Her Christmas Billionaire (The Joy of Christmas Series Book 1) Read online

  The Christmas Eve celebration on Main Street was unrivaled to any Christmas party she’d ever been to in any city in the country. A plethora of lights surrounded the tallest tree they could find and sat firmly in the center of the Main Street square, covered in dazzling jewel colored bulbs. It was truly a was a site to behold.

  Children laughed, bands played backup to the Church Choir singing Christmas carols, and hot chocolate abounded in all different forms and flavors. There were snow angel contests, snowman making contests and the famous pie bake-off of the year.

  The Love Valley Christmas Eve Festival had been her favorite town gathering as a child. But this year, returning without Gram would be bittersweet. In a strange way, having Blake here to distract her was a good thing. Maybe it was a shame he wasn’t going to stay through Christmas. She laughed aloud. Now that was a downright crazy thought.

  “What is so funny?”

  Caught off guard, she jerked her head up from the box of decorations beside her where she sat on the sofa by the front window. “Just in time,” she said in an overly enthusiastic voice. “I have a list of things I need help with,” she said.

  Thank goodness he’d covered his distracting muscles with a relaxed sweatshirt in a subdued color and had replaced his fancy boots with all-weather hiking boots. He almost looked like he belonged in the Colorado mountains. She shifted on the flowery chintz cushion, uncertain about his slow metamorphosis. As far as she could see, his sweatshirt wasn’t Christmas red and his boots were just the common kind people wore hiking in the snow so, nothing to worry about. He wasn’t getting too comfortable, was he? Well, she’d have to make sure he didn’t and that was all there was to it.

  He sunk down in an arm chair and Hannah noticed he had a cup of something steaming in his hand.

  “Mary made coffee,” he said as if reading her mind. He took a deep sip and sat the cup down on the side table next to his chair. “Wow. She makes great coffee.”

  Hannah was mesmerized by his whole persona, his calm collectiveness, his impossibly handsome face, and how ridiculously good the man could look in a sweatshirt and jeans. He relaxed back in Gram’s favorite chair, and sipped his coffee while taking in the stacks of boxes she’d piled into the room. When he reached for one of her Gram’s boxes of Christmas decorations, she had to stop the urge to slap his hand away.

  “Be careful. Some of these ornaments are very old. A lot of them belonged to my great grandmother. Handle with care,” she said, clenching her hands behind the box on her lap.

  “I will,” Blake said. His voice was surprisingly soothing. As if he understood something about how a simple object might be precious to another person.

  But he was from LA. What did he know about real life? He probably lived in a fantasy world ninety percent of the time. “So, what do you do for a living, Blake Bradley?” She tried to sound casual as she looked through the box she’d set on her lap, waiting to hear about his pseudo famous lifestyle.

  Did she detect his body tense? “I own some businesses in LA,” he said.

  “Oh?” She couldn’t hide her surprise. “What type of businesses?”

  “You are a very curious person, aren’t you?” he said.

  She shot him a knowing look. “You mean nosy, don’t you?”

  He laughed, a deep, short chuckle that sent goosebumps down her shoulders. “You said it, not me.”

  Why did that get her feathers up? “I thought you might be an actor or something. You look familiar.” He shifted in her Gram’s chair. Did she detect a hint of discomfort beneath that cool demeanor?

  “I own a few businesses. An animation studio, for one.”

  “As in cartoons? Cool.” She was sure she saw his body relax as he graced her with a warm smile.

  “Yes, it is cool,” he said with a laugh. “I’m glad you approve.”

  “Well, everyone likes cartoons, don’t they?”

  Blake gave a thoughtful expression. “I suppose most people do. So, what is it you want help with?”

  She gave him her sweetest, most innocent smile. “Decorating the Inn for Christmas. We’ve got to get the lights up around the perimeter of the house, the wreathes on the windows and front doors, and garland around the porch rails. Then inside, we go nuts with the decorations and oh, we have to get the tree. Maybe tomorrow we can do that.”

  Blake raised his eyebrows. Go nuts on the inside? What on earth did that mean? “Listen, I don’t do Christmas. I thought you understood that.”

