Bride By Design 3: Manchala Nights (Taken By The Billionaire)

  Bride By Design 3: Manchala Nights (Taken By The Billionaire)

  By

  Alicia Roberts

  Bride by Design 3: Manchala Nights (Taken By The Billionaire)

  Copyright 2012 by Alicia Roberts

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Adult Reading Material

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content. It is intended only for those aged 18 and above.

  ***

  Bride by Design 3: Manchala Nights (Taken By The Billionaire)

  ***

  Manchala comes as a big surprise to Lisa. The other guests are not all what she'd expected - and Colin surprises her in ways she loves and hates.

  Lisa's desire to be helpful blinds her to some obvious truths, but after she makes a serious judgment error, is it too late to make amends?

  This is the final book in the "Bride By Design" series.

  Chapter One

  It was late afternoon by the time we reached the Grand House, a seven-bedroom villa sitting atop the central hill in Manchala.

  When I looked away from the house, the hill sloped downwards and I could see the untouched beaches and angry waves of Manchala. It was a thrill to be here - a place very few men or women had ever set foot on.

  The Grand House, Don told us, was the first and only thing he'd built on the island, a retreat for him and his extended family. He hoped to maybe live in the House one day, after he retired. It was sprawling and majestic, and there seemed to be nobody else inside.

  When I commented on the quietness, Don said, "Everyone's having a siesta. It's our tradition here, after lunch - and we hope you two'll get some rest after your terrible flight in." He winked at me, and I tried to smile and forget the horrible kite-like plane. "We'll have a barbeque dinner in a few hours' time, and you'll meet the rest of the guests then."

  A uniformed servant appeared out of nowhere and led us to our room. After he left, I closed the door and leaned back against it. I felt overwhelmed by it all and wanted to laugh maniacally, or sink to the floor in amazement. Manchala was gorgeous with its pristine beaches, dark green forests and the lush tropical quietness. The Grand House was understated and welcoming and I wondered at the strange twist of fate that allowed me to have a glimpse at this secret luxury - a place most people would never even know about, let alone visit.

  Colin had dragged our luggage out of the way and opened the curtains. When he saw me leaning against the door, he seemed to know how I felt.

  He came and leaned beside me. "Strange new world, huh?"

  I turned and smiled at him. "It must be just another day at work for you."

  He nodded, his smile thin and his eyes hooded. "But it wasn't always like this."

  "No, I guess not." I wondered what he'd done before he'd become a property developer. "Everyone has to start somewhere."

  "And now I plan to get somewhere." The steel was back in his voice, and his eyes were flashing. "This resort is going to be my mark."

  I sighed. "I can't imagine a resort here, it would just ruin everything."

  "Oh it'll be exclusive, of course."

  He reached out and touched my shoulder. I felt the sparks against my skin and I drew back quickly. I was going to live up to the promise I'd made myself on the plane - I wouldn't let Colin touch me or kiss me, and there was no way anything would happened between us on Manchala. I planned to get back home with my pride and heart intact, there was no way I'd be a notch on Colin's belt.

  He seemed surprised at my quick withdrawal, and his jade eyes widened slightly.

  "I'm going to take a bath," I said coldly, ignoring the twinge of guilt I felt when I saw his eyes. "And I'm happy to pretend we're all lovey-dovey around the others, but don't think I'm letting you kiss me again."

  I unzipped my luggage and grabbed the first clothes I saw.

  When I closed the bathroom door behind myself, I had to groan under my breath. This was ridiculous - did all the bathrooms have such a lovely spa bathtub? They probably did. The room was done in shades of beige and gold, and there was even a delicate loveseat near the tub. I filled it up and switched it on, shedding my clothes and sinking down into the warm bubbles that soothed and relaxed me until I forgot all about my flight in.

  I started to wonder what the other couples would be like, and what Don's wife was like. Would everyone be rude and stand-offish to each other? Or would they pretend to be nice?

  After a while, I finally got out of the water and got dressed. I'd pulled out a purplish maxi dress - this was something I actually liked a lot, it was dark and stylish, floaty and comfortable without being revealing.

  Colin was sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through his tablet.

  "I need to tell you about the other people here," he said, brusquely. "And we'd better get our stories straight. Everyone will want to know how we met and what's going on with our marriage."

  I nodded and sat down on the sofa opposite. We looked at each other stiffly, all business, and slightly uncomfortable. I ignored the way sunlight bounced off his hair, and the fact that a part of me wanted to go and press myself against him and feel his warm lips on mine. It was time to do my job, and to ignore my emotions.

  Colin and I discussed what we'd say, how we'd met and how happy we were in our marriage. It felt ironic to be talking about how happily we were married, when we were sitting far away from each other and being careful not to feel the attraction between us.

