Page 44 of An Heir Made In Hawaii (Hot Winter Escapes)

Heaviness tugged at his eyes. He gently moved away, pulled a blanket from one of the nearby couches and lay back down, draping it over them as he tugged her back into his arms. He pushed his fears away and allowed himself to relax, drifting off to sleep in front of a roaring fire with Anika safe in his arms.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ANIKACURLEDHERlegs underneath her and sank into the plush embrace of the window seat in her room. She’d indulged in new pillows, a knitted throw from one of the shops in town and a small shelf she’d hung to hold her favorite books. Between the coziness of her nook and the deep blue waters of the lake stretching out before her, she was in heaven.

Her hand drifted down to her belly, her fingers spreading out. She didn’t want to wish away her whole pregnancy. But she also could barely wait to feel the first flutters, the little movements as her baby grew. It had been two weeks since the ultrasound, and she wouldn’t get another until she was twenty weeks along. She huffed, then let out a soft, exasperated laugh.

“I can’t wait to meet you,” she whispered down to the hint of roundness just below her navel.

Her gaze strayed toward the trees that separated the inn from the Hotel Lassard. Tomorrow night the hotel would have its grand opening. People from all over Lake Bled were invited, not to mention the entire world. Getting to know Nicholas, to see how much he invested in his work, had made it easier to talk about, and eventually become interested, in the Hotel Lassard at Lake Bled.

Unfortunately, it had also raised uncomfortable questions for her. Part of the reason why she had resisted Nicholas’s offers before was because she had thought he simply wanted something because he wanted it. But seeing the passion that he had for his company, the passion that he brought to his guests and the time and attention he put in, altered everything. What if selling the inn to him was actually the best solution? Given what she knew about him now, perhaps he would do the right thing and maintain the integrity of the inn while doing all the things that she alone was not capable of. Her grandmother had wanted nothing more than for the inn to succeed. Was selling and letting someone else take over the reins to see it reach its full potential the right thing to do? Especially if it meant giving her more time to pursue not only motherhood, but her own hopes and dreams?

She shook her head. That line of thinking still felt foolish to her, still felt too much like severing the last remaining connection that she had to her family. The further along her pregnancy progressed, the more she desperately wanted to preserve at least something for her child. Something of her history and her roots, where she came from.

Now was not the time to think of it anyway. She should be focusing on more immediate things like her growing relationship with Nicholas. Ever since the ultrasound and that night they first made love, they’d spent time together almost every day. From her cooking him meals to taking walks around the town and surrounding area, they had started to develop what felt like a real relationship. That she had spent several nights in his bed, and he in hers certainly, hadn’t hurt.

A smile crossed her face. She’d woken up that morning to his arms wrapped around her, their bodies pressed together in her bed. Never would she have imagined Nicholas Lassard of all people falling asleep in a cramped queen bed inside a centuries-old inn. But when she had rolled over and found him looking deeply into her eyes, felt his hand caress first her face then drift slowly down over her bare breast, arousing her to heights of passion she never could have fathomed, it felt right.

Except, despite the growing intimacy between them, he still held back. Anytime she brought the baby up in conversation, whether by asking if he’d thought of a name or sounding him out on any ideas he might have about what he’d want to do the baby’s first year, he would give a quick answer and then quickly turn the subject to something else.

She sighed. She needed to give him time. After all, he’d only been back in her life for about a month. Yes, she wanted more resolution, a clear idea of where they were going and just how involved he saw himself being. But they still had nearly six months to figure that out. Given all the progress they had made in such a short time, she needed to be patient and trust in the man that she was starting to learn more about.

Dimly, she heard a doorbell ring. Sighing, she tossed aside her blanket, thrust her feet into a pair of slippers and padded downstairs. She opened the door to a delivery worker, a silver box topped off with a red bow in her arms.

“Are you Anika Pierce?”

“Yes.”

“Rush delivery. I need your signature that you received it.”

“I’m not expecting anything,” Anika said with a frown.

“It’s from a salon in Paris,” the delivery worker said with a wide smile. “Maybe you have a sweetheart.”

Heat suffused Anika’s cheeks. She signed for the box and took it back upstairs, setting it carefully on her bed. She stared at it for a full minute, working up the courage to open it.

Finally, she huffed.

It’s just a box. Open it.

The box was packed with red tissue paper, the same vivid hue as the bow. Sitting on top was a white envelope addressed to her in a strong masculine handwriting. What did it say about her, she mused as she picked the envelope up, that just the sight of his handwriting was enough to make her belly quiver?

She opened the envelope. A simple, plain card greeted her with the words “Thank you” emblazoned on the front. She opened it, her hands trembling.

The grand opening is tomorrow night at seven. It would honor me if you would join me as my guest.

She pulled back the tissue paper and gasped at the dress beneath. Slowly, she reached in and gently slid her fingers into the pile of frothy teal fabric. She moved to the mirror and held it up. With an off-the-shoulder neckline, diaphanous sleeves and a bodice that flowed out into a sweeping skirt, it was the kind of dress that would make a woman feel like a princess.

Not going and not supporting the man who had become so important to her in such a short amount of time was not an option. That he had taken the time and effort to do something like this, something he probably thought of as simple with the kind of money he had at his fingertips but that felt so generous with everything else he had going on, spoke volumes to her.

Yes, she told herself as she laid the dress out on the bed and stared at it with adoring eyes, there were still lots of questions to be answered. But for right now, the father of her child was thinking about her. He was including her in his life. And that was enough.

The hotel ballroom was packed. Guests in evening wear by Versace and Gucci milled about. Waiters slipped in and out of the crowds with silver trays loaded down with some of the finest delicacies European and Slovenian cuisine had to offer. Music from a string quartet drifted over the room, weaving a winter fantasy of airy music that enticed guests to linger and enjoy. It was exactly the kind of opening night Nicholas had envisioned.

Yet as he glanced around, he was disappointed. With how close he and Anika had grown over the past couple of weeks, he’d been confident she would have accepted both the invitation and the dress. They had still avoided the elephant in the room, the future of the inn. But he’d thought the relationship had progressed enough that she would at least attend.

“You look far too morose for someone who just launched one of the most successful hotels in Central Europe.”

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