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

  “Come in the kitchen,” Hannah said, leading the way. “This calls for some serious talk over Mary’s coffee and butter pecan muffins.”

  Charlene scurried in her heeled boots to catch up with Hannah. “The chocolate chip muffins are mine!” she called out.

  Five minutes later, Hannah quietly put down the newspaper after reading the article about the ‘Bachelor of the Year, Billionaire Blake Bradley’. She threw her hand over her mouth and stared at Charlene wide-eyed.

  Charlene’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do, Hannah?”

  “I’ve been ordering him around like a servant! I told him he had to earn his keep to stay at the Inn. And he took it, without so much as a word of protest. Well, maybe one word or two.”

  “Hannah! How could you treat such a nice, handsome man so terrible?”

  “I told you, he knocked me over and broke my new Christmas lights. He was on his cell phone, not paying attention to where he was going. So, typical of those type A personalities.”

  “Yeah, well those type A personalities are pretty successful. The man is a billionaire! Do you have any idea what that means?”

  “Strange he didn’t complain when I bossed him around. Maybe he needs a firm hand…” Hannah covered her mouth as she giggled.

  Charlene devoured one of Mary’s chocolate chip muffins with a slight moan. “He did not have one complaint? Knowing you, I find that hard to believe,” she said.

  “Well, only one real one. He hates Christmas.”

  Charlene straightened in her chair. “What? How can anyone hate Christmas?”

  “I don’t know, he just does.” Hannah took a sip of her coffee. “I think there is a reason, some sort of secret he is hiding. He seems kind of mysterious, like he’s hiding something. When I ask him questions, he evades them or give me cryptic answers.”

  “Hannah, have you been interrogating him?”

  “No! But he is staying here. It is natural to want to get to know my guests.”

  “Humph. Sounds like you’ve treated him more like a servant than a guest.”

  Hannah stuck out her tongue at Charlene.

  Charlene shook her head at Hannah. “You can’t blame him. He’s a famous billionaire that’s been dubbed Bachelor of the Year. Of course, he is going to be cautious.”

  Hannah unwrapped the paper off her second butter pecan muffin and frowned. “I suppose you’re right. As usual.” She took a big bite of the muffin.

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Charlene asked.

  Hannah look at her puzzled as she swallowed. “Nothing. He’s going to help me put up Christmas decorations, and then he’s going back to tinsel town. And I’ll never see him again. End of story.” She didn’t like the way her voice dropped off as she spoke. Charlene was far too perceptive not to notice.

  Charlene smiled a she flipped her pretty blond hair back across her shoulders, the way she had since the seventh grade. “You like him.”

  Darn it! She knew it. Hannah could never pull the wool past Charlene’s eyes. “No, I mean, yes. I mean… he’s nice and cute and all but he’s leaving and I’m staying. He’s a billionaire from Hollywood, and I’m a small-town Inn keeper. So, there is no reason to even go there.”

  “Why not? This is called Love Valley for a reason! People have been coming here for decades and falling in love. There is something in the air here, something about the Violet Bliss flowers, the mountains and the forests that induces love.” Charlene clasped her hands together, reveling in her own words.

  “Don’t give me that old town story. That is just a marketing ploy to get tourists to come here. The truth is, I’m not relationship material. Especially not now.”

  “Because of that rat, Henry? Really? Hannah, you were never in love with him. If you had been, you’d be nursing a broken heart now, which you aren’t. He hurt your ego, that is all. He was not the right man for you. Blake Bradley on the other hand… I think you make a nice couple.”

  “A nice couple? You haven’t even seen us together. We were fighting the first second we met. Besides, he is all big LA billionaire,” Hannah said waving her hands in the air dramatically. “I could never live that lifestyle. You were right, I belong here at Clearview Inn, here in Love Valley. I’m not leaving again. So, just forget about Blake Bradley and all his billions because number one, I don’t care about his money, and two, he probably has a harem of women he counts as girlfriends. No thank you. I’m not interested in Bachelor of the Year.”

