How to Seduce a Billionaire (9 page)

Sally rushed over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “Thank you, Brandon. This is wonderful.”

“You’re welcome, Mom. I just want you all to relax, pour yourselves a glass of champagne and have a great time.”

His mother laughed. “Believe me, sweetie, that’s exactly what we had in mind.”

Two hours later, Brandon had finished up a short meeting with his brothers and the restaurant staff. Adam was on his way back to his room to check on Trish, who’d been taking a nap, while Cameron and Julia had decided to pour themselves glasses of wine and stroll through the vineyards to enjoy the sunset.

Brandon headed back to his office, but as he crossed the lobby, he spied Marjorie and Bea in the gift shop located next to the wine bar on the opposite side of the lobby from the front desk. Marjorie clutched a box of expensive chocolates and Bea held a bottle of good red wine and they were deep in conversation with the clerk. He grinned as he imagined them discussing the best wine to drink with chocolate. Glancing around, he looked for his mother, but she wasn’t in the shop. A movement caught his eye and he glanced out at the terrace where Sally stood talking animatedly with Kelly.

For a brief moment, he stopped and simply enjoyed the sight of Kelly’s short skirt wafting in the soft breeze and let his mind wander to what she might be wearing underneath. Another thong, he hoped, allowing himself to imagine the feel of featherlight lace against her silky—

He snapped back to reality. That was
his mother
talking to Kelly. And knowing his mother and what she was capable of in the name of matchmaking, Brandon’s mood shifted immediately into suspicion. His mother and Kelly chatting? This couldn’t be a good thing, so he strolled outside to put a stop to whatever mischief Sally Duke was up to.

“Hello, Mother,” he said.

Sally whipped around. “Oh! Brandon, dear, you snuck up on me.”

That was exactly what he’d meant to do, but he wasn’t about to say so. “What were you two talking about?”

“I was just telling Kelly how marvelous she looks,” Sally said. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, she looks great,” Brandon said warily. “So what?”

Sally gave him a perplexed look. “Are you feeling all right, sweetie?”

“He’s probably wondering what I’m doing away from the office,” Kelly said lightly. “Which means I’d better get going. It was lovely to see you again, Mrs. Duke.”

“You, too, Kelly.” Sally gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, if not sooner.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Kelly said, then rushed through the lobby toward their offices.

“What’s tomorrow night?” Brandon asked cautiously.

“Kelly’s joining us for dinner.”

His eyes narrowed. “Mom, what are you doing?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she said, straightening her shoulders and meeting his gaze head-on. “Kelly does so much for all of us, I thought it would be a nice gesture to include her. My goodness, I haven’t booked my own travel in over a year, thanks to her, and she helped me track down that fabulous imported baby gym for little Jake’s birthday. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. She works wonders, but all that is beside the point. Kelly is simply a delightful woman and I’ve come to think of her as a member of our extended family. So I invited her to dinner. Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t invite her yourself.”

If she only knew, Brandon thought. “Look, Mom, Kelly’s great, but that doesn’t mean I want you playing matchmaker between me and her.”

“Matchmaker?” She looked truly mystified, but Brandon knew for a fact that his mother was an excellent actress when she wanted to be.

He rolled his eyes at her attempt to play dumb. “You can deny it all you want, but I know you’ve been trying to get all of us guys married off.” He folded his arms across his chest to show her he meant business. “You might’ve succeeded with Adam and Cameron, but you won’t with me. There’s no way you’ll ever get me to propose to Kelly, so you might as well give up right now.”

“Propose?” She blinked. “To Kelly?” She stared at him in shock for a few more seconds, then began to laugh. And she kept laughing until she was doubled over. Finally, she thumped her chest as she tried to catch her breath. “Oh, my goodness, I haven’t laughed like that in years.”

“And I’m sure you were laughing
with
me.”

She choked on another laugh. “Of course.”

“What’s so damn funny, Mom?”

“Oh, honey, come on. You? Marry Kelly? That’s ridiculous.”

“Oh, yeah?” he said, his tone challenging as he loomed over her.

She laughed again. “Brandon sweetie, I love you dearly, but I would never do that to Kelly!”

“To
Kelly?
” Now it was Brandon’s turn to be surprised. “What about me?”

“You’ll survive,” she said dryly, and patted his arm. “My point is, you and Kelly would be a horrible match.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” he said, outraged, then shook his head. Damn, she was deliberately trying to trap him. “I mean, yeah, we would. I mean…what are you talking about?”

