The Billionaire's Weekend Bride (19 page)

"You look beautiful, Kaya and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for having been so spoiled this summer. I know I've not been easy to deal with, but you know you mean the world to me and I'm so glad I stayed."

Kaya hugged her back. "I'm glad too, Suzie. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

Suzie was the first to leave the hostel when Connor came knocking, dressed in an out-of-fashion shirt and a pair of smart pants that didn't quite match, but Suzie smiled widely to see him there and told him he looked good. He walked with her to the curb and Kaya watched through the window with concern to see them both climb into Edward's flashy car.

Her concern was soon forgotten when she saw a sleek limousine pull up outside and Henry step out. He saw her watching from the window and gave a little bow. Other young people inside the hostel pulled back their curtains and murmured to each other when Kaya stepped outside to greet him and she felt so special and not because of the fancy car or their beautiful clothes, but because of the way Henry smiled to see her and how she got to be his for the night.

When they arrived at the hotel, many of the guests were already there and it was proving to be an opulent affair. The women were dripping in diamonds and the men were wearing expensive tailored suits. Kaya had almost forgotten what it felt like to be at the center of such an extravagant affair, but all her etiquette lessons came back to her and she walked, spoke and drank like the fine-mannered young lady she had been raised to be. Henry seemed enchanted by her with every step she took.

The music inside the hall was a sophisticated orchestral melody that made Kaya feel like she'd stepped into another time and when everyone began to take hold of their partners and spin on the dance floor, she looked shyly across to Henry to see if he would ask her to dance. He didn't let her down.

"Can I have this dance?"

He asked her so nicely, as if he'd just come from his own etiquette lessons and they moved together amidst the crowd of people to the center of the floor. The room they were in was magnificent, with towering ceilings, chandeliers, sculpted archways and marble floors. The sound of the orchestra was enchanting and Kaya felt herself grow breathless when Henry placed one hand on her lower back and with his other took hold of her own.

Then they began to dance and it was wonderful. Both had learned how to ballroom dance at some point in their lives and they moved around the floor expertly and in perfect momentum with one another. Kaya marveled at how easily her step fell to match his and every time that she lifted her eyes and caught a glimpse of his handsome smile, she half-swooned.

Yes, she could be judgmental when it came to all the airs and graces of the upper classes, but there was really nothing more romantic than dancing with your man and getting lost in each other’s' eyes, even as a whole roomful of people swirled around you.

They danced for hours and drank and Kaya felt that this was truly the most magical evening of her whole life. Everybody who spoke to Henry knew who he was and nobody seemed to have anything but respect for him. Kaya could tell that despite his boyish behavior when it came to spending time with Max and Edward, that he really was a young man with high aspirations and ready to accept his responsibilities. She felt a little sorry for him that he had such great shoes to fill, but she admired how he handled his position with grace and maturity, while she had been the one to run away from the demands of her status.

They stepped outside for a moment to get some air. There was a beautiful balcony, which overlooked the wonderfully crafted hotel gardens and the air was filled with the fragrance of the flowers. Henry leaned against the balustrade and looked out over them with a sentimental gleam in his eye.

He turned back to look at Kaya and she could see at once how much adoration he held in his eyes for her. He opened his mouth as if to speak, when his cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He sighed, pulled it out and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Edward," he said with surprise. He lifted the phone to his ear and Kaya began to feel panic as she saw how Henry's expression grew worried and then angry. "You idiot!" he scowled. "Why on earth would you let her do that? And Connor... Jesus, Ed... Is he going to be OK? You're right this is a big deal. Don't worry. I'm on my way."

Henry hung up and ran his hands through his hair desperately. He looked at the worry in Kaya's face and his expression became apologetic. He reached out to hold her hands and shook his head sadly. "Edward, Max, Suzie and Connor have been in a car accident," he told her softly. "I need to get down to the hospital to speak to Edward. The police are there and this could all blow up."

"Oh my God!" Kaya gasped. "What happened? Is everyone OK?"

"They drank too much, probably did drugs as well - God knows, with Edward - and the fool let Suzie take the wheel. Connor is in a bad way. There are going to be arrests. If I can get down there quickly, then I might be able to do some damage control. Pull some strings."

A hand flew to Kaya's mouth and she gasped. "Suzie was driving?"

"I'll know more when I get there."

"I'm coming with you."

"It's probably best that you wait at the hostel or up in my suite, Kaya. There are police around. It's going to be chaos."

"I'm coming with you," Kaya repeated in a firmer voice. Henry sighed heavily, but relented. He put his phone to his ear again and called for his driver to come in a less conspicuous vehicle. Minutes later, the pair were in the back of his Mercedes and being driven towards the hospital. Henry was continuously sighing and shaking his head. Kaya could tell that he was angry.

