Crazy Love (Emerald Lake Billionaires 3) (18 page)

She stepped closer. “I like you, Daniel Sullivan. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

He lifted his hands to either side of her face. “I can think of something,” he whispered.

As his head slowly lowered toward hers, she forgot about where they were. The noise of people around them became a foggy haze. Her whole body was focused on Daniel and the feel of his lips against her mouth as he kissed her.

Her arms reached for his shoulders.

He pulled her close, creating a heat that warmed her from the inside out.

Holly’s toes curled as their mouths fused together in a need deeper than anything she’d known before. Daniel had turned her world on its end and left her gasping for breath.

A cheer rang out across the lake and Holly sighed. She buried her head against Daniel’s chest and hugged him tight.

He kissed the top of her head. “We need to move. Sally and Todd are coming this way.”

Holly looked over his shoulder and froze. Sally and Todd were only a few feet away. Most of the wedding guests had their cameras aimed at the happy couple, taking last-minute photos of them before they boarded the sleigh.

Unfortunately, it was the sleigh behind Holly and Daniel that the happy couple were heading toward.

Daniel stepped in front of her, shielding her from the clicking cameras.

Holly put her hand in his and pulled him sideways. She felt ridiculous and probably looked it. “This is crazy,” she muttered when they were standing behind most of the wedding guests.

“Weirder things have happened. I don’t like your chances of your photo not appearing somewhere.”

Holly looked at the number of people taking photos of the bridal party. She hadn’t thought about what would happen when she came to the wedding. She was so used to keeping out of the limelight, she’d forgotten how much everyone enjoyed taking photos at weddings.

The only person who knew why she kept her identity a secret was Mia. She’d told Holly she needed to stop hiding from what had happened. But confronting her past would have an impact on her career and her belief in herself.

Hannah appeared beside her. “We need to leave. One of the drivers will take us back to the barn. Tess should be pouring glasses of champagne for the guests about now.” She smiled at Daniel. “You can have Holly back as soon as dessert has been served.”

“I’ll see you later.” Holly quickly kissed Daniel on the cheek. She needed to tell him what had happened, why she was so neurotic, but it would have to wait until after the wedding.

Hannah pointed to a sleigh not far from where they stood. “Let’s go.”

And before Holly she could make an even bigger fool of herself, she followed her friend to the sleigh.

Over the next few hours she had some important things to think about. And deciding what to say to Daniel was one of them.

***

Holly rubbed her eyes and stared at the ceiling in her bedroom. She hadn’t made it home from Sally and Todd’s wedding until after midnight.

Unfortunately, Sam had taken a turn for the worse during the night. Daniel had left the wedding reception at ten o’clock. He’d texted her from the hospital to say that Sam was okay and he’d see her the next day.

With a reluctant groan she pushed her blankets off and got out of bed. Lying in bed wouldn’t get her next painting finished. With her sweater and slippers keeping her warm, she headed toward the kitchen.

As soon as the coffeepot was on, she looked out the kitchen window. Snow had fallen thick and fast overnight. It had taken a long time to drive home after the wedding reception. The roads had been slippery, even with chains on their tires. Mia’s truck made the journey a lot faster than Holly’s car would have, but even so, it wasn’t something she wanted to repeat again.

After she got back from their exhibition in San Francisco, she was going to buy a truck. As much as she liked her little car, it wasn’t the right vehicle for the unforgiving winter roads.

While she was daydreaming about what color truck she’d buy, someone knocked on her front door. She looked at the clock above her pantry. It was only nine o’clock. Daniel wouldn’t have left for the hospital yet, unless Sam’s condition had worsened.

Holly opened the door. It was Hannah. “Come in before you freeze to death. I’m making coffee and toast. Would you like some?”

Hannah unzipped her jacket. “That would be great. I can’t believe how cold it is compared with yesterday.”

“You were lucky with the weather. Was Sally happy with how everything went?”

“She was over the moon. She loved what we did at the lake and the sleighs were amazing. I can’t believe we made it through the whole day without at least one major disaster.”

“You must be exhausted,” Holly said to her friend. She popped four slices of bread in the toaster. “What would you like on your toast? I’ve got jam, peanut butter, or honey.”

“Jam will be fine. Have you looked at the Bozeman Community Facebook page, yet?”

Holly shook her head. “I gave up reading it a long time ago. Mrs. Stanley does a good job of keeping it updated, but sometimes it verges on gossip rather than news. Did Sally and Todd’s wedding make it onto Facebook?” She passed Hannah a coffee and watched her warm her hands around the hot ceramic mug.

“It did. Doris included her normal spin on the ‘billionaire marries a local’ story, but apart from that, the pictures look great.”

Holly took two plates out of her cupboard. “I’m looking forward to seeing Molly’s photos. Did you know that she won this year’s International Photography Award?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“She’s going to be featured in the
New York Times
.”

“That’s amazing. She must be really pleased.” Hannah took her cell phone out of her pocket. “There’s something I need to show you.”

The toast popped and Holly reached for the butter. “Don’t tell me Max made the headlines? He was so cute with his wedding collar. Bella had a great time with him after the wedding.” She finished buttering the toast and added a layer of raspberry jam. “Here you go. Enjoy.”

Considering how successful the wedding had been, Hannah looked far too serious. “Is everything okay?”

Hannah tapped the screen on her cell phone and turned it around. Holly recognized the Bozeman Community Facebook page. “You need to see this.”

Holly sat beside Hannah. She smiled at the first picture she saw. Max, the Irish wolfhound, was looking adoringly at Sally. She opened the gallery of photos and looked at the next image.

