A Billionaire for Christmas (Blackwell Brothers #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

C ome join us in the Bahamas. Don’t spend Christmas alone.”

Rhys Lachlan stared out from his penthouse suite on the upper floors of the Lachlan Hotel and Resort in Carolina Cove, North Carolina, and watched as the moon cast a silvery line over the ocean below. “I’ll be fine, Mother.”

“But you’ll be alone.”

His lips twisted, but he couched his thoughts and said, “I’m never alone. You know that. And there was an issue here with the contractor at the hotel going up in Southport. I wanted to take care of it in person.”

His mother scoffed, and the sound carried over the phone.

“Bodyguards and hotel maids aren’t family, darling.”

They weren’t, but the reality of his life meant he’d spent more time with his employees since he’d left for college and then taken his place in the family business upon graduation, than his now-retired, world-traveling parents.

He’d left the hotel suite dark after he’d entered, preferring the shadowy interior to the brightly lit awareness that he was, indeed, going to be alone for the holidays. His grandfather planned to fly down and join his parents for Christmas before flying back home to New York, but Rhys was needed here for the duration.

Obtaining female company was an easy fix should he decide to pursue it, but the women so readily drawn to his money held no appeal. “I’ll consider it, but I’m sure Father will appreciate having you all to himself for once.” His family had friends the world over, friends who very much wanted to catch up after years and years of living too-busy lives. Like him, his parents were rarely alone.

“You’d really rather stay there?”

The party life of the Bahamas had fired his blood in his younger years, but ever since his engagement to Quinley Anders—an engagement she’d broken when she’d left him at the altar on their wedding day back in the spring—things hit differently. “I’m needed here until the contractor situation has been handled. Besides, I have a few events to attend.”

“ Real events or are you making excuses?”

He smiled at his mother’s obvious doubt. “Real,” he said, though whether or not he attended the dinners and galas he’d been invited to remained to be seen. “Consider this good PR for the Lachlan name.”

“ You did nothing to taint the Lachlan name. I’m still amazed you’ve forgiven Quinley for how she treated you. And I’m sure you could’ve found someone else to handle the issues there so you didn’t have to go back. That place must bring back bad memories.”

He closed his eyes at the turn the conversation had taken and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not hung up on Quinley if that’s what’s worrying you. Mother, I told you the day of the wedding that I’d had some doubts myself. She did the right thing calling it off.”

“ She humiliated us for all the world to see.”

“Quinley has profusely apologized since then on numerous occasions. You don’t have to be happy about what happened, but please accept the fact Quinley was right to do what she did and leave it at that. If I can forgive her, so can you. Let’s just move forward.”

He heard his mother inhale before releasing a slow breath.

“Fine. Your father told me that the restaurant is doing well, though how you wound up working with Quinley and her new fiancé will forever remain a mystery to me. I’d think you’d hate the man, all things considered.”

Maybe he should. But Elias Blackwell hadn’t even met Quinley until she’d jumped into the limousine he’d driven the day of their nonwedding. While Rhys liked to prick the man’s jealousy when it came to Quinley just because he found it amusing, it was truly over between them.

As to offering Elias a place to house Haven, Rhys promised himself long ago that he’d never miss a promising business opportunity because of an emotional stumbling block. When he’d heard the details of Elias Blackwell’s dream restaurant, Rhys knew it was viable, especially for areas like Carolina Cove and Wilmington that drew millions of tourists every year from all over the world.

The restaurant was innovative and unique, and he’d wanted to be a part of it because Haven set the resort apart from the other hotels in the area, which was an ongoing goal. That’s why he currently pondered whether or not it was too early to approach Elias about expanding Haven’s reach and opening other Haven locations within the hotel chain.

His grandfather and father might have started Lachlan hotels, but it was up to him to continue its legacy. “Like I said, you don’t have to understand. Just be glad it’s worked out so well. Haven has been a huge success and surpassed all our projections.” So much so that he felt he would be slacking as the CEO if he didn’t make new locations happen.

“I suppose that is a good thing.”

He grinned at her lack of enthusiasm.

“Before I forget, I plan to send a few decorators.”

His grin quickly faded. “What? Why?”

“Because if you’re going to stay there, you need a tree, as does the rest of the hotel.”

“How do you know I don’t already have one?”

“Because I know . The resort should be lit up inside and out for the holidays, and instead you’re there in the dark like the Grinch.”

