Page 76 of The Last Resort
His brother was going to embarrass him in front of Rachel. He turned to her, an apology ready on his lips, but instead of his date for the wedding being horrified about the bear reference, she simply offered Bryce her hand. “We can all be grateful Doctor Evil’s terrible plans were thwarted. Hi, I’m Rachel Little, another Austin Powers fan.”
Bryce’s face lit up with delight. “Bryce Royal, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Rachel. Come in.”
He stepped back into the room and ushered his guests inside. Matthew shot his brother a silently mouthed ‘asshole’ as he followed Rachel through the door.
Vivian was at the dining room table setting out glasses. She took one look at Rachel and, abandoning her task, hurried over. “Rachel, hello! Welcome.”
Bryce pressed a glass of Shiraz into Matthew’s hand and leaned in close. “She seems fun. If you want my first thirty second impression of Rachel, I’d say your arch nemesis might be a keeper.”
As Vivian and Rachel disappeared on an impromptu tour of the apartment, Matthew finally allowed himself to relax. He sipped at his drink.
“I think you could be right.”
Rachel couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much. The Royal brothers should be on the stage, their banter was so funny. Bryce might be the CEO of a large corporation, but he had a brilliant sense of humor. Over dinner she kept stealing glances at Matthew, and it was clear he worshipped his older brother.
The fair haired Vivian also made no secret of her complete adoration of her fiancé. The little touches and winks she and Bryce exchanged during the course of the evening were the sweetest thing.
“So, the two of you are getting married in a couple of days, you must be excited,” said Rachel.
The others at the table exchanged nervous glances before Matthew reached out and took hold of Rachel’s hand. “It’s another member of the extended Royal family who’s getting married on Sunday.” She waited for him to offer up some names, but he didn’t, and the topic of conversation quickly changed.
I wonder if … no. All the rumors are talking about that happening in July out in LA. This has to be someone else in the family.
Rachel was surprised to discover that Vivian didn’t come from the New York social set or old money. She’d been born and bred in Queens and had only met Bryce by chance at one of the company resorts in California. From the cute little stories which Vivian shared over dinner, their relationship had apparently got off to somewhat of a rocky start. Their journey to a happily ever after had involved Bryce crisscrossing the country in pursuit of Vivian, before finally securing her heart on a moonlit beach in Florida.
Now that’s a love story I’d pay to see if they made it into a rom-com movie.
It was only when she began to tell her own story of how she and Matthew had first met, that the serendipitous beginning of their romance finally hit home.
“Matthew literally saved my life. I was being dragged onto the road by a cart laden with heavy suitcases, and he rescued me.” She turned and gave Matthew an impromptu kiss. “He was the hero of the moment. If he hadn’t stepped in, I’m sure I would have died.”
Neither of them had said the L word, but in that moment as she sat smiling at him, Rachel’s heart whispered its longing.
Don’t leave it too long to tell him how you feel. Before it’s time for either of you to leave Aspen, he should know you love him.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Vivian was waiting downstairs for Rachel at the ungodly hour of seven o’clock on Friday morning. From the grin on her face, it was clear she was thrilled to be going shopping. As Rachel drew closer, Vivian produced a black American Express card from out of her purse and waved it in the air. “Credit cards at the ready? Let’s go do some damage.”
Rachel winced at the sight of the limitless credit card in Vivian’s hand. Matthew’s Amex card was in her own purse. He’d given it to her just before he left for work this morning. She found the whole spending thing deeply embarrassing, but Matthew had insisted. “I’ll be in the office for most of the day, so go have fun. Vivian has been looking forward to this shopping expedition all week, so you can’t disappoint her.”
Following a long lingering kiss, his parting words to Rachel had been. “I’ll be keeping tabs on your spend during the day, so I’ll know if you are holding back on treating yourself.”
Outside on the chilly New York street a sleek black town car was waiting. As soon as they climbed in, Vivian handed Rachel a piece of paper. “A list of the places I’ve chosen for usto visit today. The boys’ cousin, Camille, who is a fashion designer, added in a couple of extras. She’s going to meet us at Saks Fifth Avenue later this morning.”
Rachel puffed out her cheeks. She had to get this off her chest. “I just want you to understand that I’m a little bit uncomfortable about spending Matthew’s money.”
Vivian nodded. “Noted. But now you have to let it go. The first dress Bryce bought me was worth more than a year of my rent. I resisted the whole pampering and spoiling thing. Coming from Queens it wasn’t something I found easy to get used to, but in time I did. Our first real fight was over me not buying any new clothes for a month. I kid you not, Bryce was really angry. It took me awhile to get used to the concept that the Royals expect you to dress to a similar level as them. What can I say?” She lifted her hands. “Welcome to Planet Billionaire. If you are going to stick around, which I hope you will, you’re going to have to get comfortable with this kind of lifestyle.”
She’d lived among the rich of Atlanta and it was true, rich people did live on another planet. These billionaires had their own space toys, so why not their own planet?
Planet Billionaire, that’s freakin hilarious.
With her background, Rachel understood the social pressure to dress to a certain standard. But in the past when she’d done that, she’d been spending her own money. Having a man buy clothes for her didn’t sit right.
He wanted to buy her things, so she was going to have to put “Little Miss Independent” on ice for the weekend.
“You are Matthew’s guest, which makes you being comfortable around his family his priority. His responsibility. This sounds old fashioned, but how you dress reflects on him. And new clothes will allow you to move freely among the rest of the Royal family without feeling out of place.”
