A stolen fling…

An unexpected Christmas gift!

In this South Shore Billionaires story, tycoon Jeremy’s world is upended upon discovering his summer romance with resort manager Tori Sharpe left her pregnant! He’s better suited to brokering deals than bringing up babies, yet seeing Tori carrying his child awakens a fierce longing for the family he never had. Can a magical New York Christmas convince Tori there’s room in his high-octane life for her and their baby?

DONNA ALWARD lives on Canada’s east coast with her family, which includes a husband, a couple of kids, a senior dog and two crazy cats. Her heart-warming stories of love, hope and homecoming have been translated into several languages, hit bestseller lists and won awards, but her favourite thing is hearing from readers! When she’s not writing she enjoys reading—of course!—knitting, gardening, cooking…and she’s a Masterpiece Theatre addict. You can visit her on the web at DonnaAlward.com, and join her mailing list at DonnaAlward.com/newsletter.

Also by Donna Alward

Summer Escape with the Tycoon

Marrying a Millionaire miniseries

Best Man for the Wedding Planner

Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

South Shore Billionaires miniseries

Christmas Baby for the Billionaire

And look out for the next story

Coming soon

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Christmas Baby for the Billionaire

Donna Alward

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09165-7

CHRISTMAS BABY FOR THE BILLIONAIRE

© 2019 Donna Alward

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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To Mum.

The older I get, the more I admire your strength

and your capacity for unconditional love.

Your children and grandchildren

have been incredibly blessed.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

THERE WERE MORNINGS when a girl just didn’t want to get out of bed, but she had to because a) she had to pee and b) she had to go to work because no one else was going to pay the bills.

Tori closed her eyes, gathered her get-up-and-go and threw off the covers. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her job; she loved it. The Sandpiper Resort was her life. She’d started there doing housekeeping as a teenager and had worked her way up to assistant general manager, overseeing many of the day-to-day operations. Stepping inside the doors each morning felt as much like being at home as entering her own small house, bought just last year.

So even though she was bone tired, despite having slept all night, she flipped on the light switch and turned on the shower. At least the morning sickness had been fleeting, lasting only a few weeks and consisting mostly of inconvenient nausea. Now in her second trimester, she simply got tired more easily. And was in the process of overhauling her wardrobe. Things didn’t fit anymore now that her baby bump had made an appearance.

Thirty minutes later, hair blow-dried and makeup on, she left the house with her decaf coffee in a travel mug and made the five-minute drive to work. It had been mild for November, and she didn’t have to scrape the frost off her windshield this morning, which was a plus. On arriving at the hotel, she stepped inside, inhaling the fresh scent of evergreens. Once Remembrance Day had passed, the Christmas decorations had come out, turning the resort into a fairyland of white twinkle lights and pungent pine and spruce boughs punctuated with gorgeous red and gold bows. She greeted the staff at the front desk with a smile, then stopped at the kitchen to ask for a toasted bagel and some fruit—her usual breakfast fare.

“You need some eggs for the little one, there?” Neil asked, his chef’s hat bobbing. “Mamas need protein.”

She grinned. “When are you gonna stop pampering me?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. For a few weeks, she’d been turned off the smell of the brew. Now she inhaled the richness of it and sighed.

“Never,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Neil had been working in this kitchen since before she’d started cleaning rooms. Pretty soon his granddaughter would be looking for a summer job.

Eggs did sound good this morning, so she smiled. “You know how I like them,” she acquiesced. “Thanks, Neil. You’re a gem.”

“You betcha.”

Ten minutes later one of the waitstaff brought her breakfast, as well as a glass of milk. “Neil says you need your calcium,” Ellen said, and even though she was younger than Tori, her voice came across as motherly.

“Neil is being overprotective and I love it,” she remarked, smiling up at the waitress who’d joined their team last May. “Thanks.” She unrolled her cutlery from the napkin. “Everything going okay in the dining room?”

Ellen nodded. “Slower now that the leaves are gone and no one really comes for the beach.”

“I know. I’m sorry about the cut hours.”

“It’s okay. It’s a seasonal thing. We all get it.”

“We’ve got some holiday events planned, so if you’re up for working those, I’ll make sure you’re on the list for scheduling.” The ticketed events always meant decent tips, and Ellen’s eyes lit up.

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks, Tori.”

“No problem. It helps a bit when regular hours are short and Christmas is coming.” Besides, Ellen had proved herself to be competent and reliable. Throwing a few extra hours her way was small reward.

Once Ellen was gone, Tori dug into her breakfast. Neil had added cheese to her eggs, and a little parsley…delicious. There were two slices of honeydew and a little dish of fresh strawberries, plus a whole-grain bagel with her favorite topping—plain cream cheese sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

They really were a family around here, taking care of each other. Which was good for Tori, because it was only her and her mom now. Her mom, Shelley, was a nurse and had taken a job at the hospital in Lunenburg. It wasn’t far away, but after Tori’s father had died of cancer, Shelley had moved into an apartment right in the town for convenience. It put her about fifty kilometers away—close enough for weekly visits.

Tori put her hand on the swell of her belly. Now she was going to have her own family. And she was happy, deep down. The question of whether or not to have the baby hadn’t even been brought up. She didn’t have much family, and now she’d have a baby to love, and he or she would love her in return. Her mother would have a grandchild. Circumstances weren’t ideal, but Tori had started thinking of this pregnancy as a surprise blessing.

The bagel caught in her throat and she took a deep drink of the milk to wash it down along with the unease that kept nagging her when she thought of her decision not to tell the father—at least not yet. Every time she’d determined to say nothing, she heard her mother’s voice telling her that Jeremy deserved to know. The problem was, she agreed with her mom. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this from him forever. She just had to figure out the logistics. The right way.

Jeremy Fisher… What had she been thinking, getting caught up with him last summer? It had been two weeks of sheer bliss, during which time she’d completely lost her head. They’d agreed it was a holiday romance, and boy, had they made the most of their time together. When it was over, he’d gone back to his life in New York and she’d been left behind in small-town Nova Scotia, in a tiny house on the water. And that had been exactly as she’d wanted it. She wasn’t a fairy-tale kind of woman, with dreams of being whisked away to a lavish lifestyle and a happy ever after. Well, she had been, once. She’d been swept off her feet by a handsome man with tons of plans. Riley had seemed perfect on the surface. And she’d fallen for him, hard.

Until she realized he’d been living a double life. He’d showered her with gifts and affection, but behind it all was a history of defrauding people and going into debt. For a long time she’d blamed herself for being so stupid.

She bit into a strawberry and considered her summer affair. Perhaps her “relationship” with Jeremy had been different because from the start there had been no question that it would be anything other than a fling. Indeed, it had been quite out of character for her, considering he was a guest at the resort. But they’d been discreet. And after two years of hard work, losing her dad and feeling alone, she’d given herself permission to enjoy this one thing.

