Buch lesen: «Winning Back His Bride»

“Geneva. How long has it been?”

What game was he playing? “You know as well as I do how long.”

Michael looked steady and thoughtful, but that didn’t fool her. His jaw muscle tightening was a clue.

“Oh, you mean the wedding,” he said. “The one where you left me at the altar.”

She winced. How simple he made it sound. But it hadn’t been simple, and seeing him again dredged up all the painful feelings that had compelled her to leave him that day.

Oh, he’d been willing to go through with the wedding—because he’d given his word. But Geneva had wanted more than just willing. She wanted love—the head-over-heels kind. The kind that could make a marriage work.

The kind this man couldn’t give her.

Winning Back his Bride
Teresa Southwick

www.millsandboon.co.uk

TERESA SOUTHWICK

is delighted to be living out her lifelong dream of writing for Silhouette Romance and Silhouette Special Edition. She lives in Las Vegas, where she’s hard at work on her next romance novel.

“Las Vegas is renowned as the wedding capital of the world, so when I decided to set this book here, I knew a wedding would figure prominently. And what if that wedding was one that didn’t happen? This was the core idea behind this book. I live in Las Vegas, and find it really is the most exciting city on the planet.”

To Stacy Boyd,

an editor with the perfect blend of

efficiency, creativity and support.

You’re the best!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

PICTURE him naked.

Geneva Porter was familiar with the technique public speakers used to calm nerves, but it wouldn’t work for her. This wasn’t public. She wasn’t speaking. And she’d already seen Michael Sullivan naked.

However hot the memory, seeing the sexy Mr. Sullivan without his clothes was partially responsible for the disastrous series of events that had landed her right here, right now—waiting to see him and find out if she was Las Vegas’s latest events planner without a job.

Unemployment would be bad. Seeing Michael Sullivan again… It was going to be very bad.

But he was her boss as of a week ago when his deal to buy this hotel finalized. One by one he’d met with the existing managers. Now it was her turn. Time to get it over with and brazen out their first meeting since… Well, since she’d last seen him. On the bad scale, that time had been off the chart.

Taking a deep breath wouldn’t help but she took one anyway as she knocked sharply on his door and let herself in. It was a spacious corner office with two sets of floor-to-ceiling windows, giving him two different and fabulous views of the Las Vegas Strip, Bellagio on one side, Caesar’s Palace on the other. Michael was sitting behind his desk oozing power and charisma.

“Hello, Michael.” One look into his dark eyes dropped her stomach like the Insanity ride on top of the Stratosphere. Her heart pounded and her hands shook. “You look great.”

How stupid did that sound? This was worse than bad.

She’d met him over a year ago when he’d started the process of buying this property. He hadn’t changed a bit. He looked just as handsome, with his dark hair and a face that was all lean angles. But it was his smile that she’d fallen in love with and she wasn’t seeing it now.

“Geneva.” His eyes narrowed and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “How long has it been?”

What game was he playing? “You know as well as I do how long.”

He looked steady and thoughtful but that didn’t fool her. The jaw muscle tightening again was a clue.

“Oh. You mean the wedding,” he said.

“Of course that’s what I mean.”

“The one where you left me at the altar.”

She winced. How simple he made it sound. How easily he said the words. But it hadn’t been simple or easy and seeing him again dredged up all the painful feelings that had compelled her to leave him that day. She feared making a mistake, a mistake too much like her parents had made by marrying each other. Feared that Michael had never loved her, that he’d proposed only because she’d been pregnant with his child, a baby she’d miscarried in the first trimester.

He’d been willing to go through with the wedding—because he’d given his word. But, Geneva wanted more than just willing. She wanted love—the head-over-heels kind. The only kind that could fill the emptiness in her soul for the baby she’d lost. The only kind that would make a marriage work.

Brushing nonexistent lint from the skirt of her black suit, she said, “About the wedding—”

He held up a hand to stop her. “That’s not why I called you in.”

“But it’s why you’re going to fire me.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “Why would I do that?”

She badly wanted to say “duh.” Instead she put as much sass as possible into the look she shot him. “Maybe because I left you at the altar?”

“That was a year ago.”