"He's got no concern for anyone but himself," he raged. "How could he let Suzie drive? What did he think was going to happen?"

Kaya was just concerned about her friends. How badly hurt were they? Henry had said Connor was in a bad way. How bad? She wanted to cry, but adrenaline was stopping her from shedding any tears. Instead, she just felt her heart pounding in her chest and found herself gripping tightly onto Henry's hand. She felt guilty for feeling so relieved that she'd been with him that night instead, and kept questioning what might have happened if she had been in the car. She felt horrible Connor had been injured. After all, she was the one who had begged him to keep Suzie safe.

They arrived at the hospital and both jumped out of the car. They raced through the sterile corridors to the reception desk of the ER and were directed to where Suzie, Edward and Max were all waiting anxiously outside the door of Connor's hospital room. The minute that Suzie saw Kaya, she let out a terrified sob and fell weeping into her arms. Her make-up was smeared all down her face from where she'd been crying, her high-heeled shoes were discarded at the edge of the corridor and she was trembling like a leaf. Kaya hugged her tightly, just relieved that she was alright, and then stepped back to look into her face and ask her what had happened.

"Don't say anything, Suzie," Edward interrupted aggressively as she went to speak. "Connor was driving. That's the story we stick to. It was Connor at the wheel."

"Suze?" Kaya said in a gentler tone. "What really happened?"

"We'd all been drinking," Suze sniffled. "Edward was wasted. He was acting all crazy and getting a little violent. We tried to get a cab, but there were none around. Edward pulled out his keys and said he was going to drive. We all tried to stop him, but he insisted that he was taking his car. Well, there was no stopping him. I'd only had a couple of coolers, so I convinced him to let me drive. I thought I'd go really slowly, get us back safely and put him to bed.

Connor tried to convince me to stay behind, but Max was wasted as well and I was worried about them going off together and getting hurt. It seems ridiculous now after...

Well, Connor doesn't know how to drive and the other two were so drunk and I felt fine. It wasn't far and I was sure I'd get us all back, no problems. Connor didn't want to get in the car..." Suzie broke down in guilty tears and Kaya had to listen really carefully to catch the rest of her story through her sobs. "Edward had been talking about taking something harder and I was worried what they'd do if we let them go off on their own.

I just wanted everyone to be safe. Connor wouldn't leave me on my own with them and I was too bloody stubborn to just throw away the keys... I was driving just fine. Honestly, I'd not had that much to drink Kaya, I swear... but then this car came around a bend way too fast. I went to slam on the brakes, but my heel got caught at the pedal. I swerved instead and Connor got the brunt of the other car."

"Oh my God..." Kaya gasped. "Is he going to be alright?"

Suzie was wiping at her tears and shaking uncontrollably, but she nodded. "He's stable. When the car stopped, we were all shaken, but Connor wasn't moving. Edward made me get out of the car..."

"That's enough, Suzie!" Edward warned aggressively.

"I want to hear it," Henry growled. He'd been standing nearby listening to Suzie's story and Kaya could see that his patience for his friend was wearing thin. His lethal stare was enough to make Edward reluctantly fall silent.

"Edward made me get out of the car and he and Max lifted Connor into the driver's seat. By the time the police arrived, it looked like he'd been the one driving. They've already interviewed the people in the other car and the driver said he didn't see who was at the wheel. Connor hadn't had anything to drink. Edward thought if he was in the driver's seat, he'd get away with it."

"What's wrong with you?" Henry accused Edward viciously. "What kind of a stupid idea is that?"

"Don't," Suzie begged. Her voice had become weak and frail and Kaya could see just how terrible she felt. Her tears kept falling, but she was managing to speak more clearly now. "This is all my fault. I should've listened to Connor. I should've given him the keys and let Max and Edward go off.

I was just trying to look out for everyone... I didn't want them to get high and get in trouble. Now the police want to talk to Connor and he's been hurt. Kaya, I feel so bad. He never should have been in that car."

CHAPTER 7

The next twenty-four hours were a lot to take in. Connor had suffered multiple fractures and internal bleeding, but luckily the doctors managed to stabilize him and had assured the group that he was out of hot water and likely to make a full recovery.

Kaya was the first to see him the next morning when visitors were allowed. She nervously entered the room with Henry at her side and her eyes filled up with tears again when she saw him hooked up to plastic tubes and bruised all over. He looked very pale and tired and his glasses were set aside on his bedside table, but he smiled when he saw her come in and attempted to sit up with a wince.