She hadn’t thought there’d be these kinds of consequences.

The power dynamic hadn’t mattered during those few weeks. But it mattered now. Jeremy was a rich, powerful man, and she was…well, not nobody. She had enough self-esteem to give herself that much. But she certainly didn’t have the same clout and resources at her disposal, and it made for a very uneven balance between them.

She shook her head and pushed her plate aside, eager to get to work. The hotel manager, Thomas, was on vacation this week, so it was up to Tori to steer the ship. She spent the morning at her desk, then met with the housekeeping manager and the catering manager about requirements for a holiday function scheduled for mid-December. There was a Christmas wedding planned for the weekend before the twenty-fifth, and another on New Year’s Eve, where the ceremony would actually begin just before midnight so the bride and groom would be the first married couple of the new year. They were making a number of special accommodations for that event, from late checkout the next day to food service at one in the morning. The couple was willing to pay, so the hotel was willing to take their business.

It was mid-afternoon when she got up to do a walk-around, to get out of her office and to talk to staff and see what was happening. It was her favorite time of the day, actually, chatting with the staff, wandering through her second home, caring for it with love and affection. She made a note of a ding in a corner wall that would need to be touched up with paint, and gave a mental check mark to whoever had cleaned the public bathrooms on the lobby level. They sparkled and smelled like the hotel’s custom lemongrass-and-ginger scent. She greeted staff by name and made a few more notes about additional Christmas decorations that could be added to the dining room and small on-site gift shop. Maybe business was slower this time of year, but for those who did arrive for an escape or a special dinner, the hotel would show to best advantage.

She was just returning to the administration offices when the front door blew open, bringing in a smattering of brown leaves and rain; a man was propelled in with them, shaking his arms to rid his coat of water droplets.

She turned to the sound…and froze.

“Tori?”

She’d never known that a person could feel blood rush out of their face, but she felt it now.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

He couldn’t be here. This was all wrong.

“Jeremy.”

He grinned widely, his thousand-watt smile hitting her right in the solar plexus. Why did he have to be so handsome? “I hoped you’d be here. What’s it been? Four months?”

Four months, three weeks, and five days, she wanted to answer, but nothing came out of her mouth. What was he doing here? And could she escape without him noticing the obvious?

No such luck. At her silence, his gaze swept down, then back up, and his eyes were filled with questions and confusion. Of course, she’d chosen today to unveil her new maternity wardrobe. Her condition was perfectly plain for all to see.

“Why don’t you step into my office?” she asked, pulling herself together. “We can catch up. What brings you back to the Sandpiper?” Her voice came out smooth and steady, thankfully. It wouldn’t do for him to see her discomposed.

She turned her back and started toward the offices, her body trembling. Not just because of the lie of omission he’d caught her in, but because just the sight of him still had the power to turn her knees to jelly.

It had been a very good few weeks, after all. Too good.

She heard his steps behind her and once they were in her office, she shut the door. Staff might be family, but they didn’t need to hear every conversation, and no one here knew the identity of her baby’s father. She and Jeremy had tried to be discreet.

Her office was small, and felt smaller still with him in it. She turned around and faced him, finally, attempting to put up an emotional wall so she could maintain her objectivity. It was harder than she’d imagined. Jeremy had a presence about him that was magnetic. Today he was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit with a precisely knotted tie, and an overcoat that protected him from the cold Atlantic wind. His hair was tousled, as though the ocean breeze had fingers it had run through the strands, making them seem carelessly styled, and tiny drops of rain sparkled on the top. And his eyes… Right now his eyes were the same steel gray as the white-capped waves along the shore. Cold and unhappy. Her tummy turned over with anxiety.

“What brings you back to the area?” she asked, feigning a smile, skirting around him to sit behind her desk. Her tummy was hidden that way…

“Real estate. And I thought I’d look you up again while I was here. I didn’t expect to find you pregnant.”

The blunt statement hit her like a slap. So much for the hope of him not cluing in. It had been a long shot but she’d held out a smidgen of hope that her top might have camouflaged her bump.

She shrugged. “To be honest, it was a surprise to me, too.”

“Is it mine?”

Her stomach plummeted. There was no beating around the bush with him. Never had been. Right from the start, he’d been up front about his attraction to her. He’d been staying in their best suite and she’d checked in on him on the first day to make sure everything was okay. They’d ended up chatting for a long time, about the area and about how different it was from his life in the Big Apple. When he’d invited her out for a drink she’d said yes, and it had been over a pomegranate martini that he’d told her she had the most intriguing eyes of anyone he’d ever met. She’d been charmed…and wooed.

She’d admired his confidence and honesty then, though she wasn’t such a big fan of it at this moment.

For the briefest time, she considered saying no. It would solve a lot. But that simple answer was complicated by the small matter of her conscience. She had already been struggling with the fact that she hadn’t yet told him about the pregnancy. Then there was a certain amount of integrity at stake. There had been no one else. He’d been the only one.

“Of course it is. I don’t…make a habit of what happened between us.”

He regarded her dispassionately. “How was I to know that? And were you ever going to tell me?”

Curse her and her honesty. She held his gaze, determined not to cower. “Eventually. And thanks for that wonderful endorsement of my character. It’s always pleasant to be shamed by your baby’s father.”

He let out a breath and turned away for a moment, before turning back again. His gray eyes were contrite. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. It’s just… This is a hell of a surprise, Tori.”

“Yes,” she said, “I’m sure it is.”

“When…how…?”

Tori picked up a pen and played with it, resolving to keep up her appearance of strength. “We both know the answer to that question. Early July, and presumably one of the times we had sex.”

She did not call it making love, though it had certainly felt like that at the time. Her cheeks heated as a memory swept through her. As hokey as it sounded, she had a feeling that she knew exactly when it had happened. They’d spent the day at the beach, splashing about in the water and having a picnic on the sand. And then in the late afternoon they’d gone back to her place and had finished off the day by taking their sweet time with each other.

He’d been a fantastic lover. Gentle, attentive, passionate.

Now, with him standing in her office, at the very least unhappy and very likely angry, those sweet memories were somehow tarnished.

He let out a huge breath. “May I sit?”

She held out a hand. “Of course.” She wasn’t exactly in a position to deny him anything right now, was she? The fears she’d had about him knowing about the baby were all crammed into her brain and she fought hard to ignore them. Perhaps she could put him off somehow, so she could prepare what she wanted to say to him.

He pulled out the guest chair, then shrugged out of his coat and laid it over the back before sitting. He leaned forward onto his knees, resting on his elbows. Tori bit down on her lip. It wasn’t fair that he was so handsome. His brown hair and strong chin were reminiscent of JFK Jr., to her mind, but instead of his eyes being a rich brown, they were gray and heavily lashed. And right now they were looking at her with something like accusation and disappointment in their depths.