She smiled at him patiently. “Kelly is a darling girl and I would be thrilled and honored to have her as a daughter-in-law, but it’s never going to happen. You two would never work out. She’s too much of a romantic at heart.”

“I’m not sure I agree,” he said carefully. Sally had already tricked him once so he was watching every word he said.

“Yes, darling, she is,” Sally said softly. “Kelly’s been hurt and her heart is still tender. But that doesn’t mean she’s given up on love. She’s still looking for a man who will truly love her. She wants the dream, Brandon. She wants to live happily ever after.”

“Most women want that, I guess,” he allowed, with a philosophical shrug.

“Yes, and you’ve made it abundantly clear that you are completely unwilling to provide any woman with that blissful scenario.”

“True,” he said with a rueful grin.

“So why in the world would I want to match Kelly up with you?”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. Why would you?”

“Exactly, I wouldn’t!” she said triumphantly, effectively ending the conversation. She grabbed him in another hug, patting his back as though he were a clever four-year-old. “Now, the girls and I are going to Tra Vigne for an early dinner, so we’ll catch up with you in the morning.”

He watched her scurry off, wondering how in the world she’d managed to win that conversation.

Six

T
he grape harvest began the next morning. Guests were invited to join in as part of the complete “vine to barrel” experience, despite the fact that the Dukes employed plenty of workers to get the job done. It was a tradition for many people who vacationed in Napa Valley to take part in the harvest ritual. There was something essential and gratifying in the physical act of picking the grapes that would some day become the wine served at one’s table.

“How do you know when the grapes are ready to pick?” one of the guests asked.

Brandon turned and recognized Mrs. Kingsley, who’d been one of the first to reserve a room for the harvest. This was her and her husband’s first trip to Napa. Brandon stepped forward to say something, but hesitated when Kelly spoke up.

“Different winemakers have various ways of judging the readiness of the grapes,” she said, reaching for a cluster of plump grapes and severing it from the vine with her shears. She plucked a few grapes off and handed one each to Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, then popped one into her own mouth. “You can’t usually taste the flavor of the finished wine in the fruit.”

The elderly woman chewed her grape. “It’s very sweet.”

“Yes,” Kelly said. “All I can taste is the sugar. But an expert will also taste some tannin and acidity in the skin.”

Mrs. Kingsley chewed another moment, then nodded slowly. “I see what you mean.”

“There are all sorts of instruments and analyses used to gauge the readiness of the grapes,” Kelly continued. “But I also think there’s quite a lot of art mixed in with the science. And luck, as well. After all, who knows what the weather will bring from one season to the next?”

“So true, my dear,” Mr. Kingsley said, patting his wife on the back.

Kelly had impressed Brandon many times in the past with both her business acumen and her social skills, and today was no different. He watched her walking from row to row, greeting guests, passing out bottles of water and offering advice on everything from how to pick the fruit—grab the large clumps of grapes rather than the individual grapes—to counseling on the dangers of sunburn under the warm October sun. For that problem, she would reach into her backpack and hand out individual tubes of suntan lotion provided by the hotel spa, as well as bright burgundy baseball caps with the Mansion’s logo emblazoned on the front. One by one, as the guests got a look at the classy, fun caps, everyone wanted one, and Kelly cheerfully obliged them.

Brandon was both impressed and amused by her resourcefulness. And apparently, so was the well-known hotel reviewer from the national trade magazine, if his exuberant announcement offering vineyard photo opportunities was any indication. The man pulled a small but expensive digital camera from his pocket and began shooting photographs of willing and enthusiastic guests in various stages of grape picking.

The wine-colored baseball caps had been designed to be a part of the marketing team’s grand opening promotional giveaway package, but nobody had thought about using them in the vineyards to shield guests from the bright sun. Kelly deserved a bonus for that PR coup.

He made a mental note to make sure the signature caps would always be available to any guests who wanted to work or simply wander through the vineyard fields.

“She’s really something,” a voice said from behind Brandon.

He turned and saw his brother Adam standing nearby, also watching Kelly. “Yeah, she is.”

“Maybe we should talk about promoting her to marketing or public relations.”

“No way,” Brandon groused. “I’m keeping her.”

Intrigued, Adam lifted one eyebrow. “Keeping her?”

Brandon waved away his previous comment. “You know what I mean. Keeping her as my assistant.”

