Lauren slowly shook her head from side to side. The impish upturn of plump, glossy lips begging to be kissed suggested to Christian that she’d been in on it, too.
He turned sincere, grateful eyes on his parents. “Mom, Dad... I don’t know what to say except...wow...thanks.”
“You deserve it, son,” Nicholas said.
Christian turned back to the plane. “Well, hot damn!” he exclaimed as the truth fully sank in. He reached out and offered Lauren his arm, which she graciously accepted, then gestured for his family to follow them. “Come on, beautiful. Show me around!”
Even in his excitement, Christian noted Lauren’s silky skin and caught the subtle scent of something floral and delectably spicy. Gentleman that he was, he stepped back and allowed her to precede him up the stairs. The view from the back was the same as from the front—very alluring. So much so that entering the upscale and stately cabin that had been tailor-made to the specific instructions of his interior designer mother was almost anticlimactic.
Almost, but not quite. As Christian stepped inside the cabin and looked around, the magnitude of his parents’ generosity made his chest swell with gratitude. The interior was exactly what he’d imagined while talking with Tyson, as comfortable as any found in the homes on the Breedlove estate. Walls covered in ivory suede. Ebony-stained hardwood floors. Recliners upholstered in jacquard chenille boasting company colors of black, white and tan. Seats on the left side of the cabin could be swiveled to view the flat screen mounted up front or around to the dining table behind them.
Christian looked from Lauren to his mom, his voice raspy with emotion. “How did you know?”
“Your brother, sweetheart. Adam talked to Tyson not long after the two of you had the extensive custom jet conversation and made that wager.”
“Tyson knew about this surprise?” Adam nodded. “And he kept his mouth shut, for almost a year?”
“Wonders never cease, bro,” Adam replied.
The pilot came out of the cockpit. Christian recognized him at once. “Not you, too,” Christian muttered, shaking the outstretched hand of the family friend who’d grown up with his father and now piloted the company plane. “Am I the only one who wasn’t in on this secret?”
Nicholas nodded. “Just about.”
“Allow me to show you around,” the pilot offered. “She’s a real beauty. Glad I got to fly her first.”
Once again, Christian held out his arm. “Care to join me on the tour?”
Adam hooked his muscular forearm through the one Christian offered. “I’d love to.”
Christian moved his brother aside and placed a hand on Lauren’s back. “Do you have brothers?”
“No.”
“Do you want one?” Her throaty chuckle was music to his ears. Nicholas and Victoria sat on the white leather sleeper sofa that anchored the right side of the cabin while Christian, Lauren and Adam checked out the accommodations. There was a granite bath with a full shower, a compact chef’s kitchen, two sleeping bunks along with a master bedroom, and an area set up as a small private office but that had padded flooring and workout equipment hidden behind the walls.
“How’d she do, Chris?” Nicholas asked when the group returned to the front of the cabin. He stood, then turned to help Victoria up. “Your mom get the design just about right?”
“It’s incredible,” Christian said, moved. “It’s everything I imagined and much more. Hard to wrap my brain around. Earlier this week, the promotion to president, I thought that was the gift.”
“Speaking of...” Nicholas turned and removed a thin layer of paper covering a platinum plaque with carved lettering: Christian Breedlove, President. CANN International Inc.
Christian took it in with the utmost pride. The acronym, CANN, stood for the names of him and his brothers—Christian, Adam, Noah and Nick—along with the family’s unwavering belief that while working together there was nothing they couldn’t do. That belief was the foundation of the Breedloves’ empire, an international chain of casino hotels and spas that were second to none.
“That’s...exquisite.” He smiled and swallowed hard. “Where are the twins? Since everyone knew about it, the dynamic duo should be here, too.”
“They’re handling the second half of the evening.” Victoria eyed her watch. “Dinner at the hotel, where we should be heading right about now. Hope you’re hungry. Holding in the secret all day left me with very little appetite. Now that it’s out, I’m starved.”
Christian hugged his dad and mom and kissed her on the cheek. He shook Adam’s hand before pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Jesse,” Nicholas called out to the pilot. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“I’ve got a hot date,” Jesse replied. “But thanks.”
The group headed down the stairs and over to where the drivers leaned against the gleaming black limousine. Christian placed a hand on Lauren’s arm until the others had taken several steps and created a bit of distance between them. He wanted to take a moment and properly thank her for participating in his birthday surprise. He knew with Adam in the limo he’d get in few words.
Adam saw the move and stopped, too. “I’ll catch a ride with Mom and Dad. You two can take the limo.”
“Thanks, bro,” Christian said.
“Only because it’s your birthday.” He threw a playful punch at his brother and headed to the SUV.
Moments later, Christian and Lauren entered the limo. The driver followed the SUV’s circuitous route out of the estate and across to Las Vegas Boulevard, where the CANN hotel anchored one end of the Strip.
“It appears I’m supposed to know you,” Christian whispered once they’d settled into the roomy seats. “But that’s impossible.”
