Cinderella's Billion-Dollar Christmas

“Danny, I agreed to do this favor for you mostly because Mark was my friend and I knew how he felt about his kids’ safety. But that was it.”

“That was all I needed when I called you on Saturday, but through no fault of mine, things changed. That’s life. You remember life? If something can go wrong, it usually does.”

Understanding that a little better than Danny knew, Nick blew his breath out on a frustrated sigh. “What about Jace? He’s the bodyguard. He should be with her. Not me.”

“Jace had an emergency come up. He and most of his men are on their way to El Salvador.”

He gaped at the phone. “El Salvador!”

“Yep. So, we’re down to you. You know all the information about the identity of the heirs and potential heirs has to be kept as quiet as possible. The fewer people who know, the less chance someone will accidentally slip a name to their wife or girlfriend. Besides, you’re the most closed-mouthed person I know.”

“I’m not a bodyguard!”

“You don’t need to be. As long as no one knows who she is, she’s just another New York tourist.”

“And what the hell do I do with her for the next day...or two?”

Danny’s voice lifted with hope. “Anything you want. New York’s a big city. As long as you stay away from talking about the estate, you could very easily entertain her for a week.”

“A week!”

“Tops. I swear.”

Nick squeezed his eyes shut. “You owe me.”

“Big time,” Danny agreed.

As his friend gave him the name of the hotel he’d booked for Leni, Nick looked through the glass separating Mary Catherine’s office and Danny’s. Leni stood by the wall of windows staring at the Manhattan skyline, obviously a fish out of water.

And she’d already admitted to being afraid.

He passed his hand down his face. The part of him that wanted to help her was the part he wanted to squelch, destroy, kick so far out of town he wouldn’t even think about being attracted to her anymore. He’d planned on doing the eviction tonight with a bottle of scotch and four hours of work. Danny and Jace weren’t the only ones with commitments.

Danny sighed. “Look, get her settled in the hotel and take her for a nice dinner.”

Nick blew his breath out in exasperation. “I’m serious about this costing you one big, fat favor.”

Danny laughed. “Why? Does she look like Mark?”

“No, I’m guessing she got the cocktail waitress’s genes.”

Danny guffawed. “That good, huh?”

Nick gazed longingly at Leni again. “Better.”

“Okay. I’ve got to go. The judge is back from recess. And I swear I will end this trial as quickly as possible.”

As Danny hung up, Nick took a long, slow breath. He didn’t want to spend any more time with a woman he was already attracted to. Work was his life now. Besides, she was way too nice for him. Innocent. Sweet. He wasn’t any of those. Still, he was helping Danny because Mark had been his friend. He resisted women all the time. This one would be no different.

He walked into Danny’s office and straight to the private elevator. “Let’s go.”

Leni scrambled after him. “Where?”

“The lawyer is stuck in a trial. I’m taking you to your hotel and then to dinner.”

They stepped into the elevator. “I can’t go to dinner with you.”

He peered at her. “You’re ditching me?”

“No. I’m just not going out with someone dressed like you,” she said, pointing at his black suit and charcoal-gray overcoat. “When I look like this.” She motioned down the front of her jacket.

“We can buy you a dress before we go to the hotel. In fact, we can get you anything you want. There’s a slush fund for vetting potential heirs. It’s there to get you anything you need while you’re in the city.”

She gaped at him. “I’m not letting you buy me clothes.” Though she almost wished she could. Her old jeans and jacket firmly announced her as someone not from Manhattan. Which made her stick out in the crowd milling about in the building lobby. The people who’d seen her walking out of the private elevator for a lawyer’s office probably thought she was a petty thief.

“I can’t pay you back if I’m not an heir.”

“I told you, there’s a slush fund. You’re in New York at the estate’s request. While you’re here it’s our responsibility to get you anything and everything you need. No paybacks. It’s part of the process. We’ll be putting the exact same amount of money into slush accounts for all potential heirs.”

“You might have to pay for the hotel and the limo, but you’re not buying me clothes.”

A muscle in his jaw jumped as he motioned to the revolving door. “Fine.”

She could see she’d aggravated him, but she didn’t care. She walked through the door, out into the snow and into the limo again. They took a short ride and exited the limo onto the busiest street Leni had ever seen. The jumbotron, lights and videos were the familiar backdrop of an early morning news show.

She reverently whispered. “Times Square.”

Nick pointed to the right. “Your hotel is this way.”

The only hotel she saw to the right was way down the street. She glanced back at the limo. “We’re walking?”

“Traffic was backed up at the hotel entry. It’s not far.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“You want to get back into the limo and wait out the line?”

