Burning to Ride

by Michele De Winton

  “You don’t seriously expect me to believe that Knight Industries is planning on creating anything other than a moneymaking development? I know how these things work. You pack in the people and take all the community space away so there’s nowhere for people to meet. They become isolated and boom, instant ghetto.”

  “That so?” There was a sparkle in his eye that she wasn’t sure she liked.

  “That is so. You can’t tell me you’re not going to try and fit as many people as possible into your apartment towers?”

  “No. I’m not going to tell you that. But I am going to say that these will be the healthiest homes that most of those people will have enter encountered. Look.” He pulled a sheaf of papers from the table. “They sit on either side of a line of trees.”

  “Your boulevard?”

  “Yes. My boulevard. And there is green space on each side. Couple that with the energy-efficient design and the full strength of the community development team at the planning department and this is going to be a beautiful place to live. If you keep Wilde’s in the mix here . . .” He sketched her hotel onto the plans farther back from the towers. “We can convert part of the parking lot into a park zone here.” He scribbled trees and seats. “And then create a new entrance for the hotel that makes it feel more exclusive.”

  She sat up at this.

  “I want Wilde’s to be inclusive. Not some posh resort.”

  “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean that it will have its own feel. A more grown-up haven. We need to maintain its character, otherwise we might as well rip it down and start over.” He held up his hands. “I’m not going to do that, relax. But we do need to integrate it into the complex or it will become ghettoized from the rest of the community.”

  “What about the Hell’s Boys? Wilde’s is their home, too.”

  “We need to work on that. Do your thing with dangerous and sexy.”

  Sexy. The way he talked about his development hadn’t been what she’d expected. He shone. The passion was obvious. This might not be as much about making money as she’d thought.

  His phone rang. “I have to go, but Cathy will be back with something to read. Oh, and you can try this on while you wait.” Cole handed her a small box and before she had a chance to open it, he turned and walked out of the room.

  The air followed Cole out once she opened the lid. A ring. Diamonds. For me! Briony’s fingers hesitated above the cluster of glittering stones set in silver. Or was it white gold? “Shit. It’s really happening.”

  “What’s really happening?”

  Briony snapped the lid of the box shut and looked up into the smiling face of Cole’s assistant. “Um. Yeah, so much. This development.”

  The woman smiled again. “Yep. I’ve only worked for him for a couple of months, but Mr. Knight has a real progressive vision. I think this development is going to be beautiful.”

  Briony just about choked on her own tongue. “Beautiful? I’m not sure our definitions appear in the same dictionary.”

  The woman’s forehead crinkled then lifted. “Oh, but you can’t see it from down there. Hang on.” She looked around and found a tablet. “Mr. Knight obviously wants you to see it properly or he wouldn’t have put you in here with the model. We can do a flyover on this.” She pushed a button and the screen flickered into life. A camera tracked a CG version of the development. Starting at street level, it took in a tree-lined shopping area before sweeping up to the top of a line of apartment buildings.

  “A green roof?”

  “I know. Aren’t they lovely? The last firm I worked for never thought about the whole picture like Mr. Knight does. There’ll be communal gardens on top of all the buildings.”

  “Huh.”

  “And look at this bit.” Cathy drew Briony’s attention back to the screen, which now tracked over a sweeping park with a children’s play area and community gardens.

  “A kids’ playground?” Briony couldn’t believe the amount of green space that had been squeezed into the development. The flyover finished and Briony sat back against the sofa. I had no idea. She fingered the ring box as she thought about what she’d just seen.

  “Oooo, jewelry. Anything special?”

  Anything special? Anyone say understatement? What the hell. Briony opened the box and turned it to face the other woman.

  She gasped. “Wow. Wow wow.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Why is it in the box? I’d have that puppy on my finger immediately.” She paused. “Oh no. Sorry. It is not what you want? Marriage is a big deal, I get it. Having the perfect ring, well, it’s like a symbol, isn’t it? If you find the right one you just know, you know? I’m sure your fiancé won’t mind if you want to change it. He’s your soul mate after all, right?” The woman flashed a big grin.

