Page 2 of Billionaire's Surprise

At my passageway, the porter in charge of that section greeted me and told me his name was Marco. After, taking my name, he nodded then led me down to the doorway with my bags outside.

He opened the door and gestured me inside. “I’ll bring these through for you. Take a look around. If you need anything, at any time of day, call the number for the porter on your desk. It will come right to me or whoever is covering for me overnight, and we’ll take care of whatever you need.”

“Okay,” I murmured, overwhelmed as I looked around. I’d expected a tiny interior cabin with no window. Before me was an enormous set of rooms. The main sitting room had yawning double doorways off to the right and left, with a small eating area in one, and a spacious bedroom with a king-sized bed in the other. Straight ahead was a sliding door that led to a wide deck with another table and a pair of chairs. Despite my aversion to water, it was beautiful. Right now, there was nothing but ocean, waves glittering in the sun, for as far as the eye could see. Near that door stood a silver-and-gold bedecked Christmas tree, its white lights glimmering in the evergreen branches.

“Wow…” I whispered.

In awe that this was for me, I turned in a circle. That’s when I realized two things. First, Marco was gone. Second, there were extra bags standing beside mine.

Well, crap. Were my luggage and I in the wrong room?

I started for the door, intent on finding Marco and getting things straightened out. On the way, a beautiful vase of roses in white and red caught my eye. Instead of baby’s breath, spiky holly leaves completed the arrangement, giving it a holiday feel. The envelope beside it drew my attention. My name was emblazoned across the cream-colored surface, igniting my curiosity but reassuring me that I was in the right place.

I’d catch Marco in a minute. First, the message. Carefully, I opened the flap and pulled out the card.

Emerson,

Welcome aboard. Here’s to the trip of a lifetime, the first of many.

No signature.

Were these from the cruise line? From the company where I worked?

My brow furrowed, hating a puzzle I couldn’t solve. Just then, the whir of the card reader announced the opening the door’s lock, and I swung toward it, hoping it wasn’t Marco telling me I was in the wrong room after all.

Two

Fray Cassel

“So, everything’s set for tonight?” I asked my brother, Luke, for the third time in an hour.

“Jesus, Fray!” Luke ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Yes. Everything’s set. Your trap has been sprung on this poor, unsuspecting girl, okay?”

“It’s not a trap,” I argued. “It’s romantic.”

“It’s creepy.”

“Shut your face.” I rolled my eyes at him. “An all-expenses-paid, luxury cruise is not creepy.”

I mean, I’d had to give the security company she works for a huge recommendation in order to bring them in on my plan, but they were highly regarded and on the list of candidates for the new hotel project anyway, so it was good. I’d get the girlandnetwork for my family’s company. That wasn’t creepy.

“It is when it’s a front to get a girl to fall in love with you.” Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I still don’t get what’s up with you and this chick.”

“I don’t know how else to explain it to you,” I said. “The minute I saw her, I knew we were meant to be together. My entire futureplayed out in front of me, and she was there every step of the way. Love at first sight and all that. It was fate that took us to that club that night.”

“It was happy hour that took us to that club that night,” he reminded me. “And she was at an engagement party for a girl who didn’t seem all that enthused to be getting married.”

“Huh,” I said. “I didn’t notice anyone but Emerson.”

“I remember.”

Luke was right; it had been the beer special that had gotten us to decide onBradford’sthat night. We’d just closed a massive deal to win the construction of a new hotel, and my brothers and I were out to celebrate. Our contracting firm was one of the best in the state, but a lot of developers had been pulling in talent from outside the area, so we’d been a little nervous about this one.

But it had all been for nothing. The owner had loved that we’re a family-run business, and our portfolio was impeccable. So we’d closed with signatures and handshakes, then all five of us Cassel men had taken to the club to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

We hadn’t been insideBradford’sfor more than five minutes when I’d seen Emerson. My gaze had been drawn to her like a magnet, and I was a goner. Her dark, sable locks had moved in time with the sway of her hips to the music. She was laughing at something someone had said to her, and the curve of her lips instantly made my pants uncomfortably tight across my crotch.

I’d walked directly to her. I’d had no clue what I’d say, but I’d known without a doubt I had to talk to her. I had to know the name I’d someday yell out in ecstasy.

---