As if she didn’t know. “So you’re over it?”

“Of course.”

Of course? Just like that? So now she had new and different feelings yet to be identified. She didn’t want him to brood over her. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him in the first place. But he was dismissing her like an afterthought. She should be relieved. If she worked hard enough, maybe she could pull it off.

“Good,” she said, nodding. “I guess that explains why you went ahead with the hotel deal.”

“It’s business,” he snapped.

“It’s Vegas,” she countered. “Mergers and acquisitions are announced every other week. A gazillion things have to fall into place before anyone signs on the dotted line. Deals fall apart all the time.”

“You thought I’d back out because of you?” he asked. His voice could’ve frozen a glass of water in the middle of July.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier?”

“I don’t take the easy way out.” His gaze locked on hers and clearly said—not like some people. “And I’m getting the feeling you don’t want to work for me.”

Probably because she didn’t. Not if she had to see him regularly. “I don’t have a choice. It’s called a contract. Although as the new owner of this hotel, you can terminate it.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re angry and want revenge. What happened between us was very public and—”

“Very over,” he interrupted. “It didn’t change my mind about the deal. I wanted this hotel for the adjacent land.”

And he’d only wanted her for the baby. That still hurt deeply. “I see.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you wondering if I still have personal feelings for you?”

“I’m wondering if your personal feelings are about getting even with me,” she said, putting a finer point on it.

“I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I’m not a turn-the-other-cheek kind of guy.”

No. He was a man-of-action kind of guy. They’d barely been introduced when he swept her off her feet. After all this time apart, just a few minutes with him showed her she was still vulnerable to the Michael Sullivan brand of charm. And he wasn’t being charming.

Still standing in front of his desk, she squared her shoulders and linked her fingers together, refusing to let him see that her hands were shaking. “Did you call me in to ask for my resignation?”

“I called you in because you’re the hotel events planner.” Something dangerous flared in his eyes. “I want you to plan an event.” He held out his hand, indicating the chairs in front of his desk. “Why don’t you sit down?”

Did she have a choice? She needed this job. She had a year left on her contract. If she walked, he could sue her for breach of contract and she had no doubt he would—because he wasn’t a turn-the-other-cheek kind of guy. Defending herself against a lawsuit could get expensive and ruin the professional reputation she’d been working so hard to build in Las Vegas. On top of that, she’d refinanced her condo and borrowed against the equity to pay Michael back for the wedding.

“Okay.” Since she couldn’t walk out, she sat.

“As you know, I have real estate and hotels in the east, and this is my second hotel in Las Vegas.”

“Yes.”

He folded his hands and rested them on his glass and chrome desk as he leaned forward. “I’m planning a luxury high-rise on the land that adjoins this hotel. It’s a fairly new concept to Las Vegas and will give the Vegas Valley its vertical identity. The tallest residential super tower west of the Mississippi will also make this a flagship property for the upscale Sullivan brand’s global footprint.”

“Very ambitious.”

“I’m an ambitious man. This is the only city in the world that reinvents itself every day. And now it’s my city with all its possibilities—and risks.”

She knew all about risk. She’d found out she wasn’t a risk-taker but that hadn’t saved her from regrets. With an effort, she pulled her thoughts back to what he was saying.

Dark intensity sizzled in his eyes. “It’s a good location, with spectacular views of the lights on The Strip and close to downtown restaurants, shows and high-end shopping.”

“Sounds like New York west.”

“That’s the plan. But we need to hit the ground running at the grand opening.”

“Did you have any thoughts about what tone you want to set at the sales release?” She was the planner, but it was his event.

He nodded. “Glitzy, in a three-ring circus kind of way. The biggest dog and pony show you can possibly pull off.”

“I can pull off whatever you want.”

He didn’t respond, but the muscle in his jaw jerked, and she wondered if he was thinking about the day she’d walked away. She shouldn’t still care what he thought, but he was her boss and all she had was her job. So she’d best start doing it and focus on the here and now instead of on the past.

She sat up straighter and met his gaze. “Glitz would include Hollywood A-listers. Entertainment personalities with a lot of money to spend and wealthy noncelebrities. It should be invitation only, and we send them out to everyone you know or ever hope to know.”