  Briony shifted uncomfortably and tweaked her ankle.

  “Oh sorry. Here’s that ice pack. Would you like anything else? Water or coffee?” The woman blushed.

  Briony felt terrible. She was supposed to be the charming fiancée of this woman’s boss. “I’m fine. Or I will be after this ice pack, and a coffee sounds great. Thanks. The ring is lovely and I definitely don’t need anything bigger. This is more bling than I’ve ever worn. I’m not much of a jewelry girl.”

  “Well, it’s lovely either way. Everyone’s nervous about getting married. Or that’s what people tell me. It’ll pass, I’m sure. And I’m sure he loves you just as much as you love him.”

  Briony felt the blush rising up her neck. Love. Ha.

  The woman smiled again. “Anyway, congratulations. Anyone I know?” She put a hand to her mouth. “Listen to me going on. It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I won’t know him from a bar of soap, will I?”

  Willing her facial muscles to behave, Briony tried to push a smile out. “You probably do, actually.”

  “Really? Oooh, now I’m excited. No, don’t tell me. Let me use my powers of deduction. I’ll let you know my top picks when I bring you back your coffee. Here are some magazines to flip through.” She smiled again and left the room.

  No one had ever treated Briony that nicely out in the real world before. They’d been polite, sure, and the Hell’s Boys treated her like a little sister, but this chick was a stranger and was still seriously sincere with her niceness. Briony looked down at her dress and the one shoe she still had on. Maybe it was all about the shoes. She laughed at herself. It made her pause, though; if his staff, who were new enough to still be in the not-sure-he’s - worth - the - extra - effort - yet phase thought plenty of their new boss, maybe she was wrong about Slick. Maybe Mr. Knight was an even bigger catch than she’d realized.

  Briony opened the box again—and this! Two small square-cut diamonds framed an emerald-cut diamond on a pale band. “Holy sparkly pants.” She slipped it on and held her hand away to get some perspective. Not too big, but not measly. It fit perfectly. Only it didn’t. She wasn’t the diamond type. Never had been, never would be. Diamonds didn’t go with bike leather . . . did they? She put her hand on her leg and tried to view it objectively. The ring suited the hand it sat on. It just didn’t look like her hand.

  Her phone buzzed and Briony saw Rocco’s name flash up on the screen. Reality closed back in around her. “Hey.”

  “So, how’s it going with project tie - Slick - up - and - take - him - for - a - ride?”

  Briony looked again at the beautiful ring on her finger and flinched. “He bought me a ring.”

  Rocco whistled low and long. “Huh, and here I thought he was backing out.”

  Briony was instantly on alert. “What do you mean? What’s happened?”

  “Just a guy with a hard hat came knocking. Said he was inspecting the place. See what could be salvaged.”

  “Salvaged?”

  “That’s what I thought. Better check your Mr. Armani-pants isn’t trying to have his Bri-cake and eat you, too. Think you best get yourself on the phone with the media. Let the world know you’re Mrs. Knight-to-be.�
��

  The sun broke through the clouds a moment and caught on Briony’s ring, making it glitter and sparkle. Cole couldn’t be backing out, not after buying this? Could he?

  “Want me to do an anonymous tip-off?”

  Briony looked down at the ring. She had a new dress, new shoes, a ring—but with the amount of money he could spend, what did these things matter to him? “Do it. He can’t control everything, can he?”

  * * *

  Cole sat back in his chair and let his head keep spinning at the reaction from his board. They’d been unanimously enthusiastic. Hadn’t questioned the logic of getting together with someone who wanted to keep her hotel in the development. To be fair, he’d allowed them to assume he and Briony had been together the whole time he’d been in L.A. And he’d talked up Wilde’s more than he’d needed to. But still. Guess it’s nice to know they trust me.

  Or that they just wanted him to settle down. Hadn’t his pop said as much? He knew there were a few on the board who had never really believed he could turn his back on his criminal leanings completely. Did talking about a woman who might become a wife really mean that? Apparently.

