Stranded With the Tycoon Read online

  ‘You just take each day as it comes. It gets easier, I promise. And I’ll help you.’

  Luce nodded. Time to try life without a ‘To Do’ list for a while.

  * * *

  Ben woke feeling jet-lagged and hung-over, and cursed his alarm clock before he’d even opened his eyes. A headache pounded behind his temples, beating a rhythm that sounded like a door slamming over and over again. Still, he had work to do. And since, after last night, work was all he had, he supposed he’d better make the most of it.

  Dragging himself out of bed, into the shower and then into a suit took twice as long as normal. He skipped breakfast, his stomach rebelling at the idea. How much had he drunk after Luce had left? The mini-bar looked suspiciously empty.

  Seb was waiting for him in the meeting room and raised his eyebrows at the sight of him. ‘Jet-lag?’ he asked, pouring Ben a coffee.

  Ben dropped into an empty chair and pulled the saucer closer. ‘Amongst other things.’

  ‘Thought you’d be immune to that by now.’

  ‘Twelve time zones in eight weeks is hard on anyone’s body.’ Which was true. It just wasn’t why Ben felt so awful.

  Seb tilted his head, looking sympathetic. ‘You need some time off?’

  Ben shook his head. ‘I need to work.’

  ‘Why?’ Seb’s brow furrowed. ‘What’s going on, Ben? You’ve been different lately. First your trip away with your “university friend” then a sudden desire to revamp our hotels for the family market. Anything you need to tell me?’

  ‘She’s pregnant,’ Ben said, his voice flat.

  Seb’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Really? Well, that explains a lot. When did you find out?’

  ‘Last night.’

  ‘Oh. So the hotel thing was...?’

  ‘Coincidental. I hadn’t seen her since we came back from the cottage. She stopped by last night and told me. I...reacted badly.’

  ‘You were exhausted last night, Ben. I’m sure if you call her, talk to her...’

  ‘No. She’s right. It’s better that I’m not a part of the baby’s life.’

  ‘She said that?’ Seb shook his head. ‘That can’t possibly be true.’

  Ben shrugged. ‘What could I give a child? I have no idea how to be a father, my job means travelling pretty much all of the time, and I won’t force a kid to come along with me like Dad did. This is something I can’t fix. She told me as much.’

  ‘You mean you won’t try.’ Seb’s tone was flat. Disappointed.

  Ben glared up at him. ‘You don’t think I would if I could?’

  ‘I think you’re scared. I think you’ve got so used to swooping in and solving a crisis before retiring victorious you’ve forgotten that some things take more than that. Some things are worth more than that. More than just throwing money at a problem, or hiring and firing people.’

  ‘That’s my job,’ Ben snapped.

  ‘Yeah, and this is your life. Your future. It deserves more than a quick fix. Your child deserves more.’ Seb stared until Ben flinched. ‘You need to decide right now that you’re in this for the long haul.’

  The long haul. For ever.

  With Luce.

  After the last couple of months of being miserable without her, how could he give that up without a fight?

  Ben swallowed. ‘Okay. Say I’m in. What the hell do I do? She still thinks I’m the same person I was at university, with no sense of responsibility. She thinks I’ve never grown up.’

  ‘Then maybe it’s time to prove her wrong,’ Seb suggested.

  Ben blinked at his brother. ‘What do you mean?’

  Seb got to his feet, coming round to lean against the front of the conference table, next to Ben’s chair. Ben appreciated the gesture. It made it easier to remember that Seb was his brother, not just his boss, and definitely not their father all over again. Brothers. That was good.

  ‘You’re not that kid any more. I remember you at university. You’re miles away from that now. You work hard, you value your friends, you want to make a home—’

  ‘Where did you get that one from?’ Ben asked with a laugh. ‘I live in hotel rooms.’

  ‘Maybe. But I’ve heard you talk about your cottage. About your plans for the château. What are they, if not homes?’

  An image of Luce, leaning against the kitchen counter in the cottage while he cooked, flashed into his mind. Then one of her curled up on the sofa with a book and a blanket. Working at the desk. Sprawled across his bed, smiling at him, waiting for him to join her.