“You’re the expert.”

Did he really think that? Or was he setting her up for a fall? “Then I’ll brainstorm some promotion and giveaway ideas. Nothing brings people out like a spectacle and freebies. Did you have a theme in mind?” she asked.

“Again, that’s your field of expertise.”

“Sullivan Towers, the sky’s the limit,” she said off the top of her head. “Or ‘Living the High Life.’”

“Not bad.” His dark eyes gleamed with reluctant approval.

Geneva felt the power of that unwilling positive reaction deep down inside, pressing against a place she’d closed off a year ago. It was a Pandora’s box of feelings: messy, confusing, disturbing and embarrassing.

Yes, she’d called off the wedding. Her mistake had been in waiting until just before saying “I do.” But until that moment, she’d tried to convince herself that Michael actually loved her. If she’d gone through with the ceremony knowing he didn’t, she’d have been destroyed. And so would he. But he’d never given her the chance to explain that she’d done him a favor.

“So are we finished?” she asked.

“For now.”

Very bad didn’t begin to describe this meeting. And he would know how she felt unless she got out of here now.

“I’ll work up a proposal.” She stood. “But before I get started, Michael, I need an answer to my question.”

“Which one?” he asked, standing too.

She looked way up at him, six feet of solid muscle and sophisticated suave sex appeal. Her insides quivered with memories of the short time he’d been hers. Then the memories became a fist squeezing her heart, making it difficult to draw in air.

“Do you intend to terminate my contract because of what happened between us?”

He settled his hands on lean hips. “Didn’t we just have a meeting about an event I expect you to plan?”

“I got that. But are you going to change your mind? We’ll have to work closely together and I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t work with me at all.” If he simply let her out of her contract, it would be the clean break she needed to avoid this emotional free-for-all and maintain her professional reputation.

“That would imply I hadn’t forgiven you.”

“Have you?”

Michael folded his arms over his impressive chest and smiled his pretty smile, the one that always crumbled her defenses like stick houses in a stiff breeze. “I always say—forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.”

That was nothing new. For the last year thoughts of him had messed with her head even when she hadn’t seen him. Now he was back in her life and that meant he could mess with her heart unless she figured out a way to Michael-proof it.

“Geneva. I need—”

Need? The word stopped Michael. He didn’t need, not from her. He wouldn’t let himself need anything from her. At least not personally. Professional needs were different.

“We have to talk.”

Michael watched her back stiffen and braced himself. He thought he’d done that a week ago, before seeing her again. He’d thought he’d been prepared for eyes so big, so green he could fall into them. For the thick, shiny brown hair that made him want to bury his fingers in the silken strands. For the deep dimples that could drop a man to his knees when she smiled and the body that could tempt him to throw caution to the wind.

He’d thought wrong.

It had been a year, for God’s sake, and when she’d walked into his office he’d wanted to terminate her contract on the spot. The problem was, he was still putting together the project’s financing. His past with Geneva was no secret, and firing her could be a disaster. Perception was everything. If he couldn’t handle having an old girlfriend around, how was he going to deal with the stress of a billion-dollar development?

Or worse, it could look like he was reacting emotionally, which would fuel rumors that he couldn’t manage the company with a steady hand and a clear head. None of it was a big deal, but he’d seen the stock market rise and fall on less. Any hint of weakness could be enough to trigger investor doubt. Without investors, the project would be dead in the water.

That was unacceptable. He was stuck with her, and he’d realized it when he’d decided to go forward with the deal. But he’d had a year to prepare himself. It should have been enough.

He’d expected to feel nothing and hadn’t been ready for the grinding knot of need at his first glimpse of Geneva. He wouldn’t make the same mistake.

He’d deliberately waited a week to see her again, giving her time to squirm and wonder what he was up to. The meeting of his operations team had just ended. He hadn’t missed the fact that Geneva sat in the chair closest to the door—and farthest from him.

So what else was new? She’d left him at the altar. Like an idiot, he’d actually thought about going after her. Before making a fool of himself he realized there was nothing to talk about. She’d said she couldn’t marry him. End of story.

As she walked toward him now, his gaze settled on her mouth and a jolt of awareness arced through him. End of attraction? Not so much.

