Kitabı oku: «Snowbound With His Forbidden Innocent / Maid For The Untamed Billionaire», sayfa 4

CHAPTER FIVE

STEPPING INTO THE empty elevator on the penthouse level before dawn on the night after the banquet, which she had spent with Luca, was an eerie experience. She’d left him glued to his monitor as he responded to emails from across the world. He had an early-morning meeting, he’d told her, so she should get on.

‘Oh, okay, then,’ she’d said, realising she’d expected something more—a peck on the cheek… Something… Anything.

Pulling herself together, she’d headed out.

It was a special time in the hotel before the morning rush began. The building seemed empty, but that was an illusion as deceptive as Stacey’s belief that Luc must feel something after they’d spent the night together. She had no regrets. It had seemed fated somehow. There was no one in the world she would rather have shared that experience with, but Luc had barely looked up when she’d left.

As the elevator dropped like a stone, thinking about how much she believed she’d shared with him, made her throat tighten. Gritting her jaw, she resolved to pull herself together. She had to get over it, and get over him. When she arrived in the mountains she wanted everything to run smoothly, which meant showing no sign of personal distress. She was his party organiser and Luc was the host. And that was all they were to each other.

Thinking back over the night it was fair to say Luc had given no indication that he wanted to see her again, and neither had she. She’d taken a shower. He’d taken a shower. Separately. He’d dressed. She’d prepared for the walk of shame, donning her evening gown, and shunning Luc’s offer of a robe before heading back to her room to change. The choice between towelling and silk was easy when she no longer cared.

Tears came when she least expected them. Her emotions were all over the place, Stacey accepted as she braced her balled fists against cold, unyielding steel and willed the doors to open so she could step out into a new day and make a better job of it. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she tried to understand why, after getting everything she’d ever wanted with Luc last night—everything she had thought she wanted—it still wasn’t nearly enough.

His penthouse had never felt empty before, but lacking Stacey’s vibrant presence it was just another hotel room. Having showered, he slipped into sweats, and began pacing the sleek, Scandi-style sitting room overlooking Barcelona. The astonishing sights were lost on him. Even the sun shooting its rays above a distant horizon meant nothing to him. He’d never felt like this after making love to a woman. Truthfully, he’d never felt anything. Animal instinct was a powerful driver, and knowing that, he should have slowed things down with Stacey, but his first sight of her after a space of five years had tilted his world on its axis.

What the hell was happening to him?

Staring into the mirror, he raked his hair and growled as he shook his head like an angry wolf. Stubble blackened his face. His hard, unyielding face. Beneath her professional shell, Stacey was still as soft and vulnerable as ever, and damaged by the past. He, of all people, should understand that. But he’d never felt like this before. It was as if everything that had been missing from his life had come pouring in, but too fast, so that instead of tender, protective thoughts, wild, animal passion consumed him.

Planting his fists against cold granite on the breakfast bar, he dipped his head and tightened his jaw. He’d seen too much of Stacey’s early life not to care. She’d used him for satisfaction, but he’d hardly been a passive bystander and had never known pleasure like it. Stacey had well and truly turned the tables, and when they met again…if they met again…

When they met again, he determined fiercely. For her sake, he’d be cool and distant so as not to mislead her. But was that the best he could do to save her from another cold, unfeeling man? Her father had done enough damage, and he could not bear to do more.

Did she feel anything for him?

Damage from the past cut deep in both of them. Doubt and mistrust were never far away. Lifting his head, he smiled in acknowledgement of this.

But they could change. He could change.

Could he?

The real question was, did he want to?

She was looking forward to the big event in the mountains, and it had to stay that way. How Luc would feel when he saw her again, remained to be seen. Her feelings were unchanged. From day one she had felt something for him—a lot, she admitted—so if he ignored her or, worse, if he was unemotional, and confined their dealings solely to business, it would mean putting on the act of her life.

And she would, she determined as she said goodbye to the team. ‘See you in the mountains!’ she exclaimed brightly as she wondered why life had to be so complicated.

