In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) (17 page)

33

M
AYA
WAS
IN
her kitchen when her phone rang. She ran to it and saw Jamie’s number displayed on the screen. She frowned, debating whether or not to answer it. She had stubbornly refused to take any of his calls in the month that had passed since she had spoken to him, although it felt like an eternity, and thinking about Jamie still hurt her. That was a sure sign that they shouldn’t be together. He had too much power to cause her pain. She couldn’t risk her heart with him, because he would surely break it.

Sure, Abby had said she was being stupid.
Not being able to live without him is the surest sign that you should be together
, she’d advised her. Abby had told her that this was just another way she pushed away her happiness. Maya had sabotaged her own relationship, and Gwen had given her the perfect excuse to do it. She didn’t see it that way, and she had done well to avoid him at all costs in the past few miserable weeks, but still, she finally answered his call.

“Hello?”

“Maya,” he said. It was barely audible. “Thanks for answering. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“Why did you call me?” she asked him, her eyes closed.

“I’ll explain later. But there’s a car outside your building. I need you to get in it.”

“Jamie, what’s going on?”

“Just trust me, okay? Get in the car.” She didn’t say anything. She could hear his frustration from his end of the line. “Maya, please.”

She sighed. Not from impatience but from the painful way he made her chest clench. “Okay, I’ll get in the car. Where is it going to take me?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Jamie—”

“Trust me.”

“Okay.”

* * *

W
HEN
THE
TOWN
car stopped, she found herself outside of the very-soon-to-be-open Swerve Hotel and Nightclub. She thanked the driver as he helped her out and she walked to the front door. She pulled on the handle to find that it was unlocked. She walked inside and was blown away by the hotel’s lobby. It was sleek and modern, in shades of white and charcoal. She glanced around, looking for Jamie. And she saw him, as he entered the room from what she imagined was the restaurant.

He stopped when he saw her. He was the same gorgeous man that she had left just a month ago. He wasn’t quite as polished as she had seen him in the past. His suit was slightly rumpled and it looked as if he had skipped a few of his weekly barber appointments, as told by the hair that had began to curl around his ears and at his collar. He had also not shaved for a couple of days, at least. The makings of a beard a marked his face. But it was his eyes that she found the most striking about him. They were normally a lively, vibrant blue, but they had dulled since she’d last seen him, and her heart broke for him. She had abandoned him when he needed her. He was embarking on one of the most important and stressful ventures in his life, and she had left him.

Jamie came to her. “Thanks for coming. You look beautiful.”

She looked down at her outfit. He had caught her cooking, and she was wearing an old tank top and a pair of yoga pants. “In this?”

“In anything.”

She smiled. “This place looks amazing, Jamie. I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks.” He also took an appreciative look around. “I’m really proud of it, as well.”

“How is the Montreal hotel doing?”

“Great, actually. Out-performing in every way.”

Maya shook her head in wonder. Jamie could do anything that he put his mind to. “That’s fantastic. I’m really happy for you. And I know that this place is going to be even more successful. You’ve got everything.”

“Almost,” he said, with a sad smile. “Would you like a tour?” he asked her, extending his hand.

“I would.” She took his hand in her own.

* * *

A
FTER
J
AMIE
HAD
walked her around the property, which housed the hotel and nightclub, showing her the facilities, the amenities, the restaurant and a performance venue, they had moved on to one of the guest suites. Jamie merely opened the door, and neither had made a move to go inside, as if the presence of a bed would rip apart any resolve that either of them were holding on to. Maya was relieved; if she had gotten Jamie near one of those beds, she would have surely been tempted to tear off his clothes and push him to the bed.

When they returned to the lobby, she headed for the door, but Jamie pulled at her arm. “Maya, wait.”

She stopped and turned to him.

He took her hands, covering them with his much larger ones. “What happened to us?”

What
had
happened? They were doing so well as a couple. Sure, the distance was hard, but not impossible. Maya had agonized over why she had acted the way she had. In the end, she believed that Abby was right about her. She had known that she was falling in love with Jamie, and that had scared her. Gwen had just provided a convenient way out; a convenient way to get indignantly mad at Jamie and make him out to be the bad guy. She had pushed him away. She had to hurt Jamie before he had the chance to hurt her.

“The CliffsNotes version? I was hurt when you didn’t disclose the relationship you had with Gwen.”

“Dammit, me and Gwen weren’t in a relationship. We never slept together. And when I made those plans to meet up with her, you and I certainly weren’t together. You moved to another goddamn country to get away from me.”

“I know, and I know that she lied to hurt both of us. But I realized that my feelings were hurt and it was then that I realized that I had given you way too much power over my emotions. You owned my heart and only you had the power to break it. It scared me. I’m afraid to get hurt. I loved you too much and not being with you broke my heart. Abby said that I was being stupid and I should go to you—”

“I knew I liked her for a reason.”

“She’s pretty great. She told me that I should be with the person I can’t live without. And that’s you, Jamie.” She smiled at him, allowing a tear to cascade down her cheek. “I’m in love with you.”

He brought his fingertips to her face to catch the teardrop. Her cheek was still as smooth as he remembered it being. “I love you, too, Maya. You can trust me with your heart. I can do anything I want in business, but it really doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t with me.”