Not really. Cool air massaged her warm face. The noise of Times Square and the crowded street took her attention away from Mark Hinton and money and the handsome guy walking with her who seemed to have gone from annoyed to angry. No sense poking the bear.

“Yeah. Walking’s good.” Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, she peered around again. “I like seeing everything.”

He pointed across the street. “My office is in that building there.”

Gray brick with black slate accents. Long, thin windows. A doorman.

“Wow.” She fought the question that automatically rose as she shuffled along beside him, but it bubbled out anyway. “What’s it like to work here?” She gestured around her. “In all of this noise and people?”

“Our windows are soundproof.”

She laughed. “Seriously? You know what I mean. You saw where I live. There are about fifteen hundred people in our entire town, and I’ll bet there are three thousand on this street with us now. You can’t know everybody. How do you decide who to trust?”

He peeked at her. “Reputation.”

She skipped twice to catch up with his long strides. “Reputation? If you don’t know someone, how do you know their reputation?”

He shrugged. “I always know somebody who knows somebody who knows them. And, if they are high enough in a corporate structure, there will be things written about them.”

“Written about them?”

“In professional journals, but I do search the internet sometimes to find out things about them.”

“Did you research me?”

He gave her the side-eye. “That was Danny’s job.”

“This Danny—the lawyer—is pretty important?”

“His firm is handling the Hinton estate. He’s the boss. Any mistakes are on him.”

Things began to fall in to place for Leni. Nick never lied to her, but she was beginning to understand why getting a complete answer out of him was close to impossible. She was the problem.

“Like mistakes you make with me?”

He stopped walking and studied her for a few seconds before he said, “Yes.”

That ill-timed thrill ran through her again, and she knew why he’d stopped walking, why he was still looking at her. Their initial conversation at the diner had been flirty and fun and she wasn’t a thirteen-year-old girl wondering in the boy next door liked her. She knew the signs. But he’d had to squelch those feelings. Because of the estate? Because of not wanting to make mistakes?

“You aren’t allowed to get too chummy with me, are you?”

“No.”

“And the reason you keep acting all stuffy is because we sort of already did make friends in the diner?”

“Yes. And that’s wrong.” He shook his head. “You’re funny and you have a warmth about you that’s very appealing. But there are things in my life that prevent me from even considering a relationship, and you could potentially be inheriting tons of money which will completely change your life. You shouldn’t want to get involved with me any more than I want to get involved with you. Which means we shouldn’t even try to get to know each other.”

She’d thought the same thing herself. Except her thinking had run along the lines of not being able to trust him. And hadn’t she already figured out he had secrets? Though, it did intrigue her that he’d admit there were things in his life that prevented him from even considering a relationship. That had to mean there was more to his backing off than keeping his professional distance. Which was good to know. A woman who had been a little girl in foster care, wishing her next set of parents would love her enough to adopt her, didn’t need to be wondering why he ran hot and cold with her or why he sometimes downright ignored her. Insecurities like that ran deep and popped up when she least expected, but his explanation tamed them.

She was glad she’d asked. Knowing would keep her from worrying every time he clammed up or ignored her. “Okay.”

A laugh burst from him. “Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. See how easy that was? You told me the whole story and now I understand all the weird things you’ve done since you realized who I was.”

“I didn’t do any weird things.”

She raised her left eyebrow as she gave him an “Oh, really?” expression.

“Name one.”

“Well, when we met, you talked a lot. Once you found out I was the person you were looking for, you barely said anything. In the diner, you were also kind of funny.”

He laughed again. “I was funny?”

“Not hysterical but...” She shrugged. “You know. Silly?”

“My parents would not believe you if you told them that.” He turned and started walking again.

She raced to catch up with him. “Which means I have to tell them. If only because they’ll get a chuckle out of it.”

“You’ll probably never meet them.”

She sighed. He was back to being careful again. She understood, but if they were stuck together for the rest of the day and he didn’t talk, their time together would be insufferably boring.

“Are we really going out for dinner tonight?”

“Yes. One thing about New York City, there are a million wonderful restaurants I can take you to.”

She glanced down at her worn jeans. She did have one dress packed. She’d planned on using it for the meeting with the lawyer, though. “Just don’t get too fancy.”

“Maybe we should go look for a dress?”

“I don’t take charity.”

“There’s an entire slush fund at your disposal. That’s not charity.”

“You see things your way. I see them mine.”

“Look, the bottom line is I don’t want any attention being called to you. Neither does Danny. Dressing to fit in is a good idea.” He pointed ahead of them. “There’s a shop a few blocks down. It’s where I get my mom’s Christmas and birthday gifts. I’m going to have Danny set up an account for you. That way, after tonight, if you feel like you want a dress or shoes or something, you can get what you want or what you feel you need while you’re here. No pressure.”

