Holiday With The Millionaire

He nodded. ‘I think that would be best.’

She folded her arms across her chest and looked through the kitchen window into the darkness. ‘Looks like a long, rainy night out there to me...’ She let her voice drift off.

‘You’ve got to be joking? You’d actually ask me to leave?’

She started walking around the kitchen. ‘Absolutely. And just think, there’s a lovely king-sized bed up there, with fresh, clean sheets just waiting for you to jump in and ease your tired bones.’ She folded her arms around herself and rubbed her hands up and down them. She knew exactly how to play him.

He sat down his coffee cup. ‘You’re a manipulator.’

‘And you could be a murderer, a drug dealer or...’ she scrunched up her nose ‘...even worse, a wannabe.’

‘A what?’ He couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. ‘What are you talking about?’

She waved her hand. ‘You tell me you’re a sports agent, then you tell me you have to sort out badly behaved sports stars. You might just want to hang around them. You might even bring random dubious sport stars back to this place. They could wreck it.’

He shook his head. ‘You honestly think I want to hang around these guys? Some of them are worse behaved than two-year-olds.’

She folded her arms across her chest again. ‘Then give me a straight answer. Explain your “boisterous activities”.’

Boy. She was good. He’d practically walked right into that one.

He stood up, put both hands at his waist and arched his aching back. ‘Fine. We did some cliff-jumping, some free running. There might have been a little police involvement back in the day. Then there was the usual girl stuff. That’s probably why Addison doesn’t like me. She probably thinks of me as a bad influence or something.’

Lara leaned against one of the white cupboards. ‘Why? Because you encouraged her husband to take part in extreme sports, or because of the girl stuff?’

He ran his fingers through his hair. Jet-lag was definitely hitting right now. ‘Truth? Probably a bit of both. But, remember, this was all before her time.’ It wasn’t exactly the truth. But that was as much as he was willing to say.

Lara gave a nod. She’d finished cleaning the kitchen and it was back to its original sparkling white show-home-kitchen appearance. The kind of kitchen that looked as if people didn’t actually live in the house. ‘Well, that’s okay, then.’

She was still watching him with those wary blue eyes. He was trying not to think about the idiot who’d cheated on her and was obviously short of a few brain cells.

‘I’ve got an idea,’ he said, as he walked back through to the sitting room and picked up her half-empty bottle of wine and glass. ‘Let’s have a toast.’

‘A toast to what?’ She looked completely bewildered.

‘A toast to the fact we’ll need to share this house for the next two weeks.’

He poured some wine into her glass and handed it to her before she could object, then lifted the bottle up towards her. ‘To an interesting two weeks.’ He clinked the bottle to her glass before lifting it to his lips.

Her eyes never left his. ‘To an interesting two weeks,’ she repeated.

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS THE weirdest feeling. Somewhere in the space up above her there was another body breathing in and out.

She’d bet Reuben wasn’t having trouble sleeping. At first she’d thought she was too hot and had discarded the thick onesie. After tonight she’d probably never wear it again. Then she’d realised she didn’t have PJs—and sleeping in the nude with a stranger in the house just wasn’t an option. So she’d done something she’d never even thought about before and crept along the corridor to Addison and Caleb’s room and rummaged through a few drawers until she’d found something suitable.

But it wasn’t entirely suitable. Addison’s sleeping apparel seemed to be short satin nighties—a whole variety of them. Even lying in bed she kept trying to tug it over her backside as it left her feeling strangely exposed. Or maybe that was just because Reuben was overhead.

She couldn’t help it. She’d done an online search on him. Who wouldn’t?

He seemed to be the darling of the acidic football critics. He’d brought two young, unknown Argentinian footballers to a Premiership team and had virtually saved it from bankruptcy. He’d negotiated a change of coach three times for his tennis player, which had helped him shoot up the rankings. He’d had seven baseball teams fighting over one of his players. And the dollar signs for his latest basketball signing made her eyes water.

Then there were the photos. Plenty with the latest sports star but she was more interested in the ones with a beauty by his side. Granted, the beauty was never the same twice. But all were considerably more glamorous than she was—even when she was wearing one of Addison’s satin nightdresses.