“I’m going to be a father,” he said, his voice rough. “You’re halfway through your pregnancy… When were you going to tell me?”

Her hands shook so she folded them on top of her desk. “I don’t know. I was waiting for the right time, and I’ve been going back and forth about it every day.” She figured honesty was the best policy here; Jeremy would see through any attempt to mollify or placate him, and he’d definitely sense a lie.

His voice hardened. “I have a right to know.”

This was the hard part. Just this morning she’d come to work like any other day. There was comfort in that. More than anything, Jeremy transported her out of her comfort zone and she struggled to find her feet in order to deal with this conversation.

She met his gaze again. “Our circumstances are a bit unique, you know. We had a fling. We live far apart, in two very different worlds. And I have no idea how to structure a co-parenting arrangement with someone who is, in many ways, a stranger.” She took a breath. “You have resources I don’t and I would lose in any sort of power struggle if you made a play for custody.” There. She’d said it. No sense beating around the bush.

He sat back then, the questions in his eyes replaced by… Could it be? He was hurt by her last statement. Or at least offended. Her pulse was hammering so hard right now she couldn’t quite trust her observations.

“Do you really think I’d do such a thing?”

She sat up straighter. “As I said, we don’t really know each other, do we? It wasn’t a chance I was willing to take. I’d die before letting someone take my baby away.”

Jeremy tried to breathe through the cramping in his chest. He’d been looking forward to surprising Tori today. Work had brought him back to the area on behalf of a client and he’d imagined reigniting the flame that had raged between them last summer. Truthfully, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head, and this work trip on Branson’s behalf had given him the perfect excuse to get her out of his system once and for all.

Instead he’d found her carrying his baby. The pregnancy shook him to the core, but the veiled accusation he’d just heard…that was a real gut punch.

He was a straight shooter and liked to think he was a good man. But right now he held back the words forming in his brain and those already stuck in his throat. Because he was confused, and angry, and another emotion he couldn’t quite place. Hurt was part of it. And maybe disappointed. It was just a mess.

With his child stuck in the middle.

This was his worst nightmare. A family, kids—a wife, even—were not on his agenda.

“We used protection,” he said numbly.

“Which isn’t a hundred percent reliable. We were pretty careful, but…” Her hazel eyes met his. “Not careful enough, I guess. Believe me, this was not planned.”

His suit jacket felt too tight, and his tie strangled his throat. But he kept his hands firm on the arms of the chair. His gaze stole to her midsection again, though most of it was hidden behind the desk.

His child. With a woman he barely knew, someone with whom he had simply enjoyed a few weeks during a summer trip. And he’d come here with the sole objective of hooking up with her again. He ran his hand over his face.

He should have known that someday his behavior was going to land him in trouble. That eventually his casual approach to relationships would come back to bite him. No words of I love you, no commitments, no strings. That was how he liked it. And even though he’d enjoyed his time here, a few states and an international border had made Tori Sharpe seem like a perfectly safe…distraction.

He wasn’t really a player, but he’d classify his approach to romance as…cavalier. His best friend Cole called him a serial dater. Branson had silently agreed with the assessment. He hadn’t had a relationship that had lasted over a month since college.

He let out a breath and tried to relax his shoulders. “Okay. So the news is out now, like it or not.” He pinned her with his gaze. “And I have no idea what to do.”

The lines in her face softened. “That’s okay. I do. I don’t expect anything from you, Jeremy. I’m not going to come after you for exorbitant amounts of child support or anything. I’m going to raise this baby right here. I have tons of friends I can count on, and my mom is here, and we’ll be as happy as anything. I’ll even sign papers if you want.”

No child support? No contact? And raising the baby in this small town that was nearly dead in the off-season?

“Anything but that,” he replied.

CHAPTER TWO

AFTER JEREMY’S LAST statement, tensions had ratcheted up again. Tori had asserted that nothing was going to be decided that afternoon and perhaps they could pick up the discussion later after they’d both had time to think. He hadn’t looked happy, but Tori knew they could have gone around in circles indefinitely. It was going to take time to sort out, and she needed time to decide what she really wanted and how best to present it to Jeremy. Being caught on the fly had only made her panic, though she’d tried to cover it up as best she could.

She could compromise on a lot of things, but not on the basics. The baby would live here, with her. As far as his involvement went, that was negotiable. Now that he knew, she could hardly shut him out of everything and pretend he didn’t exist if that wasn’t what he wanted.

If she tried to cut him out of the baby’s life, she had the suspicious feeling he’d start throwing his weight around. And he had the money and connections to make things difficult. The fantasy bubble in which she’d held the memories of their time together was truly popped. It was like her mom said—if it seemed too good to be true, it probably was.

What a tightrope she was going to have to walk. Hopefully he was in town for only a few days.

He’d gone to check in to his room and she logged in to the reservations system to get the details of his stay. To her dismay, she discovered he’d booked twelve days. That took them well into December. And it was more than enough time for things to go seriously wrong. She tapped her fingers on her desk. How the heck was she supposed to navigate this?

She thought back to earlier, when she’d admitted flat out that she’d lose in a power struggle. His gray eyes had looked so shocked that she’d even think such a thing. He’d run his fingers through his hair, and his throat had bobbed as he swallowed. Her words had left their mark, and it boded well as far as being able to reach him. He wasn’t a cold and calculating monster, though she knew he was a tough negotiator when pushed. Watching him work closing deals last summer had shown her that, and she’d admired him for it at the time.

His wounded expression had also touched something in her heart she wished didn’t exist. She cared about him. Two weeks together in the summer had been more than enough time for her to develop feelings. Not love, certainly, but definitely affection. It hadn’t all been sexual. He’d been charming, and funny, and smart. In fact, he’d been nearly perfect. Even if she’d been absolutely fine knowing their time together would be no more than a whirlwind fling, it was hard to erase all of those memories and see him dispassionately as the father of her unborn child. He wasn’t just a sperm donor.

One morning they’d basked in the sunlight streaming through the bedroom window and he’d told her about why he loved real estate. It wasn’t just about the bargaining or the money. As his fingers had traced down her arm, he’d said it was about finding homes for people, places where they belonged and could be happy. And when he’d realized he’d let her in, he’d immediately backtracked and said it was just a big bonus that his clients were all stinkin’ rich.

But it had been a defense mechanism, she was sure. And she’d liked that glimpse into the man, and not just the fantasy.

Perhaps the best way to reach him was to approach the situation on a very human level. She could do that and still keep her other feelings locked away, right?