  “Who doesn’t do Christmas? That’s just silly. Of course, you do.”

  “I don’t. I’ll be happy to pay for someone to help you.”

  “Pay someone? Who would you find in this small town? Everyone is busy taking care of their own Christmas stuff. Besides, what else do you have to do? Are your people coming for you now?”

  He let out a long, aggravated sigh. “Not today. Seems there is some bad weather between here and LA. My pilot can’t make the trip today and-”

  Hannah slid the box off her lap. “What? Your pilot? You have a pilot? Like your own plane?”

  Blake’s face reddened slightly. “Well, I meant to say that the pilot-”

  “That is not what you said. You said your pilot. As in your own personal pilot, employed by you. So, that would mean you have a plane too.”

  Blake looked terribly uncomfortable now in that pretty winged back chair. He shrugged, a sheepish expression sprawling across his face. “Just a small one,” he said, pinching his thumb and pointer finger close together to indicate just how tiny his plane was- compared to what other planes? She didn’t know.

  “Like a single engine plane?” she asked. She didn’t think those could fly safely over Love Valley’s mountains.

  Blake cleared his throat. “A little bigger than that,” he said in a low voice.

  Well heck, he’d managed to surprise her. She’d give the LA city slicker that. “Your cartoons must do very well,” she said as she started unwrapping the tissue around the decorations from the box. She laid them out in a row on a side table.

  “Yes, we’ve won a few Academy Awards,” he said defensively.

  Academy Awards? Awards, as in plural? Wow. Of course, pigs would fly before she let him know she was impressed.

  “Congratulations. But I still need your help decorating, okay? Academy Awards don’t mean a whole lot around here when there’s work to be done. If you want room and board for the next two days, you will have to stop being such a grinch and help me decorate.” She graced him with an exaggerated, toothy smile. “Deal?”

  Mr. Academy Award was silent for so long that Hannah thought he was going to up and leave. She’d been calling his bluff. She thought he was just being lazy or difficult- or both. But it was becoming clear there was something far more at play here than just a rich guy who didn’t want to get his hands dirty.

  “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” Hannah finally said, her tone softening. “You can still stay. I’m sure I can manage on my own.”

  She almost thought Blake’s eyes were glassy as he looked over at her. “It’s okay. I appreciate you taking me in. I’ll help you, Hannah. In any way I can. Just please, no Christmas music.”

  His eyes looked so sad as he agreed to help her decorate for Christmas and for some reason, her heart broke just a little at his expression. She decided then and there, she’d make decorating Clearview Inn the time of Blake Bradley’s life, no matter how big he was in Hollywood.

  ~

  Blake had his back to the proverbial wall, and he knew it. He didn’t really have a good excuse for not helping Hannah. His distaste for Christmas wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own. He could see Hannah surmising him, trying to understand the ‘grinch’ as she put it, inside this empty shell of a man he’d become. Despite her snappy come backs and sometimes haughty attitude, he could see the softness, the empathy in her face. She could see right through his so-called sturdy façade.

  “Okay, no Christmas musi
c,” she said softly.

  She turned back to the box of ornaments while Blake took a sip of his coffee for courage. He could do this, right? It was only lights and ornaments. Just inanimate objects you hung on a hook. It didn’t mean anything to him anymore. He had to at least try, for Hannah’s sake. She was helping him out, and he needed to step up to the plate and help her out. He could disconnect his feelings, couldn’t he?

  He reached into one of the open boxes on the floor near the chair he sat in and began to unwrap the ornaments. He set them on the table where Hannah had been laying them out. “These are for the tree?” he asked in a fake cheerful voice.

  “The tree, yes. And some we’ll nestle some of the ornaments into the garland on the mantel and staircase.

  “Do you want me to get the tree? Where is it? In the attic?”

  Hannah blinked at him, puzzled. “The attic?”

  “Or the basement? Where do you store your Christmas stuff during the year? I’m pretty good at putting stuff together. I can have it up and ready to decorate in no time. No need to wait until tomorrow.”