Eventually she heard noise downstairs. Had she slept at all? It didn’t feel like it. It felt as if she’d tossed and turned all night, her head full of dark-clothed strangers breaking into the house.

By the sound of it Reuben was banging through all the cupboards in the kitchen. Lara sighed and threw back the bedclothes. She sat up, the cooler morning hair hitting her barely covered skin. She glanced around. She wasn’t going to go downstairs dressed like this. She hesitated in the doorway, peering along the corridor before stealing down the corridor to Addison and Caleb’s bedroom again in search of a dressing gown.

She should have guessed. There was a perfect matching bright pink satin dressing gown to the nightdress she was wearing. Bright pink trimmed with purple lace. She didn’t even want to think what it had actually cost. She wrapped the dressing gown around her. That was much better. It covered all the parts of her it should, skimming just above her knees.

With a bit more confidence she opened the door to head towards the kitchen and almost barrelled straight into tea-bearing Reuben.

‘Oops, sorry.’

She jumped back as the tea sloshed onto the carpet.

Caleb’s eyes swept up and down her more exposed body. ‘Nice change,’ he said quickly. ‘So you don’t always dress as a teddy bear.’ He squinted behind her. ‘Is that Caleb’s room?’

Heat flushed into her cheeks. How did this guy do that to her? She bit her lip. ‘Caught. Just don’t tell. Let’s just say I didn’t bring a lot of nightwear with me.’

He looked as if he were going to say something but stopped and gave his head a shake. He held the tea out towards her. ‘I made you tea.’

She stared at the cup. ‘What are you up to?’

He gave her a smile. ‘What makes you think I’m up to something?’

‘It’s written all over your face.’

He sighed. ‘What are your plans for today?’

Her eyes dipped downwards to her pink-painted toes. She hadn’t realised it but they actually matched her nightdress and gown. Her toes curled. ‘I’m not actually sure.’

‘You would have been on holiday, right? What were you going to do?’

She bit the inside of her cheek and said nothing.

This time it was Reuben’s turn to blush as he realised her obvious change of plans. ‘Oh, right. You were planning on spending time with that numbnut that you called a boyfriend. That means you’re free for the next two weeks.’

Her head shot up. ‘What did you call him?’

Reuben shrugged. ‘A numbnut—which he obviously is. Does the guy think he’s some kind of superhero? How dare he cheat on you?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Want to get thinking creatively? We could plot some hideous revenge.’

Her hands closed around the cup of tea. ‘Revenge means thinking about him—I’d rather not.’

Reuben nodded. ‘I have some work to do. Do you fancy coming with me?’ What was wrong with him? He had a mountain of work to get through. He knew there were six hundred emails in his inbox. But he had some other things to do. And he was feeling sorry for her. This time his eyes lingered on her curves and long bare legs.

‘I suppose I’d better register somewhere to try and find a new rental in London.’

‘Do you have the name of a reputable agency?’

She nodded. ‘The one I used the last time was great. I guess I’ll just register with them again.’ She sighed. ‘Once I’ve done that, I think I need to do a little shopping.’

‘Food or clothes?’ He’d already checked out the kitchen. After last night’s feast there was hardly anything left.

She sighed again. ‘Both, I suppose.’

‘Well, come and hang out with me for a while, then we can do some shopping.’

She looked at him suspiciously.

He lifted his hands. ‘What? It’s only fair I foot the bill for shopping. I ate all your food last night.’

She nodded. ‘Okay, then. Let me drink this tea and find some clothes.’

He gave a cheery nod and wandered back down the corridor. She watched his retreating back, but her eyes were drawn downwards. He was still wearing well-fitting jeans and a snug grey T-shirt.

Her two weeks of misery seemed to be looking up.

CHAPTER FOUR

HE MUST BE CRAZY. Why on earth had he invited Lara out for the day?

Sure, she was cute. Sure, they had to share a house for the next two weeks. But that didn’t mean he had to try and be her new best friend.

But there had been something about her. When she’d been telling him about her ex and the pain had been etched in her eyes. The guy was clearly a fool.

He’d cringed last night when she’d asked him why Addison didn’t like him. He tried his best not to think about that night at all. But Lara had seemed placated when he’d padded out his story with a little detail.