She put her hand on her tummy, wondering when she was going to start feeling the baby move. So far she had the bump but she hadn’t really felt much. A few times she wondered if she might be feeling flutterings of movement, but she’d been told they were probably just gas.

Either way, she’d do what she had to in order to make sure her baby was loved and secure.

Whatever it took. Even being super nice to Jeremy Fisher.

The mile-long beach in front of the Sandpiper Resort was beautiful, even in late November. The waves were now more gray than blue, and the wind was raw, but there was a wildness to it that Jeremy loved, and the sound of the waves soothed his troubled mind.

Because he was, indeed, very troubled.

He’d left his running shoes on, meaning he’d have to shake them out later as the sand, even in the November chill, was still soft and thick. The wind whipped his hair around and made his jacket billow out behind him. Just a few months ago he’d walked this very beach with Tori. She’d worn a red bikini and had left her hair down, damp with seawater. They’d had so much fun; fun that had been missing in his life for too long. For those two weeks he’d put his troubles aside and let himself go. She had, too, or at least he’d thought so. They’d shared a blanket on the beach and soaked in the sun’s rays; nibbled at a picnic prepared by the hotel kitchen; plucked seashells out of the damp sand that she said she was going to keep in her bathroom.

And then she’d taken him to her house and they’d spent hours exploring each other.

Just the memory made his body react, and he briefly considered jumping into the ocean, fully clothed, to cool off.

It had been easy being with her, because he’d known all along that he’d be leaving again. She wasn’t his usual type of woman; his family and his money generally ensured that his dates were not of the small-town, girl-next-door variety, and being with her had been utterly refreshing. Now he’d be tied to her forever, because she was having his kid and there was no way on earth he would abandon his own child. He’d never planned to have any children, but he had to deal with the reality that he was going to be a father, and he was determined to be a better one than his own had been.

But how could he demand that Tori uproot her life? That wasn’t fair either, and as much as Jeremy was used to getting what he wanted, he was a fair man. Or at least he wanted to think so.

He needed a plan. He was having a hard time formulating one because he was still stuck on the idea that he was going to be a dad.

The idea was terrifying.

The raw wind bit through his jacket right to his bones as he carried on down the beach. His own parents had divorced when he was two, and he barely remembered his dad. Too often he’d been a pawn in battles between his parents, to the point where he’d often felt like a commodity rather than a son. His mother had remarried when he was four, and his siblings had been much older than him. By the time he’d started high school, his sister had been eighteen and starting college, and his brother, ten years his senior, had already been working in Silicon Valley. Jeremy had gone to prep school, away from home.

From the outside he’d certainly looked like a child of great privilege. There had always been money. There hadn’t been a lot of love or warm fuzzies.

He stopped and stared out into the white-topped waves. Yesterday he’d watched as Tori cradled her gently swelling tummy and he’d seen the beatific expression on her face. That sort of maternal affection was completely foreign to him.

No matter what, he wouldn’t take this baby away from her. And he or she would never be a pawn in some battle. Not if he could help it.

He started the mile-long walk back to the resort, his thoughts still churning. It would be different if Tori forced his hand. What if she tried to shut him out? He wouldn’t try to shut her out, but he wasn’t about to let her keep him from being a part of the baby’s life. He didn’t want his child growing up feeling unloved, or that he didn’t care. The situation had to be handled with delicacy, that was for sure.

When he was almost to the resort, he looked up and saw a figure moving around the deck that in the summer had been a patio restaurant. The woman wore a heavy coat and a headband covered her ears, a dark ponytail keeping her hair tamed and out of her face in the brisk wind. The swirl of tension in his gut told him that it was Tori, even though her back was to him. On closer examination, he saw that she was stringing lights along the railing.

He jogged up to the main resort building and climbed the steps leading from the beach to the deck. “That’s a cold job,” he called out, and her head snapped up, the strands of lights forgotten in her fingers.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I didn’t hear you over the wind and waves.”

He opened the gate and stepped onto the deck. He had gloves on his hands, but her fingers were bare and red. “You should be wearing gloves.”

“They make my fingers too clunky,” she answered, going back to the string of lights.

Jeremy moved forward and took them from her, then removed his gloves, tucked them beneath his arm, and took her hands in his. They were icy cold, and he chafed his fingers over hers to warm them. “Here. Put these on.”

“Jeremy, I’m—”

“Shh. They’re warm.” He tugged the gloves over her fingers. They were too big, but she flexed her hands and he knew the material still held some of his heat.

Moments ago he’d been ready to take her on if she decided to play hardball. Now he was giving her gloves for her cold fingers. For a moment he wondered if he was a weak man, but then he reminded himself that being on good terms would only help matters in the end.

“Let me do a few of these. You show me how you want them.”

“I’m just looping them on each post, see?” She held out a hand full of tie wraps. “Putting these on them, and snipping the ends with cutters.”

Unease slipped through him. She was looping them, certainly, but he went back and saw how she did it and tried to re-create the same positioning of the string, though it took a few tries. And the tie wrap… He figured out that one end went through the other and he had to pull it tight, but it was a foreign sensation. He was not a handy kind of guy, in any sense. Someone had always done that sort of thing at home. He had many talents. Being handy was not one of them.

Ugh. He really was a spoiled brat, wasn’t he?

She reached into her pocket for her cutters, then tightened his wrap a bit more and snipped the end. “Have you never hung Christmas lights?” she asked.

“First time,” he admitted, pulling on the strand until it was taut again. His fingers were already getting cold; how had she managed to put this many up without getting frostbite? But he pushed on because he didn’t want her to think he was a wimp or completely inept. Together they positioned, fastened and clipped the lights into place. Once they traded gloves so he could warm his hands, too, and then he put the lights up and over the arched entrance to the deck. “Will anyone even come out here?” he asked, trying hard not to shiver. He was pretty sure he couldn’t feel his ears anymore.

“No. But we always put the lights up and a lit tree out here. It looks nice from the beach and also from the dining room.”

He clapped his hands together for warmth. “You mean we still have to do a tree?”

“What’s the matter, not used to the cold?”

New York got plenty cold in the winter, but the icy wind off the ocean was going right through him today. When he didn’t answer right away, she laughed—a soft, musical sound that suddenly made him feel lighter. “Your ears are pink. We’d better get you inside. Don’t worry, we set up the tree inside and then move it out. Thanks for your help, though. My fingers appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Despite the cold, it had been kind of fun.

She looked at her watch. “It’s nearly noon. Do you want to come in for some lunch? Or do you have appointments?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have an appointment until two, so I have an hour to spare.”

She opened the door that led from the deck to the dining room. “Our chef, Neil, does a curried carrot and ginger soup that is amazing. Definitely cold-weather comfort food.”