"Don't get up!" Kaya told him, rushing to his side and gently urging him to lie back down. "Oh my God, Connor. How are you feeling?"

Connor saw her eyes tracing all the tubes and he let out a little laugh and patted her hand reassuringly. "It's just painkillers, Kaya. I'm not quite on life support yet."

"I'm so sorry," Kaya gushed. "I'm the one who asked you to go with her. I'm so sorry it ended like this."

"It's not your fault," Connor told her kindly. He looked up and spotted Henry hovering by the doorway and he gestured that it was alright for him to step into the room. "How is Suzie?"

"A bit banged up, but on her feet," Kaya replied. "She told us everything. I'm so sorry that she dragged you into this. She's a stupid girl."

"She was worried about Edward and Max," Connor sighed. "If I knew how to drive I'd have taken them home myself, but as it was I had to choose between letting her go off with them on her own or getting in the car, and you know I don't trust either of those guys."

Henry sat down on the other side of Connor and gave him a serious look. "You know that they're trying to frame you as the driver?"

"I was a bit confused when the police mentioned that, but I went with it," Connor confessed. "They said that the driver in the other car had been drinking himself, so I'd swerved to avoid them."

"It's more serious than that, Connor," Kaya said with worry. "You were driving without a license and had an accident. That could get you in serious trouble. Why did you take the blame for it?"

Connor gave a timid shrug and let out a little sigh. "I didn't want Suze to take the fall," he told them. "If she'd have been caught it would have been a DUI and then I don't know how much trouble they'd get in for trying to pin it on me. I thought the best thing was to go with it and just learn from my mistakes to
never
go anywhere with those two again. I knew they were trouble."

"You warned us," Kaya said regretfully. "Gosh, Connor, are you really alright? I've been worried sick about you."

"I'm a survivor," Connor grinned. "I'll be fine."

"Suzie wants to see you. I wasn't sure that was for the best."

That made Connor perk up a little. "No. That's fine. I want to see her."

"Aren't you furious?" Kaya asked with disbelief. "She dragged you into that car, crashed it and then let you take the blame. She's my friend, Connor, but I don't think I could forgive her for that."

"She panicked," Connor justified. "And I know that pinning it on me wasn't her idea. Let her come in."

Kaya opened the door to Connor's room and gestured for Suzie to enter. The poor girl was still in her party clothes from the night before and hadn't stopped crying since the accident. She burst into fresh tears when she saw Connor hooked up in his hospital bed and she threw herself into his arms, causing Connor to let out a little yelp of pain, but then a little chuckle.

"I'm so sorry, Connor," Suzie wept. "I'm going to tell the police everything. I swear. You never should have been with us that night. It's all my fault. Don't worry. I'm going to do the right thing."

"Don't," Connor replied. "Keep your mouth shut. It'll be much worse for you if it comes out that you were driving that car. The other driver had been drinking. It doesn't have to come out that you were drinking, too. Nobody was really hurt. With any luck, we'll be able to get this down to an insurance issue and a fine for driving without a license. I'm sure the other guy will just be really happy if we don't press charges. Don't worry, Suze. It's all going to be alright."

Suzie couldn't let go of Connor. She was so relieved to see him alright and touched by his chivalry that she was practically sitting on his lap and Kaya indicated to Henry that they should leave the two alone.

"He's a better man than me," Henry said when they were outside the ward. "I'd have killed them."

"He'd do anything for a girl," Kaya said. "He's just that sort of guy. The sort who falls head over heels on a first date and is utterly devoted forever."

"Those types of guys are foolish. They end up like Connor."

The two began to stroll away from the hospital hand in hand. The adrenaline from the night before was slowly beginning to wear off now that it was clear that Connor was going to be alright. Henry had sent for a change of clothes for them both the night before, so now Kaya was comfortably in denim jeans and a baggy sweatshirt and Henry was wearing a pair of khaki pants and the same loose white shirt he'd been wearing the night when Kaya had first met him.

"I'll make sure this goes away," Henry promised her. "I'll pull some strings and make sure none of this comes back to haunt Connor. You're right. He never should have been involved. This is the final straw between me and Edward. I've had enough of this kind of thing. He needs to grow up."

"That's good to hear," Kaya said slowly. "I'm going to worry about you when we're apart."

Henry came to a stop and turned to face her. He took hold of her hands and for the first time since she'd met him, Kaya saw his confidence slip for a moment and caught sight of an insecure, slightly boyish young man with a crush. He reached into the pocket of his pants and anxiously pulled out a plane ticket, which he pressed into her hands.

"I'm going to LA next," he told her. "I don't know what your plans with Suzie are, but if all this has left you thinking that you're ready for a break from her for a while, then I'd really like it if maybe you came to California with me."