“You want me to shop where you get your mom’s clothes?” She laughed. “No thanks.”

He sighed. “It’s a nice place. It’s got things for younger people, too.”

“If you expect me to shop there, it better.”

“It does.”

She quelled the flutter in her stomach. She longed to look like the woman wearing the pencil skirt and silky blouse...but she also didn’t have any money. Didn’t have anywhere to wear something like that when she got home. Buying pretty things would be a waste. A waste of the money of a man who had hurt her. Money she didn’t want—except to help her dad. She was only here on the chance she was an heir and she could help her parents. They were the ones who’d plucked her out of the system and saved her. She didn’t need fancy clothes. Especially if she wasn’t an heir.

“But don’t get your hopes up. I’m not going shopping.”

“You never know.”

“I know.”

“No. You don’t.”

She shook her head. For a guy who wasn’t supposed to talk to her, he never seemed to let her get the last word.

CHAPTER FOUR

NICK TURNED TOWARD the entry of a grand hotel. Leni glanced up. A white facade was the perfect backdrop for the huge green wreath that sat above the portico. Red ornaments scattered around it glittered in the late afternoon sun.

The muscles around her heart tweaked. She was missing everything happening at home. Christmas parties, carolers, making cookies with her mom. Nick had told her to pack for two weeks and she assumed that’s the longest she’d be away. She might miss the baking and extra-special holiday tips from regular customers at the diner, along with the occasional gift, but she’d be home over a week before Christmas.

There was no point in getting homesick. Everything was under control.

She followed Nick as he walked into the lobby, marched to the reservations clerk, gave his name and got a key card. Within seconds, they were in the elevator.

He continued the silence through the ride to the tenth floor and down a quiet hall. When they stopped at a door, he opened it by scanning the key card. She stepped inside the room and gasped.

A huge window ran along the entire back wall, bringing the sights of Times Square into her room. Two red sofas sat parallel, in front of a marble fireplace with a bar off to the left. A dining table and upholstered chairs had been set up near the window.

“All this is for me?”

“Yes.”

She looked around in awe. “This has got to be costing the estate a pretty penny.”

“The estate has lots of pretty pennies, so don’t worry about it.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll be back at seven.”

She nodded.

“If you need anything...and I mean anything, call the concierge.”

“I do wish I had a book.”

“I’m sure they can get you one.”

With that he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

She glanced around again. “No television.” She spotted the big mirror above the fireplace, saw the remote on the mantel and laughed. “Thank goodness I watch enough house fixer-upper shows to know how they hide televisions these days.”

She carefully lowered herself onto one of the two red sofas, running her hand along the smooth leather, enjoying the luxury.

Was this how she’d live if she really was rich?

Even as she thought that, the silence of her suite enveloped her. She’d hate to think that all wealthy people were lonely. But Nick was rich...a simple billionaire he’d said...and he barely spoke. Of course, she knew why he didn’t want to talk to her, but he didn’t even speak to his driver.

That was what had bothered her. He never even said hello to his driver, the pilot for their plane or any of the ground crew scrambling to get their luggage into the jet’s belly. He walked around as if he were in his own little world.

Which was a shame. Good-looking guy like that should be the happiest man around. And with all his money, he should realize he was one of the luckiest.

She thought of her adoptive dad. How he’d worked and scrimped and saved and barely made ends meet. Yet, he considered himself one of the luckiest people on the planet.

Nick Kourakis should be swinging-from-the-chandeliers happy and if she got the chance, maybe she would tell him that.

Nick arrived at Leni’s suite at exactly seven. When she opened the door to him, he almost stepped back. His former elf wore a simple black dress with a red sweater. Her eyes had been painted with shadow and liner and mascara—but only enough to make her pretty, not overdone—and her lips were ruby red. Her long brown hair had been caught up in a twist in the back, giving her face a look of sophistication that nearly stole his breath. Black heels provided at least three inches of height and put her right at his chin. The perfect place for a woman to be.

He shook his head to clear it of that stupidity. She might be beautiful, but they’d never get to test out why coming to chin level was perfect. He would never kiss her.

That registered oddly, way deep down in his soul, in a place he hadn’t acknowledged for so long the ping was a hollow, empty sound.

Calling himself foolish and exhausted, he ignored the weird feeling and said the one thing that might get her to tell him if she’d gone to the boutique after all. “You look nice.”

“Nice?” She spun around once. “I look fabulous. This is the dress I’d bought for my college graduation ceremony last week. I’d brought it to wear to meet the lawyer, but I can wear it twice.”

The hope that she’d shopped was replaced by another ping of acknowledgment in his soul. Her simple pleasure in the dress was fun. Almost cute enough to make him laugh.

