Page 55 of The Billionaire's Kiss
Chapter Twenty-Three
Warner
Two solid months had passed since she left and not a day went by that I didn’t think about her. Sitting at my desk, eyes on my computer screen, I scrolled through the listings in Kenmare. I wasn’t sure what I was doing it for. I just wanted to see what kinds of homes and businesses were available in the town Orla lived in.
Many times, I’d stared at my cell phone, wondering if she was doing the same thing. Too afraid to call, too afraid to hear her sweet voice, I never picked up my phone. I knew it would be too painful for both of us.
But the fact was that the pain of her leaving hadn’t gone away yet. My youngest brother, Stone, was the only one of my brothers who told me to listen to that pain. He said it must mean something if it wouldn’t go away. My other brothers said to give it time, and it would lessen until there was nothing there anymore.
I didn’t know what to do. I had no desire to start seeing anyone else. I had no desire to hang out with people. I felt more alone than I’d ever felt in my life.
Staying home, cooking for myself—alone—watching television—also alone—I had become somewhat of a recluse. I went to work, but as soon as I was done, I left.
The sounds of the busy resort only reminded me of what Orla had said about how things worked in America. How she’d noticed how busy Americans always were and how she thought we should learn to slow down.
I’d even reduced the speed I drove by five miles per hour—which was a big deal for me. The little Irish-accented female voice inside my head would tell me to slow it down, that she didn’t want anything to happen to me. And I would do it.
Besides the one night I went out with my brother and the guys from work, I hadn’t had another drop of alcohol. I’d moved all the bottles of alcohol in my home into a closet that I’d locked. Seeing anything that had anything to do with cocktails reminded me of her.
The pain that came with reliving the moments with her, knowing they would never happen again, was too much to take. So I tried not to have things around or do things that would remind me of her.
And yet here I was, surfing the internet to see what her part of the world looked like. Often my mind wandered to her and what she was doing. I’d even searched the time difference between us. Six hours separated us. When I came into my office at nine-thirty in the morning, I guessed she was getting ready for her nightshift.
I’d also looked up how long the flight was from me to her. Nine and a half hours. That’s all it would take for me to get to her. And I could easily do that. But if I did, then what?
Our lives were still so far apart that even if I could hammer out a long-distance relationship, how much time would we actually get to spend together? And would she even want that?
Looking at a real estate website, I found a picture of a castle for sale. Quickly, I did the calculations to convert pounds into dollars and found it to be staggeringly low for such a place. “Only about six million dollars?”
Scrolling through the pictures, I became more and more excited about this castle. It was surrounded by a moat, which made it look like something out of ancient times. The grey brick structure rose up to five stories, and there was another story below ground. A grotto-style swimming pool was the focal point of a cave-like structure. Soft lights of red, blue, and green came from the rocky ceiling. It was beyond amazing.
Reading on, I found the top four stories each housed a living room, a bedroom, and a bath. The first floor held an enormous kitchen, two dining areas, and two living areas. A wall of windows looked over what the site said was Kenmare Bay.
Tapping my pen to the notebook I’d pulled out of one of the drawers, I jotted down the critical points of the castle. And then I read on to find that the property came with an additional home. A cottage that had been used to house the servants. I wouldn’t have traditional servants, so I could make that my home.
Three bedrooms and three baths would be more than enough for me. And then I could turn the castle into an out-of-this-world bed and breakfast.
Who wouldn’t want an entire floor to themselves, instead of just a bedroom?
It was a genius idea and one that had to be moved on quickly before someone else snapped up the pristine property. But to make a move like this one, I would have to talk to my brothers and deliver a good and thought out plan as to how I could manage the Kenmare property and still do my job for Whispers Resort.
Bailing on my brothers was out of the question. They counted on me to bring in groups of tourists to the resort. But my heart was leading me elsewhere. I’d never had my heart lead me anywhere, so I knew I had to follow it.
And the castle had almost magically appeared on my computer screen, calling out to my entrepreneurial spirit to make something spectacular out of it.
Looking back at the castle’s pictures and the property that came with it, I noticed how there were slopes and small hills. A name came to me—Whisper Hills.I jotted that down and then added—The Castle at Whisper Hills: A Bed and Breakfast Mini-Resort.
Excitement took me over, and I began writing like a madman, tallying up numbers, putting down how many staff members I would need. I developed an entire business plan that day.
And then I called my oldest brother. “Baldwyn, I need to speak with you and our brothers. Can you make it to my place for dinner tonight?”
“Depends on what you’ll be serving.”
“I’m making barbequed brisket with all the fixings.” I was going to butter my brothers up good. All I needed was their blessings to work remotely. But it wouldn’t hurt to have their input on the new place I wanted to open in Kenmare.
Later that night, I had all of my brothers sitting in the dining area, and I presented my case to them. I’d brought a television into the dining area so I could show them how grand the castle was. “This is it.” I tried not to talk too fast, but I was on pins and needles. “An Irish castle that I’d like to turn into a bed and breakfast. But not just any bed and breakfast—a luxurious bed and breakfast full of history and adventure.”
I watched their faces as I went through the pictures, pointing out different things about the property. They listened in silence, which wasn’t like them.
By the end of my presentation, I stood there wondering what was going through their heads. Baldwyn asked, “Are you only doing this so you could be with that woman from a couple of months ago?”
“Not only for that reason.” Sure, it was mostly for that reason. Well, it was completely for that reason. But I had to present the business to them, not the relationship I prayed would also come out of it. “I was just scrolling online today, and this castle popped up out of nowhere.” I had been on a real estate site, but that was neither here nor there. “And ideas just started coming at me.”
Patton frowned. “And what if you do all this and get over there only to find that she’s moved on? I mean, I don’t know if you looked at this, but did you notice that the castle has been on the market for three years? If you decide you don’t want to stay, then it might take a very long time to sell it.”
As a businessman, I knew one should never put money into something for personal reasons when it was supposed to be an investment. I took my seat and nodded. For some strange reason, I’d never thought about her moving on.
Now that’s all I could think about—what if she had moved on?
