And then, like a coward—like Xavier—she hung up before Tina could argue with her further.
Unable to dwell on that thought with any equanimity, she reached into the back of the pantry and pulled out half a packet of chocolate melts—the last chocolate she had in the house.
She made a note to stock up on chocolate before Saturday—the night of the opening. She had a feeling she’d need a whole family block to get her through that night.
Saturday night.
She should have gone out!
Wynne watched the car park next door fill up and kicked herself for not having organised to go to the movies or...or just down to the tavern on the corner for a quiet meal and maybe a game of pool.
Heck! Even takeaway fish and chips on the beach would be better than sitting here, aware that her friends were all next door, no doubt enjoying champagne and artistic little canapés.
No, not fish and chips on the beach. That reminded her too much of Luis...and Xavier. Pain pierced her chest, so sharp it made her buckle at the waist. Breathing hard, she lowered herself to the sofa, determined not to cry, but...
Would she ever stop wanting him?
Laughter from next door floated in through her open living room window. She went to close it—to shut it out—but stopped short. Her breath suddenly came in short, sharp gasps.
She sat. What was she doing, shutting laughter out of her life? How would that help her get over a broken heart? She’d been disappointed in love. So what? Was she now going to become a bitter recluse?
She shot to her feet. She’d sold Xavier her motel, but she hadn’t sold her soul!
Storming into her bedroom, she pulled on her best dress, donned her highest heels, and slicked on her reddest lipstick. She’d sashay into Aggie’s Retreat... Villa Lorenzo...or whatever the heck it was called these days, with so much style and aplomb and...and grace that it would make Xavier Ramos eat his heart out.
* * *
Wynne walked around to the front of the motel rather than take the shortcut through the gate in her side fence. There was a new sign—currently covered—that would add its neon glow to all the others that lined this Surfers Paradise strip.
At the door she was met by a tuxedo-clad doorman. ‘Do you have your invitation, ma’am?’
She had a vision of her invitation sitting among chocolate wrappers and vegetable peelings. ‘I’m afraid not.’
‘Then I’m sorry, but—’
‘My name is Wynne Stephens.’ She nodded to the clipboard he held. ‘I think you’ll find my name there.’
He snapped to attention. ‘At the very top!’
She had to grin in spite of herself. ‘You have to hand it to Xavier—he has class.’
He gestured to a waiter and handed her a glass of champagne. ‘Enjoy your evening, Ms Stephens.’
She took three steps into the crowded foyer before coming to a dead stop. Dear God! Xavier had...
For a moment her vision blurred. Xavier had returned Aggie’s Retreat to its full former Victorian manor glory. Except the motel had never looked this good. The brand-new Axminster carpet, embellished with rich swirls of gold, fawn and pale blue, added an elegance that she’d only ever dreamed about. The chandelier gracing the ceiling looked original, while the gleaming wood of the check-in counter, the staircase and the drawing room doors looked like real oak rather than stained pine fakes. It all looked...
It looked like her dream! Her grandmother had dreamed of Spain, but Wynne had dreamed of this.
Had Xavier seen the same potential she had?
All the hairs on her arms lifted. All she needed to do was turn her head and she would find him on the stairs. She was certain of it.
Play it cool.
She took a further two steps into the space full of sparkling light and lively chatter, took a sip of her champagne, and then let her glance idly turn towards the gorgeous gleaming staircase.
They stared at each other for several heart-stopping beats, and the hunger that flared momentarily in his eyes made her tremble. One look! Yet it was enough to fire her blood with heat and turn her knees to water. She wanted to run to him and tell him she loved what he’d done with the motel. Instead she raised her glass, as if in toast, and then moved towards the drawing room. He made no move towards her. She didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
‘Miss Wynne!’
In no time at all Wynne found herself surrounded by her old staff as well as long-standing guests of the motel and it felt like being home.
Except she was constantly aware of Xavier, moving among the guests in the background. He kept his distance which, given the heat in his gaze whenever their eyes locked, was just as well. She made a mental note to leave early. The man could tempt her to anything, but the one thing she didn’t want to do was wake up beside him in the morning and have to say goodbye all over again.
So she ate glorious little canapés and sipped her French bubbly sparingly and badgered Tina to give her a tour of the motel’s guest rooms.
‘Tomorrow,’ Tina promised. ‘They’re all booked out tonight.’
All of them? She traced a finger around the rim of her champagne flute. ‘Do you know what the motel’s new name is?’
Tina’s sudden grin had curiosity shifting through her.
‘Give,’ she ordered. ‘What is it?’
