Page 13 of A Billionaire for Christmas

YOU MUST MAKE A CHOICE TO TAKE A CHANCE OR YOUR LIFE WILL NEVER CHANGE

The two men couldn’t have run away from the scene fast enough.

Molly was reeling. What had she done? In fact, if she hadn’t flung her costume so far out of reach, she would have leapt from the hot tub herself and fled the scene.

As it was, she had an excruciating wait of what seemed like a thousand years before she heard Levi yelling through from the living room to enquire whether she was decent or not.

‘I hadn’t realised you would be so… quite so, uh, on display like that. ’

Horrific. Simply horrific.

‘I threw my costume too far away,’ Molly yelled back miserably.

‘And now I can’t see it for the steam and the snow coming down.

In fact, I might have flung it over the balcony altogether.

’ She was rambling, her self-esteem plummeting to new depths.

‘I misjudged the situation. I thought you… I thought that we’d…

’ The words caught in her throat as she unexpectedly burst into tears.

Levi raced through onto the patio. His eyes were wild and wandering, looking anywhere but at Molly. He threw a hand over to cover them. ‘I’m sorry. Please don’t get upset. None of this is your fault. It was an easy mistake to make.’

‘Mistake?’ Molly bawled. ‘So you aren’t interested in me?’

‘No. No, I am. I was. I mean, who knows what could have happened?’ Levi sounded unconvinced. ‘I’m really not in the habit of doing this sort of thing. I should never have got in the tub. But the point is, please don’t get upset about it.’

In all honesty , Molly thought, he could have sounded a bit less adamant about not sleeping with her.

‘I’m decent. You can take your hand away.

’ Covering herself with her arms and up to her chin in the water, she smiled weakly at him, but Levi was clearly on edge.

He was flustered, his words tumbling out as he backed away from the hot tub, hands splayed in front of him as though she was a wild tiger on the loose.

‘Okay, I’ll find your robe, you can get covered up, and we’ll get you straight out of here. ’

Oh Christ, he thinks I’m a liability.

Another wailing sob escaped from Molly. This wasn’t just about her being laid bare .

This was about her feeling lost. Her inability to come to terms with Ava’s death.

Her inability to let go of a life that was obviously slipping away.

Her inability to carry on without her best friend there to guide her.

Levi picked up her dressing gown and knelt at the side of the hot tub. He waited for her sobs to subside. Poor man. He must be wondering what the heck was going on. Thank goodness he had kind eyes and a warm-hearted nature.

‘Take your time. I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready to come out. My brother’s gone. And if you want to talk about this, we’ll talk.’ His voice was surprisingly tender. ‘I take it this is about more than a hot tub.’

Molly nodded her head slowly. If she started talking about Ava, then they’d be in real trouble.

She had been known to burst into tears and not stop sobbing for days on end.

So far, she’d not mentioned her circumstances to a single soul since she’d been working at the hotel, for fear of that happening again.

The grief needed to stay buried deep inside her.

‘That’s very kind of you.’ Her lips were trembling so much she could barely speak. ‘I’m so embarrassed that I read the signals all wrong. You must think I’m such an?—’

‘No. Don’t do that. Don’t second-guess yourself. Everything you thought was going to happen…’ Levi paused.

Molly dared to meet his gaze. Her vision was blurry as she sniffed up her tears.

Levi’s tone was soft and reassuring. ‘Everything you thought was going to happen would have happened. I’m sure of it.’

Molly’s heart stopped as his words sank in.

It actually stopped beating.

So kind.

So lovely.

She stared gratefully at him until he began to shift uncomfortably.

He cleared his throat. ‘So, anyway. I appreciate the moment has well and truly passed. So I will leave you to get dressed and you can keep the robe. I have a ton of unworn sweatshirts and sweatpants if you don’t want to get back into that costume. ’

Oh. This was him politely asking her to leave and never come back.

She should take the hint. She looked from his utterly gorgeous face to the hot tub bubbling away.

The champagne bottle was lying empty next to her abandoned glass.

When would she ever get another chance to tick this off the bucket list?

More importantly, when would she ever get another chance to make him see that she was more than the hot mess sitting before him?

She took a deep breath in and decided to take the plunge.