  Then the last surprise. His brother, who had stayed on the line at the end of the call after everyone else had hung up.

  “I think it’s great, great that you’ve found someone. I mean, when you know you know, right? She seemed lovely.”

  Cole’s jaw slackened. Of all the company conference calls, this was the one his brother chose to finally phone in to? “I didn’t expect you to call in. You don’t usually bother,” he said.

  “I figured you’d be telling them about Briony. Didn’t want to miss that.”

  Cole cursed under his breath.

  “Anyway, it’s about time you settled down, right? And having a woman around, especially one you’re serious about, will help you keep on keeping up the great work.”

  Keep on keeping up the good work? The hairs on the back of Cole’s arms stood at attention, not in fright, but because they sensed his need to clench and swing at the closest object. If his brother had been in the room, his patronizingly chirpy voice might have frozen at the look Cole gave the phone. Mostly he didn’t care that his brother sat back and took the dividends without doing anything except attend fund-raisers, but having him tell him to keep up the good work? That was a patronizing swipe too far.

  “Pop said you were thinking about marrying her.”

  Uh-oh. Here was the real reason for the call. “I wasn’t ready to tell him we were already engaged yet.”

  His brother’s voice was still super chirpy. “But you have, right? Popped the question. I mean, Briony was pretty emphatic.”

  Cole took a deep breath. “I told Pop I was thinking about getting engaged. Don’t tell him it’s a done deal. Not yet.”

  “Why?”

  “Are you going to make this difficult for me?” Cole hadn’t forgotten the shit his brother had given him when he’d refused to get engaged to Martha. And then after they broke up, Rick kept asking him why Cole had let a woman like her get away.

  His brother’s chirp finally faltered. “I wouldn’t . . . I didn’t mean . . .” A deep inhalation came through the phone. “Don’t worry. If you say you don’t want anyone to know, no one else needs to know.”

  Cole tried to make his voice softer. No point pissing his brother off. The guy might be taking everyone for a ride with his smooth talk, and he could be as annoying as fuck sometimes, but he was still the only brother Cole had. “It’s all happened so fast. I tried to tell Pop, but he told me to wait six months. Although he told me to buy a ring in the same breath, the old romantic. But anyway, I’ll wait the six months to tell him and everyone will be happy.”

  “Fair enough.” His brother paused. “Glad it’s all turning out great in L.A. Being married is amazing; you’ll love it. Talk again soon.” And with that, his brother hung up.

  “The sanctimonious . . .” Cole almost slammed the phone down. His brother had nerve.

  He stood and paced his office. Being married is amazing? Work hard? “Screw you.” And screw marriage. This was about his development. Briony was just a means to an end. Even though you bought her a ring? A much bigger one than probably necessary. He shrugged and shook out his shoulders. That was for appearances. For his secret, fake fiancée. Cole rubbed his face. Could this get even more complicated? He turned and headed for the boardroom. Time to get on with things. He pushed open the door to the boardroom and barely got inside before Briony’s voice shook him from his thoughts.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Briony’s eyes flashed at him.

  Cole looked down at Briony, who was stretched out on the black leather couch and snorted. “I take it you didn’t like the ring.”

  Briony looked at her left hand and he watched the confusion play over her face. Huh.

  “It’s a ring. I get that you need to have me wear something that fits your status. No one is going to believe a ten-dollar ring from Target, are they?”

  Smart girl. “So what’s the issue? My board agreed to keep Wilde’s in, so we have their approval to revise the plans.”

  “Great.” She took a deep staggering breath and let him have it. “So what the hell is some guy in a hard hat doing turning up at Wilde’s looking at what can be salvaged?” She almost spat the last word.

  Cole frowned. “Do you mean Art? He must have gotten his wires crossed. He’s my reno guy. I thought you might like some helpful advice. Clearly not.” He felt his shoulders tightening. He did not need to deal with this after the mood his brother’s chat had put him in. “Come on, we’re leaving. I’ll bring you back to Wilde’s.”

