My Unexpected Christmas Wedding, page 1
How to Win a Monroe
A brand new duet by Rachael Stewart
Meet Aiden and Avery Monroe, heirs to the Monroe fortune who seemingly have the world at their feet! Following the death of their beloved father, Aiden has stepped up to fill his impossibly large shoes, taking the family business stratospheric, while younger sister Avery has been catapulted into the spotlight, the darling—and sometimes the devil—of the world’s media.
But behind closed doors, they’re like two lost souls, drowning in grief and desperate to recapture the loving family of their youth. Loss has made them super guarded and it will take a very special person to win the trust—and the heart—of a Monroe!
Read Avery and Gabe’s story in Off-Limits Fling with the Heiress
And read Aiden and Elena’s story in My Unexpected Christmas Wedding
Both available now!
Dear Reader,
Are you a lover of Christmas?
I sure am. I blame it on my parents, who filled the season with such magic when I was a child, and now, of course, I do the same for my children. I hear a Christmas jingle, get the hint of mulled spice on the air, spy a string of fairy lights (lit and not knotted!) and I’m filled with the warm fuzzies from Christmases past. So much joy and excitement!
That changed for a while when we lost my mum. The season was strange and different...it took a while to find it again. But we did. It’s not the same—how could it be?—but it is fabulous and magical, and writing a story that reflects that journey was very special to me. I hope you find it special too. And if you need extra hugs this time of year, I’m sending you plenty!
So, Merry Christmas, Dear Reader—may you enjoy all the romance and festive feels of the season as Aiden and Elena take you from the glorious artistic heart of Milan to the stunning snowcapped mountains of the Canadian Rockies.
Hugs and Mistletoe Kisses!
Rachael xx
My Unexpected Christmas Wedding
Rachael Stewart
Rachael Stewart adores conjuring up stories, from heartwarmingly romantic to wildly erotic. She’s been writing since she could put pen to paper—as the stacks of scrawled-on pages in her loft will attest to. A Welsh lass at heart, she now lives in Yorkshire, with her very own hero and three awesome kids—and if she’s not tapping out a story, she’s wrapped up in one or enjoying the great outdoors. Reach her on Facebook, Twitter (@rach_b52) or at rachaelstewartauthor.com.
Books by Rachael Stewart
Harlequin Romance
Billionaires for the Rose Sisters
Billionaire’s Island Temptation
Consequence of Their Forbidden Night
Claiming the Ferrington Empire
Secrets Behind the Billionaire’s Return
The Billionaire Behind the Headlines
How to Win a Monroe
Off-Limits Fling with the Heiress
Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella
Beauty and the Reclusive Millionaire
My Year with the Billionaire
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
To all the Christmas Lovers, this one is for you xx
Praise for Rachael Stewart
“This is a delightful, moving, contemporary romance.... I should warn you that this is the sort of book that once you start you want to keep turning the pages until you’ve read it. It is an enthralling story to escape into and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.”
—Goodreads on Tempted by the Tycoon’s Proposal
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM PRINCESS’S FORBIDDEN HOLIDAY FLING BY JENNIFER FAYE
CHAPTER ONE
Elena
‘YOU WANT TO tell me what’s going on, Adie?’
The man in question rakes an unsteady hand through his dark blond hair, the carefully groomed locks returning to their swept-back state as his tormented gaze flits to me. He smiles, but it’s small and out of step with the sadness still lurking in his vibrant green eyes. A sadness that’s swept through me too.
Why is it that I feel everything this man does? It’s a connection that runs far deeper than anything else I’ve ever known, and we’ve had it all our lives. Best friends since birth, thanks to the friendship our mothers formed on the maternity ward.
And now he’s here, like this.
Aiden Monroe. Infamous billionaire and infallible too. Head of Monroe Wealth Management, with a face as instantly recognisable as my own but in very different circles.
I’m an opera singer, renowned in my field. I don’t have his wealth, but I have his media appeal, and that makes our meeting potential fodder for the press. Something I’m not prepared to deal with right now.
We’ve fended it off in the past, the gossip, the rumours, but coming off the back of a recent break-up, messy in the eyes of the press, I’m in no mood for it. Only... Aiden isn’t infallible right now, and that far outweighs my concern for the rumour mill.
His eyes are bloodshot and shadowed. The grooves either side of his lips cut deep beneath the fashionably short beard. I haven’t seen him in a year—a year—and to see him like this...
My hands itch to reach for him but I keep my distance. Even in our discreet corner of the hotel bar, I don’t dare move closer. For many, many reasons. My heart being one, our notoriety being another.
This is Milan, and this hotel is as exclusive as they come, but it doesn’t mean a hungry reporter won’t have found a way in, or a bystander won’t take the opportunity to snap a surreptitious pic on their phone.
‘You’re the only one to ever call me that.’
