Falling for the Secret Millionaire (15 page)

‘That you were planning something I wouldn't like very much, but I wouldn't give you any trouble.' She gave him a cynical look. ‘Because I'm your girlfriend, so of course I'll flutter my eyelashes and do everything you say. You
used
me, Gabriel.'

‘Firstly,' Gabriel said, ‘you only heard part of a conversation—and I have no idea how you've managed to leap to the most incredibly wrong conclusion from hearing one single sentence. And, secondly, I thought you knew me. Why on earth would you think I would use you?'

‘Because my judgement in men is rubbish—and I've managed to pick yet another man who'd try to leverage our relationship for the sake of his career.'

‘If anyone else had insulted me like that,' he said, ‘I would be shredding them into little tiny bits right now. I've already worked out that your ex hurt you pretty badly and you won't talk about it, even to me—but now you get a choice. Either you tell me everything yourself, right now, or I'll go and talk to your mum and Jessie. And, because they love you, they will most definitely spill the beans to me.'

‘So now you're throwing your weight about and threatening me?'

‘No. I'm trying to find out why the hell you're acting as if you're totally deranged, and assigning motives to me that I wouldn't have in a million years,' he snapped. ‘If you'd bothered to stay and overhear the rest of the conversation, Nicole, you would've heard me telling my father that we're working together on conferences and weddings, and everything's fine because we're using the same suppliers and we have the same attitudes towards our customers—and that if he can't move on from my past and see me as I am now, then maybe it's time for me to step aside and he finds the person he wants to run the show and I'll go and do something that makes me happy.'

Understanding dawned in her eyes. ‘So you're not...?'

‘No,' he said, ‘I'm not planning to do anything underhand. That's not how I operate. I'm not planning to put sneaky clauses in our contract in such teensy, tiny print that you can't read them and then you'll be so far in debt to me that the only way out is to give me the cinema. I thought we were working together, Nicole. I thought we were friends. Lovers. I've been happier these last few weeks than I've ever been in my life—because I'm with you. So what the hell has gone wrong?'

She closed her eyes. ‘I...'

‘Tell me, Nicole, because I really can't see it for myself. What have I done?'

‘It's not you—it's me,' she said miserably.

‘And that's the coward's way out. The way the guy dumps the girl without having to tell her what the real problem is. You're not a coward, Nicole. You're brave, you're tenacious, you make things work out—so tell me the truth.'

* * *

Nicole knew she didn't have any choice now. She'd let her fears get the better of her and she'd misjudged Gabriel so badly it was untrue. And she wouldn't blame him if he didn't want anything to do with her, ever again, after this.

‘It's about Jeff,' she said. ‘I'm ashamed of myself.'

He said nothing, clearly not letting her off the hook. Which was what she deserved, she knew. She took a deep breath. ‘I didn't often go to parties when I started work. I was focused on studying for my professional exams and doing well at my job. I wanted to get on, to make something of myself. But four years ago I gave in to someone nagging me in the office and I went to a party. And that's where I met Jeff. He was in banking, too—he worked for a different company, so I hadn't met him before. He was bright and sparkly, and I couldn't believe he could be interested in someone as boring and mousy as me. But we started dating.'

And what a fool she'd been.

‘Go on,' Gabriel said. But his voice was gentler, this time. Not judging her.

Not that he needed to judge her. She'd already done that and found herself severely wanting.

‘He asked me to move in with him. I loved him and I thought he loved me, so I said yes.'

‘And that's when he changed?'

She shook her head. ‘We moved in together and he was the same as he always was. He tended to go to parties without me, but that was fine.' She shrugged. ‘I'm not really much of one for socialising. Outside work, I don't really know what to say to people.'

‘You don't seem to have a problem talking to people at the cinema—and you definitely didn't seem to have a problem talking on the forum,' he pointed out.

‘That's different.'

To her relief, he didn't call her on it. ‘So what happened?'

