The Wedding Guest: 5-hour read. Billionaire romance, marriage of convenience, sweet clean contemporary romance. (Colorado Billionaires)
Page 16
Mina’s eyes filled with tears. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.” She gave Madlyn a hug, then dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Darn it. I’m such a weepy old woman these days.”
Madlyn said, “You’re not old. We’re girls. We’re allowed to cry when we’re happy.”
Kirby and Brewster were wearing twin smiles.
Madlyn eyed them suspiciously. “Okay, you two. What’s up?”
Brewster turned a hand over as if giving Kirby the floor.
Kirby made a show of spreading his napkin over his lap. “Well, here goes. Brewster and I have been looking into some local real estate. Earlier today, I had a cursory appraisal done on the building where Mina’s Boutique is located.” He looked at Mina. “You told me last night that the owner had doubled his price when you tried to make a serious offer. Well, the appraiser sent Brewster his opinion, and it turns out that your building isn’t up to code any more. In fact, if your town council requests status for the old part of town as a national historical monument, the owner’s troubles grow even larger. Not only would he need to bring the building up to code, but he’d have to do it within special guidelines. Brewster?” He turned the floor over.
Brewster looked extremely pleased with himself. “Yes. Well. Long story short, our people talked to the owner’s people, and he’s now more than ready to sell at below his original asking price.”
Mina looked from one to the other. “You mean he’ll sell to me?” Now she looked distressed. “But I don’t have my funding lined up.”
“Yes, you do.” Kirby was calm.
“I do?”
Kirby and Brewster nodded.
“Us,” said Brewster. “We’re your funding source.”
Kirby said, “We’ll buy the building, and you can rent to own. Of course, we’ll need someone to oversee the improvements and that sort of thing. If you’re interested, we’ll cut your payments in half in exchange for providing that service.”
Mina was stunned. “You mean I’ll finally own the building?”
Kirby and Brewster nodded eagerly.
Mina’s tears flowed again. “How can I ever thank you?”
Kirby tilted his head boyishly. “You can let your shop manager have some time off for her honeymoon.”
EPILOGUE
Florence, Italy
January 25
Madlyn walked up behind Kirby as he feasted his eyes on the view from their terrace. She slipped her arms around him and murmured, “Say it again.”
“Firenze.”
“Again.”
“Firenze.”
“The real name of Florence is so beautiful. And I love it when you speak Italian.”
“Firenze, Firenze, Firenze.”
She could hear the smile in his voice, and she smiled as well. “Grazie.”
“Oh, very nice. See? You’re picking up some of the language.”
“One word.”
Kirby chuckled and turned to wrap his arms around her. “Your father seemed to get a kick out of me talking to everyone in the restaurant.”
Madlyn hummed with pleasure. “He was very impressed. Also, I don’t know if you know this, but when you arranged for them to use FaceTime to virtually attend our wedding, he was over the moon.”
“I’m not sure your mother likes me.”
“That’s an act. She’s trying to pretend she’s not impressed. She has to do the opposite of what my dad does, and he was very impressed.”
“If you say so. I’d hate to have your mother plotting against me. I think she was ready to give up her apartment in trade for our little hotel room.”
“Little? This suite is almost as big as my house in Eagle’s Toe.”
“You like it? I wanted you to be comfortable.” He nuzzled her neck.
“It’s a beautiful view,” murmured Madz, shivering beneath the whisper touch of his lips. “So am I a complete ugly American for wanting to go home?”
Kirby kissed her neck, then straightened up. “Not at all. Next time, we’ll come in the summer. Sightseeing is more fun then.”
“I didn’t mind the temperature. I like it cooler when I’m hiking marathons.”
Kirby laughed out loud. “Tourism is exhausting.”
“The evenings have been invigorating,” teased Madlyn.
Kirby rumbled deep in his chest and smoothed her red hair. “Yes, they have indeed.”
“I guess I’m just missing home. And our kittens are ready to leave their mother.” She looked up at him with a sweet and pouty face.
“Oh, our kittens. How could I forget them? Does this mean I’m going to be a bad father?”
“Don’t make jokes about that. You’re going to be a great father.” Madlyn smiled and swayed in his arms.
“How can you be sure? I mean, I forgot about our kittens.” Kirby waved an arm in the air, exaggerating his memory lapse. “What if I can’t remember our baby’s name?”
“Babies. Remember? You said you wanted six.”
Kirby slapped a hand to his forehead. “I’m doomed. How will I manage?”
“Brewster will still be around. He can keep a list of all their names.”
Kirby laughed out loud and hugged her tight. “I love you so much.”
“Thank goodness! We’ve been married a whole twenty-five days. I’d hate to think you were tired of me already.”
Kirby sighed and touched her face. “When do you want to leave?”
Madlyn blinked at him. “Our reservations aren’t for another week, and our tickets are non-refundable.”