‘What?’ I say, losing track of the conversation.
‘Adie...or any other pet name, for that matter.’
The minor fact shouldn’t elate me, but my heart revels in it regardless. ‘Is it a problem?’
‘No.’
He laughs into his glass, takes a swig of the dark and amber liquid. Whisky, at a guess. No ice. Another thing out of Aiden step.
‘Not at all.’
‘Good.’
I feel relieved. I don’t know why. It’s not like it matters. We’ve been friends for thirty-five years and will continue to be friends for evermore. But there’s an edge to him tonight...an edge that I can’t get my head around.
And I normally know this man—better than I know myself at times.
He falls quiet again, no explanation forthcoming, and I sip at the gin and tonic he ordered before I got here. Give him the time he needs even though I’m driving myself half-mad trying to second-guess what’s going on.
‘I hope I chose right?’ He gestures to the drink in my hand. ‘I wasn’t sure, but it’s a single, not a double. I knew that much.’
His voice trails off, and his uncertainty is as worrying as the rest of him. I take in his state of dress—shirt unbuttoned at the collar, tie slackened as though he was part-way to stripping it off entirely and forgot. Aiden’s never undone, never unsure.
‘It’s fine, thank you.’ I bite my lip, then, ‘You’re not, though...’
He holds my gaze for a breath-stealing second, a moment when I wonder if he will say anything at all, before, finally...
‘What gave me away?’
‘What didn’t?’
He gives a soft huff. ‘How long’s it been, Elena?’
Not the response I wanted, not the one that gets me any closer to the bottom of this, but...
‘Since we last saw one another?’
A year, one month, two weeks and three days, but who’s counting?
Our longest time apart. I’ve been on tour and he’s... Well, he’s been Aiden. A billionaire workaholic with a sister and a mother to worry over and a global enterprise to lead, making money for others while investing in medical research that can never bring his father back but may save many more.
Is there anything this man does that doesn’t make my heart soft, my knees weak...?
I adjust my skirt, smooth it down even though the fabric is smooth enough already. I’m fidgeting, and if I’m not careful he’ll pick up on that too, and know he has me on edge. And I don’t want to be. We’re best friends. He shouldn’t put me on edge... It’s my own feelings that are doing that. Feelings that I can’t control or suppress, and not through a lack of trying.
‘About a year.’
He nods slowly, swirls the drink in his hand as he eyes the mini whirlpool he creates. ‘Your mum’s birthday party.’
I give a small smile. He remembers.
He’s stressed, not losing his memory, Elena!
‘Her sixtieth,’ I say, ignoring the inner scorn. ‘Though she still thinks she’s twenty-one...’
‘Don’t they all?’ He throws back more of his drink, gives a wince and gestures to the bartender for another.
; I frown. I don’t like this one bit. I rarely drink much, if at all. In my line of work vocal cords are sacred and alcohol is the devil. But Aiden rarely hits it hard either—not like this.
‘Come on, Adie, what’s going on?’
He drags his gaze back to me, takes an unsteady breath. ‘It’s Mum.’
My heart sinks. ‘Margot...?’
‘She’s sick.’
A chill spreads through my limbs...my gut rolls. ‘How sick?’
Though I know the answer well enough...
‘Very.’ He takes another breath that shudders through his broad frame, the hand around his empty glass trembling as he sets it down. ‘Cancer. Stage Four.’ He shakes his head. ‘And you know what makes all of this so much worse...?’
It’s rhetorical. He doesn’t need my answer and I wouldn’t be able to give one. My throat is too choked up with his pain, his news.
‘I’ve spent millions over the years investing in hospitals, research centres, doing the only thing in my power to try to save others, but my own mother... I feel so damn helpless. I can’t...’
He fists his hand and strikes it side-down against the polished wood, swiftly, repeatedly, silently fighting the force of emotion within, and I forget my need for self-preservation as I reach out.
‘Oh, Adie.’ I cover his hand with mine. ‘I’m so sorry.’
His anguished gaze flits to me, his throat bobs. ‘She underwent experimental treatment over the summer, but...’
‘The summer?’ I lean closer. ‘But that was months ago. Why didn’t you ring me? Why didn’t you—?’
‘You were touring. I didn’t want to interrupt.’
‘But this is your mother—this is Margot!’ A second mum to me. And the idea that she is suffering, that she might not have long... I swallow the lump in my throat. ‘Does my mum know?’
‘No. No one does. Save for me, the doctors, and now Avery.’
‘Now Avery?’
‘We didn’t tell her at first.’
‘At first—? How could you not? She’s your sister...’
His eyes collide with mine and he retracts his hand, breaking the physical connection as he leans back in his seat. ‘How’d you think?’
‘But something like this...you can’t...’
‘It was losing Dad that sent her off the rails in the first place.’