A slight arch of Lauren’s manicured brow preceded her response. “Is it?”
“Absolutely. You look...ravishing. There’s no way I’d forget having met you.”
“Well, you did.”
He thought for a moment. “You’re Faye’s daughter? Faye Hart?”
Lauren nodded. “Yes.”
Christian liked Lauren’s voice, low and husky. He could imagine how it would sound in the throes of passion as he branded her as his.
“It’s been at least two years since I’ve seen her, so when did you and I meet?”
“When I was twelve, and just so you know, my inner child is wounded.”
Lauren feigned a pout. Christian’s eyes dropped to pursed lips now held tightly together. Even though he knew she was joking, he wanted to kiss her until the frown disappeared, and then kiss her some more.
Not sure he could touch those lips, though, and keep the kiss chaste, he reached out and squeezed her hand instead.
“Twelve?” Christian’s relieved laugh was genuine. “Did you look then the way you do now?”
“Not quite.” Lauren laughed, too. “I was four years younger than my sister, Renee. You were all into her. I was practically invisible.” Lauren delivered the last line with a whine appropriate for a jilted preteen.
Christian’s head fell back as more laughter erupted. “Renee Hart! Now it’s all coming back to me. You guys used to live in California but moved across the country to...”
“Maryland. My dad took a job in Washington, DC. They bought a home in nearby Brandywine.”
“Right. That was part of the excuse used for my being rejected. I think she had a boyfriend. I didn’t want to visit LA for a while after that. My sixteen-year-old ego was crushed.” He placed his hand over his heart. “In remembering my anguish then, I can very much relate to your inner child’s pain.”
The atmosphere shifted as comfortable interaction morphed into daunting attraction. Christian opened the door to an elaborate minibar. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thanks. I’m good.”
“Come on, it’s my birthday. Don’t m
ake me drink alone.”
“Okay, champagne then.”
Christian opened a bottle of pricey champagne and filled two flutes. He handed one to Lauren. Their fingers touched. Sparks. Heat. Did she feel that? He looked up. She glanced away.
Yes, she’d felt something.
“To what shall we toast?” he asked.
“You, of course. It’s your birthday, and given your gift, it’s obviously a big one.”
“For a second back there I thought the plane belonged to a friend of mine, Tyson, and had the foolish hope that you were my present.”
Her eyes narrowed in a face that became impossible to read. “A foolish hope, indeed.”
Christian moaned. “My second try for a Hart girl...rejected again.”
“You can handle it.” Lauren winked. “You’re an old man now.”
“Indeed. The big three-o.”
“Over the hill,” Lauren joked.
“Totally.”
“To your birthday,” she said.
“And beautiful gifts,” Christian added.
They clinked glasses and sipped.
“So...whatever happened to your sister and that guy?”
Lauren shrugged. “He probably got dumped, like all the others. Until her senior year in college, when she met the man who is now her husband and a father of two.”
“Good for her.” He set down the flute. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I don’t see a ring.”
Lauren’s hands flew up in a defensive position. “No, and you won’t.”
“Dang, girl, you sound even more adamant than me.” Christian chuckled and lifted his glass. “To the single life.”
“Hear, hear.”
“So...why didn’t Faye come with you to visit my mom?”
“It’s more than a visit. I’ll be working here.”
“Oh, you’ve relocated for work. Who with?”
“Victoria. I’m her new personal assistant. As I understand it, I’ll work primarily on events for your family’s nonprofit organization.”
A slightly raised brow was Christian’s only reaction. Inside, he felt a pang of disappointment. So much for the thought of a one-night stand with Lauren, or a short-term girlfriend to cuddle with during the cold winter months. He didn’t date women involved with family business. Directly or indirectly, anyone working with his mother was no longer fair game. Any other day he would have figured it out sooner. But that week’s promotion, his birthday and the shockingly extravagant birthday gift had dimmed his awareness and caused him to be off guard.
However, now Lauren’s presence was becoming crystal clear. His mother, Victoria the matchmaker, was at it again. It was no secret that she wanted him to settle down, get married and start a family. All of which were not high on his agenda. And then there was another darker thought. Maybe his mom wasn’t matchmaking. Maybe Lauren was manipulating her. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman had used Victoria’s passion for helping others through the family’s foundation as a way to get to him.
He sighed, settled against the car’s supple leather seats and thoughtfully sipped his champagne. The possible truth behind Lauren’s visit cleared away the ardent desire her appearance had first aroused. The last thing he needed was a potentially messy fling with the daughter of one of his mom’s good friends. He’d just been promoted to president of a multibillion-dollar hotel, casino and spa conglomerate with properties on five continents. What he needed in a female companion was someone fun with no ulterior motives or long-term expectations. Right now, he was married to the family business, and for the foreseeable future, CANN International would be his only wife.
Copyright © 2019 by Zuri Day
ISBN-13: 9781488046438
Nashville Secrets
Copyright © 2019 by Sheree Henry-Whitefeather
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