The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires Book 5) (13 page)

“Nonsense, sir. I consider myself the guardian of our windfall, which shall require a good deal of looking after. Some of my duties will change, as I fully intend to spend time teaching you how to look after it as well. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for quite some time.”

Kirby grinned.“Say, I’m going to need some of the cash from the safe. As soon as we’re finished at the bank, I have to catch a plane to Colorado.”

Brewster kept his eyes on the perfect knot he was creating for Kirby. “Are you sure that’s wise, sir?

Kirby was already sliding a finger between his collar and his neck. “Wisest thing I’ve ever done.”

Brewster tapped his hand lightly and proceeded to loosen the tie a bit. “I just meant that you’re about to become a very wealthy man. Perhaps you’ll want to give yourself time to contemplate your future.” He gave the knot a nod of approval and stepped back.

Kirby turned to view himself in the mirror. “I look pretty good,” he said.

“You look fabulous. I would kill for a head of hair like yours.”

“You could dye yours blond.”

“Color is the least of the charms your hair holds for the ladies. You look like a surfer in an extremely expensive suit. No wonder the ladies crawl all over you. And you’re ignoring my suggestion.”

“Not at all. I’ve been contemplating my future all my life, and frankly there have been very few bright spots. Mom and Uncle and you, that’s been about it. And then I met Madlyn. I feel like she’s the one. She’s the woman I’m meant to be with. She was the first woman who ever reached inside me and captured my heart. All I want to do is be in the same room with her, all the time. Right now, she thinks I’m a regular guy, and I want to get out to Colorado and ask her to marry me before I turn into one of the billionaires she finds so disgusting.”

Brewster gave his own reflection a glance, then dropped his gaze and spoke carefully. “Are you sure she’s the one? If you wait—”

“If I wait, Vanessa and a whole troupe of women like her will be banging on my door, trying to catch the gold ring on the marriage-go-round. If I wait, Madlyn may get wind of how much money we just inherited. If I wait—” He paused with a hand on the doorknob and looked Brewster in the eye. “—if I wait and she goes back to her former boyfriend, my heart will break into so many pieces there won’t be enough money in the world to put it back together again.”

The corners of Brewster’s mouth twitched in the ghost of a smile. “Very well then. You have the driver come round to the elevator and I will hop into the office and collect some cash.”

The penthouse had a private elevator straight to the parking garage. Once in the town car, Brewster counted out ten thousand in hundreds. “Any more is too bulky to handle easily,” he said, “so use your credit card. While we’re at the bank, we’ll have your limit raised.”

“Thanks. Hey, want to come along?”

“Desperately! But I’ll wait a day. I’ll come home and pack us each a bag so you’ll have clean clothes tomorrow. Meanwhile, I brought this briefcase for you. It has a few necessities inside.”

“Thanks, Brew. You’re the greatest.”

The car pulled up in front of the bank. “Let’s get this done so you can get going.”

Kirby did his best to pay attention during the business meeting, but his mind and heart were two thousand miles away. He was pretty sure he could find a flight to Colorado at the last minute. He’d done spur-of-the-moment trips before. His mind was racing. He’d need a rental car in Denver.

As the meeting drew to a close, an elegant woman came into the boardroom and slipped a blue folder in front of Kirby, then left.

Kirby glanced a question at Brewster, then opened the folder. Inside was a first-class ticket for his flight to Colorado. Behind that was his car rental reservation.

Kirby smiled his thanks to Brewster. The meeting ended at last with handshakes all around, and Brewster took charge of the mountain of documents they’d been signing.

At last they were in the car again, headed for the airport.

Kirby shook his head in amazement. “How did you ever have time to do all of this?”

“I didn’t. But your uncle’s secretary really wants to continue as
your
secretary, and she couldn’t wait to start doing you favors.”

“I think I could get used to this,” Kirby said.

His phone rang, sending strains of “Bat Out of Hell” through the back seat. Kirby thumbed the call away. “Have her figure out how to block this number for me, will you?”

“With pleasure.”

The phone rang again. This time it was just a noncommittal chime. Kirby’s brows drew together at the number. “It’s New York.”

“It might be one of the staff at the penthouse.”