She stopped two feet away from him, at the head of the long, mahogany conference table. “Yes?”

“Something’s come up,” he said.

“Don’t tell me. You changed your mind.”

“About?”

“Firing me.” She lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder at the group of executives milling around talking. Then she met his gaze again. “You wanted more witnesses when you made the announcement.”

“And why would I want that?” He was irritated when he caught himself staring at her mouth again.

“An eye for an eye.”

“You still think I’m after revenge.”

“A natural assumption considering you once told me your philosophy. And not the one about forgiving your enemies.”

She shrugged and tried to look as if she didn’t give a damn. It didn’t work. One of the things he’d instantly liked about her was that everything she was thinking showed on her face. She couldn’t hide what she was feeling. Then she’d proven him wrong by blindsiding him the day he’d planned to make her his. And it had been very public. Especially for a man who didn’t like getting blindsided at all.

The day she’d left him at the altar had been the second worst day of his life. It was only topped by the day he’d found out his parents were killed in a plane crash.

He forced the thoughts away and struggled to focus. “I have another philosophy?”

“Don’t get mad. Get even,” she reminded him. “And stay on top.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “That one.”

Getting mad didn’t help. He’d tried that first. He’d also considered backing out of the hotel deal after she’d backed out of their wedding. But he refused to let her win. He also couldn’t fire her. Getting even? The thought held some appeal.

“So am I canned?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked guardedly.

“Teri is getting married.”

“Please convey my congratulations to your sister.”

“You can do it yourself. You’re going to plan the engagement party and wedding.”

She stared at him for several moments. “Isn’t this where you say ‘gotcha?’”

“I couldn’t be more serious.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Your sister could elevate grudge-holding to an art form. The Teri Sullivan I know would take her vows at city hall and meet at Fat-burger for the reception before letting the same woman who left her brother at the altar plan her wedding.”

“Maybe. But Teri still wants you.”

Struggling for indifference, Michael slid his hands into his pockets. How the hell could he still want her after all this time? After what she’d done? But he knew. He’d never quite been able to stop wanting her. Or stop missing the feel of her in his arms at night. And he was having trouble getting the “hands off” message from his brain to the appropriate body parts. At least he could explain that. It was a purely physical reaction to a strikingly beautiful woman.

Everything else was more complicated. He’d told himself it was just business, but two meetings with Geneva had shown him that seeing her every day would be an unexpected complication. He didn’t like complications.

But sometimes to get the job done you had to piss people off, even if that person was yourself. Success didn’t come without a price and he was determined that the cost wouldn’t be more than he could pay.

Geneva shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“My sister’s a team player.”

Questions simmered in her eyes. “And, pray tell, why is her wedding a team event?”

“Let’s call it one part of the marketing strategy. A celebrity wedding will generate media attention and get the word out to our target buyer. I paid the idea guys a lot of money for their expertise and it would take a special kind of stupid to ignore them.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Michael?”

If he didn’t know better, he’d think that was concern in her eyes. But he did know better. “I need to secure the rest of the financing for Sullivan Towers. We have enough to break ground and build a shell, but not to finish. That would make it a very public failure. Been there. Done that. Don’t want to go there again.”

She caught the corner of her top lip between her teeth. “If you’re talking about the wedding, I had reasons for calling it off—”

“It’s not about you.” He wouldn’t let it be. And he didn’t want to hear her excuses now any more than he had then. Her actions had told him everything he needed to know. “That’s ancient history.”

“But it was my public failure, not yours.”

“Yes, and your failure will help me get my financing. The press will dig into everything about Teri and me and you. They write about everything we Sullivans do and the public reads it.”

“I remember,” she said.

“The only thing that generates more publicity than a high profile wedding is one that doesn’t happen.” Their fiasco had fueled a reporter feeding frenzy. “The day you walked out we were the lead story on the news, beating out the president’s summit on the global economy.”

“Yeah. For months afterward they hounded me for a comment.”