Too bad he’d left the biggest detail out.

Caleb had shrugged off what had happened between them. He knew how damaged Reuben had been by his parents’ relationship. But Addison had no idea. He still wasn’t Mr Popular with her.

She probably didn’t even know that Caleb had invited him to stay here.

He finished sending a few emails as Lara walked into the kitchen. She was wearing a pink sequined T-shirt, a pair of hip-hugging blue jeans, black heeled boots and a fitted bright pink raincoat.

Her hair was soft and shiny and hanging in waves around her shoulders. She walked across the kitchen, smiling, pulled a pink lipstick from her pocket and painted it on her lips. ‘Reuben, what exactly did you plan today? I should remind you, I’m not exactly a sports fan.’

He laughed. ‘It will be fine, I promise. I need to visit one of the nearby football stadiums but I’ll be less than half an hour. Then we can sort out some food and anything else you need to buy.’

She gave a thoughtful nod. ‘I might have left some of my things behind.’

‘Things like what?’

She sighed. ‘My whole summer wardrobe. Just about everything I need to put in my case for my holiday is still at the flat. It’s ready to be picked up. It’s all sitting in another case.’

He blinked. ‘No problem. We’ll swing by later and you can collect it.’

Panic streaked across her face. ‘But... I don’t think... I’m not sure...’

‘Calm down.’ He reached over and took her hand, trying to ignore the little pulses he could feel in his palm, ‘I’ll go and get your things.’

Her eyes widened, flooding with relief. ‘You will?’

How on earth could he say no? ‘Of course I will. No problem.’

He picked up his car keys. ‘Now, can we go?’

* * *

For some strange reason the car seemed to be parting the traffic in London. Lara had never managed to get through the London streets so quickly—but, then again, she’d never been in a car like this one before either. The dark red colour alone seemed to command attention but it was so low, so sleek against the road that she wondered if she’d ever be able to get out again.

Reuben handled the car with ease. In the streets of London she would be terrified to drive a hundred yards but he took every corner without a second thought, pulling up outside the vast stadium only thirty minutes later.

He signalled to her to get out and she climbed out, looking up at the glass-fronted stadium. ‘Come on, I won’t be long,’ he said, as he walked into the reception area, waving at the reception staff. ‘Lydia, Carrie, where’s the chairman?’

‘Downstairs in the changing rooms. He’s talking to the manager.’

Reuben gave a casual wave and opened a door to a flight of stairs. Lara struggled to keep up with his long strides, almost running to keep up as he turned corner after corner through a warren of tunnels underneath the club.

He paused outside one of the doors. ‘Wait here,’ he said, smiling. ‘Don’t want you to see anything you shouldn’t.’ He disappeared through the door.

She sighed and leaned against the concrete wall. This wasn’t exactly her idea of fun. How long would this take?

A few seconds later there were shouts and one of the footballers came stomping along the corridor. His eyes only briefly brushed over her before he pulled his top over his head and banged through the changing-room door.

She sucked in a deep breath. Footballers were known for being temperamental, weren’t they?

A few seconds later the door opened and another footballer came out. This time he had a hint of smile about his face. Which was just as well, since he wasn’t wearing much. Lara sucked in an even deeper breath than before and fixed her eyes on her hands. This guy slammed through another door with ‘Physio’ emblazoned across it.

Then came another, then another, each man wearing a little less than the one before.

Did the players always walk around here practically naked? She had about a hundred friends who would think this a fabulous dream. Pity she wasn’t one of them.

Lara focused on her fingernails. They weren’t great. When was the last time she’d taken time out for a manicure? It had been on her to-do list. It would need to move further up. There was another bang. She couldn’t possibly ignore it.

Her chin bounced off the floor. It was the team’s star mega-million-pound footballer, with painted-on sculpted abs, a pair of teeny-weeny white tight briefs and the best spray tan she’d ever seen. His eyes looked her up and down lasciviously, making her stomach roll over—and not in a good way. His ego was so big there was barely room for the rest of him.

‘Hey, baby,’ he said, as he slid along the corridor towards her.

She gulped. Oh, no. Her worst nightmare. She was so out of her depth right now.