Because life was tough for everyone, she concluded when she was alone in the room, gathering up her things. Nothing was straightforward for anyone, and, short of locking herself away and never doing anything, there would be hurt and disappointment, and pain, but there would be moments of happiness too, so she’d cling to those and get through it. Dreaming of a life with Luc was not only unrealistic, it would be like walking into pain with her eyes wide open. Any thoughts of a long-term relationship between them was a fantasy too far. Luc was a high-flyer while she had barely tested her wings. As far as business was concerned, she was confident he couldn’t have any complaints, but when it came to personal feelings… Maybe she’d never know what he felt. Luc had always kept personal matters close to his chest. Niahl’s theory was that Luc would never open up, because that would mean confronting the grief of losing his parents. The stresses of business and people who depended on him for their livelihoods, together with concern for his siblings, had robbed him of the chance to grieve.

Niahl was probably right, and Luc had spent so many years regarding her as nothing more than Niahl’s annoying little sister that he probably couldn’t conceive of her being anything more.

Except for last night.

Which was already behind her.

What happened to your confidence?

She’d left it in his penthouse suite. Luc had restored her confidence in being someone worth spending time with, but one night of passion did not a romance make. Better one fabulous night, she concluded, gritting her jaw. It was more than some people had. Instead of dwelling on what she couldn’t make happen, she should concentrate on what she could, which, with the aid of her team, was to create the most fabulous party of the year.

After a tense breakfast meeting during which he could hardly concentrate long enough to sign a multimillion-dollar contract to upgrade the tech for the government of a small country, his thoughts turned back with relief to Stacey. Anything that had happened between them was his fault. He could have resisted and had chosen not to.

Calling the elevator, he stepped into the cab and, leaning back against the wall, closed his eyes. This was the same Stacey who used to wear her hair in braids and give him a hard time at the farm. He smiled as he pictured her at the banquet last night, so determined to make everyone’s night a success, including his. A little tired and frazzled around the edges, but definitely all grown up, as she’d proved later in his bed. As far as business went, early reports from his team said the banquet was the best yet.

As he stepped out into the lobby of the glass and steel monument to his success, she consumed his thoughts. His hunger to chart every change in Stacey from gauche ingénue to the professional woman she was today was eating him alive. And he’d never know, because he wouldn’t risk getting closer to her. He’d seen enough of her home life to know the journey she’d taken to this point. With no intention of adding to her woes, he’d put distance between them.

His Lamborghini was waiting at the kerb. Tipping the valet, he folded his athletic frame into the car and eased into the morning traffic. His thoughts turned to the day Niahl had left home. Stacey had been too young to follow her brother, and had made such a lonely figure standing at the farm gate waving them off. She’d looked broken. He’d watched in the wing mirror until they’d turned a corner and he hadn’t been able to see her any more. It had been a desperate end to an unhappy visit, during which he’d seen her run ragged as she’d tried to care for everyone. It had seemed to him that no one cared for Stacey but her brother, Niahl.

As soon as she’d been old enough, she’d changed her life. A scholarship to a college specialising in the hospitality industry in London had resulted in her graduating as the top student in her year. How could he risk destroying the confidence that had given her by embarking on some ultimately doomed affair? Stacey deserved more than a man who walked away if emotion ever threatened to cloud his rational mind.

Almost four hectic weeks had passed since the memorable encounter with Luc in Barcelona. Planning any party could be a logistical nightmare, but when the venue was in a challenging location Stacey and her team had to work flat out to make sure that everything was delivered well in advance. She’d barely had a moment to breathe, let alone consider what memories Luc had been left with after their passionate night.

After the clamour of the city the serene peace of the mountains was nothing short of a dream come true. The air was cool and clean. Crisp white snow crunched underfoot, and the sky was a flawless, cerulean blue. The small village with its backdrop of towering mountains was like the best picture postcard in the world. The slopes were teeming with skiers, all of whom moved to their own sure, rhythmical pattern, while beginners on the nursery slopes made shakier and more uncertain figures. One thing, however, was common to all. Everyone was smiling.

‘What a fabulous atmosphere! What a place to hold a party!’ she exclaimed to her companions in the team. ‘We’re going to have the best time ever here. It’s going to be the party of the year.’

Only the final tweaks remained and Stacey was as certain as she could be that Lucas would love what they had planned. Lucas. She was desperate to see him, and dreading it too. What if he—?