‘I can't even remember why, but I ended up going to this one party—and that's when I found out the truth about Jeff. I was in the toilet when this woman started talking to her friends about her boyfriend. I wasn't consciously trying to eavesdrop, but when you're in a toilet cubicle you can't really block people's words out.'

‘True.'

‘Anyway, this woman was saying that her boyfriend was living with someone else but didn't love her. She was a boring banker, and he was only living with her because there was going to be a promotion at work, and he knew his boss was going to give the job to someone who was settled down. The woman he was living with was the perfect banker's wife because she was a banker, too. Except the guy had bought the big diamond ring for her—for the mistress, not for the boring banker.' She grimaced. ‘I felt so sorry for this poor woman who clearly thought her boyfriend loved her, but he was cheating on her and just using her to get on in his career. But then the woman in the toilets said his name. How many bankers are there called Jeff, who also happen to be living with a female banker?'

‘Did you ask him about it?'

‘Yes, because part of me was hoping that it was just a horrible coincidence and there was some poor other woman out there being cheated on—not that I wanted to wish that on anyone, obviously. I just didn't want it to be true about me. But he admitted he was seeing her. He said that was the reason why he'd started dating me and the reason he'd asked me to move in, so his boss would think he was the right guy for the promotion.' She swallowed hard. ‘Luckily I'd moved into his place rather than him moving into mine, so I packed my stuff and went to stay with Jessie until I could find a flat. That's when I moved here.' And she hadn't dated since.

Until Gabriel.

And she'd been so happy...but now she'd messed it up. Big time. Because she hadn't been able to trust him.

‘Jeff sounds like the kind of selfish loser who needs to grow up, and I bet that promotion went to someone else,' Gabriel said.

‘Actually, it didn't. He's very plausible. He got away with it. I have no idea what happened to his girlfriend, and I'm not interested in knowing.'

‘So what does Jeff have to do with me?'

She bit her lip. ‘You know I'm on a sabbatical?' At his nod, she continued, ‘I thought my number two would take over from me in my absence, but it seems there's been a restructure in the office. Neil—my number two—came to tell me about it today. A new guy's been brought in over him and will probably be my new boss if I go back. And it's the worst coincidence in the world.'

‘The new guy's Jeff?'

She nodded. ‘I was coming to see you and—well, whine about it, I suppose. And then I heard what you said. And it just brought all my old doubts back. It made me think that I'd let myself be fooled all over again, by someone who was using me to get on in business.'

Gabriel took her hand. ‘I'm sorry that you got blindsided like that, but everyone makes mistakes. Just because you made a mistake trusting him, it doesn't mean that you can't trust anyone ever again.'

‘I know that with my head,' she said miserably. ‘But it's how I feel
here
.' She pressed one hand to her chest.

‘I'm not using you to get on with business, Nicole. I never have.' He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Actually I was going to talk to you tonight about the very first wedding in the Electric Palace and the Spice House. I thought it might be nice if it was ours.'

She stared at him. ‘You were going to ask me to marry you?'

‘You're everything I want in a partner. You make me laugh when I'm in a bad mood. You make my world a brighter place. I'm a better man when I'm with you. But...' He paused.

Yeah. She'd known there was a but. It was a million miles high.

‘But?' She needed to face it.

‘You need to think about it and decide if I'm what you want. If you can trust me. If you can see that I'm not like Jeff.' He gave her a sad look. ‘I thought you saw me clearly, Nicole, that you were the one person in the world who knew me for exactly who I am. But you don't, do you? You're just like everyone else. You see what you want to see.' He dragged in a breath. ‘Talk it over with your mum and Jessie, people you do actually trust. And come and find me when you're ready to talk. When you're ready to see me for who I am. And if you don't...' He shrugged. ‘Well.'

And then he walked out of the office and closed the door quietly behind him.

CHAPTER TEN

I
T
WAS
REALLY
hard to wait and do nothing, but Gabriel knew that Nicole had to make this decision by herself. If she didn't, then at some point in the future she'd feel that he'd railroaded her into it, and it would all go pear-shaped.