They went inside and he watched as Tori went to the bar and spoke to the server behind the counter. When she came back, she led them to a table near the fireplace and hung her jacket over a chair. “Phew,” she said, sitting down. “I’m not going to lie, that fire feels wonderful.”

There were a handful of guests in the dining room, but it was otherwise quiet. “Not your busy time of year, huh?”

She shook her head as he took the chair opposite her. “No. The weekends are busier. People out for dinner, and our Sunday brunch is amazing.” She looked up, and he got caught in her eyes again. Today her hazel eyes looked more green than brown, and her thick lashes made them seem bigger. He wondered if their baby would have her eyes.

“I’ll have to try it while I’m here.”

He sat back when the waitress came over with a basket of warm rolls and pats of butter. “Your lunch will be right out, Ms. Sharpe.”

“Thank you, Ellen.”

Tori looked up at him, a smile on her lips. “You warming up yet? Your ears aren’t quite so pink.”

He chuckled a little, his gaze stuck on her lips. Just his luck he couldn’t quite forget kissing them. There could be none of that now. “The fire is helping. The wind is so bitter today.”

“So why were you walking the beach?” she asked, picking up a roll and breaking it in half.

“Thinking,” he replied, meeting her gaze. “I had a lot to think about.”

“And did you come to any conclusions?”

Her voice was calm, but he could see a tightening around her mouth. She was nervous about this, too. It gave him a little comfort. The lives they’d both built—separately—were about to be disrupted.

“A few,” he admitted. “But I’m not sure you’re ready to hear them.”

CHAPTER THREE

UNEASE SETTLED THROUGH HER, making her limbs feel heavy and her breath short. This was never going to be easy, but despite all the thinking she’d been doing the last twenty-four hours, she felt ill-prepared for whatever was going to come out of his mouth next.

She nibbled on a corner of the roll, though her appetite was diminishing rapidly. “Oh?” she asked, keeping her voice deceptively light.

He met her gaze and held it. “One thing is for sure, Tori—I can’t go back to New York and pretend that this isn’t happening. I’m going to be a father. I’m not going to abandon you or my child.”

Tears stung her eyes and she looked down at the napkin in her lap. It was lovely to know that he accepted the pregnancy and wanted to be a part of their baby’s life. But it stung that they were no more than an obligation to him; that he was tied to them out of duty and DNA and not affection.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“And whatever you need, you only have to ask. You need to know I’m willing and able to support you financially.”

Financially. She clenched her fingers into fists under the table.

“Tori?”

She’d been silent so long he reached over and touched her arm, prompting her to look up. She took a deep breath, met his gaze and said quite clearly, “Thank you, Jeremy. But I’m quite able to provide for us.”

His expression grew puzzled as his brows knit together. “Then what do you want from me?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. Time, I suppose. To figure this out.”

He looked at her tummy and then back to her face, and a hint of a smile quirked at the corner of his lips. “Well, we are on a bit of a ticking clock, don’t you think? And it’s halfway to midnight.”

She raised her eyebrow in response. “I’m hardly Cinderella. Or a damsel in distress that needs rescuing.”

At that moment their lunch was served; piping-hot bowls of soup along with bacon-and-avocado paninis that seemed to satisfy some sort of craving of Tori’s right now.

“This smells delicious.”

“It is. I’m kind of addicted to these sandwiches. I’m not sure if it’s the avocado or the bacon that the baby likes so much, but it’s my favorite.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, and then Jeremy spoke again. “This feels so weird. Last summer…”

His voice trailed away and Tori’s cheeks heated. Last summer she’d felt about ten years younger and stupidly carefree. Days on the beach, toes in the sand, love in the middle of the day. She’d told herself she deserved a bit of fun, but she’d been careless. They both had.

“Last summer was just…what it was.” She wiped her lips with her napkin and tried to calm the rapid beat of her heart. “We got carried away. We were impulsive, and now there are consequences. We can’t be impulsive this time, Jeremy. We have to make the right decisions.”

“I know.”

She thought of her mom, who was both dismayed at how the pregnancy had occurred and ecstatic about being a grandmother. There were just the two of them now. She was an only child, a bit of a miracle baby, really, since her mother had been told she’d probably never conceive. Her grandparents lived in Newfoundland and she rarely saw them. Her father had died two years earlier. Tori felt a certain responsibility to be there for her mom. Without Tori, Shelley had no family.

She looked at Jeremy. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”

“One of each.”

The topic had never come up during their few weeks of bliss. Now that Tori thought back to those sun-soaked days, she realized that anytime she had gotten close to talking about his family, he’d changed the subject. Even now, he didn’t offer any explanations. Just “one of each.”

“And your parents? Are they both back in New York?”

“My mother is in Connecticut. My father lives in the Virgin Islands. They divorced when I was little.”

He picked up his sandwich and took a bite, but his face was set in a grim expression even as he chewed. Her heart sank a bit. It would be a shame if he wasn’t close with his family. What would that mean for their child?

“Cousins? Favorite aunts and uncles?”

He swallowed and wiped his fingers on his napkin. “What’s the point of this family tree examination?”

All the warmth from earlier was gone from his voice, and she withdrew a little bit. “We just…don’t know much about each other, that’s all. And it seems strange under the circumstances. Besides…” She lifted her chin a bit. “These people are going to be our baby’s family, too. Isn’t it right I know more about them?”

He took a drink of water and put down his glass, then placed his napkin on the table as he rose. “I’m sorry, but I really should head out to my appointment. Thank you for lunch.”

He took a step to pass the table and she reached out to put a hand on his arm. “Is your family so bad you won’t even talk about them?”

He looked down at her, and she couldn’t read his eyes at all. They were flinty gray and shuttered, keeping her from seeing anything too personal. “It’s not something to discuss over lunch.”

“Then later?”

He moved his arm out from beneath her hand. “I’ve got to go, Tori.”

The way he said her name at the end told her he wasn’t as closed off as he appeared. Perhaps what they really needed was some time away from prying eyes to discuss properly what the pregnancy meant—to both of them.

“Drive carefully,” she replied and shifted in her seat, letting him off the hook.

When he was gone she tried to finish her sandwich, but her appetite had gone with him.

The hot shower was exactly what Jeremy needed after the long day. This afternoon he’d visited three different properties along the South Shore, looking for the perfect home for his client, Branson Black, who was also a former classmate and one of his closest friends. Black was nearly as rich as Jeremy, but he wanted little to do with the money, which Jeremy couldn’t quite understand. His instructions were to find a property with a view of the ocean and away from just about everything else. Jeremy was all about giving the client what he or she wanted, but he worried that Bran was trying to hide away from life and not just recover from recent trauma.

Still, he’d found one that he felt was perfect, and under three million. It even came with its own lighthouse, which, of course, was defunct but still lent the property an air of history and uniqueness. He had appointments to see several others during the week, though, before narrowing the choices down to send to Bran.

