The Reluctant Heir (2 page)

“So where are you going to live now?” he asked as he followed her down the old hall, taking just a few strides to catch up with her.

She stopped and turned. “To my flat.”

He frowned. His grandfather had let his mistress live in a different place altogether? Or was this just one of his mistresses?

Anger coursed through him at the thought of his grandfather going to someone else's bed after this beauty’s before he stopped himself. It was none of his business. He knew nothing about their relationship and should just let it go. It wasn't as if she was in it for the love. Perhaps she had other men as well.

“I thought you lived here.”

“Oh no. I was just here during the last two months.”

“And you're just going to go back to work now?”

Maybe she’d never intended to be a solicitor after all and had just wanted to become a trophy wife. Would she start all over again with someone else at the firm? The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Of course!” she said quickly and then corrected herself. “Well, Hawaii first and then work.”

His eyebrows rose and she sighed. “Your grandfather wanted to be cremated and thrown into the Hawaiian waters. He did the same with your grandma.” She shrugged. “It's where they met. They were both on holiday.” She smiled softly, but he saw no hint of happiness in her eyes. “He'd always said that he would bring her back and he never did. He'd always felt pretty bad about it.”

Landen stared at her dumbstruck.

His grandfather had been known for chasing after women half his age or in Rebecca's case, a quarter, and here she was romanticizing about the man as if he were Romeo himself!

He didn't know if she was playing a game or if she had a few screws loose in her head. Surely, even she could see it was madness to think so highly of the man.

“Didn't you feel uncomfortable when he talked about his wife?” Because if she had truly felt anything for his grandfather, shouldn't she have been at least been jealous to hear him talking about another woman?

“Oh no.” Her cheeks turned into a deep scarlet again. “I thought that it was rather sweet.”

Her blush caught him off guard again and for some reason, he was beginning to find them endearing. Suddenly, the air around thickened.

His heartbeat quickened as he edged closer towards her. Her eyes widened and she stepped back. “I’ll leave you to it then. It was nice meeting you.”

Watching as she went down the stairs, he resisted the urge to follow her for the second time that day.

Chapter Three

Relief coursed through Rebecca as she walked through the hotel’s revolving glass door two days later.

After coming out of what had to be the longest flight ever, she couldn't believe that she was finally here.

With her luggage in tow behind of her, she walked down the air conditioned lobby with a newfound energy in her step. She quickly spotted the reception, a large counter with three people all dressed in a uniformed black, and quickened her pace.

“I’m sorry. Check-in’s are at three o'clock,” the receptionist informed her a few moments later, bursting her bubble. “The rooms haven’t been cleaned yet,” the woman added in case she’d been thinking about pressing for a room.

Rebecca groaned inwardly. What was she going to do for the next four hours when all she wanted to do was sleep?

How important was a clean room?
Perhaps she could offer to put a clean sheet over the bed herself.

“What if I pay the extra night or get a suite?” Since she hadn’t wanted to abuse Mr. Shaw’s money, she’d gotten the cheapest room available. But after those flight connections, she was desperate for a soft bed. Besides, she doubted Landen would care about the extra cost of the hotel room.

“No, I’m afraid not. If you’d like, I can get your number and call you when something becomes available.”

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. Thinking that she’d seen something at the corner of her eye, she turned back and was surprised to see Landen heading towards her.

In a loose Hawaiian shirt and a pair of white shorts, he looked amazing.

She groaned inwardly at the thought. She couldn't believe that she still had a little crush on him.

After hearing his grandfather wax on and on about him, it had been impossible to not fall for Landen and as much as she wanted to hate him for being so judgmental the other day, she couldn't help but remember how considerate he'd been when he'd asked about his cousins' share in their grandfather's will.

“Problem?” he asked casually as he saddled up next to her. Placing an arm lazily on the counter, he smiled at the woman helping her.

She wasn’t sure if it was the fatigue, but she thought she saw him wink at the woman. Her fist tightened. Was he hitting on the woman in front of her?

“No,” she bit. She was not jealous of the woman. She was just tired and irritated.

Besides, what was the use of telling him of her problems? The woman had already said that there were no rooms available.

She scribbled her number on a pad and gave it to the woman. “Thanks. I appreciate it,” she murmured, silently praying that there would be a room available soon.

“No problem,” the woman said. “There’s a café around the corner you can eat at as you wait for your room.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, hating the fact that now Landen knew she didn’t have a room yet. It seemed like the ultimate humiliation.

She reached for her bag, but he beat her to it. He straightened and looked at her expectantly.

Irritated, but not having the energy to argue, she began walking towards the café the woman had suggested.

It was going to be a long four hours
, she thought miserably to herself as they silently walked the red carpeted floors.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take Landen the whole fours hours to leave. Perhaps if she didn’t talk, he would get the message and leave.

“How was your flight?” he asked casually as they turned a corner.

She winced at his words. It felt like taunting. He had to have known how long her flight had been, considering he’d done the same to get here.

Or maybe not.

She doubted billionaires booked connecting flights to save a little money.

Frustrated and tired, she turned. “What are you doing here?” she snapped at him. Why torment her with his devilishly good looks when all she wanted to do was sleep? Preferably, in a large cotton bed and possibly, forever.

His eyebrows rose. “Can’t a grandson say goodbye to his grandfather?”