  Hannah’s smile was genuine as she stared at him with amusement. “I would love your help getting the tree. But Love Valley is famous for its Christmas tree farms. We don’t use artificial trees here,” she said with a laugh. “We go out to the tree farm and-”

  Blake’s eyes widened. “Oh no, please don’t tell me we have to chop them down ourselves?” As rugged as his childhood had been, Blake didn’t think he was ready to be chopping trees down like some pseudo lumberjack. Even he had his limits.

  Hannah giggled in a girly manner that lightened his heart. “No, silly. We can get one at the tree farm, like most people here do. Unless you want to chop your own. There are tree farms that do that.” She gave him a mischievous smile.

  Blake put his hand up in the stop movement. “No, no. I think picking one off the lot will be just enough Christmas tree engagement for me. Don’t push it.”

  Hannah smile abruptly turned downwards. “You really hate Christmas, don’t you?”

  “I just don’t celebrate it anymore,” he said, unwrapping another ornament just to keep his hands busy.

  “Then why did you come to Love Valley for the Christmas holidays? You must know, we are known for our Christmas celebrations. Our Christmas Eve Festival is the most famous in all of Colorado.”

  “I didn’t plan to be in town for the holiday. I had planned to be up in the remote mountains, alone.”

  He could see Hannah’s mind working a mile a minute. To a Christmas fanatic like her, he must be the most puzzling person in the world to her as a person who didn’t like Christmas.

  “Seems fate has brought you here, so may as well go with the flow,” she said. “You know what they say? When in Rome…”

  “If I were in Rome, I’d be happy to oblige. But since I’m not in Rome, I’m trying to make the best of it.”

  Hannah scrutinized him for a few minutes before answering. “What’s the worst that can happen by enjoying Christmas?”

  Blake was at a loss for words. Probably because he couldn’t fathom what actually enjoying Christmas felt like anymore. But that was something he didn’t want to tell Mrs. Christmas, who stood across the room with her hands set on her hips, glaring at him.

  “What would you like me to do to help you?” He wanted to pat himself on the back with his clever response and change of subject.

  A flutter played across her lips. She knew he was deflecting her questions. But she let it go. Something told him, Hannah would ask him again. And again, and again. He’d better prepare an answer if he was still here tomorrow.

  “You can start by trying to enjoy Christmas.” She stood up and arranged a few more ornaments on the table. “Why fight it?”

  He didn’t have an answer to that question either. “Where is the tree farm? I’m have a truck so guess I’ll be driving.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him and chuckled. “I guess you are.” She checked her watch. “We can wait until tomorrow or go now. We’d better hurry though. Murphy closes early.”

  “Let’s go then,” he said, nearly jumping out of his seat. Blake was happy to get out of the house and away from this conversation about Christmas. Of course, going to a Christmas tree farm wasn’t exactly his idea of the best alternative. But since he had no choice, he’d try to make the best of it.

  Murphy’s Christmas tree farm had more trees than people who lived in Love Valley. Blake felt like Alice in Wonderland as he looked around at the oversized trees. He’d never seen such huge Christmas trees in his life, at least not since moving to LA. And that was years ago.

  “And they think things are bigger in Texas, ha!” Hannah said. She squealed with delight as she ran around the tree farm from one tree to another, kicking up the soft snow on the ground in the process.

  Blake couldn’t help but be warmed by her excitement. This woman really loved Christmas, that was evident. He wished he could share in her enthusiasm, but those Christmas loving days were long gone for him. The best he could do was carry her chosen tree home and set it up for her. And that was a huge feat for him, after all these years. He hadn’t so much as stepped a foot onto land even adjoining a Christmas tree lot for over four years. This was literally, a very big step for him to be taking.

  “Help me pick one out!” Hannah joyfully called to him from the forest of upright trees that lined the snow lot like toy soldiers ready to fight Santa’s enemies. Did Santa even have enemies? He thought he remembered a few in the cartoons of old, the ones that had inspired him to build his empire. That was back in the days when he could still be inspired.

  But Hannah’s joy could not be contained and she was right, when in Rome… so, he’d try his best to at least support her happiness in picking out a tree.

  “How big do you want it?” he called out to her as he stood next to a medium sized tree that he thought would work fine.

