The Billionaire's Holiday Bride Page 4

  “I do understand,” she said, putting as much empathy as she could in her voice while making sure it stayed steely enough to let him know she wasn’t budging. “However, Jane has told me that Paris is a rather small town. I’m not certain that it has the right lodging and infrastructure for what I’m thinking of.” And the fact that she would only have twenty thousand to work with. Good god. She’d assumed Wes would offer at least fifty. They could easily spend twenty on flowers alone.

  “Well… I guess you know better than I do about these things.”

  She said nothing.

  “I just want my girl to have the best.”

  “Of course. And it is my wish that she and my son have a memorable ceremony.”

  She hung up and sighed. Given how late it was, a fancy venue was out of the question. No, it had to be some place close and inexpensive. Preferably free…

  The family grove.

  She tapped her index finger on the rim of her empty coffee cup. Mark and Hilary had gotten married there, but maybe it would be okay to recycle the venue. It was beautiful in the grove, and quite romantic. One of the earlier Pryce men had bought it for his bride, who had been a citrus farmer’s daughter. The family claimed he’d done so out of love, and Ceinlys believed that. The place wasn’t big enough to be commercial.

  Energized, she rose to her feet and began pacing. If they could swing an outdoor wedding, maybe they could try something creative and cut down on the cost of flowers.

  The grove was with the Pryce family and controlled by Salazar, but she could ask him to let her use it. She stopped. Maybe she should ask his assistant instead. Ceinlys didn’t think she could face Salazar. The divorce was still too fresh, their conversation at the hospital too painful.

  She shook her head. Enough about her problems. This was about Jane and Iain.

  Ceinlys hadn’t had to worry about money in decades, but she hadn’t grown up in the lap of luxury. Her family had been working class. She could figure out ways to economize and still make the event memorable.

  But first, she needed to see a few florists and find out what could be done.

  * * *

  Salazar parked outside Ceinlys’s condo building. He wanted to just barge into the place, but he couldn’t bring himself to sign in with the concierge.

  At least the building looked secure and safe. The security station had a pair of darkly tanned men who looked like they made a habit of bathing in their enemies’ blood. Salazar approved.

  He didn’t even know why he was there. Ceinlys was a long but finished chapter in his life.

  Was it his pride? Did he want to prove Shirley wrong after all those years?

  What did it matter anyway? If Ceinlys confirmed that she’d wanted him for his money, then it would cut him to the core. If she said she’d married for love…

  It would hurt even more.

  Over thirty years of regret swirled through him like bitter smoke. The last time he’d touched Ceinlys…she’d seduced him on an almost daily basis for a month. Later, he’d found out she’d done it to pass Vanessa off as his. That had left him bleeding, but he’d never regretted losing himself in her.

  No other woman had ever come close. She was incomparable, the only one.

  After Shane had been born, she’d taken lovers. The first time, Salazar had almost killed the man for touching his woman, but he’d had just enough sense to restrain himself. After all, he was a man of pride, and he would never let anyone know he would stoop to jealousy. It had never really gotten easier, but now…

  Now she was free.

  And she would find someone else—she was still the most gorgeous woman he knew, and it wouldn’t take her any effort at all to replace him with someone else, while he stewed over the things she’d said at the hospital.

  You should’ve never let her go.

  Provence.

  Eleven hours away. Eleven hours away. Not that far.

  Still… How could he live with her on another continent?

  He rubbed his face with his hands.

  Ceinlys emerged from the building, looking as sophisticated as always in a conservative, fitted black dress that showed off her stunning legs. A glittering blue hairpin held her French twist together, and a black lambskin purse hung from one slender arm. A determined tilt to her chin told him she was up to something, and the sparkle in her eyes said it was something she was looking forward to.

  A man?

  The thought slid into his gut like a knife.

  And why the fuck not? Didn’t women always lose weight after a divorce to rejoin the meat market? Ceinlys had definitely tightened up, not that she’d really needed to. She was always perfect exactly the way she was.

  Before he could regain sense or logic, he leaped out of his Aston Martin, almost running into her.