“Yeah, your assistant.” Adam smirked. “Right.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I don’t blame you,” he said, watching Kelly with new interest. “If I had someone that special working for me, I wouldn’t let her go either.”

“No kidding,” Brandon said, knowing Trish had been hired as Adam’s temporary assistant. They’d fallen in love and had married each other last year. “But we’ve all accepted the fact that you’re a weak man.”

Adam threw back his head and laughed. “Weak, huh?” Glancing around, he spied his beautiful pregnant wife sitting under the umbrella of a patio table the crew had set up earlier for guests, drinking from her water bottle. With a satisfied nod, he turned back and gave Brandon a look fraught with meaning. “It takes a strong man to recognize his own weakness.”

“Whatever that means.”

“I think you know what that means,” he said, turning to take another look at Kelly before glancing back at Brandon.

“Nice try, bro,” Brandon said, “but you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s not going to happen.”

“I hope you’re convincing yourself because you’re not convincing me.”

Brandon shrugged. “I’m only convinced that you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

With a grin, Adam whacked Brandon on the back, then walked away to check on Trish, leaving Brandon to gaze over at Kelly who was still laughing and smiling and working her magic with the guests.

He scowled again as he played Adam’s words over in his mind. Great. So Adam thought Brandon was falling for Kelly, while his mother had warned him that falling for Kelly was the worst thing he could do.

What was wrong with everyone in his family?

Just because he wanted Kelly as much as he wanted to take another breath, didn’t mean he’d be stupid enough to propose marriage to her. Their affair was all about sex. Not marriage. Brandon didn’t
do
marriage. Not now, not ever.

He shook off the serious subject matter and accepted that it was no longer just his mother he had to worry about; it was his brothers, too. Now that they were both married, they probably couldn’t stand the fact that Brandon was still footloose and having a good time. In other words, he was a bachelor, unattached, single, happy. And he intended to stay that way permanently, so they would all just have to suck it up.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t take his eyes off Kelly. He noticed she was wearing that glossy, berry-flavored stuff on her lips again. She’d been wearing it last night when Brandon arrived at her door after dinner. The memory of what she’d done with those sexy lips of hers made him grit his teeth with the effort it took to keep from turning rock-hard and embarrassing himself in front of his guests.

It didn’t help that she wore a flimsy, feminine knit shirt that clung to her curves, along with long, dark blue jeans that showed off her world-class bottom to perfection. She’d pulled her thick, shiny hair into a flirtatious ponytail that swung back and forth, teasing him with every move she made.

If things were different, if he and Kelly were a real couple, he wouldn’t hesitate to walk right over there right now and kiss her. But they weren’t a real couple, and the longer he hung around staring at her, wanting her, the dumber he felt. He had plenty of work to do in his office and if he was smart, he’d leave right now and get something done. But just then, Kelly laughed, and the sweet, lighthearted sound touched and warmed some part deep within his chest, and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Thanks for all your help, Kelly,” Mr. Kingsley said, tip ping the brim of his baseball cap toward her. “See you at the wine tasting.”

“You bet, Mr. Kingsley,” Kelly said, waving to the last guest and his wife as they headed out of the vineyard and back to the hotel. They both looked so cute in their matching caps as they walked away holding hands.

Kelly hadn’t realized how much she would enjoy mingling with the hotel guests. She’d never considered herself shy, but she had to admit she’d never been quite as outgoing as she’d been today. She attributed it to the newfound confidence and self-assurance she’d gained in the past week since she and Brandon had started sleeping together. And that reminded her of something else that was different about her today. She should’ve been utterly exhausted and ready to take a nap, but instead, she felt energized, exhilarated. How weird was that?

“Don’t question it,” she advised herself. “Just enjoy the feeling for as long as it lasts.”

“What did you say?” Brandon said, coming up behind her.

Kelly sucked in a breath and turned around slowly to gaze up at him. He seemed taller and broader somehow, but maybe that was because she’d worn low-heeled boots today instead of high heels. Or maybe it was because he looked so gorgeous and larger than life in his rugged denim shirt and blue jeans instead of a suit and tie. Whatever the reason, she had to stop staring like a fool and answer the simple question he’d asked her.

“I was just talking to myself,” she muttered, then forced herself to smile casually. “Wasn’t this a fun day? I think everyone enjoyed themselves.”

“Thanks to you,” he said with a teasing grin. “My brothers want to give you a bonus and promote you to head of marketing for coming up with the idea to pass out suntan lotion and baseball caps to the guests.”