  “If he had a girlfriend, he’d be with her now. It’s the holidays. Besides, the article said he was a bachelor, hence the ‘Bachelor of the Year’ title,” Charlene said, putting air quotes around Blake’s title with her fingers. “Why are you being so stubborn? I’m not suggesting you marry him today, but give him a chance. He seems like a genuine guy. The real deal.”

  Hannah put up her hand, as if that would stop Charlene from fantasizing about Hannah’s love life. “He’s leaving soon. Today or tomorrow so there isn’t any point of anything. Now, no more talk about Blake Bradley.”

  “He’s here now, what do you have to lose?” Charlene insisted.

  What did she have to lose? Only her heart.

  Chapter Eight

  Blake was not disappointed to learn that the new cell phones had still not arrived. He left the General Store only mildly concerned about being disconnected from his companies and life in LA. Actually, his life in LA, if you could call it a life the last few years, had solely revolved around his businesses and those were managed by a team of very competent people. He didn’t need to worry about it at all.

  Getting his phone smashed on his first day here, may have been the biggest blessing in disguise. He felt freer than he had in a very long time. It was as if he was just himself again, Blake Bradley, ordinary guy. Not Blake Bradley, young Billionaire, tragic widow, and now Bachelor of the Year. The middle part of that description made him sad, the latter part made him cringe.

  Being here in Love Valley, completely incognito was liberating. He’d met a girl who had no idea who he was and seemed to like him. Okay, maybe like him and hate him at the same time, but that was a start wasn’t it?

  He walked down Main Street and stopped at the place where he’d first met Hannah, when she knocked him over like a heavy weight champion. He smiled. She was a spirited woman. Feisty, strong willed and did he mention, beautiful? Yeah, he just loved those dark curls and her perky smile that went perfect with her quirky personality.

  “Shopping for Christmas decorations?”

  A clerk from The Christmas Store beckoned him into the store and since that was his destination, he let her lead him inside. “I’m looking for some lights,” he said.

  He looked around the shop that he wouldn’t have been caught dead in one week ago. Happy Santa figurines and other Christmas icons made of jewel colored glass sparkled on the shelves. Glittering stars, snow globes encasing happy snowmen or Christmas villages, and nativity sets were set up in various artistically designed displays.

  At once, a beautiful white angel ornament in a gown of silver and gold caught his eye. He remembered Hannah’s broken angel back at Clearview. He planned to repair the old angel, but that wouldn’t happen in time for this Christmas. He picked up the angel and a jolt of Christmas spirit struck him. The real type of spirit, not the artificial Santa and reindeer type.

  “I’ll take one of these angels as well,” he said. “Could you have it wrapped, please?”

  Once he was done at the shop, he carefully packed the Christmas lights in the front seat of his truck and drove back to Clearview Inn. He felt excited at the thought of seeing Hannah’s face again. How crazy was that?

  A surge of guilt assaulted him as he thought of Mona. In the time she’d been gone, he’d never once looked at another woman. Hannah was the first woman he’d even noticed since the accident that had destroyed his life as he’d known it. Four years had passed but still it pained him. Every time he thought of that Christmas holiday on that fatef
ul day, he wanted to forget. Wanted to erase it from his memory. He tried to remember the good times and there were many, but the tragic day haunted him. It had crushed all those joyful memories with one agonizing blow.

  He knew it was time to put that day behind him. But could he? Hannah gave him hope, and hope was something he had not felt in a long, long time. Maybe he should just enjoy the limited time he had left in Love Valley and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe he would stay a little while longer to see what happened. Could he even celebrate Christmas once again? No, that was going too far. Even Hannah couldn’t coax him into feeling the true joy of Christmas. That joy, that life had been extinguished years ago.

  As he pulled into the driveway of Clearview Inn, he felt a tug-of-war inside of him of conflicting emotions. He was feeling excited, scared and guilty, all at the same time. He let out a sigh. This was entirely too much turmoil to be feeling at one time, much less over one person. He’d decided. He’d enjoy his time with Hannah today. But by nightfall he’d be on a plane far away from Love Valley and all the chaos it contained in the form of one pretty woman.