  Her hand flew to her chest, and she gasped. “Salazar.”

  “Ceinlys,” he said, barely managing to keep his voice cool and modulated. Or at least what he hoped was cool and modulated. Good god. What the hell was wrong with him? But it was too late to go back now.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Happened to be in the neighborhood,” he said, voice cracking slightly. Damn it. He cleared his throat. “Sophia said she and Dane are going to host Christmas this year.” He stifled a wince. That was, as the young ones would say, “not at all smooth.”

  Ceinlys pulled back a bit, blinking. “That would be remarkable, if she managed to get Dane to agree. But there won’t be anything hosted by him this Christmas. Jane and Iain are getting married on Christmas Eve.”

  That got both of his eyebrows shooting up. “They are?”

  “Yes.”

  “This Christmas?”

  She nodded.

  “But that only gives them two months.”

  “Less, actually.”

  He considered, then shrugged. “Well, Iain can afford it.” That boy was too smitten to care how much it would cost, monetarily or otherwise, to marry that small town fiancée of his. Sort of like how Salazar had been when he’d decided to marry Ceinlys.

  And it had cost him oh so dearly.

  Ceinlys’s brow creased for a fraction of a moment before smoothing out again. “He certainly could, but Jane’s father is paying for the wedding.” She adjusted the purse straps on her arm.

  Aghast, Salazar stared at her. “Why would Iain have her father pay for it? And don’t tell me it’s tradition.”

  “Her father wanted to,” she said simply.

  “Bah! That’s pointless unless the man has a mattress stuffed with hundred dollar bills.”

  “He doesn’t, but he’s going to pay for it, and that’s that.” Her lips firmed.

  “The wedding’s going to cost at least half a mil.”

  “He offered twenty.”

  “Twen—? Well, that might be a little much, even for—”

  Disapproval flickered in her gaze. “You know Jane’s family.”

  Good god. What the hell was going on? He felt like he was stuck in a Twilight Zone episode. “Twenty thousand? I guess that’d be enough if they’re planning to get married in t-shirts and shorts out on somebody’s lawn.”

  “Don’t be absurd.”

  “Me? Absurd? Our wedding cost almost a million and that was thirty-six years ago.”

  “It was your family’s decision to spend so much.”

  Salazar studied her. There was an edge in her tone that bothered the hell out of him. “You were fine with it.” And he had been too. Her wedding gown alone had come close to a hundred thousand, but it had been worth it to get an outfit befitting the most ethereal bride.

  “Did I have a say in the matter?”

  What the hell? “Of course you did. It was your wedding.”

  “No, Salazar. It was your wedding with your mother deciding how it should go.”

  “Shirley had nothing to do with it.”

  “She had everything to do with it. But please. Let’s not argue about her.”

  He
scowled. He wanted to argue about his mother. He knew she’d never approved of Ceinlys, but Shirley had softened quite a bit by the time Dane was born. She’d adored her first-born grandson. But from the way Ceinlys angled her body away, he knew the conversation was over. Damn it. “You’re really okay with this ridiculous situation?”

  “Shouldn’t I be?”

  “It’s going to embarrass the family.”

  Her lips tightened. “That’s why I agreed to help, but even without me it wouldn’t embarrass anyone.”

  He sighed, and started thinking. “I guess you’re gonna need a free venue for the wedding.”

  “About that.” Ceinlys paused. “I was going to send a message to Kimberly.”

  Kimberly Sanford was his assistant, the only one to have lasted for more than a few weeks. “Why?”

  “I wanted to talk to her about using the grove.”

  That rankled. “You can talk to me directly for something like that. Iain’s my son too.”

  Ceinlys’s eyes shuttered. “Yes, I’m well aware of that. I simply didn’t want to bother you unnecessarily.”

  “You know Mark and Hilary got married there.”

  “A summer ceremony. This will be a holiday wedding, entirely different.”

  If Ceinlys said so. She would know about such things. “In any case, you can’t use it,” he said.

  “Salazar. That’s truly petty, even for you.”