  The buildings weren’t home. Whatever he did to them, however he filled them, they couldn’t be—not on their own.

  They needed Luce there. Luce was home. Luce and their child.

  ‘Oh, God,’ he said, collapsing back in his chair. ‘I’m in love with her.’

  ‘Well, I thought that was obvious,’ Seb said. ‘Now, what do you want to do about it?’

  ‘What can I do? She thinks I’m an idiot, and I still can’t imagine how I could have a family right now.’

  Seb picked up the phone. ‘Business Services? Could you get us some more coffee in here, please? And we’re going to need the room a little longer than anticipated. We need to have an important planning meeting. Right now.’

  ‘Do you want me to send in some pastries, too?’ came the muffled reply.

  ‘Definitely,’ Seb said, looking at Ben. ‘Now, come on. Let’s find a way to make this work.’

  * * *

  ‘I can help with that, you know,’ Luce called up the stairs, behind the struggling Dolly and her suitcase. ‘I’m pregnant. Not an invalid.’

  ‘You’re trying to save me again,’ Dolly yelled back.

  ‘No, I’m not. I’m...’ But Dolly had already reached the top of the stairs and disappeared into her new bedroom. Since she wasn’t allowed to help with any of the fetching and carrying, Luce decided to go and make tea instead. At least that was useful.

  As she entered the kitchen her phone rang, as if it had known she was coming. Luce stared at it, sitting on the counter, with Ben’s name scrolling across the screen. Just the sight of those three letters made her heart clench. She’d need to talk to him eventually, she knew. Give him another chance for some sort of involvement—with the baby, not her. She was all set without him, thank you. She had her own not-a-plan and she was sticking to it. Just her, Dolly and the baby.

  Ben had been right about one thing—even if he was wrong about almost everything else. She needed priorities and she needed to stick to them. And for the foreseeable future her priority was her child, and staying healthy and stress-free so she could look after them.

  Neither Ben nor her brother were conducive to that.

  The phone stopped ringing and Luce went to put the kettle on. She’d talk to him soon. Just not yet.

  ‘Anyone home?’

  Luce’s shoulders tensed at the sound of Tom’s voice. She hadn’t heard his key in the lock, but maybe Dolly had left the door open while she was dragging in her assorted bags and boxes.

  ‘In the kitchen,’ she called back, and schooled her face, ready for the showdown.

  ‘Oh, good. I’d murder a cup of tea,’ said Tabitha.

  Luce bit her lip. She hadn’t expected Mum, too. Oh, well, maybe it was best to get it all over with in one go, anyway.

  ‘I’ll make a pot,’ Luce said. Maybe she could busy herself with the teacups and cake until Dolly came down. Moral support was always appreciated.

  ‘I think that’s the last of it,’ Dolly said as she entered the kitchen. ‘And just in time, too. Hi, Mum. Tom.’

  Luce placed the tea tray on the kitchen table. ‘Help yourselves,’ she said, and settled into the chair at the head of the table.

  ‘Now, Lucinda,’ Tabitha said, taking a tiny sliver of cake. ‘We wanted to talk to you about Tom’s idea. He says you dismissed it rather out of hand, but I don’t think you can have listened to all the details. He’s put a lot of thought into this, you know.’

  ‘He w
ants to live in my house with his new girlfriend and her children,’ Luce summarised.

  ‘Well, yes. But we thought that you could have Tom’s flat in exchange! Wouldn’t that be nice? This house is far too big with just you rattling around in it, anyway.’

  ‘Tom’s flat is rented,’ Luce pointed out. Best to address all the problems with Tabitha’s statement in turn, she decided.

  ‘Well, yes, but the rent’s very affordable for you on your salary. And, after all, you’ve been able to live here rent-free for the last few years. Isn’t it time Tom had the same opportunity?’

  Luce blinked and looked over at Dolly, who appeared equally baffled by their mother’s attempt at reasonable argument.

  ‘She’s lived here rent-free because it’s her house,’ Dolly said.

  ‘Only because Grandad left it to her,’ Tom put in. ‘But it’s always been the family house, hasn’t it? Luce always says it belongs to all of us, really.’

  ‘Except for the part where it’s her house. Grandad left you other stuff. And me.’

