and the families had been in business together for a decade.
“His flight comes in from LA later this afternoon.”
Audrey’s intended, Reginald Murphy, was the business half of Murphy Brothers Restaurants. His younger brother, Shane, was the long-haired, mercurial chef. Expanding the Murphy family’s interests in the restaurant business, the two brothers had started their own venture. Together, they had crafted the upscale Shane’s Table restaurants. After creating a destination dinner spot that was a hit from the moment it opened in New York, they duplicated the success with a second location in Los Angeles. Now they were collaborating with the Girards on this Las Vegas property and hoping Lady Luck would shine upon them here.
“Explain to me again why we’re rushing the wedding?” Audrey asked her dad.
“We had never set a date.”
“So why now?”
“You’ve seen the financial statements. We need a big opening for this hotel. A high-profile wedding will really showcase our special-events capabilities.”
“So I’ve got one month to plan the whole thing?”
“We’ll make the engagement announcement in two weeks to start generating a buzz.”
“When I talked to Reg on the phone a couple of days ago, he didn’t sound certain that he was on board with doing the wedding now.”
“Connor has concerns about their financial position, as well. The Murphys need this hotel launch as much as we do.”
“Gee, I’m glad my future has been reduced to profit and loss statements.”
“You know that’s not the only reason. Come on now, you’re twenty-eight. Reg is, what, thirty-six?”
“You’re right, Dad, I’m virtually an old maid.”
“You can’t blame a couple of fathers for pushing to get their kids to settle down. We want to see you two create a life together. You both work too hard. You should enjoy yourselves. Bring us grandchildren. Not to mention the next generation of hoteliers and restaurateurs.”
“Dad, we’ve talked about that. Children are not in the picture.” Not after what Audrey had been through. That was nonnegotiable.
“Never say never.”
They moved to the spacious office’s reception area, where each sat down on one of armchairs that faced the floor-to-ceiling windows. Audrey took in the view of a couple of the huge hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and the majestic red mountains behind them in the distance.
The Hotel Girard Las Vegas sat on a small piece of real estate in between two of the giant monoliths on the Strip. It was originally built in the early 1960s as the Royal Neva Hotel, a sort of bargain casino with one-penny slot machines for visitors who weren’t high rollers staying at the big palaces. The lone restaurant had offered two-dollar breakfast specials and the four floors of guest rooms were dirt cheap. The hotel never had the Rat Pack panache of Vegas’s heyday, but the architecture was in the midcentury style that defined that era. When it went on sale after closing due to lack of upkeep, the Girards decided to make their first foray in Las Vegas.
With two hundred hotel rooms, as opposed to the three and four thousand of its neighbors, the Girards set out to refurbish the property to appeal to the trend toward boutique hotels, which were their specialty. There’d be no noisy casino. Instead, luxurious suites and amenities, a splendid rooftop pool, unique special-event spaces and exclusive cocktail lounges would provide a chic den for hip guests. The crème de la crème would be Shane’s Table, a world-class dining establishment to attract travelers and Vegas locals alike.
Unfortunately, they’d encountered one problem after the next with the project. The original structure was in far worse condition than was initially thought. There had been mold and rot within the walls that required a costly teardown in sections of the hotel. Partial renovations during the years before the Girards bought the property hadn’t included solar power or technical upgrades, and energy costs were double what they should have been.
There had been other setbacks to the business, as well, beginning three years ago when Audrey’s mother was dying and Daniel was distracted from his duties as CEO.
“I think weddings are going to do it for us at this hotel,” Daniel said enthusiastically.
Audrey’s business mind agreed. “Special-occasion bookings will bring us a lot of revenue. We have so many great event spaces with this hotel. Showing off the property with a lavish wedding should be publicity gold.”
“The marriage of hotel and restaurant royalty will brand the hotel with glamour that will stick in people’s minds.”
“I had some ideas on the flight here. We can shoot the engagement tea in the garden and a guys’ night out at the cigar lounge this week. We’ll calendar the press releases and photo spreads to hit after the engagement announcement. No one will know we shot the events ahead of time.”
“You and Reg will be an imperial couple. It’ll be the romance Las Vegas has always been known for.”
Except for the actual romance part, Audrey thought. That was not in her plans. Love was a gamble she wasn’t going to bet on. Love involved trust. She’d never fall for that hoax again.
Which is why she had become so contented with the agreement that she and Reg would wed. Yes, the arranged matrimony felt a bit like something involving territorial feudal kingdoms and armies. Yet, in a different light, having their future spouses decided by their fathers was a smart outsourcing of labor that neither she nor Reg had the time for.
The two were friendly toward each other. They had dinner if they were in the same city, spoke on the phone and had discussed the challenges that their lifestyles would bring to the marriage. With seven Girard hotels throughout the world and a soon-to-be thir
d Shane’s Table, they both traveled to and from their businesses almost all of the time and didn’t foresee that changing. Reg was a workaholic just like Audrey.
Any comradery they could share would be healthy for her. Currently, she spent what little free time she had by herself. After a childhood where she’d so often been alone, pairing with someone would be a blessing.
She and Reg had concurred that while romantic love was right for some people, it wasn’t for them. That compatibility was crucial. What a relief it would be to answer the social pressures to couple off, to find a significant other. There would be no more questions about her dating life from the well-meaning staff at the hotels. She’d always have a companion for events. There might even be shared hobbies and simple dinner-and-movie dates. The list went on.
Most importantly, it was utterly perfect that Reg had zero sex appeal. What Audrey surely didn’t need was a man like Reg’s brother, chef Shane. A hot-blooded beast who dripped raw power and primitive demands. Reg would never make her pulse flutter like Shane had since the moment she met him. Never cause her to shiver in anticipation of his every move. Never keep her up at night imagining secret pleasures.
“Is Shane on track with his cookbook?” Audrey asked her dad.
“I hear that’s not going as smoothly as it should.”
She wrinkled her nose, although the information didn’t surprise her. With Shane Murphy’s bad-boy chef reputation, not to mention his wife’s sudden death two years ago, being behind on a deadline would come as no shock.
A peculiar warmth flushed down her neck when she thought of the photo of Shane she’d seen recently on a magazine cover, his almost-black eyes piercing whoever looked at the image. Her reaction to even a photograph of him was involuntary but a little embarrassing, especially as he was to become her brother-in-law. Anything to do with Shane seemed to affect her on a chemical level that she had no control over.
“I’ll check into it. Not having the cookbook on schedule could turn into a major problem.” Shane Murphy’s first cookbook was another essential component of the publicity schedule for the Vegas opening.
A Baby in His In-Tray Page 18