  His jaw tensed. Always expecting the worst of him. He didn’t know why it hurt so much. It wasn’t as though it mattered. They were divorced.

  So why the hell was he even here?

  She looked away. “At least you didn’t wait until the last possible minute to tell me. Very well. I’ll come up with something else.”

  Each of her words hit him like a club. She couldn’t think any worse of him, could she? And it was infuriating—the cool way she tilted her head, the dismissive way her gaze slid off him, like he didn’t matter.

  If he didn’t matter, she should’ve never said those things at the hospital.

  He opened the passenger door to his Aston Martin. “Get in.”

  “What?”

  “I’m taking you to the grove. If you still want to hold the wedding there after seeing it, be my guest.”

  Chapter Six

  Vanessa Pryce Sterling almost wept when her future in-laws piled into her living room. “Thanks, guys. You can’t imagine how much this means to me.”

  “Always happy to help out,” Jane said with a big grin. Sensible woman that she was, she was in a simple lime green shirt and navy blue jeans.

  “What she said.” Ginger Maxwell knelt down and cooed over Ryan, who stared up at her from a thick blanket on the floor. Her blue baby tee said Keep Calm and Keep On Clicking, and the white shorts showed off a pair of lean, tanned legs. Vanessa hoped the pretty blonde knew how uncanny babies’ ability to dirty clothes was, especially when they were your favorites.

  Vanessa almost sighed. She was lucky her brother Shane’s fiancée was so forgiving. The memory of her bitchy behavior toward Ginger earlier still made her cringe inwardly, even though Ginger said she’d forgotten all about it. Then there was what she’d lost—her unborn baby. Vanessa prayed every day that Shane and Ginger would have another after they got married. If anybody deserved a baby, it was Ginger, who adored children.

  “Where’s Hilary?” Sophia asked, taking the seat next to Vanessa.

  “Working,” she said. “Much to Mark’s displeasure.”

  “Why is Mark upset?”

  “He thinks Gavin’s overworking her, but what can you do? The boss man’s working so she has to, too. Besides, Mark should be grateful that he’s cut back so much. Otherwise Hilary would never be home.”

  “When’s Justin coming back?” Ginger asked.

  “Tomorrow.” This time Vanessa did sigh. “Apparently this just could not wait.”

  “Even though it’s the weekend?” Jane said, her eyes glued to Ryan.

  “Yeah. It seems that people in Tokyo work even harder on weekends because…somebody else is probably working? I don’t know.” Vanessa huffed. “I would’ve never bothered you guys like this, but the nanny’s off too, and I’m at my wits’ end.”

  Ginger cuddled Ryan. “Did you get any sleep?”

  “No. He’s been very fussy without his daddy.” Vanessa yawned. “I’m sure I look awful.”

  “You look great,” Sophia said loyally.

  “Thanks, but I do own a mirror or two.” Which showed her the dark circles, sallow complexion, and fatigue weighing on her every cell. “Nobody told me it would be this hard. How on earth did Mom do it? And five times!”

  “Live-in nannies help,” Ginger offered. She would know; she’d been with Shane since high school and had undoubtedly heard stories.

  “I guess. Now I wonder if we should have one.” Vanessa sighed. “Then I feel bad for even thinking that, because he’s my son and I should take care of him.”

  “There’s no shame in asking for help. It’s better than burning yourself out,” Sophia said. “Besides, don’t you have to go back to work soon?”

  “No. I’m taking a full year of leave. I just couldn’t make myself go back so soon. It’s probably going to derail my career trajectory, but I don’t care. I might even take more time, depending.”

  “You should do what you feel is best.” Ginger rocked the baby. “It’s not like you have to work to make ends meet.”

  “True enough.” Justin had billions, and he loved to spoil his wife and new baby. Vanessa pushed her hair out of the way, then stopped. “Wait a minute. Wait a minute! Somebody’s holding back!”

  “What?” Jane, Ginger and Sophia all said at the same time.

  Vanessa held up Sophia’s left hand. The heart-shaped diamond sparkled.