Patience was a virtue and a business asset, he reminded himself. He had to stick to it. Even if it was driving him crazy.

The only way he could think of to distract himself was to bury himself in work. So he opened up a file on his computer and started outlining his proposal to take the business in a new direction. If his father wasn't prepared to let him do that, then Gabriel would leave Hunter Hotels and start up on his own. It was something he should probably have done years ago, but it was Nicole's belief in him that had helped him to take the final step and work out what he really wanted to do with his life. But did she believe in him enough to stay with him? Or had her ex destroyed her trust so thoroughly that she'd never be able to believe in anyone else?

He had no idea.

He just had to wait.

And hope.

* * *

Gabriel had walked away from her.

Nicole stared at the closed door.

Of course he'd walked away. She'd leapt to the wrong conclusions and hadn't even given him a chance to explain—she'd just thrown a hissy fit and told him it was over.

By text.

How awful was that?

He'd been the one who'd insisted on talking. He'd made her tell him about Jeff.

And he'd made it clear that she was the one letting her fears get in the way of a future. He'd said she was everything he wanted in a partner. That he wanted them to be the first people to get married in the cinema. But he hadn't tried to persuade her round to his way of thinking, or to make her feel bad about herself, the way Jeff had. He'd acknowledged that she'd been hurt in the past and she was afraid. And he'd said that she was the one who needed to think about it. To decide if he was what she wanted. If she could trust him. If she was ready to see him for who he really was.

He was giving her the choice.

And he'd advised her to talk it over with her mum and Jessie. He'd known this was something she couldn't do on her own, but he was clearly trying not to put pressure on her.

She grabbed her phone. Five minutes later, she'd arranged to meet her mother and Jessie in the park opposite Jessie's school, giving her enough time to nip home and change into clothes that weren't paint-stained and scrub her face.

Both her mum and Jessie greeted her with a hug. ‘So what's happened?' Jessie asked.

Nicole explained about Neil's visit and her row with Gabriel. ‘He told me to talk it over with people I trusted,' she said. ‘Well, with you two.'

‘So talk,' Susan said. ‘How do you feel about him?'

Nicole thought about it. ‘The world feels brighter when he's around.'

‘Do you love him?' Jessie asked.

‘Isn't that something I should say to him, first?' Nicole countered, panicking slightly.

‘He told you to talk it over with us,' Susan pointed out, ‘so no. Do you love him?'

Nicole took a deep breath. ‘Yes.'

‘And is it the same way you felt about Jeff?' Jessie asked.

Nicole shook her head. ‘It's different. Gabriel sees me for who I am, not who he wants me to be. I don't worry about things when I'm with him.'

‘You said he was a shark in a suit when you first met him,' Susan said thoughtfully.

‘You've met him, so you know he isn't like that. He's been scrupulously fair. The problem's
me
.' She closed her eyes briefly. ‘I'm too scared to trust in case I make a mistake again.'

‘Everyone makes mistakes,' Jessie said.

‘That's what Gabriel said. But what if I get it wrong with him?'

‘OK—let's look at this the other way,' Susan said. ‘Supposing you never saw him again. How would you feel?'

Like she did right now. ‘There would be a massive hole in my life. He's not just my partner—he's my friend.'

‘So the problem is down to Jeff—because he was a total jerk to you, you're worried that all men are like that, and if you let them close they'll all treat you like he did,' Jessie said.

‘I guess,' Nicole said.

‘Which means you're letting Jeff win,' Susan said briskly. ‘Is that what you want?'

‘Of course not—and anyway, I let Gabriel close to me.'

‘And did he hurt you?' Jessie asked.

Nicole sighed. ‘No. But I hurt him. I overreacted.'

‘Just a tad,' Susan said dryly.

‘I don't know how to fix this,' Nicole said miserably.

