Rebecca Winters – Captivated By The Brooding Billionaire (страница 1)
On Holiday with a Billionaire
But can their love last a lifetime?
Whisked away to his French château by brooding billionaire Raoul Decorvet, Abby Grant is falling in love for the very first time. But dare she give her heart to a man who has never gotten over the loss of his wife? If he wants to keep her, Raoul must show Abby that his heart truly belongs to her!
REBECCA WINTERS lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels—because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website at cleanromances.net.
Her Magnate’s Holiday Proposal
The Billionaire’s Club miniseries
Return of Her Italian Duke
Bound to Her Greek Billionaire
Whisked Away by Her Sicilian Boss
Holiday with a Billionaire miniseries
Captivated by the Brooding Billionaire
And look out for the next book
Available June 2018
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Captivated by the Brooding Billionaire
Rebecca Winters
ISBN: 978-1-474-07752-1
CAPTIVATED BY THE BROODING BILLIONAIRE
© 2018 Rebecca Winters
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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To my beloved, generous, marvellous parents, who let their teenage daughter attend school in Switzerland, where a whole world opened up to her that she’d never dreamed about or imagined. To have been born to such wonderful parents is my greatest blessing.
Contents
“NIGEL?”
A tap on the opened office door caused Abby Grant to look up from the desk. During this year’s summer and fall semesters at San José State University in California, she and Nigel, the visiting professor from Cambridge, England, had offices in the same literature department. They’d fallen in love and often worked side by side in one office or the other while they planned a spring wedding.
“Dr. Belmont is teaching his final class before Christmas break,” she said to the thirtyish brunette woman dressed in a suit. Maybe she was a student, but Abby didn’t recognize her. “He should be finished at noon. I’m Ms. Grant, one of the teachers in the department. Would you like to leave a message for him with me? I’ll make sure he gets it.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the woman said in a British accent as strong as Nigel’s. He’d let Abby know right away he spoke an “estuary” dialect. “I’m Lucy Belmont, Nigel’s wife. I need to speak to him in person, so I’ll wait in here until he returns.”
Abby blinked in surprise. “I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. The Nigel Belmont who’s a visiting professor here doesn’t have a wife.”
A tight smile broke out on Lucy Belmont’s face. “Indeed he does and two children. They’re expecting a visit from him over Christmas. Here are some pictures taken last spring.”
The woman handed a packet to Abby, who opened it and saw Nigel in photo after photo with this woman and two children.
Abby took the packet with shaking hands. Was this some kind of a joke? Could this woman be a sister-in-law or even a sister Abby had never heard of? Or was she a woman who had some pathetic attachment to Nigel? None of this made sense. Abby and Nigel were planning their wedding!
Not wanting to get into anything unpleasant with Lucy until she’d talked to Nigel, Abby got up from the desk. “I had no idea. Of course, you’re welcome to stay here. He should be back in about fifteen minutes. If you’ll excuse me.”
With her heart racing, Abby left the room and hurried down the hallway to the stairs. The lecture theaters were one story below. She slipped inside the room of thirty plus students and sat down at the back while she waited for Nigel to finish up his lecture.
He was popular with the students and looked the part of the jaunty professor in his tweed jacket with his dark blond hair brushed back.
She knew he had spotted her, but he continued talking and finally excused his students so they could enjoy the holiday.
When the last one left the room, Nigel gathered up his briefcase and walked toward her, giving her a quick kiss on her lips. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit from my beautiful fiancée?”