She gasped, horror and guilt filling her as she remembered why she was in Hawaii in the first place.

“I’m so sorry,” she quickly blurted, feeling horrible with herself. What was the matter with her? Why hadn’t she been thinking?

Why else would he be in the same hotel as her?

“I didn’t think you’d be interested in coming or I would’ve invited you.”

She felt horrible, but how was she to have known that he would want to come?

She would’ve felt stupid inviting him all the way to Hawaii to scatter the remains of a person he had never met.

But looking back, she knew that she should’ve at least invited him. She shouldn’t have taken it upon herself to make the decision for him.

He shrugged. “I didn’t think I would have the time with work and all.”

Nodding blankly, she remembered his stature as a businessman. With all the companies that he controlled, she knew that he had to be a pretty busy person.

The newspaper clippings his grandfather had shown her had mentioned that he was in everything from oil mines to copper. He was probably one of those businessmen who never had a moment’s peace and yet here he was trying to be a good grandson.

She smiled apologetically. “I would say that I would invite you in the future, but I’m hoping that I never have to do something like this again.”

He nodded. “No more funerals is fine with me as well.”

She smiled and they quickly fell into silence as they continued walking. After a while, he leaned in and her heartbeat quickened as she found herself gravitating towards him.

“Problem with your room?”

She winced. “They said that it won’t be available until three.” Four long hours. She hoped American coffee was strong.

“You can stay in my room if you want,” he offered.

She stopped and turned to him, surprised. “That’s-”

“It has two bedrooms with separate restrooms,” he quickly said.

Hesitant, she chewed her bottom lip. It was incredibly nice of him to offer and it would be rude to decline, especially after he had said that there were two separate rooms. And she was so tired.

The thought of a comfortable bed to lie down in was too tempting. It was like offering a buffet of hot dishes to someone who hadn’t eaten for a week.

“Okay,” she quickly said before she changed her mind. “But can we skip the café for now? I’m terribly tired.”

His eyebrows rose. “How do you think I feel?”

“Good apparently,” she answered as she took in how delicious he looked in his shirt and shorts. He looked just at home in his casual clothes as he did in his suit. “You were just strolling around the lobby when I saw you. Besides, I would’ve thought someone like you would be used to long flights.”

“There’s a reason they invited the teleconference,” he said as they walked into an open elevator.

She rested her head on the back wall and sighed. “Sleep sounds divine right now,” she said dreamily as she thought of crawling into bed. A nice clean bed with warm, fluffy sheets. “I'm afraid I won't make good company today. I feel like I will pass out the moment I see a bed.”

“That’s fine. I have a lot of stuff to take care of.”

“Oh,” she said guiltily as she thought about him having to push work aside to accompany her. “I thought you said you were tired?”

Had she done this to him? She thought wearily. Had she unconsciously driven him to try to make a connection to a grandfather he had never known?

She had told him about the clippings his grandfather had cut. Maybe he had found them and was now trying to find a way to connect with the man.

He shrugged as they got out of the elevator. “Work is work.”

He took out the key from his pocket and opened the door. Her jaw dropped when she saw the spacious room. The living room alone was the size of a regular room and it had a gorgeous view of the crystal clear ocean. She could just imagine sitting at the balcony, watching the waves at night.

Her eyes traveled to the two open doors at the other side of the room and felt a sigh of relief rush through her at the sight. The bedrooms!

She glanced over to him and he smiled as he handed her her luggage. “Go on. It’s the one on the right.”

“Thanks.” Getting her suitcase from him, she was tempted to hug and kiss him. But realizing how smelly she must be from all the traveling, she didn't and headed towards the room.

Chapter Four

Rebecca awakened to a dark room. Yawning, she glanced at the glaring clock beside the bed and was surprised to see that it was already past ten.

But instead of getting up, she plopped back down and closed her eyes as an unbelievably sense of tiredness took over her.

Her stomach rumbled a few moments later, forcing her to get up.

Please let there still be room service.
She didn’t feel like dressing up for the hotel bar and doubted that they would even have anything more than peanuts or pretzels.

She opened the bedroom door and was surprised to see all the lights still on in the living room. Landen was sitting at the large wooden dining table with two open laptops facing him.

Seeing how busy he was, she instantly felt guilty about how long she had just slept. He obviously didn’t have the same luxury. He had said that he was tired and yet, here he was, working himself to the bone.

Though she knew that there was nothing she could do about his workload, she still felt guilty. Especially when she remembered that she would’ve gone right back to sleep if she hadn’t gotten hungry.

Her throat dried when she noticed how the muscles in his forearms flexed as his hands moved swiftly over the keyboard. She could just imagine how those hands would feel exploring her.

She groaned inwardly when she realized how awful she must look. She hadn’t thought that he was still awake or she would’ve at least combed her hair.

“About time you woke up,” Landen said suddenly as he stopped typing to look at her, an amused smile on his lips. Before she could respond, he tilted his head towards the other end of the dining table. “I ordered you dinner.”

At the mention of food, she suddenly remembered how hungry she’d been when she’d come out here and couldn’t help but smile. Seeing him had worked up another kind of appetite.

“Thank you,” she murmured, surprised at his thoughtfulness.

“It’s nothing. I hope you like fish.”

“Love it.”

He seemed satisfied and went back to work.