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The main part of the plane had large cream leather chairs and glossy wooden tables, complete with entertainment systems. Anissa looked around as if she was waiting to see where she should sit.
Leo waved his hand. ‘It’s just you and me, you can sit anywhere you please. There’s Wi-Fi if you need it. Or, if you want to sleep, there’s a bedroom in the back.’
‘A bedroom?’ Her eyes were wide. She looked at the eight large chairs then turned back to him. ‘Leo, just exactly how rich are you?’
He smiled and waited until she’d slipped off her coat and picked a chair then he settled down in the one next to her.
Anissa turned and looked out of the window. ‘Anything to eat or drink?’ She shook her head. ‘No, I’m fine, thank you.’
She seemed a little nervous. ‘Once we take off you can use these buttons to move the seat back and these ones to access the entertainment system.’
She gave a nod of acknowledgment and turned to stare back out the window as the plane started to taxi down the runway.
Leo settled back into his seat and pulled out his two computers. He had multiple things to work on during the flight.
It took Anissa a little time to relax, but eventually she fell asleep for a few hours, waking up when the steward came to ask what they wanted for dinner.
‘How long to New York?’ she asked when she came back from freshening up.
‘Just another few hours. It will be evening there when we arrive.’
She gave a little nod and sat down beside him. He glanced at her entertainment system. She had a popular movie frozen on screen in front of her. The setting? New York at Christmas.
He’d been so engrossed in his work for the last few hours he’d been a poor host.
The truth was he’d asked Anissa to join him on the spur of the moment. Maybe it was wrong but it had made perfect sense in his head at the time. The look on her face had been so sad. Plagued by unhappy memories and feelings of not being good enough. She’d said it out loud. Someone else fulfilling their dream. And it had made his heart twist in unexpected ways.
Because he completely and utterly got it.
He’d always had that feeling of not being good enough. His adoptive parents had never really been interested in him. It seemed as though the ‘idea’ of adopting a child hadn’t really aligned with the reality of it.
The fact was they’d never really been interested in parenting. They hadn’t wanted to go to parents’ evenings, school shows or sports events. And it seemed the harder he’d worked the more they’d ignored him.
As he’d got older he’d realised that their resentment ran deep. They’d often mention the business deals they could have done or the opportunities that had slipped through their fingers because they were tied with a child. And they’d never forgotten to add that his own parents hadn’t wanted him—now something that he knew wasn’t true. It was as if he was supposed to be eternally grateful to them for their sacrifice in taking him.
It hadn’t taken him long to realise what a destructive relationship that really was. College life had opened a whole new world for him. He’d worked three jobs so he could enrol at New York College, support himself and study business. He’d never missed an assignment and had been top of his class the whole way through. One of his professors had even spoken to him about one of the business proposals he’d pulled together, giving him the confidence to know that his plans were solid with a real possibility of success.
Most importantly, at college he’d met friends with families who loved them dearly, and had included him in the mix with open, welcoming arms. He’d watched the relationships between fathers and mothers and their sons, none of them similar to his experience at all. It had made him realise how much he’d missed out on. But it hadn’t allowed him to shake off the internal sense of not being good enough. The one that had been ingrained in him all his life.
So when he’d recognised that same feeling in Anissa, he’d wanted to do anything he could to help her. He’d watched her on the mountain, knew she was talented. But was she being realistic? Was her dream still truly achievable?
He had doubts. But he couldn’t say that to her. Did any potential gold-medal athlete get back to their best after such a severe accident?
She’d been constantly surrounded by the ski life. Had she even sampled the rest of the world? Did she know what other opportunities lay out there?
He’d invited her to New York for partly selfish reasons. He hadn’t really wanted to leave her, and he knew she would be a perfect partner for the ball.
But what could he do for her in return?
He turned towards her as they ate their freshly cooked pasta, prepared on the plane. ‘You told me you’d never really had a proper holiday before. Is there anything you’d like to do in New York? Anything you’d like to see, to do or anywhere you’d like to go?’