The door opened behind her and an arm slid around her shoulder. ‘Chris, are you being a prat again?’ He turned towards her. ‘Sorry, Lara, I should have warned you about these guys. If there are any females around they like to do walk-bys with each one wearing less than the previous one. Ignore them.’ Reuben had a wet towel in his hand and he flicked it at Chris, who leapt into the air like a big girl.

‘Ouch!’ He rubbed his thigh and stormed back into the changing room, muttering expletives under his breath.

Lara shook her head. ‘You’re joking—that’s what they do?’

Reuben nodded. ‘Every time. They can’t help it. The average mental age around here is about twelve.’

He hadn’t moved his arm from her shoulders and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it. Exactly how many women did he bring here with him—and why did that matter to her? ‘Can we get out of here now?’

He smiled. A white straight-toothed smile that reached all the way to those big brown eyes she was currently staring up into. It was odd. But it was one of the most genuine smiles she’d seen. Before, he’d been amused by her or he’d been sarcastic. This time it felt real and it sent a little wave of pulses skittering over her skin. Just what she needed while her brain was mush.

She gave a little shudder and put her head down as they walked down the corridor. But Reuben stopped. ‘Hey, what is it?’

Her footsteps had stopped but she hadn’t lifted her head. He stepped in front of her, his fingers reaching down and tilting her chin up towards him.

It seemed such a personal touch—an almost intimate touch. Or as intimate as you could be in a place filled with staff while you were fully clothed. ‘What’s wrong, Lara?’

It was the way he said her name. That Irish lilt that was guaranteed to turn any woman’s legs to jelly. This guy could be Colin Farrell’s brother.

Her body wanted to tremble. But she wouldn’t let it. No way. No, sir.

She lifted her eyes to meet his. ‘Let’s just say I have an image from yesterday imprinted permanently on my brain. It keeps flashing back in there when it’s least wanted.’

He gave a visible shudder. She didn’t need to give an explicit description. He knew exactly what she was getting at.

He swung his arm back around her shoulders. ‘It’s time to move things on. Let’s go and collect the stuff you need for your summer holidays and that way you’re done—finished. For ever. You can forget about the loser and look forward to your holiday.’

He guided her back along the corridor. ‘I meant to ask—where are you going on holiday anyway?’

He pushed the door open and held it for her. ‘I’m booked to go on a cruise,’ she sighed. ‘I always wanted to cruise around the Med so I saved all my spare pennies for it.’ She waved her hand. ‘And if you’re going to cruise, you need the clothes for it.’

He smiled as if an idea had just blossomed in his brain. ‘You certainly do. Where does the ship sail to?’

She was starting to feel a little more comfortable around Reuben. Talking about travelling meant that they were on neutral ground. Small talk was about all she could handle right now. She smiled. ‘Everywhere I’ve always wanted to visit—Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Pisa, Marseille, Sicily.’ A little edge came to her voice. ‘I’m not going to let him spoil it for me.’

Reuben nodded. ‘And we won’t. Let’s get this over and done with.’

* * *

If someone had sat him down before he’d boarded the flight to London and told him what his next twenty-four hours would be like he wouldn’t have believed them. Not for a second.

He rapped the door of the Camden flat once again, glancing down to the street to where his car was idling. Even from here he could see Lara’s hands turning over and over in her lap.

There was a noise—a grunt—and the door finally opened.

Reuben blinked. Really? Lara was definitely hovering around a ten. This guy? He was lucky if he was a four. What’s more, he could almost smell the arrogance coming from him. His fingers automatically balled into fists.

‘Who are you?’ said Mr Barely Dressed. That paunch really wasn’t attractive. There was a tittering noise behind him. Great. The neighbour was still hanging around.

‘I’m a friend of Lara’s. I’m here to pick up the rest of her stuff.’

The guy’s brow furrowed. ‘A friend of Lara’s? I’ve never met you before.’

‘And you’ll never meet me again. Now, she wants her case with her summer clothes in it. Give it to me and we’ll be on our way.’

Now the guy looked really pleased with himself. ‘Well, it’s too late. I flung the rest of her stuff out of the flat yesterday after she stormed out. The bin men have already been.’ He folded his arms across his chest.