‘How about if we start over? Just give me a second chance. Maybe if you got back in, we could?—’

‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘No, thank you. I’m sure you have family or friends who must be wondering where you are.’

Mortifying. Molly shook her head.

‘You’re here alone? For the Burlesque Night?’ Levi sounded shocked. ‘You’re a lot younger than most of the women members who come here for… well, that kind of thing.’

Molly inwardly cringed. Why had she lied?

‘Honestly, I’m not as young as I look. I’m thirty-five.

’ Molly felt a stab of guilt as he let out a small sigh of relief.

Lies upon lies upon lies. She would seek professional help.

‘Well, no, I’m twenty-nine. I’ve just led quite a sheltered sort of life for the past few years.

But, honestly, I’m quite sane and mature for my age, trust me. ’

Levi remained sceptical. She wouldn’t blame him if he marched away as desperation seeped from her every pore. Molly felt sure he would have women throwing themselves at him constantly.

Levi studied her, his shoulders sagging slightly. ‘Sorry. As tempting as it seems, I just don’t think it’s a good idea.’

Molly hung her head. This was embarrassing on so many levels.

This wouldn’t even make a funny tale to tell the grandkids, and the only person she would ever have wanted to share this humiliation with was dead.

Molly had never felt so alone. Why had she ever allowed Ava to persuade her to leave her home country and embark on such a wild adventure?

‘I’ll leave the gown here for you. Don’t forget to use the rail when you get out,’ Levi said, getting up from his crouching position. ‘I’ll go to reception and see about getting you down to the hotel safely. Then I’ll be back to talk if you need to.’

Was there anything worse than pity after the lethal sting of rejection?

Molly’s whole body was ablaze with shame.

As soon as he disappeared back into the room and she heard the door to the suite close, she scrambled out of the hot tub and into her dressing gown.

Sniffing up her tears, she scurried to the bathroom with the angry force of a woman who was very annoyed with herself and who was still very much sexually unfulfilled.

And while she was far from happy about it, she only had herself to blame.

Three bloody years and two weeks, almost to the day, but who was counting?

She rapidly towelled herself dry, grabbed her ridiculous burlesque costume and rammed her limbs into it, determined to be long gone before Levi returned.

And as for borrowing his clothes, she could do without a souvenir of this hideous night.

But most of all, she hoped she’d never set eyes on him again.

Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she realised she had mascara running down to her chin, her hair was a giant nest sticking out at all angles and her cheeks were on fire with humiliation.

She decided there would be no more nights at the Cigar Lounge, no more nights in hot tubs.

Bucket list or no bucket list, she wasn’t sure her nerves would survive another moment in the company of that man.

He was too remarkable. Too confident. Too perfect.

Everything about him oozed sex appeal. Too much sex appeal.

She’d stay safely tucked away in the kitchen for the rest of the season.

She’d just have to throw herself at the mercy of the solicitor and hope that she could come up with an alternative way to save the restaurant and her home.

Once she was fully dressed, she stealthily made her way out of the suite into the plush corridor, every nerve ending on edge.

She noticed signage on the wall pointing the direction to the spa and pool area, the Bar Rouge, the Billiards Room, but most importantly to the kitchen.

She raced along and flung herself inside, taking a moment to catch her breath and wipe the remaining tears from her eyes.

She’d rather risk crashing the snowmobile than spend one second longer at the Cigar Lounge.

She heard footsteps behind her. Was he following her? What would she say to him? Her mind raced as the door opened and Keela followed her in shaking her head. ‘Of all the rules to break.’

‘What do you mean?’ Keeping her back to Keela, Molly knew exactly what she meant.

‘The hot billionaire in the lift?’

Molly busied herself with the empty trays, clattering them loudly as she piled the trolley high, her damp hair swinging down to hide her flushed face. ‘Nothing happened. That’s me done. I’m off now.’

‘There’s a weather warning. You’ll have to stay here. Wait, have you been crying?’ Keela asked as she hurried to help her.

Molly shook her head.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’

‘I need to go.’ Molly sniffed, rubbing her hot eyes with the palms of her hands.

Keela sighed. ‘Honey, you wouldn’t be the first, but let me warn you now, that one is strictly off limits. You’ll only get hurt.’