  Once we got our stories straight, Colin began to reel off the list of other people who were here. Roger and Celine were on the island - they were Colin's closest competitors. Roger came from one of the oldest and richest families in the US, and I gasped when I heard his last name. His father had been one of Sir Donald's closest friends, and Don was predisposed to give the resort job to Roger.

  John and Keith were here to prove that Sir Donald wasn't being biased in his selection. They were highly unlikely to get selected, and Colin wasn't concerned about them.

  Jason was an Australian property developer, and he and his wife Carol hadn't been able to make it to the island. Jason had faced some kind of crisis with one of his other developments, and Colin didn't think Sir Donald would consider him seriously for the Manchala project. This week was all about meeting the people Sir Donald would be working with, and while Jason's current crisis was probably serious, his not showing up on the island indicated that he wasn't so keen on the Manchala project.

  Finally, Rani and Rahul were here with their six-month old son. After Roger, they were Colin's biggest threat.

  "Rahul's dad is an Indian steel magnate, a guy who's on the list of Forbe's fifty richest people in the world. On the other hand, I'm nowhere in the top two hundred."

  "Oh, how tragic." I couldn't help teasing, "How will you ever live with that shame?"

  Colin laughed, and I felt the ice between us melt. "I guess I'll just have to hope and work hard."

  I smiled, admiring the way Colin's eyes crinkled when he laughed. He'd changed into Dockers and a polo t-shirt, and had taken out a sweater for himself and a cardigan for me. When he saw me looking at the latter, he said, "It might be chilly outside. Why don't we get going?"

  I nodded, and grabbed the cardigan. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late. We'd missed the sunset - I had really wanted to see the ocean turn pink before it got dark. Well, maybe tomorrow.

  When we stepped
out of our room, a uniformed servant told us that everyone was out on the deck. We followed him to a covered area overlooking the bay. It was too dark to make out the ocean, but the dining area on the deck was lit up cheerfully. Drinks were being served on one side, and on another side, a grill had been set up and the scent of meat being barbequed drifted over to us.

  Sir Donald came over to greet us, and the group of happy, laughing people looked at us as we walked towards them.

  "Lisa, Colin," Sir Donald said, kissing my cheek, "You're just in time. We're having a few drinks while the meat gets done."

  He introduced us to his wife, Diane, a slender woman with grey hair and kind eyes. For a moment, I hated myself for taking part in this charade, for fooling these kind people who extended their hospitality towards us. But then Diane led me off while Don introduced Colin to the other guys, and I met Celine.

  Celine was slim and looked vaguely familiar, her button nose and pink lips perfect, her blonde hair smooth and cascading, and her blue eyes cold and distant. We air-kissed perfunctorily and I saw her glance towards Colin.

  In that split second, the frost chilling my veins told me what I needed to know. When Celine glanced back at me, she smiled knowingly and I hated her for having slept with Colin.

  "How did you two meet?" Her smile was polite, and her voice was deep and relaxed.

  Diane chimed in, "Oh yes, I'd love to know too!"

  I smiled, grateful that Colin and I had rehearsed our stories, and accepted a glass of wine from the waiter who appeared just in time. I told Diane and Celine how Colin and I had lunch in the park together and then wound up going out in secret - a version of events which was close to the truth, while being so ridiculously different from what was really going on.

  "I never thought Colin would settle down." Celine's voice was wary, her eyes watching me for signs of some secret hold I had over Colin.

  I shrugged, happy that I could snub Celine politely, even while I wanted to rip out her perfect hair. "I guess he just needed to meet the right girl."

  Celine stretched out her fingers to admire her massive engagement ring. I would've felt bad for being so catty, but she had the real thing - the wealth, the beauty, the marriage into one of America's oldest families. "Where's your engagement ring?"

  "Oh, I forgot to wear it. I've gotten so used to pretending not to be married to Colin! You know, to get away from the press and all."

  "Of course," she drawled, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "The paparazzi are soo rude."

  I tried not to gulp as I remembered why she looked so familiar - her photos were always splashed over the tabloids and glossies.

  Diane oohed over how cute Colin and I were for a minute, before excusing herself to tend to the other guests.

  As soon as we were alone, Celine turned to me frostily. "You do know that I slept with Colin, right?"

  "Of course." I smiled sweetly. "Colin and I don't care about each other's past."

  Celine scoffed, "Yeah well, Roger seems to care about Colin's past a lot. He hates Colin so much, even more now that he knows we got together again after my wedding."

  I couldn't help my look of surprise - I'd known Colin was a womanizer, but I'd never thought he'd chase after a married woman. Knowing he didn't care at all about marriage, even if it was someone else's, made me think less of him.

  Celine laughed at my expression. "So, I guess Colin hasn't told you everything about his past."