“Oh, that was just a spur of the moment thing,” she insisted, but her smile broadened at the compliment. “When I saw the weather report and realized how warm it was going to be, I grabbed a few caps on the way out, just in case. Then when everyone seemed to want one, I ran back and got more. Same goes for the suntan lotion.”

“Well, thank you for thinking ahead,” he said, slinging a friendly arm around her as they walked. “It really paid off.”

The praise, together with his touch, made her feel as warm and cozy as a happy cat. She had the strongest urge to wrap herself around his legs and purr contentedly, but she managed to control herself.

“I understand you’re joining us for dinner,” Brandon said as they left the vineyard and walked along the flower-lined brick path back to the hotel.

She glanced at him sideways. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it’s okay. My mother considers you a part of the family. We’ll have a good time. Even though we’ll have to keep our hands off each other.”

“I guess we can manage that for an hour or two,” she said, laughing softly. “I really like your mom.”

“That makes two of us,” he said, squeezing her shoulder companionably.

Purr,
she thought to herself, and snuggled against him, wanting to be wrapped up in his warmth for as long as it lasted.

“A toast to the Mansion at Silverado Trail,” Adam said, raising his wineglass.

The rest of the Duke family, along with Beatrice and Marjorie and Kelly, raised their glasses to meet his.

“To the Mansion,” Cameron echoed.

“Long may it reign as the supreme destination among all the Duke properties,” Brandon said with a grin.

Adam chuckled. “In Napa Valley anyway.”

“Yeah,” Cameron said. “Can’t compete with Monarch Dunes.”

“Or Fantasy Mountain,” Adam added.

“They’re all fabulous properties,” Marjorie said. “You men have done an incredible job. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Marjorie,” Adam said. “But it’s partly your fault for making sure we hire only the best people.”

“Like Kelly and Trish, for instance,” Cameron said, grinning as he raised his glass to both women.

“Ah, yes,” Marjorie said, winking at Trish. “I’m glad you’ve finally recognized the true genius behind Duke Development.”

“Since you were the one who hired Kelly and Trish, I would have to agree,” Brandon said, his gaze sweeping over Kelly.

Kelly felt her cheeks heating and rushed to change the subject. Turning to Julia, she asked, “Did you enjoy your massage today?”

“Oh, it was heavenly.” She looked across the table at Brandon. “I hope you’re paying Ingrid, the masseuse, a lot of money. She’s worth her weight in gold.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Brandon said with a firm nod.

Trish pursed her lips in thought. “A massage every day is so civilized, don’t you agree.”

Kelly laughed. “I really do.”

“Absolutely,” Beatrice chimed in.

Since there were nine of them, Brandon had reserved the small but elegant private room next to the wine cellar for their dinner. When they first arrived, he’d pulled Kelly’s chair out for her and as she’d begun to sit down, he’d let his hand glide from the small of her back up to her neck. Shivers ran through her and she almost gasped from the provocative touch. He’d flashed her a very private, very wicked grin as he took his seat.

They’d all chosen to dine off the tasting menu, that meant a different wine with each course. The food was delicious and the pairings were perfect. Kelly savored each delicate bite and every sip of the outstanding wines. Everyone agreed that the kitchen staff had outdone themselves.

She found the conversations that circled the table to be fascinating and enjoyable. Sally and Marjorie teased Beatrice about some of the men she’d met through her online dating service, urging Beatrice to describe a few of her funnier moments.

Julia talked about the trials and tribulations of turning her massive family estate into an art museum and learning center for children, complete with vegetable garden and petting zoo. She regaled them with stories about the monkey that entertained the kids by riding the goat, and the new zookeeper she’d hired who wanted to give falconry lessons.

As Julia spoke, Cameron reached for her hand and tucked it into his. Kelly found herself both captivated and wistful, looking at the way he gazed at Julia. Both of Brandon’s brothers were deeply in love with their wives and weren’t afraid to let their feelings show. Was it too much for Kelly to hope that, some day, a man would look at her that way?

A few minutes later, as their first course dishes were cleared, she happened to glance at Brandon who was laughing at something his brother Adam had said. As if he sensed her looking his way, Brandon turned his head and his gaze locked on to hers. The heat was instant, powerful and profound. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart fluttered. Her vision fogged, then narrowed to a point where only Kelly and Brandon existed together in the room. Sounds and voices ceased to be anything more than a mild buzzing in her ears.