  Hannah Carter.

  ~

  Did Hannah notice a change in Blake when he returned? Or what that just her own insecurity after Charlene bombarded her with the news of his billionaire status? She tried to brush those thoughts aside and focus on the task at hand, Christmas decorating. Time for both of them to get in the spirit of Christmas.

  “Did you find everything? Sorry, Charlene wasn’t there to help you. She stopped by here not too long ago.”

  “Yes, I’ve got enough lights to light up the whole town,” Blake said as he piled the bags of lights on the sofa in the sitting room.

  Hannah watched as at least a dozen boxes spilled out of the bags on to the couch. “Looks like it for sure.”

  “What did Charlene come by for?” Blake asked.

  Did she sense suspicion in his voice? Now she was being paranoid. “She’s my best friend. She doesn’t need a reason to come over,” Hannah said picking up one of the boxes of lights. “But I must admit, I do think Mary’s muffins are a big draw.”

  “I’m sure they are. I did get some advice on how to stabilize this monster of a tree. Let me get the rest of the stuff from my truck.”

  “Don’t call her a monster. You’ll hurt her feelings,” Hannah called out as Blake made his way towards the foyer.

  “Truth can’t be hidden,” Blake called back then broke out into laughter.

  “Not funny!” The man was incorrigible. “It’s okay baby,” she said to her Christmas tree. “Nothing wrong with being plus size. Just more to love.”

  Blake returned with a large, ceramic vessel and a couple of bags of gravel. “This will do it,” he said.

  “For someone who hates Christmas, you seem to know a lot about setting up Christmas trees,” she mused.

  Blake gave her a speculative glance. “I don’t hate it. I just have a bad memory associated with Christmas. Now, I’ll need your help. Come steady her, while I pour the gravel in.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said tritely. She steadied the tree after he’s heaved it into the bucket. “What happened?”

  “I’d rather not discuss it. Suffice to say, it’s left its mark on all my future Christmases. Let’s concentrate on decorating now. I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole. We should be having fun, right?”

  Hannah decided it was best not to pressure him into talking about his bad memory. Whatever had happened to him, had surely left a trail of trauma.

  “Yes. Today is one of the best days of the Christmas holidays. Sometimes, I think the decorating is more fun than opening up presents on Christmas day,” she said.

  Blake stood up satisfied with the sturdiness of the tree. He gave her a side glance. “I suppose you would, Hannah. You are all about Christmas in the best of ways.” He gave her a wink before heading into the kitchen. “Any of Mary’s coffee left?”

  Hannah wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. She decided it was, more or less. “I can make some. Mary’s off this afternoon, but I make decent coffee.”

  She followed Blake into the kitchen. “We should make lunch now. We have a big day ahead of us,” she said, pulling out the coffee pot.

  “Yes, we do. The phones haven’t arrived so I’ll need to borrow yours if that is okay,” he said, sidling up next to her.

  She tried not to fixate on Blake’s deep voice, his handsome face or brilliant green eyes but it was impossible. A piece of her heart crumbled at the thought of him leaving. Of course, it was inevitable that he’d go back to his life in LA or wherever he planned to go for Christmas. More so, it was absurd that she even cared whether he left or not. She’d known the man less than a day, for goodness sake!

  She needed to nip this in the bud now. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. “Here,” she said. “Take all the time you need to make your arrangements home. I’ll be in here making coffee.”

  Blake gave her a curious look. “Thanks,” he said taking the phone. “I’ve got to check my schedule on my laptop upstairs.”

  “No problem.” Hannah had to disentangle herself from Blake before she started imagining some fantasy of them together. It was nothing more than the princess myth that had been ingrained in every little girl since the cradle. The truth was, there were no knights in shining armor or Princes to sweep you off your feet into a castle. That was all a lie.

