He must have been close by because the limo pulled up just as they reached the end of the block. Without waiting for Manuel to open the door, Drew yanked it open and piled in after her. “Drive,” he shouted to Manuel and the limo sped off.
Chapter 15
“This is where you live?” Gwen asked. Her eyes widened like saucers as the limo pulled up to a palatial estate. The mansion looked as if it took up an entire city block. She could count at least three chimneys and a four-car garage.
Drew’s lips twitched into a smile, and his dimple popped out. “Yes, this is home. It’s a little much for just me.”
“I’ll say.” The words tumbled out of Gwen’s mouth before she could stop them. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”
“Perhaps, but it’s the truth. I didn’t want such a large place, but my mother insisted I take it over when my father died. She moved to a smaller place in the city thinking I would fill it with a family, but I haven’t accomplished that yet.”
“Do you want to? Fill it with a family?” Why was she asking such personal questions? Except she knew the answer. She wanted to know everything about him.
His eyes caught hers and Gwen’s breath stilled as the flood of emotion emanating from him hit her.
“Yes, I hope one day to marry and have kids.”
“Have you ever been close?” Gwen wasn’t sure why she cared, but a part of her felt compelled to know. How many women had been in his past? How many close enough to marry?
Drew nodded, “I was close once. Her name was Marjorie, and I thought she was attracted to me rather than my money. However, shortly after I proposed, she ran away with my chauffeur.”
Gwen’s eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”
“It was, but I’m glad I found out who she was before I married her. What about you? Were you ever close?”
Gwen’s smile was wistful. “I was once. I’m sure you understand that with my past, it’s hard for me to let people in, but Adam made it past all my walls. He was charming and said all the right things to a girl who needed to hear them. I’m not sure why he even proposed to me because it turned out he was having an affair with his secretary.”
Drew’s blue eyes softened in sympathy. “Gwen, I’m sorry. I’m sure that didn’t help your trust issues.”
She sniffed and bit the inside of her lip. Her head shook slightly. Help them? It made them nearly insurmountable. “I should have known better though. Adam attended church with me, but I could tell he wasn’t a believer. He was just going through the motions, but I kept telling myself he just needed a little longer.” Gwen stopped as she realized she could be talking about Drew as well.
Drew opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but before he could, the limo pulled to a stop. “Hungry?” He asked with a lopsided smile.
Gwen’s stomach rumbled in answer, and a sheepish grin stole across her face as her hands covered her traitorous belly. “I guess so.”
“Let’s go then.” He grabbed the grocery bag full of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers they had stopped at the store to get and stepped out of the limo.
His backyard was expansive. Not that she would have expected any less. A gazebo sat near the house and overlooked both a pond and a swimming pool. Near it was a fire pit with several chairs and beyond that was a grassy area and a tennis court.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “I could send Manuel to get a coat while I start the fire.”
A shiver raced across her shoulders and Gwen nodded. She hadn’t realized she was cold, but that was because the limo had been so toasty.
“Manuel, can you fetch a jacket for Gwen?”
Manuel issued a nod and raced off toward the house. Gwen followed Drew over to the fire pit. There were already logs in the fire pit and near it, a small chest. Drew opened it to reveal matches, lighter fluid, and metal rods. A few minutes later, he had a roaring fire going.
Gwen inhaled the smoky air. Her foster parents had taken her camping once, and it was one of her favorite memories. There was something about watching the flames of the fire dance. Beautiful and deadly.
“Ready for S’mores?” Drew asked. He had already set out the graham crackers and broken up the chocolate on a nearby table.
“I’ve never had them,” Gwen said with a shrug.
Drew’s eyes bulged. “What? How could you have never had S’mores? They’re like an American staple.”
“I’ve only been camping once and unlike you, my friends at college didn’t hang out at bonfires.” That was because she hadn’t had many friends at college. And even after she and Carrie had become friends that hadn’t been Carrie’s idea of a fun Friday night.
“Well, then I’m glad I get to be here for your first experience.”
Manuel arrived then with a jacket, and Gwen slipped her arms in thankful for the extra heat.
“Now, the trick is that you warm the marshmallow before you blacken it, so that the inside is nice and gooey.” Drew held a silver rod out to her with a marshmallow shoved on the end of it. Gwen took the rod and turned to the fire.
“Like this?”
Drew filled the space behind her and his hand guided her arm to a slightly higher position. “Here,” he said. His lips were close to her ear and Gwen had to focus to keep her arm from shaking. Just the nearness of his body was sending tremors through hers.
They stood that way for a minute, then he dipped her arm down. “Now, we blacken it just slightly.” The marshmallow caught fire and Gwen gasped, but Drew simply pulled back on her arm and blew the flame out like a candle on a cake. “Now, sandwich it between the crackers and chocolate.”
Gwen hurried to the table and placed the marshmallow on a graham cracker with chocolate. Then she used the top graham cracker to hold it in place while she pulled the rod out. When the rod was clear, the marshmallow squished, and white goo trickled out the sides of the miniature sandwich. She brought it to her mouth and took a bite.