Kirby nodded and took the call. “Hello?”

Vanessa fairly screeched in his ear, “Just when were you going to tell me that you would inherit the entire island of Manhattan from your great-uncle?”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

M
adlyn was floating on air. She went to work singing.

Mina was thrilled when Madlyn related the events of the morning. She explained the confusion and deception that had kept her from reaching Kirby sooner. “And before he hung up, he said he was coming out to Colorado to see me! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Did he say when he’s coming out?” she asked.

“He was about to when Brewster told him they had to go to a meeting somewhere. I hope it’s soon. He said he’d call me as soon as he gets a chance.”

“This is so exciting. If I were twenty years younger, I’d squeal like a cheerleader. I can hardly wait to meet him. He sounds wonderful. Have you told Vicky yet?”

“I haven’t called her this morning. It seemed awfully early, considering they have a house full of company.”

“That was thoughtful,” said Mina. “And speaking of meetings, I have one, too. I’m talking to the realtor today about the possibility of making an offer on the building.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Mina shrugged and said, “We’ll see. It’s sort of exploratory. Remember Thanksgiving? How supportive Ashley and Thor were about the idea? Ashley feels like it would be a great investment, and Thor is one hundred percent behind whatever Ashley wants to do.”

“Is Ashley going with you?”

“Yes, thank goodness. I’m a nervous wreck.”

Madz gave her a quick hug. “I’m sure it’ll all work out. What time is your meeting?”

“Three o’clock.”

“You have to wait all day? I hate waiting.”

“Me, too. But the best remedy is to stay busy. Are you ready to open?”

“Only if we get to snag a pastry from that Muffin Man tray before anyone else.”

Mina laughed. “Deal! Go get yours. I’ll open the doors.”

One of the shop girls had just made a fresh pot of coffee. Madlyn chose a cruller so she wouldn’t get powdered sugar all over the cash register. She sipped her coffee and nibbled her pastry as the morning’s customers came in to browse and visit and shop.

Some of the locals always came in to visit in the Nook while The Muffin Man pastries were the freshest. Soon the shop was full of early Christmas shoppers, and Madlyn and the girls were busy taking down Thanksgiving decorations and putting up Christmas lights.

Before she realized it, the day was nearly over. She checked her phone every hour, hoping to hear from Kirby but each time there was nothing. By one, she was too busy to think about the phone.

As the sun went down, the girls turned on the newly strung holiday lights and made a party out of it by sharing the remaining cookies and coffee.

The last few customers lingered, then said good night.

Madlyn was closing out the register and the girls were returning clothes to hangers and tidying up the dressing rooms when Mina came back to the shop.

Madlyn knew at once that things hadn’t gone well. “I was about to send out a posse,” she said, clearing off a chair behind the counter. “Sit down. What happened?”

Mina looked old and tired. Sprays of gray hair had come loose from her French braid. “It doesn’t look good,” she sighed. “Now that Ashley and I are interested in buying the building, the owner has decided to raise the price.”

“By how much?”

Mina sagged with defeat. “He doubled it.”

“That jerk!”

Mina shook her head. “He has a fish on the hook and he knows he’s in control. Ash and I spent the last two hours putting our heads together with Thor about how to handle it. Looking at options. Trying to come up with bargaining maneuvers. We finally decided we need to sleep on it. My brain is mush.”

One of Mina’s Siamese peeked its head out of the back room. “Meow?”

Mina stood up with an effort. “I’m coming. Time to feed the cats. Are you all done, Madlyn?”

“Almost. Go feed the cats. Then I’m taking you out to dinner.”

“Thanks, but not tonight. I’m just too tired to enjoy it.”

“Mina, you have to eat.”

“I will. Cats first.” She sighed. “I’ve thought of this shop and my rooms upstairs as home for so long. Now, all of a sudden, I feel like I’ve been living an illusion. That money-hungry landlord is about to rip the rug right out from under me. First he raises the rent. Then he wants to sell. Then he doubles his price. It’s infuriating. Do you know what his logic was for doubling the price? He said the rents are higher now, and the new owner will be making more money off the leases.”

Madlyn made a face. “What a creep. Come on, Mina. You should spend the night at my place. We’ll make popcorn and watch a movie. What do you say?”