‘You what?’ He couldn’t stop himself. He had Mr Smarmy pinned against the wall in an instant. ‘You did what?’

The guy panicked. ‘Well, she was gone. And it’s not like she’ll be coming back. Why would I want to keep her stuff?’

Reuben shook his head. ‘It’s not bad enough you got caught in bed with another woman, you didn’t even give Lara the chance to collect all her things. How dare you?’

The guy was still against the wall but he lifted his hands, doing his best impression of a shrug. ‘Well, she was screaming and shouting yesterday. Calling me all kinds of names. There was no way she’d be back.’

A woman appeared at his elbow, holding a phone in her hand. ‘If you don’t get out of here now I’m calling the police.’ She turned her nose up in a sneer. ‘Tell Lara she’s not welcome here.’

There was so much he could say. His temper was bubbling just beneath the surface. What a pair of low-lives. The woman was running her eyes up and down his body. It made him feel positively unclean. Both of them did.

He could feel adrenaline surging within him, closely followed by a red mist descending. Just like he had the night he’d punched out Caleb. Was it any wonder Addison didn’t like him? He flinched. He didn’t want to be that guy any more. He was trying not to be that guy any more.

He released his grip on the guy and looked at him in disgust. ‘You two deserve each other. Lara’s worth ten of you.’

He turned on his heel, ignoring the shouts that followed him. The guy made him mad. The girl made him mad. Their utter disrespect of Lara made him mad. How had she ended mixed up with these two?

He strode back to the car, jumped inside and slammed the door, not thinking for a second about what he was going to say to her.

Her eyes widened at the expression on his face and she stared at his empty hands. ‘Didn’t you get my stuff?’

It was the wide-eyed innocence that made his stomach curl in knots. On a few fleeting moments Lara had appeared quite street savvy, but right now? He felt as if he were just about to grab her heart between both hands and squeeze hard.

She’d already told him she’d saved hard for her dream holiday—and from what he’d seen he could take a guess that the guy upstairs hadn’t contributed at all. Just how much would it cost her to replace her entire summer holiday wardrobe?

‘I’m picking your stuff up later,’ he said quickly.

He turned the car onto the main road. ‘Now, let’s go and food shop.’

* * *

She wasn’t quite sure when the house burglar turned into her kind of guardian angel. All she knew was thirty minutes after telling her they’d pick up her clothes later he pulled his sleek car up outside one of the most famous department stores in London with its gold and green sign.

Reuben walked around and opened the door for her. Her head flicked from side to side. ‘You can’t leave your car here...’

Her voice trailed off as a uniformed man slid into the driver’s seat and the car mysteriously disappeared.

He smiled at the expression on her face and gestured towards the door. ‘Let’s hit the food court. We need to buy supplies.’

She watched the dark red car disappear around the corner, shaking her head as he slung his arm back around her shoulders and steered her towards the entrance. ‘I didn’t even know they did that,’ she murmured.

‘What can I say? I’ve friends in high places.’

What on earth did that mean? She looked down at her clothes. Jeans and a pink t-shirt. And come to think of it her boots could do with a polish. If she’d known they were shopping in style she might have dressed up a little.

They walked down the stairs to the food court. Even two steps down the aroma of everything expensive came up to meet them.

Reuben was smiling already, crossing over to the glass display cabinet of fine meats and truffles and foie gras.

‘What do you like?’ he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Chicken.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Chicken?’ You’d think she’d sworn out loud.

She nodded. ‘Chicken. I like chicken.’

She looked around at the massive department.

‘And raspberry jam. And freshly baked bread—maybe a croissant or two. And some more bacon and eggs.’

Her legs had started walking, following her nose as she glanced from side to side.

‘I love the chocolate digestives from here, and the rose and violet shortbread— Oh...’ She spun round and put her hand on his chest. ‘And those tiny dark chocolates filled with orange. Now, where on earth will they be?’

He put one hand on his hip as people filed past. ‘We’re in one of the finest food stores and you want bacon. And eggs. And raspberry jam.’ His chest was right in front of her nose and now every time she breathed in she didn’t get the wonderful food aromas around her, she just got Reuben Tyler. Every masculine, woody scent of him. If she could sell that aftershave she’d never have to work again.