“Mm, this is delicious,” she said, her mouth full of the concoction.
The corners of Drew’s lips curled up and his eyes crinkled. “You’re enjoying that, huh?”
Gwen nodded and took another bite. How had she never had these before? They were like the perfect little dessert. Delicious and handheld.
“I can see that,” he said taking a step closer to her. “Want to know how I know?”
Gwen swallowed her bite. His tone had changed from playful to a deep, sexy tone. His hand reached out and touched the corner of her lip. “I can see the evidence on your face.”
He wiped slightly and showed Gwen the white residue on his finger, but she couldn’t speak. Her eyes were fixed on him. He took another step toward her, and before she could say a word, his lips found hers. They were sweet and hungry at the same time. The remainder of her cracker fell to the ground as her arms wound around his neck, and Gwen felt herself falling. Oh boy was she in trouble.
Chapter 16
“Why do you smell like smoke?” Carrie asked as Gwen floated past her into the living room. “No, not just smoke, you smell like a campfire. Why do you smell like a campfire?”
“Because we had S’mores.” Gwen couldn’t wipe the goofy smile from her face. Her cheeks felt glued in a perpetual grin.
“S’mores? I thought you were going to a benefit.” Carrie crossed her arms and leaned against her counter. “All right, spill it.”
“It was amazing,” Gwen said with a sigh and then blinked to focus. “I mean not at first. The benefit was scary. Everyone was perfect and important, and I spilled water on the table. Then I spilled water on his mother.”
“Wait, you met his mother?”
“Yeah, and she hates me. I tried to mop up the water I spilled on her. Then I ran out, but Drew followed me, and he kissed me for the cameras.”
“What cameras?” Carrie asked.
Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. Some reporter. Then we ran. We ran to the limo and drove to the g
rocery store.”
“The grocery store? Gwen, did you have special brownies or something?”
Gwen laughed. “No, we bought marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. Then he took me back to his place. It’s huge, Carrie, and he made a fire and we roasted S’mores.”
“I think toasted is the proper word.”
“It was amazing.”
“You made S’mores instead of going to the benefit? Who is this guy?”
Gwen had an answer for that. He was her idea of a perfect man, but she would not say that out loud yet. She didn’t want to jinx it, so she changed the subject. “I’m sorry about your dress. It might be a little dirty, but I’ll pay for the dry cleaning.”
Carrie smiled. “I don’t care about the dress. I’m just glad to see you smiling.”
Gwen was glad too. She hadn’t known how lonely she was until tonight. Over S’mores and a crackling fire, she and Drew had opened up to each other. She’d told him about her past and her insecurities with men. He’d told her about his desire to do something more noble than run hotels.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I will tell her I’m leaving. I’ll stay until I can train someone else, probably until the end of the year, but then I’m leaving. Tonight made me realize that life is too short to do something you hate. You made me realize that.” He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Drew, I don’t want to the be the cause for you leaving the family business.”
“You aren’t. I haven’t been happy for a while, but I couldn’t place my finger on why. Until tonight. I miss this. I miss relaxing with friends and chatting by the fire. My life is meetings and hotels now, and that’s not a life.”
“Okay, Cheshire cat, you’re staying here tonight.”
“What? No, I’m okay,” Gwen said. “I need to get back to Tabby.”
“Tabby will be fine. I’ve been trying to get your attention for three minutes. You cannot drive. You’re a risk. I’ve never seen anyone so high on life they couldn’t drive, but that is definitely you.”
Gwen wanted to protest, but Carrie was right. She hadn’t heard her friend and her focus was on the last few hours and nothing more. “Okay, you win, but I don’t have any pajamas.”
Carrie smiled. “I’ve got you covered as long as you promise not to smoke them out too.”
* * *
Drew was just about to retire for the evening when Pierre appeared at his door. “I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but your mother is downstairs, and she will not take no for an answer.”
Drew sighed. He had known his mother would want to talk to him, but he hadn’t been expecting her so soon. “Tell her I’ll be right there, Pierre.”
He grabbed his robe as Pierre left the room and flung it about his shoulders. There was no way he wanted to have a conversation with his mother in his sleepwear. The robe wasn’t much better, but it was something.
“Are you happy?” She accosted him before he made it to the bottom of the stairs. “You’ve made us the laughingstock of the town!” His mother shoved a phone in his face and Drew glanced at the headline. Billionaire Blows off Charitable Event. Underneath was a picture of Gwen and him running toward the limo. Well, at least they hadn’t used the one of her crying. He had been worried about that headline. This? This was manageable.
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Of course it was, Drew. This is the information age. They don’t have to wait to print it when they can throw it up on the internet where it lives forever.”
“Mother, you are being dramatic. I didn’t blow off the benefit. I attended. I just left early.”
“You left before it began with that hooligan you brought.”
A spark of anger flared in Drew and he folded his arms across his chest. “She is not a hooligan, Mother. She is a perfectly nice girl who got nervous. Perhaps if you had been nicer to her, she might not have been so skittish.”