‘Yes, you do,' Jessie said. ‘Talk to him. Apologise. Tell him what you told us. Let him into your heart. And I mean really in, not just giving a little bit of ground.'

‘Supposing...?' she began, then let her voice trail off. She knew she was finding excuses—because she was a coward and she couldn't believe that Gabriel felt the same way about her as she did about him.

‘Supposing nothing,' Susan said. ‘That's your only option, if you really want him in your life. Total honesty.'

‘You're right,' she said finally. ‘I need to apologise and tell him how I really feel about him.' And she'd have to make that leap of faith and trust that it wasn't too late.

* * *

Gabriel looked up when he heard the knock on his office door, hoping it was Nicole, and tried not to let the disappointment show on his face when he saw his father standing in the doorway.

‘I didn't expect to see you,' he said.

Evan scowled. ‘You said you'd call me back, and you didn't.'

The last thing Gabriel wanted right now was a fight. ‘I'm sorry,' he said tiredly, and raked a hand through his hair. ‘I got caught up in something.'

‘I'm not criticising you,' Evan said, surprising him. ‘I was thinking I'd pushed you too far.' He looked Gabriel straight in the eye. ‘We need to talk.'

‘Yes, we do.' And this conversation had been a very long time coming. Gabriel paused. ‘Do you want a coffee or something?'

‘No.'

‘OK. I'll tell Janey to hold my calls and I'm not interruptible for the time being.'

When Gabriel came back from seeing his PA, his father was staring out of the window. ‘I see the cinema's nearly finished,' Evan remarked.

‘Yes. It's a matter of restoring the sun ray on the half-moon outside and redoing the sign and that's it. It's pretty much done indoors, too.' He looked at his father. ‘So what's this really about, Dad?'

‘Sit down.'

Gabriel compromised by leaning against the edge of his desk.

‘I owe you an apology.'

Now he knew why his father had told him to sit down—not to be bossy but to save him from falling over in shock. ‘An apology?' He kept his voice very bland so he didn't start another row.

‘What you said on the phone—you were right. Your mistake was nearly ten years ago and you're not the same person you were back then. You've grown up.'

‘I'm glad you can see that now.'

Evan grimaced. ‘I had you on speakerphone at the time. Your mother might have overheard some of what you said.'

Gabriel hid a smile. ‘Mum nagged you into apologising?'

‘Your mother doesn't nag. She just pointed a few things out to me. All the decisions you've made—some of them I wasn't so sure about at the time, but they've all come good. You have an astute business mind.'

Compliments from his father? Maybe he was dreaming. Surreptitiously, he pinched himself; it hurt, so he knew he really was awake.

‘I saw that,' Evan said. ‘Am I that much of a monster?'

‘As a boss or as a father? And do you really have to ask?'

Evan sighed. ‘I just worried about you, that if I wasn't on your case you might slip back into your old ways.'

‘Maybe that was a possibility when I was twenty, but I'm not that far off thirty now—so it's not going to happen. I've grown up.'

‘I guess I need to stop being a helicopter parent.'

‘That,' Gabriel said, ‘would be nice, but I guess it'd be hard to change a lifetime's habits.'

‘Are you really going to leave the company?'

‘Right now, I can't answer that,' Gabriel said. ‘It might be better for both of us if I did. Then I can concentrate on being your son instead of having to prove myself to you over and over again at work.'

‘You said about taking the business in a new direction. What did you have in mind?' Evan asked.

‘We already have the hotels,' Gabriel said, ‘for both business and leisure. The logical next step would be to offer holiday stays with a difference.'

‘What sort of difference?'

‘Quirky properties. Lighthouses, follies, water towers—places with heritage. Think somewhere like Lundy Island.'

‘Old places that need restoring carefully?'

Gabriel nodded. ‘That's what really interests me. I first started to feel that way when I did the Staithe Hotel, but working on this place and the cinema crystallised it for me.'

‘Yes, I noticed you in a few of the photographs on the Electric Palace's website.'