  Dolly’s voice grew louder. Her grasp on staying restrained and reasonable wasn’t going to last long, Luce suspected.

  ‘Not a house, though,’ Tom said, his tone perfectly reasonable.

  Luce frowned. ‘Is that what this is really about? You’re jealous because Grandad left me more valuable property than you?’

  Tom straightened his back and stared at her. ‘It’s not about jealousy. It’s about fairness. I need the house more than you, that’s all. We’re a family. We share.’

  The really scary part, Luce thought, was that he truly believed this was a reasonable demand. She’d spent her entire life giving and giving to these people, and now they couldn’t imagine that there might be something she wasn’t willing to hand over to them.

  But Dolly had grown up, grown out of that dependence. She’d changed when Luce had never really believed it was possible.

  And that meant Tom could, too.

  ‘Do you know why he left it to me?’ Luce asked, mildly.

  Tom shook his head.

  ‘He left me a note in the will explaining. He said, “You’re going to spend the rest of your life looking after the lot of them, because God knows they can’t do it themselves. Think of this as your salary.” And I think I’ve more than earned it over the last few years.’

  Tom stared at her, his eyes wide and disbelieving, and Luce squashed down a pang of guilt. She needed to do this. For all their sakes.

  ‘Sounds fair to me,’ Dolly said gleefully. ‘And that’s another reason I have no problem paying you rent.’

  ‘Rent?’ Tabitha said, faintly.

  ‘Yep. I’m moving in with Luce. Figure that the rent I pay can help her fix up this place. Trust me, Tom, you wouldn’t want the house if you’d seen the damp in the attic.’

  Tom finally found his voice. ‘But I told Vanessa we could—’

  ‘Well, you shouldn’t have,’ Luce interjected. ‘This is my place, Tom. And while you, and Mum—and Vanessa, if she sticks around—are always welcome here, this is my house, my home. And I’m afraid all of you are going to have to get better at looking after yourselves. I’m going to have bigger concerns for the next decade or two.’

  ‘Like what?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Like my own family. I’m pregnant.’

  ‘You’re...? Well... That’s lovely, darling, I’m sure.’ Tabitha’s brows were furrowed, as if she were missing some vital part of the conversation.

  Luce wondered if hearing what Grandad had really thought of her had sent Tabitha even further into her own world, reliving past events with new eyes. She was sure her mother would catch up later and demand answers and information. But for now Luce was glad of the respite.

  Tom, however, had no such reserve.

  ‘Pregnant! You can’t be. Who’s the father? Or is this some desperate attempt to find love from a child instead of actually falling in love? Some “must start a family by the age of thirty” plan?’

  Anger bubbled in Luce’s stomach, acid and biting. She’d known Tom wouldn’t take the change in the status quo well, but to hear such words from her own brother—the brother she’d tried so hard to look after and protect—it made her heart ache. And told her it was past time to cut him off. Fighting to keep her voice even she said, ‘That’s none of your business. Now, get out of my house.’

  ‘I thought we were always welcome here?’ Tom said, sneering.

  ‘Not when you talk to her like that, you’re not,’ Dolly said, grabbing his arm. ‘Come on—time to go. Mum, I think you might be better off at home this afternoon, too. We’ll see you soon.’

  Luce collapsed back in her chair as she heard Dolly bundle their relatives out of the house. Reaching for a piece of ginger cake, she said, ‘I can’t believe I just kicked them out.’

  ‘I can’t believe it took you this long,’ Dolly said cheerfully as she sat down and helped herself to her own slice. ‘Buck up, sis. You know they’ll be back. Tom will calm down and beg for forgiveness, then pretend he never said that stuff. But they need to stand on their own four feet for a while. You did the right thing. And besides, you still have me!’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ Luce said. ‘And everyone needs an adoring sister to run them a bubble bath from time to time...’

  Dolly rolled her eyes. ‘Another bath? Really? Okay. But only because you’re pregnant. This stuff stops once the baby’s here.’

  ‘That’s okay. You can bath the baby then, instead.’

  Dolly laughed as she headed off to the bathroom, and Luce thought that maybe, just maybe, things would be okay after all. Not great, perhaps. They couldn’t be—not without Ben. But she’d be okay. And that was enough for now.