This one had been taken at the lake as Sally and Todd exchanged their wedding vows. Holly remembered feeling incredibly privileged to hear the words they’d said to each other. “Did Molly take these photos?”

“I don’t think so.” Hannah leaned forward to see which photo Holly was looking at. “Keep going.”

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” She flicked to the next picture. “Oh.”

She took a deep breath and tried to think positive thoughts.

The photo was in focus. The contrast between the two people standing in front of the sleigh and the snow-covered mountains was beautiful. What wasn’t so good was that Holly and Daniel were the two people in the photo. Her face was flushed from being kissed senseless by the man beside her. And Daniel didn’t look much better.

Holly handed Hannah her phone and bit into a piece of toast.

Hannah tilted her head to the side and looked closely at her. “I was expecting more of a reaction. Maybe a horrified gasp or a smattering of indignation? Are you even worried about the photo?”

“I’m worried,” Holly said around a mouthful of toast. “But I can’t do anything about it.”

“Okay, so now I’m
really
worried. For the last six months you’ve been neurotic about not having your photo taken. What made the difference this time?”

Holly put her piece of toast back on the plate. “The difference is me. I spent most of yesterday trying to keep out of every photographer’s way. It was never going to work. There were so many people with cameras that it was only a matter of time before my photo was taken. At least no one put a photo of Daniel and I kissing each other on Facebook. That would have been embarrassing.”

Hannah slid her phone across the table. “Keep looking.”

Holly buried her head in her hands. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope. You’re pressed so tightly together that it’s hard to recognize you. Maybe that’s why the person who posted the photos added the other picture. Social media sucks.”

Holly picked up the phone and found the photo Hannah was talking about. It was every bit as bad as she thought it would be. “What am I supposed to do?”

She looked at the person’s name who’d posted the photos. She didn’t know who they were, where they lived, or why they’d uploaded the images on Facebook.

“It’s too late to do anything about it. Once an image is on Facebook it never disappears. At least they didn’t say who you are.”

Holly looked at the photos again. “I’m going to call Mrs. Stanley. From what I can remember, she’s fussy about captioning each photo. If she gets her way, she’ll add our names to the photos as soon as she sees them.” She rushed across to the drawer where she kept her phone directory. Holly had no idea where Mrs. Stanley lived, but there couldn’t be that many Stanleys living in Bozeman. If all else failed, she’d call her at work. Even though it was Sunday, she might be there.

“Ah, Holly. You might want to forget about calling Doris. She’s already seen the photos and added your names to the image.”

Hannah showed Holly the post and the comments that had appeared under the photos. Mrs. Stanley had definitely captioned each photo. No one, including Max, had been left unnamed or untagged.

Holly’s phone rang. A part of her didn’t want to know who was calling. The other part was worried it might be Daniel. She didn’t know what he’d think of the photos or what his family and friends would think if they saw them.

“Do you want me to answer your phone?” Hannah asked.

Holly shook her head. She picked up the phone and pushed the talk button. “Hello?”

“Thank goodness you’re home,” Mia said in a rush. “Daniel had a car accident on his way to the hospital this morning. He’s all right, just a bit shaken and bruised.”

Holly’s heart leaped. “Where is he now?”

“He’s visiting Sam in the hospital. That’s how I found out. Sam called me as soon as he saw him. Daniel had been talking about our exhibition and Sam found me through my website. He wanted me to call you in case you rushed into the hospital and had an accident as well. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes to pick you up.”

Holly glanced at Hannah. “You don’t need to pick me up. I’m okay to drive. Hannah’s here. She’ll give me a ride if I need one.”

“I’m not listening to you. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Mia disconnected the call.

“What’s happened?” Hannah asked.

“Daniel had a car accident this morning. Mia said he’s not badly injured, just a little shaken and bruised. I’ll figure out what to do about the Facebook post later. I’m going to have a shower and then go to the hospital to see him. If the phone rings would you mind answering it?”

“No problem. Can I do anything to help?”

“Let Mia inside if I’m not ready before she arrives. Thanks, Hannah.”

“You’re welcome.”

Within two minutes, Holly was standing under the shower. The hot jets of water cleared her mind, soothed her nerves, and made her wonder what could happen next.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Daniel glared at Sam. “You shouldn’t have called her.”

“I didn’t. I called her friend.”

“It had the same result. Holly’s got a lot of painting to do. She doesn’t need to take me home.”

“Your beaten-up truck is in the garage and your face is black and blue. You shouldn’t be going home alone.”

Daniel closed his eyes and counted to ten. “It’s nothing a few painkillers won’t cure.”

“You’ll need more than a few painkillers to help with the swelling. It’s just as well you’ve got a thick head. Otherwise, she might have been visiting a vegetable.”

Daniel clamped his mouth shut. There was no point arguing with Sam when he was being ridiculous.

“Holly seems like a nice person. Did you know she visited me yesterday?”

“She was at Sally and Todd’s wedding yesterday.”

Sam gave a theatrical sigh. “I think banging your head has killed a few brain cells. I’m not imagining things. Holly came here before she went to Emerald Lake. She bought me a couple of magazines. For some reason she likes you. I can’t understand it myself, but there’s no accounting for some people’s taste.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s planning a surprise for your next date.”

Daniel’s face flamed hotter than the temperature in Sam’s room. “Does she know you’re happy to tell me what she says?”

“I’m not telling you everything. All I’m saying is that Holly is a keeper.”

A soft knock on the door stopped Sam from sharing more insightful advice. It was just as well considering who walked into his room.