  She stood and wobbled, but warded off his steadying hand. “I’ll be fine. Just when I was starting to think you might be a nice guy and everything. Guess Rocco is a better judge of character than I am.”

  Rocco. Thinking of her biker gang buddy made Cole’s shoulders tighten even further. “Guess so. I remain a terrible judge of character, present company included.”

  “Nice thing to say to your fiancée on the day you announce your engagement.”

  “What do you mean, ‘announce’?”

  “Apparently the media got word of our engagement. I just got a call from someone asking for our story.”

  Cole’s face must have betrayed the panic that struck him. For a moment he saw a shifting black shape behind her and he had to blink hard to get it to vanish. This didn’t happen to him anymore. He kept control and the darkness didn’t get a foot in. Lose his footing and . . .

  “You’re not getting out of it that easy. So you can be as much of an asshole as you like. You’re stuck with me and my hotel. Better get a move on, the boys are waiting downstairs.”

  Cole shuddered. “They shouldn’t be here.”

  “Oh well. Not like I can stop them. If you think you can do better then you go right ahead.”

  When they got to the foyer of his building there were two men whose eyes would have knifed him if they’d been able to. A dirty-blond-haired one stood as tall as Cole and just as broad, and a long pink scar from his eyebrow to his jaw was fresh enough to warn that the guy wasn’t afraid of a little brutality. The other, Martinez, Cole remembered, was shorter, but broader and if the way his hands were clenched meant anything, the guy was not exactly pleased that his Bri-bird had promised to tie the knot.

  Briony was embedded in this gang more than he’d realized. They drank in her bar, drove up to her door, and did who knew what in her bed. So? So he better watch his back. Briony might be sure of her Raising Hellfire boys, but he didn’t have the luxury of their love and affection. You sure that’s all? Those jealous looks don’t get to you? Cole snorted. Any one of this pack of morons would be welcome to Briony Wilde at the end of their year-long charade. He would be well and truly pleased to be clear of her.

  Cole stopped in front of the guys. “You can’t be here. It doesn’t help Briony’s cause, not with the media about to descend.”

  “
Says you,” Martinez said.

  “Yes, says me. The one who is helping your girl here keep her precious hotel.”

  The two men looked at Briony and she shrugged. “He’s got a point. I mean, it’s not like there’s paparazzi waiting outside or anything. It’s just a local wedding announcement, but just in case.”

  The men shrugged, but followed Cole’s lead to the service elevators.

  Cole looked at the steel elevator wall in front of him and wondered, again, what the hell he was doing. It’s just for a year. And with his pop and the rest of the board in New York, he’d announce the engagement in four months, then play the happily engaged son and CEO for a while so everyone could keep their romantic rose-tinted happy-glasses on. Moreover, it meant he could get on with his development without having to worry about Briony’s sex-tape nightmare surfacing. He was an idiot for getting into bed with her, but now that he was there, he was damn well going to stay in control. She could bitch all she wanted, but this development was his baby, and her hotel was going to have to get in line with the rest of the plan. He’d make it work.

  He looked over at her, standing expressionless, facing the double elevator doors and took a deep breath. So the sight of her in that pale blue gown had torn down his libido defenses. So what? He was a man, with needs, and a memory of how she’d been oh so willing to fulfill them had gotten to him. That was all. It was history now.

  The elevator pinged. “Come on, fiancée. Let’s go.” He took her hand, none too gently, and let a little smug smile tug at his mouth when Martinez scowled. It was petty, but he liked owning things that other people wanted. He was back in charge. The black dog was back in his kennel. As long as he watched his back, he’d be fine.

  They drove in silence to the hotel. Pulling into the parking lot, Cole’s business head started calculating the changes that needed to be made at the sight of ten Harleys ostensibly standing sentry at the entrance. Briony’s words echoed in his head: Danger and sexy go together. He looked over at her. That last part was definitely true. Still didn’t mean he was going to let Wilde’s become a thorn in his development. The bikers were going to have to follow his lead as much as everyone else. Sexy was one thing; bikes blocking the entrance and making it intimidating was another.