“And why is this guy here? Don’t tell me it’s because you share some DNA?”
“No. I just…He’s entitled to stay here whenever he wants.”
“Arianna, why do I get the feeling there’s so much more to this?”
“It’s okay, Christian. Listen, I’ve got to get things prepared for your cousin’s wedding. I mean, I have to oversee the shipment coming in and then stock the placeholders,” she said nervously as she scanned some notes on her clipboard. Her fingers trembled.
Christian took the clipboard from Arianna and laid it on the desk. He then reached over and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her skin, sending a pleasing tingle inside her belly. He pulled her close to him and hugged her. She could feel his energy and his support.
“Thank you,” she murmured, looking into his dark, sexy eyes.
“For what?” Christian grinned.
“For just being you. For everything.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Now, what’s up with dear old Uncle Ned?”
“Oh, he’s quite a character,” Arianna said, opening up to him little by little. Her heart thumped erratically in her chest. Her mind still whirled in a daze as to how much she should reveal to Christian about her family and their darkest secrets.
CHAPTER FOUR
“So, your uncle wants to ruin your life, too?” Christian said later that afternoon. He was seated on the private patio overlooking the pool opposite Arianna. He’d convinced her to unwind after a challenging day at work.
“Yeah. He has this terrible gambling addiction. My dad never really got along with him.”
“I see.”
“He’s had a few businesses in the past, under different names.”
“Different names?”
“Yeah. I mean, he would open up different kinds of ‘fast money-making’ businesses as he would call them. He started harassing us and threatening to take the hotel when his businesses went bust and his gambling debts increased. Of course we’d helped him out a bit in the past but…we stopped. We told him he needed to get help. We don’t owe him anything but he still tries to…” she hesitated for a moment.
“Wait a minute. Did you say he was trying to take the hotel away from you?”
“Yeah,” she sighed, her voice drifting.
“How could he do that?”
“Easy. My grandfather bought and owned this place back in the day. Well, when his wife, my grandmother, died after committing suicide-”
“Oh, God. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay. Anyway, when she died, he decided he was going to leave this hotel to his older son, Ned.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. But as you know, my father ended up taking over the place instead. Ned’s gambling addiction revealed itself early on, and I guess Granddad thought it best to hand it over to his youngest son instead. So Ned really got nothing.”
“So if your grandfather willed the place to your dad, what’s the problem? There’s no contesting the will.”
“Oh, well. Yeah. There’s this little…stipulation. A clause that says Ned can take ownership if Dad…”
“If your dad does what?” Christian delved further.
Arianna drew in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to squeeze out the pain. She couldn’t tell him. Not now. No. She didn’t want to spoil the moment.
“Listen, let’s change the subject. How have you been, Christian, really?”
“Missing you like crazy.” He leaned over and kissed her gently.
“Mmm. I’ve been missing you, too. How has business been going?” Just then, his cell phone rang. Christian excused himself to answer it. “Yeah.” He listened for a while before he spoke. “Yeah. Good. Just look into that for me. I need to find out all I can about this guy.”
“What are you doing?” Arianna asked, her heart beating heavy and hard in her chest. She had an idea what that call might be about knowing Christian. Knowing how the Romero men were so connected, and so feared.
“It’s nothing to worry your pretty little head about,” he dismissed her, nuzzling her neck.
“Christian, I need to know.”
“Listen, I don’t appreciate anyone making idle threats against my girl.”
“But…Christian.”
What was she going to tell him? From day one her uncle made threats and hurled snide remarks against her father. And God knew what kind of shady characters from his gambling world her uncle knew. What if he’d paid someone to try to bump off her father … or her? All Christian wanted to do was to protect her. It was who the Romero men were. Everyone who knew about the Romeros was well aware of their behavior.