Kirby let go of her and ambled over to the large mirrored dresser where Madlyn had laid out their travel documents and itinerary. He picked up their return tickets. “You mean these?”
Madlyn nodded.
With a flourish, Kirby ripped them in half and let the pieces float to the floor.
Madlyn gasped. “What did you do?! How are we getting home?”
Kirby’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “While you were getting dressed, Brewster called to tell me that all the paperwork is finally settled. We are now officially, extremely, humiliatingly rich.”
Madlyn began picking up pieces of the shredded tickets. “Okay,” she said uncertainly. “But why did you tear up our tickets?”
“Because I asked him to arrange for the private jet. It should land at Amerigo Vespucci in about ten hours. Is tomorrow morning soon enough to go home?”
Madlyn was stunned. “Oh my gosh. Really? You can do that?”
“We can do that,” said Kirby. “You and me together. And Brewster, too. Uncle left him a very healthy percentage of the estate, including the right to use the private jet. And we might as well. We’re paying for its upkeep and maintenance.” He lifted one hand above his head and snapped his fingers while stamping his feet in an exuberant imitation of a Flamenco dancer. He stomped on the ticket pieces that Madlyn had not yet retrieved. “Olé!”
Madlyn laughed in spite of herself. A moment later, she let the pieces in her hand flutter to the floor. Then she began her own Flamenco imitation. “Freaking olé! Is this what rich people do when the doors are closed?”
Kirby burst out laughing at the thought. “What an image! Can you imagine Ray unbending long enough to dance like a drunken Spaniard?”
Madlyn shrieked with laughter. “Don’t say that! He’s married to Maria.”
They staggered against each other, gasping for breath, laughing so hard it hurt. They ended up side by side on the huge four-poster bed, holding their ribs and willing themselves to stop laughing. At last, Kirby rolled over and propped his head on one hand.
“I don’t know what rich people do behind closed doors,” he said, “because I was generally sent to my room before the fun started.”
Madlyn cupped his cheek in her palm. “Never again. Besides, you are the fun. Without you, there will be no enjoyment. Can I proclaim that? Do rich people get to proclaim? Or is that just for rich royals?”
Kirby kissed her palm. “We’ll have to
ask Vanessa. Brewster said she’s in Germany as a guest of the Oppenheimers. Or something like that.”
“Wasn’t there a great physicist named Oppenheimer?”
“I’m sure it’s a different family. Maybe it’s the Closenheimers.”
Madlyn suppressed a giggle. “I must not laugh again for at least twenty minutes. I need to breathe.”
Kirby kissed her wrist. “If this is our last day in Firenze, what would you like to do?”
Madlyn kissed him softly. “I just got dressed.”
“Clothing comes off.”
“You are so decadent.” She kissed him again. “Will the jet just sit at the airport and wait for us?”
“Yep. I’ll have to communicate with the pilots, and they’ll have to do their pilot thing, file flight plans, stuff like that. But basically, yep.” He began to unbutton her blouse.
“So we have a very flexible schedule?” Madlyn’s voice was growing huskier by the moment.
Kirby leaned in and kissed her collarbone. “Would Mrs. Banks like to revise her agenda for the day?”
“Only if Mr. Banks is available for the duration.”
Kirby chuckled. “I think Mina will take care of the kittens for us, don’t you?”
Madlyn moaned and arched toward him. “What kittens?”
END
*Thank you for reading The Wedding Guest. If you enjoyed this book, please tell a friend and leave a review at Amazon.*
Other Books by Regina Duke
The Wedding Wager (Colorado Billionaires, 1)
The Wedding Hope (Colorado Billionaires, 2)
The Wedding Venture (Colorado Billionaires, 3)
The Wedding Belle (Colorado Billionaires, 4)
The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires, 5)
Colorado Billionaires Boxed Set (Contains novels 1, 2, and 3)
Krystal’s Christmas (A Colorado Billionaires Story)
Sunny’s Christmas (A Colorado Billionaires Story)
My Vampire Wedding
North Rim Delight (Silver State Romance, 1)
The Woof in the Wedding Plans (Silver State Romance, 2)
Calin's Cowboy (Silver State Romance, 3)
Silver State Romance Boxed Set (Contains novels 1, 2, and 3)
Christmas Angel
Trickster and Other Stories
Linda White's Loving the Sensitive Dog,
Linda White's Sir Darby: Another Sensitive Dog
Coming Soon
The Wedding Toast (#6 in the Colorado Billionaires Series)
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Regina Duke writes sweet romance, cozy mystery, and paranormal. She lives in the High Desert with her three dogs, and when she’s not writing, she’s playing the piano and enjoying her friends.
Learn more at http://www.reginaduke.com. For fiction, please visit her at www.ReginaDuke.com. And for non-fiction, www.LindaLouWrites.com.