Mina hesitated, looking tempted. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “Give me an hour or so to pull myself together. Then I’ll stop by the Nest for burgers and fries and bring them to your place for dinner.”

“Let me give you some money.”

“My treat. If I can’t buy the building, I have plenty of money for burgers.”

Madlyn smiled encouragingly. “I can hardly wait. You’ll feel better after you eat.”

Fifteen minutes later, Madlyn pulled into her driveway. The automatic exterior lights installed by Thor Security came on as she arrived. Before she got out of the car, she checked her phone. Nothing. No messages, no missed calls. But she supposed Kirby had a lot to deal with in the aftermath of his uncle’s death. She hadn’t had much experience with that sort of thing, thank goodness. But when one of her parents’ friends had passed away unexpectedly, she’d seen first hand the all-consuming business of making final arrangements, dealing with death certificates, headstone selection, and a hundred other details that kept the surviving spouse and the family in constant motion.

She went inside and waited after she closed and locked the front door until the outdoor lights turned off automatically. That always made her smile. She took her purse with her into the kitchen. She wanted to set the table so Mina could feel like she was eating a real dinner.

As she putzed around the kitchen, her thoughts turned again to Kirby. The very thought of him coming to Eagle’s Toe made her toes tingle. Well, the tingle started at her toes. She laughed at herself. What a relief to know that Vanessa was all wrong about Kirby’s family situation. And how sad that he would get nothing. But she was sure, if things went in the direction she hoped they would, that he would be able to find a good job right here in Eagle’s Toe.

Soon, she had the table ready and the kettle on, and there was Death by Chocolate in the freezer. Once Mina arrived, Madlyn was pretty sure she could talk her into staying over. The guest room was always ready. Poor Mina. Her plans and dreams were crumbling around her, and all because of money.

Maybe it would be convenient to have access to those extra zeros on her checking account balance. It would certainly feel good to be able to help Mina.

She put on some Christmas music and ran upstairs to freshen up and change into jeans and a wild tie-dyed tee. The house was chilly, so on her way back to the kitchen she turned the furnace up a bit. She was pouring hot water into the tea pot when the doorbell rang. Mina at last! She was starving.

Madlyn scampered to the living room, reassured by the automatic lights outside and opened the door without checking the peephole.

“Hey, babe.”

“John!” Madlyn leaned against the door jamb for support and gaped at her ex. John looked softer than she’d remembered, but then he wasn’t in uniform. His jeans looked a bit baggier and his flannel shirt was not tucked in. The blue tee beneath it showed some stains on the front.

“Are you going to let me in? It’s getting cold out here.”

Madlyn couldn’t think of anything witty to say, and even if she had, her jaw seemed to be stuck in permanent gawk mode, so she couldn’t have delivered the lines anyway.

Silently, numbly, she backed away from the door and John entered, closing the door behind him. “Nice security lights. Those are new.”

Madlyn finally convinced her mouth to close, but no sooner had it done so than it opened again and words came tumbling out. “What do you want, John? Why are you here? I have company coming.”

“I’m back.”

Madlyn nodded. “I see that. And…?”

John spread his hands as if the purpose of his visit were obvious. “I made a mistake, Madz. I should never have left Eagle’s Toe.” He moved toward her, arms still spread. “Don’t I get a hug?”

Madlyn blinked at him. “No. Why should I hug you? You disrespected me. You said you didn’t want to marry me. And you’ve been gone almost four months now without so much as a text or a phone call. What are you doing here?”

John shrugged off the rejection and moved easily to the sofa where he sat and leaned back, casting one arm across the cushions. “I’m back for good,” he said. “I’m back for you.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

K
irby hadn’t had time to call Madlyn from La Guardia. He barely made it to the gate in time to board. He decided it could wait until he arrived in Denver. After all, he hadn’t said exactly when he would call. He needed time to shake off the disturbing rant from Vanessa he’d endured in the town car. He was beginning to wonder about that woman. He made a mental note to call her brother and enlist the family’s aid in throwing her off his trail. He didn’t have it in him to be mean to her, but her persistence was bordering on stalking, and he felt he should talk to her family before he had to take legal measures.