No. Don’t think that way. Only positive thoughts from now on.

They had to meet, and she’d take it from there. It wouldn’t be easy with the brand of his lips on her mouth and the memory of his hands on her body, but what was easy? Nothing worth having, that was for sure.

‘We’ll make this event something the Da Silva guests never forget, and for all the right reasons,’ she told the team. ‘How beautiful is this?’ she exclaimed, turning full circle. ‘Let’s get settled in, and then we can make a start.’

The success of any team depended on its leadership. That was something Lady Sarah had drummed into her right at the start, so, whatever Stacey’s personal feelings about Lucas, she had to get on with things for the sake of the team.

‘There will be a few more hurdles to cross here than we had in the city,’ Stacey observed later when she and the team were seated around a boardroom table in an office the hotel had made available for them. ‘The weather, for one thing,’ she said, glancing out of the window. The quaint, pitched-roofed buildings had been covered in deep mantles of snow when they’d arrived, but now they were gradually fading out of sight. A drift of snowflakes falling like a veil was growing heavier by the minute, while the flawless blue sky that had so impressed her was rapidly turning to unrelieved grey. ‘I should get out and scout the various locations while I still can,’ she said, drawing the meeting to a close. ‘Take the night off. I’m going to need everyone firing on all cylinders tomorrow.’

‘What about you?’ a colleague piped up.

‘I’ll rest when I’m reassured about our venues. Until then…?’ She shrugged.

‘Keep in touch.’

‘I will,’ she promised.

The village proved to be a fascinating place with its glitter and sparkle, but what struck Stacey more was the resilience of visitors and residents alike as they crowded the pavements in what were undeniably extreme weather conditions.

Still, everyone was dressed for it, Stacey reasoned, admiring the beautifully decorated shop windows as she strode past in her snow boots and Party Planners padded jacket. She was heading for the gondola station as, not only was there to be a party down here, but a reception higher up the mountain at Luc’s ski lodge, as well as a firework display and a torchlit procession down the mountain. Pausing briefly to adjust her snow goggles, she studied the statue of a miniature couple in one of the windows. Placed outside the model of a typical chalet, both figures were wearing skis and staring up at each other in apparent rapture.

I should have learned to ski, she mused silently. Too late now. But the gondola would take her where she needed to be. She could just step in and out, no problem.

Craning her neck when she reached the station, she tried to spot Luc’s eyrie. It was supposed to be the biggest chalet on the mountain. She thought of it as his castle, his fortress, his ivory tower. But she couldn’t see anything as low cloud and the misting of snow had blotted out the upper reaches of the route the gondola would take.

What if the gondola stopped running? How would they transport the guests?

There was time, Stacey reasoned. They had a good few days before the party. Surely the weather would have improved by then?

The hotel manager had told her that Lucas had arrived by helicopter that same morning. Her heart went crazy all over again, just as it had the first time she’d heard it. ‘Nothing deters him,’ the hotel manager had said. ‘Bad weather has been forecast, but Señor Da Silva is an expert pilot, so he knows all about timing to escape the worst of any oncoming storm.’

Yes, he would, she’d thought then. Niahl had warned her that the weather could be unpredictable but that this resort had some of the most challenging slopes in the world, which was what had attracted Lucas to the village in the first place. It would, she mused.

Would Luc be thinking about her, as she was thinking about him?

Only in as much as he might wonder if she and the team had arrived before the weather closed in, she concluded. She hadn’t heard from him since Barcelona, confirming her belief that their night together meant more to her than it did to him. Of course he’d take for granted the fact that she’d get on with things. And why shouldn’t he? She wanted him to know he could rely on her, and that Party Planners would give him the event of the year.

She paused at the foot of the steps leading up to the gondola station. Her pulse jagged at the thought of seeing Luc again. Dragging deep on the ice-cold air, she hunched her shoulders into her jacket and drove forward into the wind. Behind her, vehicles with snow chains were crawling along. Even they were having difficulty negotiating the road. But what she’d started, she would finish. All she needed was a quick look-see so she could brief the team, and then she’d head straight back down the mountain to take a hot bath and have a good sleep before the real work began tomorrow.