  Jane gasped, while Ginger continued to rock Ryan back and forth, a big grin splitting her face. “You have to tell us everything,” she said. “Every detail!”

  “Oh, absolutely. I simply have to hear this.” Vanessa leaned forward. Dane had anti-freeze running in his veins. She still had a hard time accepting that someone as warm and sweet as Sophia was with him. Dane must’ve done something very special for the proposal for Sophia to say yes. Vanessa knew they were living together without any firm commitment about the future, but she also knew that her oldest brother wanted more.

  “Have you set a date?” Jane chimed in.

  “Oh no.” Sophia let out a shaky laugh. “We aren’t engaged, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “You aren’t?” Vanessa’s gaze dropped to her hand. “But…that’s his ring, right?”

  “Yes, but it’s just to, you know, reaffirm our love for each other.”

  “Oh.” Ginger blinked. Jane merely frowned.

  “Can I ask you something?” Vanessa said.

  “Go ahead,” Sophia answered.

  “You love my brother, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you know he loves you.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you also know he’s never loved anybody before, and you are it for him.”

  Sophia’s throat worked as she swallowed. “Yes.”

  Vanessa softened her tone so it didn’t sound like she was cross-examining Sophia. Sometimes all the years of attorney training got the best of her. “So why aren’t you engaged yet? Is it because he hasn’t proposed?” Even as she asked, she knew that wasn’t the reason. Dane was an asshole, but he was a decisive asshole, one who didn’t let anything get in the way of what he wanted.

  Sophia exhaled roughly. “My dad had…Huntington’s disease. It’s incurable. And it’s not really treatable. And it’s genetic on top of that.”

  There was a silence in the room. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Jane whispered.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Ginger’s brows pinched. “Dane isn’t the type to let something like that get in his way.”

  “No, he isn’t. If I let him, he’d take me to the courthouse tomo
rrow.”

  “Absolutely not. You should insist on the kind of wedding you deserve,” Vanessa said.

  “You eloped,” Ginger pointed out.

  “Well, okay, yeah, but we were flying over Niagara Falls in a helicopter. Totally different from a courthouse wedding.”

  “I really don’t care about the ceremony,” Sophia said. “I want him, but I worry about the toll the disease may take—especially on him.”

  Vanessa tilted her head. “Isn’t there some test to find out for sure if you have it?”

  “Yes, but…I haven’t taken it yet.” Sophia clasped her hands together. “Maybe I’m too much of a coward. I have a fifty-fifty chance. But if I have it… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  Vanessa made a sympathetic noise and hugged Sophia. “We will all be on your side. You won’t have to deal with it alone, you know that, right?”

  Sophia sniffed.

  “And you never know. With all the advancements in medical technology, it may become treatable in the next few years.”

  Jane and Ginger nodded in unison.

  “Thank you,” Sophia whispered. “I… You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  “It’s our pleasure, Sophia. You deserve our support.” Jane squeezed her knee. “I feel so awful you’re going through this. If there’s anything Iain and I can do, you just call any time, okay?”

  Sophia nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

  “You poor thing,” Ginger said. “It must’ve been really tough to lose your father that way and have to agonize over it all this time.”

  “I actually didn’t know until recently,” Sophia murmured. “George told me at the hospital.”

  Vanessa’s face twisted. She’d heard of the asshole who’d tried to rape Sophia, and the only reason Sophia had been at the hospital was because of her—she’d just had Ryan. “That b-a-s-t-a-r-d.”

  “Why are you spelling it?” Ginger asked.

  “Because Ryan can hear me,” Vanessa whispered fiercely. “That lowlife is going to pay dearly for what he’s done.”

  Jane’s worried gaze darted to Sophia. “Won’t she have to testify and answer…you know, a lot of nasty questions about her sexual history and stuff?”

  Vanessa snorted. “That probably won’t even be necessary. Barron Sterling himself is going to testify, along with Dane, Iain and whoever else we need on our side of the family to get that scumbag convicted and put away for good. I’d love to see that a-hole’s lawyer try to character assassinate them.”