‘But she was a child, a teenager. She’s a grown adult now. You can’t protect her from everything, and something as important as this...’
‘Now you sound like Gabe.’
‘So Gabe knows? You missed him off your need-to-know list...’
I throw back more of my drink, try to suppress the sting of it, the sting of his retraction too... And for Gabe to know and not me...
‘I needed his help over the summer.’
‘What kind of help?’
‘To give Avery a job—keep her away while Mum underwent surgery.’
‘And he was okay with that? All the secrecy, I mean?’
‘No.’
There’s more he’s not telling me and he turns away, his eyes distant, his head elsewhere...
‘They’re together.’
It takes me a second to register that he’s spoken, another to say, ‘Who? Who’s together?’
Because he can’t mean—
‘Avery and Gabriel.’
I choke on my drink. ‘Are you—? No way.’
‘It’s true.’ The hint of a smile—a genuine smile—touches his lips now. ‘You should see them together, Laney. It’s quite nauseating, really.’
My laugh is as stunned as I feel. The shift in topic as jarring as the news itself.
‘I’m not sure what surprises me more. Your laidback reaction or that Gabe is in a real relationship—at least, I’m assuming it’s real, because you wouldn’t be this okay if Avery was just another one of his fleeting fancies.’
‘I didn’t say I was okay with it...not entirely...but he knows the score.’
‘What? Break her heart and you’re done?’
‘Break her heart and we’ll be more than done,’ he fires back at me.
‘Hey, easy tiger.’
Though seeing him come alive is a relief. This Aiden I can deal with. The broken man of before...that’s something else.
‘I’m sure Gabe wouldn’t have let anything happen if it wasn’t the real deal.’
‘I know. They’re in love. Or so they say. And I’ve no reason to believe it won’t last.’
‘Save for Gabe’s reputation with the ladies and Avery’s penchant for failing to stick at anything long enough to make it matter.’
‘She’s changed.’ The small smile makes a return, reaches his eyes too. ‘Turns out I never gave her the chance to be who she wanted to be. Now she’s doing that, free of my involvement, she’s as committed as they come.’
‘Interference, you mean?’
‘Involvement, interference, protection... However you want to look at it...’
He plays the big brother card so well and my heart swoons. It’s sexy and endearing and I’m powerless to protect myself in the face of it. Powerless to protect myself from the pain that remains too.
Poor Margot. Poor Aiden. Avery...
I force my focus back on the conversation. ‘She’s still studying jewellery design, then?’
‘She is. And she’s impressive, Elena. Wait until you see her work. Mum’s bowled over by it too. You should see them together, poring over her designs...’
His voice thickens with his words, its gruff edge tugging at my fraying heartstrings.
‘And Gabe?’ I say, pressing on. ‘Has he changed?’
‘Put it this way, I’ve never seen him like this over a woman before.’
I smile softly. ‘There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.’
‘Indeed.’
His eyes lift to mine and something in their depths has the smile fading from my own, beads of sweat breaking out across my nape. He isn’t done.
I lift my long black hair away, press a cool hand to the heated flesh. I should have worn cotton rather than wool. The fit of the fabric is flattering, and perfect for casual drinks with an old friend, but right now it’s far too hot.
He’s making me far too hot.
I look away and sip at my drink, roll a small piece of ice around my mouth, let it melt and cool before I meet his gaze once more.
‘You should have called me, Aiden. I would always make time for you. You and your mother. You’re family in all the ways that count.’
‘I know—which is why I left it until now.’
‘So I wouldn’t break my commitments?’
‘Guilty as charged.’
I shake my head. Always the thoughtful one. Always putting others first. Can he ever put a foot wrong in my eyes?
He does where women are concerned...
I ignore the unhelpful remark while also acknowledging that it’s not fair either. He’s always very clear that he has no interest in forming a real relationship outside of the bedroom, and I probably understand his reasonings better than he does. Fear of loss, fear of not being enough, fear of—heaven forbid—having someone else depend on him...
This is the last thing I should be thinking of—Aiden and the bedroom and his closed-off feelings—but then I’ve been celibate since my break-up with Enrique two months ago.
Oh, who am I kidding? We hadn’t slept together for months before that. Our relationship rocky long before it came to an end. He blamed my intense work schedule, while I blamed this. My feelings for Aiden that just won’t quit.
Maintaining our friendship while also moving on has proved impossible. Hence the avoidance, the year apart...a year where it seems I have failed him completely.
Not being there when he needed me the most.
‘I truly am sorry, Adie.’ I nip my lip. Wish I could change it. The past, my feelings...my failings. ‘I’m grateful you came all this way to tell me in person, but never keep something as important as this from me again. Please.’
He barely blinks as he absorbs my plea—is he even hearing me?
‘It’s not the only reason I’ve come in person, Laney.’
The tiny beads of moisture return. Why is he looking at me like that?
