Page 17 of An Heir Made In Hawaii (Hot Winter Escapes)

“Anika?”

She smiled, grateful to hear his voice reverberating through the door. “Thought you could use some company.”

When he didn’t respond immediately, her bravado started to slip.

“Thank you.”

She let out a shuddering breath, surprised by how relieved she was.

“So...how are you?”

He huffed a laugh. “I’ve certainly been worse. What’s it like out there?”

“Quiet. No guests out in the hall. I imagine if people aren’t stuck down in the ballroom, they’re in their rooms enjoying the ambience.”

“Ambience?”

“The thunderstorm. It’s perfect.”

“Describe it to me.”

Anika frowned. “What?”

“I’ve always pictured you as cold.”

She frowned, more hurt than she liked by his comment. “I’m trying to figure out how, with compliments like that, you’re considered one of the most eligible bachelors in Europe.”

“I’m charming, I’m handsome and I’m ridiculously wealthy,” he replied easily. “Cold and aloof was my first impression. But the more I get to know you, the more I realized how much more there is to you. You don’t jump in headfirst like I do. You bide your time, evaluate, think, plan. So when I hear that dreamy note in your tone when you tell me a storm is perfect, it makes me very disappointed that I’m stuck in here and can’t see your face. For something to bring that awe to your voice, it must be truly spectacular.”

Shaken, Anika let her hands slide off the cool metal and stepped back. Her heart responded to the most beautiful words she’d ever heard by tripling its rhythm as she tried to rein in her runaway emotions.

“Am I wrong?”

“No,” she finally replied.Why,she thought with some irritation,are my eyes hot?“I’m starting to see why so many women fall at your feet.”

“Because of my handsome charm?”

She waited a moment, swallowed hard. “Because you know how to make a woman feel special.”

“Feel?” His laugh reverberated through her as thunder boomed. “Anika, you are special.”

Trembling, she sank down onto the carpet and tucked her feet under her. “Lightning’s flashing over the water. It’s this vivid scene of crashing waves illuminated for a moment in silver. The mountains make it look even more dramatic. And when I’m cozied up in my room, wrapped in a robe with a cup of hot tea or sipping a glass of wine, I feel like I could watch the storm for hours.”

“Stunning.” Nicholas paused. “My brother and I used to watch the storms at our home in Scotland. It was my favorite of the family homes, one my mother inherited and where we spent most of the first five years of my life before we moved to London. Stone, turrets all over, a massive fireplace in the library, perched on the edge of a moor with mountains in the background.”

Anika closed her eyes, pictured two little boys with their faces pressed against the window as rain rolled across the grassy plains.

“What’s your brother like?”

“He’s dead.”

Horrified, Anika’s eyes flew open.

“Oh. Oh, Nicholas, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right. It was twenty years ago.”

It might have been twenty years ago, but the raw grief threaded through his words told her he still felt it like it was yesterday.

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