Gabriel let that pass. ‘This is what I really want to do. The way I want to take the company for the future. I like the research, looking up all the old documents and then trying to keep the heritage as intact as possible while making the building function well in modern terms. Fitting it all together.' He smiled. ‘Hunters' Heritage Holidays. It's not the best title, but it'll do as a working one.'

‘You've done a proposal with full costings?'

‘Most of it's in my head at the moment,' Gabriel admitted, ‘but I've made a start on typing it up.'

‘You see things clearly,' Evan said. ‘That's a good skill to have. I'd be very stupid to let that skill go elsewhere. And diversification is always a good business strategy.'

‘So you'll consider it?'

‘Make the case,' Evan said.

But this time Gabriel knew he'd only have to make the case once. He wouldn't have to prove it over and over again, the way he'd had to prove himself ever since university. ‘Thanks, Dad. I won't let you down.'

‘I know, son.' Evan paused. ‘So do I get a guided tour of the cinema?'

‘Not today,' Gabriel said. ‘I have a few things to sort out with Nicole. But soon.'

Evan actually hugged him. ‘Your mother wants you to come to dinner. Soon.'

‘I'll call her later today,' Gabriel promised. With luck, by then Nicole would've had enough time to think about it—and with a little more luck he'd be able to take her home and introduce her to his family. As his equal.

After Evan left, Gabriel spent the afternoon working on his proposal. The longer it took Nicole to contact him, the more sure he was that she was going to call everything off.

Or maybe a watched phone never beeped with a text, in the same way that the proverbial watched pot never boiled.

He was called to deal with an issue over the spa and accidentally left his phone on his desk. He came back to find a text from Nicole.

I'm ready to talk. Can we meet in the park by the observatory at half-past five?

Please let this be a good sign, Gabriel thought, and texted her back.

Yes.

* * *

Nicole sat on the bench near the observatory, trying to look cool and calm and collected. Inside, she was panicking. Should she have planned some grand gesture to sweep Gabriel off his feet? Should she have spelled out ‘sorry' in rose petals, or bought some posh chocolates with a letter piped on each one to spell out a message? Should she have organised a helicopter to whisk them away somewhere for a sumptuous picnic on a deserted beach, or—

And then all the words fell out of her head when she saw Gabriel walking up the path towards her.

He was still wearing a business suit, but he was wearing sunglasses in concession to the brightness of the afternoon. And his expression was absolutely unreadable.

He'd given her nothing to work on with his text reply, either. Just the single word ‘yes'.

Help.

This could go so, so wrong.

‘Hi.' He stood in front of the bench and gestured to it. ‘May I?'

‘Sure.' She took a deep breath. ‘Gabriel. I'm sorry I hurt you.'

‘Uh-huh.'

‘I've been an idiot. A huge idiot. Because I was scared. I got spooked, and I should have trusted my instincts. I know you're not like Jeff. I know you're not a cheat or a liar. I know you have integrity.'

‘Thank you.'

She still couldn't read his expression. Was he going to forgive her? Or had he, too, spent the time apart thinking about things and decided that she wasn't what he wanted after all?

All she could do now was be honest with him and tell him how she really felt.

‘You've been there for me every step of the way. Firstly as Clarence and then as—well, once we realised who each other was in real life, and you made me see that you're not a shark in a suit. And ever since I first met you online, you've become important to me. Really important. I know I've behaved badly. And I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with me any more. But I think the Electric Palace and the Spice House have a lot to offer each other, and we've done so much work on our joint plans—it'd be a shame to abandon them.' She took a deep breath. ‘But, most of all, Gabriel, I want you to forgive me and give me a chance to make it up to you. I have to be honest with you—I can't promise that I won't panic ever again. The hurt from what Jeff did went pretty deep. It shattered my confidence in me. I find it hard to believe that anyone can even like me for myself, let alone anything more. But I can promise you that, next time I have a wobble, I'll talk to you about it instead of overreacting and doing something stupid.'