A huge smile broke out on Kaya's face and she grasped the ticket elatedly. "Do you mean it, Henry? Do you want me to come with you?"

"I was going to ask you last night when we were out on the balcony," Henry confessed. "I should have probably said it long before. Yes, I want you to stay with me in California and wherever I end up next. I can't promise to be as good with gossip and dresses as Suze, but if you were looking for someone to see the world with, I think I could be your guy.

I'm sure it will be tiring and dull at times and you'll see my serious side when I'm working and it won't be at all like hanging around the beach all summer... but, if you think you can handle me even when I'm behaving just like a dull, predictable rich man, then I'd love for you to stay with me."

Kaya threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply on the lips. "Yes!" she cried joyously. "Yes, I'll come with you!"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to Chile and fall in love with the poor son of a shepherd? Or go to India and be swept of your feet by an impoverished shoemaker? Or have your eyes opened by a nomadic astrologer in the South of France?"

Kaya laughed at him and gave him a playful nudge. "No. I'm sure. I've found the one I was looking for."

Henry grinned widely. "Then that makes two of us."

*****

It felt like the end of an era when Kaya found herself packing up her suitcases for the last time. Her next stop was California and she had no idea what life would be like as Henry's girl. The summer had ended and it was back to real life, although some of the dream remained in the form of the dashing Henry Dales. Kaya didn't know if the stars would fall from her eyes when she found herself back among the elite and whether she'd grow bored and sick of it all once more.

Yet, she had a feeling that even if she returned to the champagne and ballrooms, that she and Henry would find time somehow for the simple pleasures, too. She looked forward to many warm nights of sun, sea and sand or holding each other on some distant shore, just being calm and enjoying each other.

Suzie grew tearful to see her leaving. "I can't believe this is it," she said quietly. "It feels like it's just over all so soon."

"You won't miss me," Kaya predicted with a little laugh. "You and Connor are going to be too busy being all over each other."

Suzie blushed and Kaya gave a little smile. Since the road accident, Suzie had seemed to have some kind of a revelation and had turned her back on the high life in favor of a shy little waiter who would probably quite literally take a bullet for her.

She'd done nothing but sing his praises and gush over him ever since he'd told her he'd forgiven her and Kaya wished that they'd be truly happy together. Suzie had a habit of changing her mind every five minutes, but Kaya hoped that this would be the one time where she'd recognize that she had a good thing going for her and would hold onto it.

Perhaps Connor would be able to make her happy enough that she would stop chasing all those cheap thrills and settle down. Kaya didn't know what the future held for those two, but she was glad that something had begun.

"He'll be off his feet in a few more weeks yet," Suzie told her. "I couldn't leave him while he's still recovering. Not after all he did for me. Who knows? Maybe I'll be in South Beach for a long while yet. If you and Henry ever end up in Miami again, come and find us."

"We will," Kaya vowed. She felt a little shiver of anticipation when Suze said ‘You and Henry’. Kaya guessed that's what life would be now. Her and Henry. The thought terrified and delighted her. There was so much yet to discover about the charming billionaire. She still had so much left to learn about him and him about her, but one of the most liberating things about wealth is having the means to take the time to figure it all out. Kaya liked to think that they would have a wonderful life together, but she was happy to take each day as it came, to continue to learn more about herself and to enjoy the journey of falling in love with an incredible man.

They were meeting at the airport to head out to LA that day. When Kaya had finished packing her bags, she threw one last look around their tiny little hostel room in South Beach and felt a wave of nostalgia rising up in her. For everything they'd seen and done on their journey across the states, Kaya knew that her fondest memories would always be here, waitressing and sunbathing and finding love in the form of a mysterious stranger who'd been drawn to her as if they'd been meant for each other their whole lives.

Kaya gave Suzie once last big hug and she was on her way. She picked up her suitcases and stepped into the car that Henry had sent for her. She felt a little tearful to be leaving her road trip behind as they sped away from the shore and towards the airport, but all that changed when the car drove right onto the runway and Kaya caught sight of Henry waiting for her at the steps of his own private jet.

She laughed out loud at the sight and wondered how on earth her journey to find love in the real world had brought her right back to private jets and business. Yet, the fear in her was gone now. She was no longer frightened by the prospect of a life of formality and staged appearances because she knew that when the ballroom lights dimmed and the orchestra had stopped playing and all of the rich and wealthy socialites had driven away in their limousines and Porsches, that none of the riches would matter. She'd forget about the diamonds and the penthouses, because she'd be with the man she loved and, pauper or prince,
he was the man for her.