Being next to the ocean all day, walking the properties, had chilled him to the bone. He’d warmed himself during walk-throughs and by cranking the heat in the car, but the hot shower and warm hotel were more than welcome once he returned.

The hotel might be cozy, but Jeremy’s thoughts were not.

He kept messing things up with Tori. He should have known that she’d start asking questions about his family. She was that type. Girl-next-door, nurturing, home-and-family type. He’d always been able to spot them because theirs had been so very different from his own upbringing. Last summer she’d talked about her mom a lot, and missing her dad, and Jeremy had always changed the subject. She didn’t need to know that his dad had walked out when he was a little boy and that his mother hadn’t been much of a mother at all; she’d left that to the nannies—plural, because his mother tended to hire young women looking to gain some “adventure” by working for rich families for a year or two and then moving on. Some had been nice. Some had been tolerable, more excited about the money and their days off. The last one had had an affair with his stepfather, and that had been the end of the nannies and the beginning of the talk about boarding school. His stepdad had stayed. Jeremy had been sent away.

But it had been a blessing, really. When he’d finished middle school, he’d been sent to out-of-the-way Merrick Hall. And there he’d found his family—of sorts. Including Branson.

He tugged on a warm sweater and called down to room service for dinner. When it was delivered forty minutes later, he opened the door to find Tori’s soft face behind the cart.

“Room service,” she said softly, and offered a timid smile.

He couldn’t find it in himself to stay irritated. He opened the door wide and let her in, watching her hips sway as she moved the cart into the room. He swallowed thickly. Tori Sharpe was no less attractive now than she’d been five months ago. There was a subtle sexuality about her that was alluring. And when she turned around and the gentle swell of her tummy was visible, his heart gave a little thump. That was his child in there. He had no idea what to do but he knew for sure he wanted to be a better dad than his own had been.

“It’s late. I didn’t think you’d still be working,” he said, then realized how critical he must sound right now. “Thank you for bringing it,” he added, trying to be less of a jerk. After all, he’d walked out of their lunch like a coward.

“I waited for you to come back,” she admitted, her dark eyes troubled. “I didn’t like how we left things at lunch, and I wanted to say I was sorry for prying.”

“You had a right to ask those questions. It’s not your fault I don’t like answering them.”

She folded her hands in front of her. “You should eat while it’s hot. Let me set this up for you.”

He watched as she set a place at the small table and chair by the window of the suite, poured his beer into a glass and whisked the cover off his entrée to reveal a glistening steak surrounded by roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus and button mushrooms in garlic butter. It smelled heavenly, and his stomach growled in response.

“Have you eaten?”

“I have,” she said. “So please, sit down. I’ll leave you to it.”

She turned to go and was almost to the door when he said, “Tori? Stay.”

The moment she paused seemed filled with…well, surely not possibility? There was a change though, somehow. As if the invitation marked a willing step toward discussion. Intention, rather than dancing around the topic or taking the temperature of the situation.

And when she turned back around and faced him, his stomach quivered. He didn’t let himself get too personally involved with anyone, but he was going to have to with her, wasn’t he? At least if he wanted more of a relationship with his kid than sending a support check every month.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I was rude this afternoon. I’m sorry about that.”

She took a single step toward him. “Neither of us knows how to navigate this. It’s an unusual situation.”

He gestured to the seat across the table from his food. “Come sit. Do you want some tea? Or anything else sent up?”

“There’s water on the cart. I’ll grab one of your glasses and have some. That’s all I need.”

He waited until she had her water and then they sat together. It felt wrong, eating while she wasn’t, but the food was delicious and by her own admission she’d had dinner already. The asparagus was done to perfection and the steak mouthwateringly medium, just as he’d requested.

“Your chef is very good,” he said. “This is delicious.”

“Tastes here aren’t terribly adventurous, so he does simple things well and adds a bit of flair when he can. But no one leaves hungry.” She smiled. “Neil has been here a long time, and the rest of the kitchen staff have trained under him. It makes for a consistent culinary experience.”

The resort wasn’t as glamorous as some he’d stayed in, but he had no complaints.

“And you’ve been here a long time, too.”

She lifted her water glass. “Since I was in high school. I started in housekeeping. Then moved to waitressing when I was legal age. Front desk for a while, too.”

“You trained yourself to know the different departments,” he observed, and her cheeks colored a little.

“I wanted to be in administration. For a while I was the events manager, in charge of special functions. Then when the assistant manager retired, I applied for the job and got it. This week, I’m acting manager since Tom is away on vacation. Saint Lucia, lucky thing!”

“And your mom is here. You have strong ties.”

“The strongest. My mom doesn’t have anyone else, really. As far as family goes, that is. Of course, she has friends.”

“As do you.”

Her brow furrowed. “Well, yes.”

“And so you probably wouldn’t consider moving.”

Her hand stilled halfway to the table, the glass trembling in her fingers. “Moving? As in…”

“Nearer to me. So our baby could be close to both parents.”

“Not with you.”

His eyes widened. Did she think he was going to ask her to move in with him? Or “do the right thing” and propose? Their affair had been amazing, but there wasn’t love between them.

“This isn’t the fifties. We don’t have to get married to parent this child. But I did wonder if you’d consider moving somewhere closer to, well, me. Of course, I’d look after everything financially.”

Her throat worked for several seconds while she studied her fingers, then looked up. Her eyes were clear and there was no censure on her face, either. “It’s a generous offer, Jeremy. But my life is here, as you just heard. I’m truly glad you want to be a part of his or her life, but I’m not prepared to completely uproot mine to make that happen, any more than you’re willing to uproot yours.”

She was right. If the shoe were on the other foot, he’d never agree to leaving his life behind and moving to small-town Nova Scotia. They were from totally different worlds.

“I respect that,” he said, putting down his knife and fork. “I really do. But I thought I should at least put the possibility on the table.”

“Of course.”

“We don’t have to decide right away, right? You’ve got a few more months to go.”

She nodded. Then her expression softened. “About today… I’m sorry if I picked at a sore spot. Was your childhood awful? Is that why you don’t talk about your family?”

He sliced into the steak and considered. She was going to find out at some point, wasn’t she? All she had to do was get on the internet and do a bit of digging and she’d find out who he was. “My older sister works on Wall Street. And my big brother moved to California straight out of MIT. He worked for a few start-ups right out of college and then started his own. Now he’s CEO of a Fortune 500 tech company.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Being in property, I’m kind of the underachiever of the family.”

“But property is a huge investment,” she contradicted, and he was amused and a bit flattered that she jumped to his defense. “And you don’t sell average houses. Your clientele are all rich, right?”