Which she’d stubbornly declined to make. He respected her discretion even though he didn’t want to respect anything about her. “I got the same treatment. So imagine a Sullivan business venture combined with a Sullivan wedding… Picture the headlines—millionaire developer gains luxury high-rise and loses sister to matrimony. Wedding to be planned by his runaway bride. The perfect storm of publicity.”

“I see your point,” she said.

“I thought you would.”

“But I can’t do it.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts.

He couldn’t stop himself from noticing the interesting things the movement did to her curves and memories of soft skin and twisted sheets jumped into his mind. He forced himself to look away. When he glanced around the room, he saw that it was empty except for him and Geneva. Where had everyone gone? More to the point—when had they gone and why hadn’t he noticed? Damn it.

Clearly she didn’t want to be here. Tough. He didn’t want to be here, either, let alone asking her to do anything more than her job required. But he and Teri were determined to make Sullivan Towers a success and that meant doing the hard stuff.

His sister had no qualms about working with Geneva. Her reservations had been for him. But he’d assured her that he had no leftover feelings. It had been a year and Geneva didn’t matter. If they could use public failure and turn it into a success, he’d lead the way.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Michael. I just don’t want to cause you problems.”

“That’s ironic coming from you,” he snapped.

Something flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t respond.

“Teri is the only family I have left. If you choose to believe anything, believe this—I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

He’d been eighteen and Teri just ten when their parents died. But they’d pulled together and moved forward. And that’s the way they would make this project an unqualified success.

Geneva worried her lip between her teeth as she studied him. “Michael, clearly this has been in the works for a while. Why didn’t you mention this to me that day in your office?”

He shrugged. “I had other things on my mind.”

No way would he tell her that seeing her again and acting as if he felt nothing had taken all of his concentration. Everything else had slipped his mind.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “The bottom line is that I need to presell forty percent of the high-rise units to secure the last of the financing before we break ground. We’ll leave no stone unturned and take advantage of the press, publicity and media exposure wherever we can find it. You’re part of that whether you like it or not.”

“And if I refuse you’ll fire me?”

“That’s not the kind of publicity I’m after.” Was she hoping he’d let her go? Put distance between them? Bailing out was what she did best, but he wouldn’t let her get away with it this time. The project was the highest profile development he’d ever done and he was dedicating it to his parents. He’d do whatever was necessary to make it happen, including using her. “Look at it this way. You owe me, Geneva.”

She stared at him for several moments, doubts swirling in her eyes. The uncertainty was still there when she nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Okay what?”

“Maybe there really is something I can do to help you get what you want and make up for what I did. I’m willing to take a chance. Because, God knows you have your faults, Michael. A good many of them. As do I. But you’d never do anything to hurt your sister. Not even for business.”

That was true. If Teri had the slightest doubt about this aspect of the marketing plan, he’d find another angle for the media attention.

“Then we have a deal.”

“We do. And for now I’ll assume you’re not trying to lull me into a false sense of security, then—” She drew her hand across her neck, miming slitting her throat.

Get her? A shaft of heat lasered through him and again he did his best to ignore it. He straightened and looked down at her. “To still be angry enough to get even with you over what happened a year ago requires a great deal of energy and passion. I’ve focused both on opening Sullivan Towers.”

“You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

“Good.” And speaking of passion, it was time to put his back to work before he forgot to forget and remembered to remember everything about her. He walked toward the door and said, “I’ll be in touch.”

Touch.

Like the exquisite sensation of her bare skin beneath his hands, her lips responding to his own. Those memories gave a whole new meaning to the words I’ll be in touch.

His intense reaction irritated the hell out of him. He didn’t want to want her, but that made no difference to his testosterone. And with so much at stake, he couldn’t afford any weakness.

He didn’t have to like the idea of working with her, but he wouldn’t let her become a distraction. Since he didn’t have a choice, he’d make the most of a bad situation. He’d make sure his sister had the best and if that meant hiring Geneva as the wedding planner and watching her every step of the way, he’d do it. That would never make up for Teri not having her father and mother there to give her away, but Michael intended to create a wedding day she would never forget. And he wasn’t above using the situation to his advantage. Since a year without Geneva hadn’t taken the edge off his attraction, perhaps overexposure would do the trick. Might be just what he needed to get her out of his system.

The best part was that she wouldn’t like it.