Page 5 of A Wedding Negotiation with Her Boss

‘It’s a blessing that Fifi decided to cut short her stay here, to be perfectly honest. I have a feeling Arturio would have been a little disconcerted by her if they had happened to meet. He’s laid it on thick about the importance of family and preserving the tradition within the company, and I suspect Fifi might not have played into that mindset.’

‘But you’re single,’ Helen said, astonished. ‘What does that have to do with the deal?’

‘Nothing at all,’ Gabriel drawled. ‘He is the way he is, and this is a fledgling family bond I don’t want to risk losing, never mind the tangible practicality of what I’m buying.’ He laughed softly and mused under his breath, ‘There’s a part of me that thinks that the bond with Arturio and his family might actually trump the dry, financial business of buying his vineyard. If he chooses to think that I’m built along the lines of his own children—who all seem to have bought into the joy of weddings quickly followed by the pitter-patter of tiny feet—then I would hate to disappoint him.’

‘Well, I’m sure he’ll be pleased with its success when you take charge,’ Helen said vaguely, nimbly steering the conversation away from anything personal, although she was aware of the faint buzz of curiosity inside her.

Why had his hot blonde decided to leave? Surely a different country, beautiful scenery, the end word in luxury and having one hundred per cent of Gabriel for the better part of a week would have been conducive to keeping her glued to the spot? Had they had some kind of argument because Arturio had shown up unexpectedly and Gabriel had tried to side-line the blonde? That would not have gone down well. From what Helen had seen, she didn’t think that Fifi was the kind of woman who would take kindly to maintaining a low profile to accommodate Gabriel and a business deal.

‘I’ll email you the details of my flight, shall I? Although there’s no need for you to change any plans you may have made for the day. I can easily find my own way to the hotel and contact you once I’m there.’

‘I’ll ensure a driver is waiting for you.’ Helen heard his soft, amused laugh down the line once again and gritted her teeth.

‘Perfect. I’ll see you in due course. Goodbye.’ And she disconnected the call before he could say anything further to unsettle her.

Helen had booked the hotel for Gabriel and Fifi without paying a scrap of attention to the details. She had been given the name of the place, had called it and had reserved the most expensive room. Fifi had done the sourcing of the place and Gabriel had acquiesced without demur. The eye-watering price of the room would not have raised an eyebrow.

She could have checked out the place herself now, and had vaguely planned to, but at the back of her mind she’d associated Fifi with somewhere incredibly expensive and incredibly busy, a place where she could bask in the admiring glances of people around her. She’d ended up way too busy to bother checking out where she would be heading to.

She had a smooth trip over—made all the more seamlessly comfortable because, as a first-class passenger, she had actually been able to sleep because the seat had reclined into a bed. Helen only felt a twinge of curiosity about where she was going when she was ensconced in the chauffeur-driven limo Gabriel had organised for her. All glass, perhaps? A skyscraper with uniformed guards outside and the frantic bustle of millionaires entering and leaving? All of the above?

She had never been to America in her life and, as she gazed through the tinted windows of the long, black limo, she felt transported into another world entirely, so different was it from London, from Cornwall—from every destination she had ever been to.

The skies were a milky cornflower-blue and the sun streamed down like honey on a drive that skirted a stretch of coast with water as turquoise and as still as a giant lake. The Pacific coast, the driver explained, glancing at her in the mirror. He was obviously proud of his city. He pointed to the drama of the mountains that rose in majestic peaks behind the town, explained that Santa Barbara was referred to as ‘the American Riviera’ because of the gorgeous weather and boasted that the beaches were the best in the country, as were the restaurants and cafés that lined them.

There were no frantic, gridlocked roads, just beautiful winding little streets with picturesque boutiques and wine bars, and there was greenery everywhere, showing her that she’d never be far from nature in this part of America.

‘I’ll have to make sure to take a day off to explore,’ Helen said politely, although she had no intention of doing any such thing, because this wasn’t going to be a sightseeing, tourist’s holiday.

She was busily scouring the skyline for the modern, glassy and expensive skyscraper she’d been expecting and was disconcerted when it failed to materialise.

Instead, the tour-guide conversation from her driver turned to the beauty of the foothills of Santa Barbara. ‘Open space,’ he boasted proudly, taking one hand off the wheel to make a sweeping gesture encompassing the scenery they were now passing, ‘With brilliant views of the oceans and the mountains and a playground for all sorts of incredible wildlife. Hawks, coyotes, a thousand different species of birds, and of course the exclusive real-estate reflects the demand for a place like this.

‘And where I’m taking you...’ he threw in as an aside, ‘couldn’t be more secluded...’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘It’s incredible. Could never afford to stay at a place like that myself, but my, I’ve driven a couple of people out there—and, well, if I win the lottery that’ll be number one on my go-to list.’

‘Secluded?Secluded?It’s ahotel.’ Secluded was not what she’d expected, because somehow secluded was something she associated with ‘laid back’ and laid back was the last thing Fifi was. Had she been remiss in not doing some due diligence before she’d headed over? Or had she been so wrapped up thinking about her boss in a different setting that practicality had taken a back seat?

‘Sure, ma’m, but it’s a hotel with a difference.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’ll see! You’ll find it’s a bit different from your London, ma’m. Although, you have your royal family, and that’s the next thing I’ll do with my winnings! A trip to that palace of yours to see those guards with the big, furry hats! My wife would love nothing more...’

Helen was barely listening. She’d expected something big, modern, expensive and impersonal—part of a chain of five-star hotels, something stuck in the middle of the city, in the heart of the action, surrounded by night life, and noisy with the bustle of tourists.

With dismay, she discovered that she couldn’t have been more off-target in her assumptions. There were no city lights where they were heading. Instead, the limo slowed in surroundings which, in the fading light, seemed to be a wondrous panorama of landscaped acres interrupted by towering sycamore trees, and fragrant with the smell of citrus and olive groves.

She rolled down her window and breathed in the aroma of blossoms, jasmine and magnolia. Everything told her that Fifi had done her homework.

She’d turned her back on what Helen would have expected and gone for out of the ordinary. No impersonal, height-of-luxury, five-star hotel but...a ranch? Or something that looked like a ranch. Definitely not a hotel along the lines that she’d been expecting.

Her heart flipped and dropped.

Her driver had mentioned the adjective ‘secluded’ and he hadn’t been lying. This place was tucked away. It nestled into the greenery and was part of the magnificent landscape, and there was nothing built around it as far as the eye could see.

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