“Yeah. Dropping a few mil on a house is no big deal for them.” He realized she had no idea exactly how wealthy he was, and it both amused and pleased him.

“It’s a whole other world.”

He looked at her and held her gaze. “They’re people, just like anyone else. They have their own pressures, insecurities, heartache. It’s true that money can’t buy happiness, you know.”

“But it sure can help take some of the stress off,” she remarked, leaning back in her chair. “So how much are you worth, Jeremy?”

She said it lightly, teasing even, but he figured now was the time to be honest.

“One point two billion,” he replied.

She burst out laughing, then stopped abruptly as he merely kept watching her. He knew it was a crazy sum of money. Some days he didn’t believe it himself.

“Wait. You’re not joking.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You’ve made that much money in realty?” Her lips dropped open in disbelief.

“Hardly.” He pushed his plate away, leaving a few little potatoes, and reached for the beer. “But I had a big trust fund—the one thing my dad left me. And I have a sister on Wall Street who manages my money for me. Add all my assets together…and you get that number.”

She breathed out a couple of curse words that made him grin. “I always knew you had money, but…holy—”

“Our child won’t have to worry about a thing, and neither will you.” On impulse, he leaned over and took her hand. “I don’t know what this is going to look like, but I do know this. I promise that I will never abandon you or our kid. If that means we’re just friendly and we co-parent, then that’s how it’ll be. But if you need anything at all, you just have to pick up the phone. I’ll be there for you.”

He meant every word. He also knew that what he’d just said had essentially tied him to her for the rest of his life.

What had he just done?

CHAPTER FOUR

TORI TRIED TO quell the thrill that slid through her as Jeremy took her hand and promised to be there for her and their child. He was a tough man to resist at any time, but right now, with her hand in his, and the knowledge that he was a freaking billionaire swimming through her brain, she was quite overwhelmed.

She didn’t care that he had bags of money. It wasn’t that. It was just that she’d never met anyone quite this rich before. She certainly hadn’t known last summer. It shouldn’t change him in her eyes, but it did. He was so out of her league.

Not as a person; she knew that money and character were two very different things. But in worldly ways, he was on a whole other plane of existence.

“I don’t know what to say,” she responded, biting down on her lip. “I had no idea that… Well, Jeremy.” She let out a big breath. “I’ll make you a promise in return. I promise that I will never exploit the fact that you have money. I don’t want us to use money against each other, you know? Either how much we have or the lack of it.”

“Me, either. I want us to figure this out in a way that’s best for our baby.”

“You really do believe everything, don’t you? About it being yours and everything?”

He let out a sigh. “I didn’t react so well when I saw you were pregnant. But yes, I believe you.”

“When the baby is born we can do a DNA test. I wasn’t going to do an amnio if I could avoid it. The idea freaks me out.”

“A what?”

“An amniocentesis. It’s a test where they insert this needle and withdraw a bit of the amniotic fluid—”

He shuddered. “Ouch, and gross.”

She laughed. “Yeah. And there are some risks involved. I didn’t want to take any chances.”

“So you really do want the baby.”

She nodded. “I do. It wasn’t planned, but I… I don’t have much family. And I like children, a lot.”

Her clock hadn’t really begun ticking yet, not at twenty-eight, but she couldn’t lie. She’d been starting to think about a family the last few years. This pregnancy was inconvenient and a shock, yes. But also a blessing.

“I’m not close to mine, as you might have gathered.” He took a long pull of his beer and pursed his lips. “I’m closest to my sister, and we both live in New York so we see each other most of anyone. But my brother… He’s on his third marriage already and does his own thing.”

“And your mom?”

“She’s still at the family home in Connecticut. Married to my stepfather. Socializing with the right people, that sort of thing. My dad left and she got the house. Not much else, but we all had our trust funds and she married again within a few years. She made sure she was looked after.”

There was a bitterness in his voice he couldn’t disguise, and Tori wondered about the little boy he must have been. “I take it she wasn’t the nurturing type?”

He laughed—a short, mocking sound. “Not an ounce,” he replied, then drained his beer glass. He got up, went to the minibar, and took out a bottle of Cape Breton whiskey, adding a significant splash to a highball glass. He swirled it for a moment before turning and looking at her. “My mom was a social climber. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. I see the type. And when Dad left, she lost her ticket. She would have had to sell the house and finish bringing us up on her own. Instead she married Bruce, and since she came with the house, he brought the rest of his money and status was restored. Some investments on her part paid for our college. Bruce, apparently, was more than happy to pay my four years of tuition to boarding school. I wasn’t really home after I finished eighth grade.”

He downed the whiskey in one gulp, and poured another.

She sat quietly. First of all, clearly the topic was painful to him, because he was fortifying himself with alcohol. And secondly, as much as his words were delivered in a factual, who-gives-a-care way, she could tell that the lack of affection had left its mark on him.

Tori couldn’t imagine not loving your own child, or considering them in the way. Or sending them away, at such a difficult age.

“Where did you go?”

“Merrick Hall, an all-boys school in Connecticut. Very Dead Poets Society with old buildings and rituals and dormitories. Top-notch learning, though.” He must have seen her alarmed look because he attempted a smile and went to her. “It was fine, really,” he assured her. “I belonged there. I met my best friends there. And despite my cold family, I do have some really great friends.”

Tori let out a breath. “Oh, of course you do. But now I understand your reluctance. Do you still see your mother? Your stepfather?”

He nodded. “Now and again. Despite everything, she is my mother.”

Tori was glad. Estrangement could be such a horrible thing.

“So now you know what I didn’t want to talk about over lunch.” He sipped at his drink this time, to her relief. “I don’t know what kind of father I’ll make. But I promise to try. Any kid of mine is going to feel wanted and loved. Not in the way.”

He said it with such finality that Tori’s heart broke just a little. She’d been brought up in a home with so much love. It was incomprehensible to think of a parent being so careless and dismissive, but she knew it happened.

She looked up at Jeremy, at his dark hair and stormy eyes and cheeks, slightly flushed from the day’s wind and the warm whiskey. She wanted to reach up and brush the errant curl off his forehead, to smooth the creases on his forehead, to see his lips curve in a smile again. But she kept her hands to herself, knowing that touching him, kissing him, would only make matters more complicated than they already were.

“Then we’re going to be fine,” she whispered, twisting her fingers together to keep from reaching out. “Because that’s what I want, too. And we’ll figure out the rest of the details somehow.”

Their gazes held for a few seconds, and then a few seconds more, long enough for something to stir between them. Her body remembered what his felt like and ached to feel it pressed against her again. She remembered how he tasted, the way he angled his head to kiss her, and how he nibbled at her lower lip before taking a kiss deeper.

She stepped back, unwilling to cross that line again. “I should go. It’s getting late and I’m on shift again tomorrow.”