He pulled her in to kiss her deeply. She finally felt whole again. Like some giant part that was missing from her had returned. She kissed him back. Being with Jamie, this felt right.

34

“S
O
,
THIS
IS
IT
.” Trevor raised his champagne glass to Jamie. “The day you’ve been working for your entire career.”

One week later, Jamie, Maya, Trevor and Abby were inside Jamie’s office in the newest and most hotly anticipated resort on Las Vegas Boulevard. The grand opening party was about to start, and the three had decided that Jamie should have a much-needed respite from the chaos that had followed him for weeks. Trevor ordered a very nice bottle of champagne, and Maya had brought in trays of Jamie’s favorite snacks. Maya and Abby also raised their glasses in Jamie’s direction, and Trevor continued his toast.

“To Jamie Sellers and the next step of his global domination of good times. To the international expansion of Swerve Hotels! From Montreal to Vegas. But where next? Amsterdam? Ibiza? Bangkok?”

“Hear, hear,” Maya chimed in, taking a sip.

Jamie smiled and draped an arm around Maya’s waist and he pulled her closer. “Thanks, guys, for all of this. It’s really great. But I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the three of you in this room. Trevor, you’ve been with me since the beginning. You’re my sounding board, you keep me grounded. You work your ass off, managing my business.” He turned to Abby.

“And, Abby, I don’t know you very well, but you brought Maya into my life and talked some sense into her when she was headed back out, so for that I owe you. And, Maya.” He put his glass down and turned to face her. “Maya, I love you. I think I’ve loved you since that night you kissed me, and not being with you has been the most awful feeling I’ve ever experienced. But right now—” he dropped to his knee in front of her, and somewhere in the background he heard Abby gasp “—Maya, I want to be with you forever. Here, or in Montreal, it doesn’t matter.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, square box. “Maya, marry me. Please.”

The sheen of tears covering Maya’s eyes finally gave way and they streamed down her face. She fell to her knees so she could face him. “You jerk,” she sniffed. “I’m ruining my makeup before the party. This took a lot of work, you know.” They laughed together. “But I’ll marry you. I’d have to be a fool not to. I love you, Jamie. Yes.” Any other words she was about to say were stolen from her lips as he pulled her in and kissed her.

After a while Trevor finally cleared his throat. “Guys, I hate to break this up, but is there any way we can get in there to congratulate you guys before we head down to the party.” He looked at his watch. “Also, we’re going to be late.”

Jamie stood and helped Maya to her feet. “I don’t really care.”

Jamie had never felt love or support like this before in his life. He had a group of friends, and the woman who owned his heart. The people at the party would have to wait.

As Abby and Maya embraced in celebration, Trevor pulled Jamie into a strong bro-hug. “This is your night, guy. Go get ’em. It’s going to be a great night.”

As they broke apart, Jamie searched for Maya’s hand, and the foursome walked to the door to head down to the party that would soon start. Yeah, it was going to be a great night. He had everything he had ever wanted.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
COWBOY ALL NIGHT
by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

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Cowboy All Night

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Prologue

“B
RANT
E
LLISON
. That’s a good, strong name. It suits you.”

“Yes, ma’am. I like it.” He gave the blonde lady driving the pickup truck a smile. Her name was Mrs. Padgett. So far she seemed nice.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told about Thunder Mountain Ranch.”

“Not much, ma’am. My aunt Susie found out about it and said it’d be the best place for me ’cause I was eating her out of house and home. But don’t worry. I’ve got that problem handled. I hadn’t thought of it before, but you know what? I can fill up on cereal instead of the more expensive stuff.”

Mrs. Padgett made a noise in the back of her throat as if she didn’t like hearing that.

“I’m talking about cheap cereal.” He said it real fast so she wouldn’t turn around and take him back to his aunt’s. Living on this ranch for a while could be awesome. “Corn flakes.”

“I promise you won’t need to fill up on any kind of cereal. I enjoy feeding growing boys. The food’s not fancy, but there’s plenty of it.”

Okay, that sounded great—he began to salivate at the thought of all that good food. Eating was one of his favorite things. Even if this place only lasted a month or two, he’d enjoy it while he could. “I appreciate that, ma’am. I’m grateful that you can put me up for a little while.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “I guess you didn’t get much information, after all. The office is understaffed right now, so I understand how certain procedures get lost in the shuffle. But this isn’t a temporary situation. You can stay as long as you want.”

“Even though I’m a foster kid now? I thought foster kids got moved around. Which is okay. I’m used to that.”

“I’m sure you are.” They stopped at a light and Mrs. Padgett gazed at him with her kind blue eyes.

He recognized that look. It meant the person, usually one of his teachers at school, had read his file and knew that his dad was dead and his mother had flown the coop. At least she’d left him with Aunt Jane, and yeah, that hadn’t worked out, so Aunt Susie had taken a shot, which also hadn’t worked out. But that was life, wasn’t it?

The light changed and Mrs. Padgett went back to her driving. “Brant, you don’t have to leave Thunder Mountain unless you hate it there. And I don’t think you will. The other boys seem happy.”

“Oh, I can guarantee I won’t hate it, ma’am.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m happy anywhere I go. There’s no point in feeling miserable all the time, so I just don’t.”

Copyright © 2016 by Vicki Lewis Thompson