He glanced into the darkened interior of his penthouse and shrugged, not bothering to ask how she knew what she knew. Or point out that Quinley had said much the same thing when she’d decorated Haven’s interior a few days ago.

Every hotel in the chain had a scheduled and contracted decorator to handle such things, but somehow he’d missed that detail when it came to this one. More proof that he was off his game. “You don’t need to send anyone. I’ll have my PA take care of it. There are two weeks remaining before the big day. I’ll arrange for the hotel to be made festive, and I'll get my own tree.”

“Will you, though?”

“I will. If you insist I have one, I’d rather pick my own.”

“You always did enjoy playing Paul Bunyan and cutting down a tree when we were in the mountains.”

He couldn’t deny it. There was something primal about going out and choosing just the right tree and then felling it himself. He loved fresh trees over artificial. But right now?

Normally his favorite holiday season, he felt downright Scrooge-ish in nature these days, mostly because he’d planned on spending this Christmas with his new wife in their new home, one he’d built for them along the Cape Fear River.

But he didn’t have a wife, and the house sat empty and unused. Undecorated too. Time to sell the monstrosity. He wasn’t sure why he’d held onto it this long. He made a mental note to get the property listed as soon as possible.

“I’ll give you a few days to get the hotel and your suite decorated. If you don’t make it happen, I’m calling in the professionals myself. And don’t think of lying to me. I do have spies there, you know.”

He chuckled, well aware that his parents had “spies” in every hotel across the massive chain. They might be retired, but they liked keeping tabs on things to make sure the hotels were kept up to standards and morale remained high. “It’ll be done.”

“Rhys, you might think you’re fooling me, but I know you all too well. You’ve been different since you and Quinley…parted ways,” she said diplomatically. “And while I know you had some doubts, you’re still my very romantic son, and…I’m worried about you.”

“No need to worry.”

“It’s a mother’s duty. You looked forward to the wedding and being married, starting a family, and I know you’re grieving that loss even if you feel Quinley wasn’t quite the right woman.”

The words, the images that flickered through his mind due to them, left him shifting uncomfortably on the balcony.

“Oh, Rhys, honey…”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not . You haven’t dated since Quinley, and I know you’ve had plenty of offers.”

“Not because I’m still in love with her— I’m not. But she’s a hard act to follow, and I’m tired of the dating scene. Of being looked at like a dollar sign. And I get that most men wouldn’t care, but…I do.”

“Of course you do. But in order to find this new special someone, you have to go out .”

“Maybe not. Maybe, if I’m patient, she’ll…appear. Like a Christmas gift under the tree.”

A soft laugh filtered over the phone, but it was tinged with sadness. “Well, for that to happen, we might have to contact Oliver Beck’s wife, the matchmaker. What is her name again?”

“Marsali. And I’m not ready for a matchmaker, so don’t even think about adding that to my Christmas gifts, Mother.”

“Fine,” she said, laughter audible in her voice. “But you can’t stay in and work all the time. It wasn’t good for your grandfather or your father, and it’s certainly not good for you.”

“I go out.”

“To work functions and networking events. When was the last time you did something for you? Something just for fun? You need to… find your Christmas spirit, darling. Especially this year of all years. Don’t allow what happened last spring to steal that from you.”

He hated to admit his mother had a point. “Okay. I’ll go out and—find a Christmas tree. How’s that?”

“It’s a start. But I want to see pictures so I know it’s done. I’ll be able to tell if your heart is in it.”

He sighed, knowing she’d harass him until he followed through. “I’m going to get off here and go grab dinner from upstairs, but I’ll call you again soon.”

“And you’ll think about joining us for Christmas? Your grandfather misses you. We all do. You’ve been traveling so much since spring. And we can discuss hiring Marsali—when you’re ready, of course.”

“I’ll think about it.”

She didn’t seem happy with his response but murmured her love before they said goodbye.

Rhys shoved the phone in his pocket on his way through the suite to the door.

Whether subconsciously or not, he did mourn the life he’d hoped to have, and it was time to stop. He’d always loved the holidays, to the point of being that ridiculous person driving everyone insane with holiday cheer, going overboard with presents and trips and all things good in the name of Christmas. His grandmother was to blame, and since he’d spent so much of his childhood staying with her while his grandfather and his parents traveled on hotel business, her love of the holidays had seeped into his blood.

He had a life and lifestyle any one would envy. It was time to come up with a plan. And the first step?

Decking the halls.