  * * *

  Just one more try. Ben stared at the phone in his hand for a minute before taking a deep breath and pressing ‘call’. Just because she’d ignored his last four phone calls, that didn’t mean she’d definitely ignore this one, did it?

  Still, as the phone rang and rang, Ben started to have his doubts.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Luce?’ The voice didn’t sound quite right, but international phone lines did that sometimes.

  ‘No, it’s Dolly.’ The sister. Great. ‘You must be the “old university friend”.’

  ‘Ben Hampton. Is Luce there?’

  ‘She’s in the bath. In there all the time now she’s pregnant.’

  ‘She was bad enough before.’ Ben took a breath, and took a chance. ‘Look, I know she’s avoiding my calls. I was...’

  ‘An idiot?’

  ‘Last time we spoke. Yes. But I was jet-lagged and exhausted—and stupid, mostly. I’ve had a chance to let the news sink in, and I’m ready to make it up to her.’ Ready to make her the centre of his world if she’d let him.

  ‘Convince me,’ Dolly said, her voice firm.

  Ben blinked at the phone. ‘What?’

  ‘Convince me you’re worthy of my sister. Make me want to help you.’

  Dolly spoke slowly, as if she thought he was an idiot. Which, actually, she probably did.

  ‘I don’t know how.’

  ‘Then try. Or you’re on your own.’

  Ben stared out across the gardens of the château and thought. He needed this. Needed Dolly’s help if he was ever going to get Luce out here and convince her that they could be a real family. But convince her he was worthy of Luce? Impossible.

  ‘I’m not,’ he said, finally. ‘I’m not worthy of her. Nobody could be.’

  ‘Right answer,’ Dolly said. ‘Now, tell me your plans and I’ll see what I can do. Because, I’m telling you, she’s absolutely miserable without you.’

  Ben smiled for the first time in a week and told Dolly his plan.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ‘AT LEAST TELL me where I’m going,’ Luce said as Dolly threw more clothes into her suitcase. ‘And how long I’ll be gone. I need to call work...’ Which would be fun. Dennis was still speechless over the pregnancy thing.

 
; ‘Already done,’ Dolly said. ‘I told them you’d be back next week. If you decide not to... Well, call them once you’re there.’

  ‘Where, exactly?’ Luce asked, frustrated. ‘And if I’m there longer than a few days that skirt won’t fit me any more. Three months and I’m already starting to show.’

  ‘You’re glowing,’ Dolly said. Then she stopped and looked at her. ‘Well, sort of. Right now you just look stressed.’

  ‘I can’t imagine why.’

  Dolly slammed the lid of the suitcase shut and fastened it, leaning hard on it with her elbow to keep it closed. ‘Look, just trust me on this one. It’s for the best, and everything’s going to work out fine. You need a break. You need looking after. And, most importantly, you need to not be in the house while they’re fixing the attic. God only knows what they’re going to find up there, and all that dust would be bad for the baby. Even the builder’s told you to get out for a few days.’

  ‘I could have just booked into a hotel round the corner for the weekend,’ Luce pointed out.

  ‘Except I know you.’ Dolly gave her a look. ‘You’d be back here every five minutes, wanting to check on things. No. This is my first chance to be the grown-up and in-charge sister, and I’m taking it. I have booked you a long weekend and you are going. End of story. I’ll take care of everything here, so you don’t need to worry at all.’

  Luce opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Telling Dolly she couldn’t go, that she’d worry too much, was tantamount to telling her she didn’t trust her to look after things. How could she do that when Dolly was trying so hard?

  ‘And, look,’ Dolly said, pointing to the carry-on bag next to the suitcase. ‘I’m letting you take your research notes and your laptop, aren’t I? I know how close you are to finishing the revisions on your book. So it can be a working holiday. Perfect.’

  Luce bit her lip at the memory of her last accidental, snowy working holiday. ‘Thanks, Doll. I just...’

  ‘You just need to relax. Come on—let’s get you to the airport.’

  In the end Luce decided it was easier just to cave in to Dolly’s boundless enthusiasm and go. A weekend away did sound wonderful, and it was nice to have someone else take care of the planning for a change.