  I replaced my look of surprise with one of disapproval and tried to shift the focus off Colin - a guy whom I clearly knew nothing about. "I can't believe you cheated on Roger."

  "Oh don't be so shocked, honey." Celine raised an eyebrow and fell for my bait. "Roger might be old-money but alcohol doesn't help things in the sack. And you know how Colin is…"

  I laughed drily. Considering that we'd never actually been in bed together, I had only my imagination to help me out. I really didn't want to let my imagination drift that way - not here, not now. I excused myself and went to refill my drink, where I ran into Rani.

  Rani was the polar opposite of Celine. While Celine was slim, blonde and frosty, Rani was dusky, slightly chubby and bubbling with exuberance. We laughed as we both got more drinks and introduced ourselves to each other. She had a British accent, and told me she'd gone to Cambridge to get her law degree, where she'd met Rahul. A nanny was standing further away from us, holding a tiny, sleeping baby, and Rani pointed him out proudly - "I love him, but I don't love this baby weight!"

  We laughed and I told her honestly that she looked great. Rahul came over to join us, and he was tall and handsome in a rugged way. He clasped Rani's waist possessively, and I envied them their happiness and comfortable joy. They were clearly in love and had what Colin and I were only pretending to have.

  If Rani and I had met in different circumstance, I felt sure we'd be best friends. We both had the same tastes in music and the same sense of humor. She was charming and unpretentious, and I wished I could get to know her better, and a part of me felt that she and Rahul deserved this project more than Colin.

  Rahul was clearly talented, and he was one of those rare people who knew how to use their inherited money properly. He and his wife had grand plans, and I was impressed and charmed by their easy confidence and dreams for the future.

  "The meat's about done," announced Don, and we lined up to serve ourselves. Diane introduced me to Keith and John as I was heaping meat and salad onto my plate. Keith was a successful British property developer, and John, his partner, was an architect. A few moments of conversation with them revealed just how charming and talented they both were - and I wondered if they knew there was no way they'd get the project.

  We all sat down around a wooden table. Colin came and sat beside me, and whispered into my ear to ask how I was going. I just nodded in response and let him kiss my cheek, trying not to feel anything when his lips brushed my skin.

  I thought I was holding up my end of the bargain quite well, but I was distracted by the fact that Sir Donald, nice though he might seem, was clearly being unfair about choosing who he'd give the project to. Keith and John made an impressive duo, and I felt a bit sad that their talent wasn't enough to make Don even consider them for the project.

  The freshly barbequed meat and crisp salad were delicious, and we all chatted politely throughout the meal. I noticed that Roger and Sir Donald were on easy, friendly terms, and I thought it was obvious that nobody else had a shot at getting the project.

  Keith and John were chatting with Celine about fashion and design, and I caught her glancing our way once in a while. I wondered if Colin still felt anything for her, but he seemed to be ignoring her. I thought that was rather strange behavior on his part, since I'd expected him to flirt with just about any pretty woman.

  Diane asked us about our wedding, and we told her a story about a tiny official ceremony, trying to stay out of the press, and hoping to have a large reception one day soon. She nodded understandingly, and told us that she and Don had been married for over twenty years, and that their two sons were entrepreneurs who travelled for work frequently.

  Rani and Rahul joined in our conversation, and Rahul talked about how hard it was to be on the move so frequently. His father, the steel magnate, had been diagnosed with some heart problems, and he talked about how lucky he was to be able to live near his parents.

  The conversation turned to work again, and Sir Donald asked Roger if he had an architect in mind. Roger mentioned an architect who worked with him, and Keith mentioned that John had won some awards for his designs. Colin decided to chime in by saying I was an interior designer, specializing in family-friendly designs. I was a bit flustered by the mention, since Colin hadn't told me he'd bring it up, but I tried to take it in stride.

  Sir Donald nodded encouragingly at both John and I, and asked us a few polite questions, before turning to Roger again. I was glad when Sir Donald finally decreed that we wouldn't be talking about work - "Not till the presentation, at
least!"

  Diane nodded, and said, "We just want to get to know you guys on this holiday. Let's have some fun."

  I smiled and finished up my food, and we all cooed appreciatively when a gorgeous fruit pavlova was brought out. Other than Celine, all of us heaped our plates with the dessert, and I groaned out loud when I sunk my teeth into it. It was crispy outside, soft inside, and the whipped cream and fruit toppings provided the perfect balance.

  Chapter Two

  Once dinner was over, and everyone had retired to their bedrooms, I tried to relax a bit. But the nagging feeling that Roger was the shoo-in to get the project, just wouldn't leave my mind.

  I sat on the bed and stared up at Colin. He seemed relaxed and unstressed.