“When do you get a day off?”

“On Thursday, when Tom is back from his holiday.”

“I’ll have narrowed down some properties by then. Why don’t you come along for some second walk-throughs? Some of these places are really stunning. You can tell me where we should eat lunch and we can make a day of it.”

She frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“How are we going to manage to parent together if we can’t get through a day in each other’s company?”

He made sense, even though Tori knew it was simplifying the matter. “Well, all right. If the weather is good. And as long as nothing comes up here.”

“Of course.”

She began to clear his plate and dinner mess and put it back on the room service cart. “You don’t have to do that,” he said.

She laughed. “Sure I do. I work here, remember? I’ll drop it off at the kitchen and then go home.”

He opened the door for her and she wheeled the cart out into the hall. Then she looked back at him. “Thanks for telling me about your family, Jeremy,” she said. “I know you didn’t want to.”

“It’s out there now,” he replied, leaning on the door. “Just please…don’t judge me on the basis of my relatives. I’ve tried very hard to be…different.”

“I judge a person on what I see them do,” she answered, and gave him a smile. “So far you’re in the clear.”

He smiled back then, a sexy sideways little slice of amusement. “I’ll see you soon.” Then with a little laugh, he backed up and shut the door.

She wheeled the cart down the hallway to the elevator while trying to calm her thrumming pulse. Amity was better than enmity, for sure, but how was she going to deal with a smiling Jeremy? Because she still found him incredibly attractive. Still got that light feeling in her chest when he smiled at her. And with their baby on the way, she couldn’t afford to let her head get into the clouds.

Life wasn’t made of fairy tales. It just had reality, and this was hers. She’d better figure it out.

Thursday dawned bright and clear, and after a brief meeting with Tom to bring him up to speed, Tori bundled up in her warm parka and gloves. Her knee-high boots and leggings were comfortable and warmer than she would have been in a skirt. The jacket was a bit snug around the waist, and she tugged on the zipper to get it over her growing bump. She supposed a new coat would be on the shopping list, but she hated spending the money on something she’d wear for only one winter.

Jeremy was waiting in the lounge sipping on coffee when she emerged from her office. To be honest, she was looking forward to the morning. There were worse things than wandering through luxury homes. She loved flipping through magazines and seeing the fancy decor. Now she could see some in person. Maybe even get some ideas for the hotel.

“Hi there.”

Jeremy turned around and she tried not to stare. He was in suit pants and shoes, with a soft wool coat and plaid scarf around his neck. His hair was finger-combed back from his face, making it seem groomed but carelessly so.

“Hi, yourself. Do you want a tea for the road? Something hot?”

“No, I’m fine. I had a decaf in the office with Tom this morning. You’re ready?”

“Just let me get this in a travel cup and I will be.” He flashed her a smile—another jolt to her heart—and beckoned for the waitress to grab him a cup. Within seconds he had his hand at the base of Tori’s spine, solicitously leading her out to his rental.

It was a freaking Jaguar.

He held the door and she slid into the sleek interior, the soft leather cradling her like it was shaped to her bottom. It was cold, but in moments he had the heater turned up and her heated seat on. A map on the console flashed and he hit a preset for one of the properties, and then they were on the road, heading toward Bridgewater.

“Where are we going first?”

He tapped the wheel along with the satellite radio station that was playing. “A house in the Pleasantville area. On the LaHave River.”

“I know the area.”

“Branson’s looking for a place to…well, regroup, I guess. He’s had a rough year.”

“Branson?”

“My client. And my friend.”

“How has his year been rough?”

Jeremy frowned. “It’s not really my place to say, you know? He’s a private guy, and I respect that. But if he wants to be invisible, I’m going to help him get what he needs and make sure it’s a good investment. I don’t think he’ll live here full-time, at least not after a while.” He looked over at Tori. “As his friend, my hope is he’ll put himself back together, and use this place as a summer home. Get back to throwing parties and having fun. He needs to smile again.”

Tori wondered what could be so awful that Jeremy couldn’t talk about it, but she respected his desire to protect his friend’s privacy. “He’s one of your Merrick friends?”

Jeremy nodded. “Yep.”

The drive to Pleasantville wasn’t long, and Jeremy had just finished his coffee when they pulled through iron gates into a long drive.

At the top was a gorgeous gray-shingled house with a three-car garage attached. Tori’s breath caught—it was so cozy looking despite its size. “How much did you say this was?” she asked, scanning the yard, which was covered with a thin layer of snow.

“One point four.”

“It doesn’t seem quite that grand.”

He chuckled. “You wait. It’s three acres on the water, and the bottom floor is a walkout. It looks much bigger from the back than the front.”

He led her to the front door and then opened the lockbox, giving them entry. She stepped inside and gasped. It was so airy and light and beautiful!

She took off her boots and left them on the rug at the door, then stepped onto the silky hardwood. “Okay, so you’re right. It’s bigger inside than it looks from the outside.”

He took her on a walk-through. The kitchen walls were a pale yellow, with white cupboards and woodwork, and granite countertop along the counters and the center island. Stainless steel appliances gleamed in the morning sun, and Tori couldn’t stop herself from oohing over the double wall ovens. Their footsteps echoed through the rest of the downstairs rooms, and then they went up the curved staircase to the next level, where several of the rooms had windows overlooking the water. Even the en suite bathroom was perfectly situated so that one could soak in the oversize tub and look out at the river and a huge tree standing sentinel by a small dock.

“A dock for a boat.”

“Yes. And a short sail down the river to the ocean. What do you think?”

She laughed. “It’s beautiful and ginormous. You’ve seen my cottage. What would I ever do with this much room?”

She could feel his gaze on her as she wandered to the windows of the master bedroom again. “But it is lovely. Truly. And despite the size, it feels like a home. That’s nice.”

They put their shoes back on and wandered around the outside for a bit, and Tori discovered he was right. The house’s most impressive aspect was from the river, looking in. Three stories of large windows shone in the sunlight.

“Kids could play here,” she mused. “It’s just a gentle slope to the water. And gardens. Are there gardens in the summer?”

“Yes, though, of course, we can’t see them now.”

“Wow. Is this the kind of place you always show, Jeremy?”

He laughed. “Yes and no. This type of property would cost a lot more in other areas. And some of the properties in Manhattan would stop your heart.”

“Like yours?”

He shrugged. “I live on the Upper East Side. It’s not known for being cheap.”

She put her hands in her pockets and squinted up at him. “How much was your place?”

He met her gaze. “Just over four.”

“Million?”

He nodded. “It’s pretty modest. I didn’t need someplace huge and empty, you know?”

“Oh, my—”

He burst out laughing then and she joined in, just because it all seemed so incredulous and the sound of his laughter filled her with some sort of strange joy.

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