  “Bigger!” she yelled as she traipsed away from him and moved deeper into the man-made forest.

  “Okay?” He made his way behind her, moving swiftly to catch up with her as she bounced from one row to another. He felt like he was on a treasure hunt; Hannah made tree shopping feel like an exciting adventure. How did she manage to do that with a task that should have felt like a dreaded chore for him? She was like some magic Christmas fairy from one of his animated films.

  He caught up with her and despite knowing better, he found himself being caught up in the magic that was Hannah Carter.

  Chapter Six

  “That is one humongous tree,” Blake said as he stepped back from the tree that was finally standing upright after forty-five minutes of trying to keep it from falling over. He’d wanted to bolt the thing to the wood floor, but of course, Hannah had said no. Strange woman.

  “Yeah, it is,” Hannah said breathlessly as she stepped back next to him. “Now, we have to put on the lights.”

  “What? If we so much as sneeze, that tree will come tumbling down and fall straight out that pretty front window. Game over,” Blake said.

  Hannah gave him one of her looks, the kind that said: ‘You are the crazy one, not me’. Yeah, right.

  “Just warning you,” Blake decided to take a lawyerly approach. “It won’t be my fault if it falls over. We need a bigger stand. Better yet, a big bucket of rocks to anchor it and keep it from falling over. And maybe a rope attached to the ceiling and…”

  “Okay, so we need a bigger stand,” Hannah huffed. “Don’t get all dramatic on me.”

  “I’ll go get one, down at the General Store. I can ask about my phone too.”

  “We’ll have to go in the morning. The General Store is closed now. It should hold the night. I hope,” she said gazing at the tree in all its magnificent stature. She turned to him, that mysterious grin on her face. “It will hold. Now, all that tree hunting and made me hungry. I’m absolutely famished. How about you?”

  “Starving,” Blake said. He wondered if she’d heard the gro
using growls of his stomach.

  “Well, that is no way for me to treat my first guest. Let’s see what Mary left us.” Hannah made a bee line for the kitchen.

  Blake followed behind her. “Guest? I thought I was more like an ill treated like a serf.”

  “Just keep talking, and you’ll literally be in the dog house with no dinner,” Hannah said lightly, tossing her long curls across her shoulder.

  “You drive a hard bargain, Miss Carter. I’ll be quiet until after dinner then,” Blake retorted.

  Hannah laughed. “Until after dinner? So, the man has a sense of humor after all,” she said.

  Blake gave her a sly grin. “Of course, I do. I make cartoons, right?”

  Hannah opened to refrigerator door and pulled out a large, metal dish covered in tin foil. “Cartoons, right,” she said. She set the dish on the kitchen island where Blake had perched himself on a barstool, and peaked beneath the foil. Her eyes darted up at his face as a huge grin spread across her face. “Looks like Mary made Shepard’s pie. She must especially love me today.”

  “Sounds great,” Blake said. “I could eat a bear, I’m so hungry.”

  “Shhhh, don’t say that so loud. The bears will hear you, and they won’t like it one bit,” Hannah said in a serious tone.

  Blake looked around just to be sure. Nope. No bears had heard him. He took the plates Hannah handed him and set a place next to him for her, along with the flatware she gave him. “Mary’s a great cook. I can’t wait to try it.”

  Hannah stuck the pan into the oven and turned it on. “I just need to heat it up. We got a little time. Let’s set out the rest of the ornaments for tomorrow. If you are going to be here tomorrow?” Blake couldn’t help but notice the slight rise in her voice. Did she want him to stay? He couldn’t fathom that, but then again, she probably just needed help.

  “I’ll stay and help you out as long as you need me to, Hannah. I’ll have to see if the weather has cleared by tomorrow and make arrangements with my pilot, Nathan.”

  “Your pilot?”

  “Yeah.” Blake hated the way ‘my pilot’ sounded. Why had he ever said that? Nathan was a good friend, who he’d known since their early days when they were dirt poor and living off ramen noodles in college. He was one of the few people Blake trusted. And one of the few who really knew him, the real Blake Bradley.