He’d forgotten what it was like to really enjoy something ordinary. Actually, he’d forgotten what it was like to enjoy anything. He’d snuffed out that feeling, but one laugh from her and he remembered it, longed to feel it again.

Even though he knew he wouldn’t.

He cleared his throat. “You made a good choice with the dress—and shoes.”

She extended her foot and looked at her black pumps with love in her sparkling green eyes. “I know. They make me feel like I’m tall enough to talk to you without having to stretch my neck.”

He’d thought they made her tall enough to kiss easily, naturally.

He really needed to get some sleep. The well-rested New Wolf of Wall Street didn’t care about enjoying things, didn’t compliment a woman he wasn’t dating, didn’t notice anybody’s shoes.

But when Leni put on her worn leather jacket, he remembered her real world again. Remembered why this dress was so important to her. And told himself that no matter how tired he was, he could be nice to her.

Then she spoke. “You look pretty good yourself.”

He glanced down at his black suit. “This is what I had on this morning.” And the day before. It was a wonder he wasn’t a wrinkled mess.

She winked and headed for the exit. “I know. You looked fabulous then, too.”

His brain scrambled. Had she just flirted with him?

Realizing she was almost at the door, he had to hurry to open it before she did, confusion and fear skittering along his nerve endings. They’d talked about this. There was no point in flirting.

He opened his mouth to remind her they’d already decided they shouldn’t get chummy, which in his book included flirting, but as she stepped into the hall, she casually said, “I’m starving.”

His brain stopped and then started again. She’d said he looked fabulous, but he hadn’t confirmed that she’d flirted with him. And the “I’m starving” comment shifted them back to normal conversational territory.

Did he really want to bring up flirting?

Especially when they’d already discussed this?

Not in a million years. “Then let’s get you some food.”

Outside the hotel, at a time of day when the avenue should have been dark, it was lit by hundreds of thousands of lights from jumbotrons, video advertisements, scrolling newsfeeds and storefronts. Leni looked up and down the street, her curiosity and wonder evident on her face.

Nick suddenly understood why Danny had put her in Times Square. The place was filled with tourists and her interest blended with the curiosity of the people around her. Even if she couldn’t control her reactions, she didn’t stand out. Half the people on the sidewalk were gawking in awe at the lights and videos and shops.

“I hope you like Italian food.”

Her eyes widened. “I love it.”

“Great.” He motioned to his driver that they were going to walk and headed down the street to the left. “I know a wonderful place. It’s low-key. A favorite hangout of visitors to the city, most of whom are going to a Broadway play.”

She huddled against the cold, sinking into her jacket, but her eyes were big, taking in everything in the exciting city he barely noticed anymore.

He slowed his pace, let her enjoy the walls of advertisements on the buildings, the vendors, the Christmas shoppers, and the cacophony of sounds from people and taxis and buses.

Seeing the city through her eyes, he felt the rhythm of it. The movement of tourists and vehicles in the brisk night air, all lit by thousands of colored lights.

The crowd thinned as they drifted away from Times Square. In another block they were at the restaurant. He gestured for her to walk down the black iron steps and opened the door for her when they reached the bottom.

Warmth hit him immediately, along with the shift in noise from a busy street to a crowded bar. After a clerk checked their coats, the hostess led them to a table in the middle of the dining area. The waiter poured wine for sampling. Nick almost told him it would be fine but realized he didn’t even know if Leni liked wine. Mark had been someone who drank tequila with a beer chaser. Of course, her father hadn’t been around to influence her decisions.

“Is wine okay?”

“Are you kidding? Wine would be great about now.”

The waiter grinned, poured two glasses and scurried away, leaving them to read the menus.

She took a slow sip of the wine and savored. “This is fabulous.”

He loved the way her eyes closed as she enjoyed her sip and slowed himself down as he took another taste from his glass. It was fabulous. “I think you’re having a fabulous night.”

She snickered. “That’s pretty cocky of you to say.”

“It’s not me. It’s you. You said you looked fabulous and I looked fabulous and now the wine is fabulous.”

“Sometimes fabulous really is the only word.”

He shrugged, but she was right. He’d known it when he took the time to savor the wine. He might not put himself or his clothes in the fabulous category, but her in that dress, with her green eyes and red lips? She was fabulous.

“Anything you recommend?”

He glanced up and saw her studying the menu. “Any of their pasta is—” he grinned “—fabulous.”

She laughed. “You do have a sense of humor.”

“No. I just took advantage of your love of fabulous.”

“Nick?”

His brain stalled at the sound of his mother’s voice, but he quickly gathered his wits and rose. “Mom!”

Leni glanced up at the pretty blonde with perfect makeup, wearing a bright blue dress, standing next to an older version of Nick. His mom and dad?

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