‘Looks like you’re about to find out.’
Tina nodded behind her and Wynne glanced around to find Xavier calling for everyone to move into the foyer. He stood behind the check-in counter while the guests filled the foyer, the staircase and the first floor landing. He’d invited some of the Gold Coast’s leading businesspeople, the odd celebrity, and the press. Cameras flashed all around them.
Wynne tried to make her way to the back of the crowd, but Tina pulled her to one side of the drawing room doors, beside a potted palm that gave her some measure of cover at least.
‘I want to thank all of you for joining me this evening to celebrate the opening of this most excellent of motels. I never knew what a treasure I would find when I first came here, and I think you will all agree that—now, let me see if I can get this right... I have been getting an education in the Australian vernacular—it scrubs up all right, mate.’
Laughter and applause greeted him. Wynne straightened. Xavier seemed so relaxed and at ease. She’d never seen him that relaxed.
‘Working on this motel has been a life-changing experience for me. Getting to know the staff here, and the regular guests, has made me understand that there are things in this world more important than shareholder profits and owning a company jet.’
She swallowed. She’d be a fool to trust his words. He was just playing to the audience.
‘Do you think he owns his own jet?’ she whispered to Tina.
Tina shushed her.
‘I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to one woman in particular. She made me pull my head out of the sand and smell the roses.’
‘Mixed metaphor,’ she whispered.
Tina dug her in the ribs. ‘Be quiet!’
‘She’s the woman who created a culture of warmth and hospitality here that is truly unique.’
Oh! She pressed a hand to her chest. He was going to honour Aggie!
‘And in honour of that woman I now want to unveil the motel’s new name.’
He reached up and she suddenly noticed that a covered portrait hung where Aggie’s portrait had always hung.
‘I give you...the Welcoming Wynne.’
He pulled the cord to unveil a portrait of...her!
A cheer went up and the crowd applauded. Wynne was barely aware of it as she stared at the picture of herself—complete with wide smile and dancing eyes.
‘Please—the night is yet young.’
X
avier’s voice cut through her stupor.
‘There is more food to be eaten, more wine to be drunk, and there will be dancing in the drawing room shortly.
And then he was making a beeline straight for her!
‘Good God, Tina, why didn’t you—?’ She turned, but Tina was nowhere to be seen.
‘Hello, Wynne.’
She nodded and swallowed. ‘Xavier.’
He gestured around. ‘What do you think? Do you like it?’
‘I love it.’ She glanced at the check-in desk, the potted palm, the people on the stairs...anywhere but at him. ‘You’ve made it look as wonderful as I always dreamed it could. How...?’
How could he have seen inside her head?
‘I found a drawer full of your magazine cuttings. They made me see your vision for the motel.’
Her heart jammed in her throat.
‘I wanted to pay tribute...to you. They showed me the perfect way I could achieve that.’
‘Why?’ The question croaked out of her. ‘Why would you want to do something like that? Guilt?’
‘Not guilt, Wynne.’ He shook his head. ‘For love. In an attempt to win your heart.’
The room swayed. She couldn’t have heard him right. But Xavier went right on talking.
‘I needed something more than an apology—something bigger—to show you that I’ve realised you were right...I’ve been hiding from love when I should’ve been embracing it.’
They were standing in the middle of a crowded room and he...he was talking about love? This couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream.
‘Pinch me!’ she ordered.
He merely smiled. ‘I needed a grand gesture like this to...’
Her breath stuttered in her chest. ‘To?’
‘To make amends.’
How...dreary.
‘And to tell you that I love you.’
Cameras flashed, laughter and chatter sounded all around and threatened to overwhelm his simple statement. She set her champagne flute onto a passing waiter’s tray before planting her hands on her hips.
‘Excuse me, but I thought you just said...’
He grinned, and she found it utterly infuriating.
Lifting her chin, she glared at him. ‘Are you still staying in the Windsor Suite?’
‘I am.’
Without another word, she seized his hand, pulled him through the crowd and up the staircase, and then along the hushed corridor to the very last door on the right. Without a word, he unlocked the door. She pushed through it first, stomped into the middle of the room—and then bit back a groan. A four-poster bed, complete with a gorgeous floral comforter, and real antique rosewood furniture greeted her stunned gaze. It was divine!
Xavier leaned against the wall, smiling at her shock. He raised one of those eyebrows. ‘Now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?’
‘Beat you up.’ But the threat came out huskily...and was no threat at all.