  When Blake returned, Hannah bit her tongue to keep from asking him again when he’d be leaving. No sense in ruining the rest of their day together, she surmised. And strangely, he didn’t offer the information either. After eating, he helped her clean up without her asking. As they joked about who had the harder job, washing or drying, she soon forgot about the fact that after today, she’d probably never see Blake Bradley again.

  Four hours later the outside of Clearview Inn was lit up with so much Christmas style it would rival any home or business in Colorado and beyond. There was a wreath on every front window and a pair on the double front doors. Bright velvet red ribbons adorned the wreaths and the balusters of the porch, whose railing was wrapped with garland. Everything looked perfect.

  After cleaning up, Hannah and Blake proceeded to the sitting room with a couple of hot cocoas she’d made to warm them up. “The temperature is dropping fast out there,” she said. “Thank goodness we finished before nightfall.”

  “Yeah, it was feeling pretty chilly out there. And now, I’m exhausted,” Blake said as he fell onto the sofa in the sitting room. He stared at the tree as his head relaxed on the back of the cushion. “Oh no,” he groaned. “We still have the tree to decorate. I completely forgot.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Aren’t you leaving anyway?” She tried to say it casually as if it didn’t mean a thing to her. And it didn’t, at least that was what she told herself.

  Blake jerked his head up off the couch pillow. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Nathan got called away on an emergency. He does search and rescues in his spare time. I told him to go ahead and I could wait. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Oh, sure,” she said looking down to pick a piece of invisible lint off her shirt.

  Hannah sat down in one of the arm chairs and put her feet up on the footstool. All the tension seemed to release from her body. So, he wasn’t leaving today? Not that she cared, really. Right now, she was utterly exhausted. It had been a long time since she’d done such hard labor. Her office job in the city had made her soft for country living. She’d have to get back in shape.

  “Stay as long as you want. I welcome the help,” she said casually.

  “Sounds like a win-win then,” he said. “Now, I just need a soak in a steaming hot tub and a long nap.”

  Hannah laughed. “No rest for the wicked,” she teased. “And it’s too close to bedtime for a nap.” She should at least get the lights up on the tree while Blake was still here. It had nothing to do with her wanting to spend more time with him.

>   Another two hours later Hannah didn’t think she’d ever want to see another string of Christmas light again. They must have put up over twenty-five strings of lights between the exterior of the house and the enormous tree she’d chosen. Everything looked great, she had to admit. Blake has worked tirelessly to help her get all the lights up and everything looked fantastic. But she was too exhausted to lift another finger to do any more decorating.

  “That is enough for one day,” she said, sinking into the couch beneath the towering Christmas tree that blinked vibrantly now with colored lights.

  Blake sank in right next to her. “That’s enough for one year,” he said with a stretch.

  “I can put the ornaments up tomorrow after you leave. That’s the fun part for me… and you’d hate it anyway.”

  “Are you saying you’re are done with my services, Miss Carter?”

  Hannah was too tired to even muster up a sarcastic smile. “I thought you were leaving for LA or some exotic, non-Christmas destination?” she said.

  Blake lazily rolled his head over to face her. “Like I said, Nathan is on a search and rescue mission right now. I’m not sure when he’s getting back. I could drive to Denver tomorrow if the roads are clear but to be honest,” he rested his hand on top of hers and lightly tapped at her fingers. “I really don’t feel like driving in the snow all the way to Denver. And it will take me twice as long to get there than in normal weather. I’d probably be on the road ten hours or more.”

  “Normal weather here in the Colorado mountains is snow,” she corrected him. “But you’re welcome to stay. I wouldn’t want to make that drive either. Besides, I heard on the radio we may get a storm in the next day or so, pretty much guaranteeing snowed over roads. It takes a while to clear them all the way out here in Love Valley.”

  “Mm-mm. I think I’m seeing how your town received its name. Something to do with being snowed in all the time?”

  Hannah could feel the heat rising to cheeks. “I suppose we’ve had a few shotgun weddings in our day, but mostly lots of summer babies born to young married couples the following year.” She laughed then because the truth was, what Blake said in his off-handed humorous remark was more than true.