She pulled back in her seat a little. ‘Apart from you, there’s only one person in New York I’d like to meet. One of the chalet maids, Chloe, wants me to look up her cousin, Jules. Won’t you be busy? You said you had to go back for work and emergency meetings.’ She gave a smile. ‘Jules is my back-up plan in case you disappear the second we get there.’
He gave a nod of his head. ‘I do have work to do. Business is business. But you are my guest. New York comes alive at this time of year. Christmas is huge. There are a million things we can do.’
She looked intrigued. ‘Like what?’
He racked his brain. He’d been in New York for years but had never really done any sightseeing. He was probably the world’s worst person to show someone around New York. But there was so much to see and do that he could come up with a standard supply of answers.
‘We could walk around Central Park. Visit the museums. Go ice skating. Shop. Then there’s the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center. Times Square. the Statue of Liberty. I’m sure we can find plenty of things to do to keep you busy.’
‘All in a few days?’ She looked a little disbelieving. He hadn’t really specified how long they’d be here—because he wasn’t really sure how long this business would take to conclude.
‘Don’t forget the charity ball,’ he added. ‘You’ll love it.’
She gave a nervous swallow. ‘Yeah, a ball. I’ll need to find a ballgown. Might have forgotten to pack one.’
Leo sensed her hesitation. ‘Don’t worry about that. We can sort that out when we land. Keisa, my PA, will know exactly where to send you.’
She held his gaze for the longest moment, immediately making him think that he’d said the wrong thing.
But eventually she peeled her gaze away and continued with the pasta. ‘Sounds good,’ she said quietly.
Leo licked his lips. This might be a little tougher than he’d first thought.
As the flight prepared to land, Anissa stared out of the window, watching the bright lights of New York appear beneath them. He’d always loved this part.
The feeling of coming home.
But this time? It was a little different.
This time he felt unsettled. Where, exactly, was home?
* * *
First it had been the plane. Then the mention of the ball. Then the throwaway remark about brushing her off onto his PA.
This had been a bad idea. This was a very bad idea.
But as New York had emerged beneath the smoky clouds she’d felt a tiny spurt of exhilaration. If everything else was a disaster, at least she had a few days in a whole new place. A few days to do things that a normal tourist might do. It could even be fun.
A car had been waiting for them at the airport and after their suitcases had been put in the trunk they’d set off into the city. Leo had squirmed for a few seconds.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
He pulled a face. ‘This is going to come out all wrong.’
She shifted unco
mfortably. ‘Well, whatever it is, just say it.’ Had he changed her mind about her being here?
‘I forgot to book a hotel for you.’ He pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so used to being on my own and I was so busy thinking about my business deal that I didn’t plan ahead.’ He gave his head a little shake. ‘In my head it makes sense to stay in my penthouse, but now that we’re here... I realise how presumptuous that sounds.’
She understood. She understood completely. They’d already seen each other naked and now he was feeling awkward about where she should sleep.
‘We’ve done everything back to front,’ she said quietly as New York flashed past outside.
‘I can book you into a hotel,’ he said quickly. ‘I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.’
‘I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable,’ she replied quickly, because the truth was, right up until this second she hadn’t thought about any of this. It had just flown off her radar, just like it had his. And now he was mentioning it...well, it was making them both feel uncomfortable.
He sighed, as if he realised just how stilted this all sounded, then turned to face her and put his hand on his chest. ‘Anissa, I asked you to join me in New York because I wanted you to join me. But I don’t want you to feel any obligation to me whatsoever. This is supposed to be fun. My penthouse is big. I have three separate bedrooms and you’re welcome to sleep in any one them—alone. Please don’t think that by asking you to come I have any other kind of expectation.’ He gestured to the streets flashing past outside. ‘Or I can book you into any hotel you choose.’ He nodded slowly. ‘I’m sorry. I should have thought about this sooner—I guess I’m just so used to being on my own. You decide. Do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.’