“It is not my job to placate your playthings-”
“She is not a plaything, Mother. She is a hardworking, honest teacher, and I care for her.”
“You’ve only been seeing her a few weeks,” his mother said in a dismissive tone as if the conversation was finished.
“Those few weeks have been long enough. She’s real, Mother, and she made me realize what I was missing. I hate those benefits and galas and balls. I’m not Father. I’m not cut out to be the face of the Devonshire hotel chain, and I’ve decided I’m not going to do it anymore.”
“What?” Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
“I’ll stay until the new year. That will give me plenty of time to train someone else, but then I’m stepping down. I don’t want to keep doing this.”
“You would turn your back on family?”
“I’m not turning my back on you, Mother. I’m simply following my heart.”
“Well, hopefully your heart doesn’t bankrupt our family.” With a final pointed look, she whirled and strode out of his house.
Drew sighed. He had known his mother would take it hard, but he hadn’t quite expected that reaction.
Chapter 17
Drew was surprised to find his mother in his office when he returned from his errand. It had been three weeks since their discussion at his house and she hadn’t spoken to him once in that time. What could she want now?
“Hello, Mother. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
His mother rose from his chair and walked around the desk. “I’ve been thinking, Drew, that perhaps I’ve been too hard on you. You should do what you want with your life and spend it with whom you want.”
Drew cocked his head but said nothing. He didn’t know where this was going yet.
“I’m going to hate losing you from the family business, but I am pleased with the man you’ve hired to replace you.”
“Thank you.” Drew didn’t dare say more until he could discern her motive for being here.
“But I have one favor to ask of you.”
And there it was.
“There’s a charity benefit tonight. I’d like you to attend. It will be your last one.”
Drew shook his head. “Sorry, Mother, I have a date with Gwen tonight.”
His mother’s lips pulled into a tight smile. “I don’t think I was clear, Drew. If you want to keep your fortune, you will attend this last benefit tonight. Alone.”
“I can’t cancel on such short notice, Mother. It would be rude, and haven’t you always prided yourself on not being rude?”
Her smile widened, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course, I wouldn’t want you to be rude. That’s why I purchased two spa packages. Avery is going to take her out tonight. She can get all relaxed for your date tomorrow.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. Was it possible his mother was being nice to Gwen? Somehow, he doubted it. “Why is it so important she isn’t at the benefit tonight, Mother? I could just tell her we had to change our plans and bring her.”
“No offense, dear, but I remember the way she behaved last time. This is an important benefit. One that could set us up with some new investors, but only if everything goes smoothly, if you get my drift.”
Drew got her insinuation all right. Gwen wasn’t welcome because she might screw things up. He didn’t want to be there either, but he had been spending the last few days trying to figure out how he’d live if his mother cut him off. He knew he had a little in a trust his father had left him, but it wouldn’t be enough to pay for the house and all the help. And while Drew didn’t care if he had to downsize, he didn’t want to put his employees out of a job. If he just did this, this one favor, then he wouldn’t have to worry. He could keep his share of the money and his employees. Everyone won. He wished he felt better about it.
“All right, Mother. Just let me text her to let her know what’s going on.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, dear. She’s already with Avery probably relaxing in some tub full of mud. Call her afterward and you
can share stories. Besides, the benefit starts in half an hour, so we need to get going.”
Her words rubbed Drew wrong. Why wouldn’t she want him to text Gwen? He glanced at his watch. It was five thirty. He was supposed to be picking up Gwen at six. Even if she was away from her phone, he wanted his text to be there. Gwen had shared too much about men lying and letting her down. He didn’t want to be one of those men.
Wrangled into doing a benefit with my mother tonight. I’ll fill you in later. Sorry, I must cancel.
“See, that took no time at all,” Drew said with a triumphant smile at his mother. Now, even if she had some sinister plot planned, Gwen would know he’d had nothing to do with it.
“Very well. Shall we go?” His mother strode out of the room and Drew followed though he felt a little like a lamb being led to a slaughter.
* * *
“Avery, what are you doing here?” Gwen asked as she opened the door. She had been expecting Drew even though he’d said he wasn’t picking her up for another hour.
“Drew got called into a late meeting tonight. He sent me over and asked if I could entertain you for a bit until he was free. I thought maybe we could do a makeover and then go to dinner.” She held up a bag that Gwen assumed contained hair and makeup items.
“Um, all right, sure.” It wasn’t that she and Avery never spoke, but this would be their first time hanging out as friends though Gwen wasn’t sure she would call Avery a friend. She was nice to talk to, and she’d been very helpful whenever Gwen had questions about the donations, but that was about the extent of their relationship.
“Wonderful.” Avery stepped into Gwen’s living room and scanned the area. “Your place is lovely.”
“Uh, thank you.” It was nothing grand, but Gwen had decorated the place as nicely as she could. She’d been fortunate enough to find matching furniture for sale on Craig’s list shortly after she moved in, and her decorations came from Ross.
The Billionaire's Christmas Miracle (Sweet Billionaires 3) Page 12