He pushed away from the wall, his smile fading as he came to stand in front of her. ‘I love you, Wynne. You’ve shown me what a gift life can be if I let friendship and love into my heart rather than keeping it at arm’s length. I never knew. I didn’t realise that love could make so much difference.’
Because apart from Luis, no one other than Lorenzo had ever loved him properly—not the way he deserved to be loved.
‘I understand I might have ruined things between us for good. I understand if you do not want to give me another chance to prove I am worthy of you.’
She opened her mouth, but he pressed a finger to her lips.
‘But I want you to know, even if that is the case, that I have learned my lesson. I will not be shutting myself off from life again.’
Her heart thumped against her ribcage. ‘You really mean that?’
He nodded.
‘That’s why I came tonight,’ she whispered. ‘I realised that cutting myself off from my friends wouldn’t help me get over a broken heart.’
‘It is the same reason I have had the deeds of the motel transferred into your name.’
She took a step back. ‘I sold you the motel fair and square, Xavier. It’s yours.’
He shook his head. ‘The heart of this motel is you, Wynne.’ He seized an envelope from a nearby table and pressed it into her hands. ‘The motel is yours. It always was.’
Tears clogged her throat.
‘You have given me far more than bricks and mortar ever could. And I am hoping you will let me share in that life with you.’
To her amazement he went down on one knee and opened a tiny box to reveal a ring—a sparkling diamond ring.
‘Wynne Stephens, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life proving just how much. Will you do me the very great honour of becoming my wife?’
She stopped trying to play it cool then. She flung her arms around his neck. ‘Yes!’
With a whoop, he stood and swung her around. Then very slowly he let her body slide down the full length of his before cupping her face and kissing her.
It was a long time before he lifted his head again, and when he did they were both breathing hard. In a smooth movement he lifted her off her feet and strode across the room to the leather chesterfield sofa, where he settled her on his lap.
He loved her. He really loved her. She could barely take it in.
He brushed the hair from her face. ‘I’ve thought about it carefully. I know you cannot leave Aggie. So Luis and I will live here with you.’
She straightened, still tingling from their kiss. ‘But what about your work?’ He had a huge corporation to run.
He dismissed that with a single wave of his hand. ‘I am tired of work. I will hire managers. I want to work here with you.’
Really? ‘Have you spoken to Luis? How will he feel about that?’
‘I forgot! Here.’ He pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. ‘It is from Luis.’
It was a handmade card that read, Please marry Papà. It had a picture of the three of them making a sandcastle on the beach.
She pressed the card to her chest, blinking hard. ‘Oh!’
‘Maybe later on we can spend six months of the year here and the other six months in Spain. I know that there are issues, and problems to be faced, but Camilla is Luis’s mother. I need to do what I can to repair and promote her relationship with Luis. I want to do that.’
She pressed her hand to his chest, to the spot over his heart—such a big, warm heart. ‘I think that’s the right thing to do too.’
‘It might not work.’
‘But you have to try. And if it doesn’t work then Luis will always have you...and me. I love him too, Xavier. I promise to always put his needs first.’
His fingers traced a path along her jawline and down her throat to skim the neckline of her dress. Her breath hitched and her blood flooded with heat. She wanted to fall into him, but first...
‘I love you, Xavier.’
His gaze darkened.
‘And now that you have me, neither you nor Luis are ever going to be alone again.’
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.
‘So that means you’ll have me and Luis...and all the other children that are bound to come along.’
He stilled. ‘You want children?’
She ran her hand over his chest, relishing the solid male feel of him. ‘I want oodles of children.’
‘Oodles? This is how many?’
‘At least four.’
His grin, when it came, was full of wonder.
She tossed her head. ‘So, you see, that means you’ll have me and Luis...and Samantha.’
‘Samantha?’
‘It’s my favourite girl’s name. Do you like it? Then
there’ll be...’
‘Carlos?’ he offered.
‘And Little Aggie and Lorenzo Junior,’ she finished.
He started to laugh. ‘And Libby and April, and Tina, Blake and Heath, and...’
‘And everyone else,’ she agreed, laughing with him.
He stared down at her with so much love in his eyes it stole her breath.
She pulled his head down to hers. ‘The Welcoming Wynne, huh? Let’s see if I can’t give you a welcome that you’ll never forget.’
The low rumble of his laughter and the warmth of his lips on hers sealed the silent promise they made to each other—to live and to love. Whatever else life might hold, they could hold fast to that, and to each other. Forever.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from
MISS PRIM AND THE MAVERICK MILLIONAIRE
by Nina Singh
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The Spanish Tycoon's Takeover Page 18
