them. He should have gotten her a job at one of his London companies. But he wanted to know her inside and out, not just a corner of her life unseen.
He smiled to himself as he headed for the private jetway that led to his Leer.
She was going to resist revealing those hidden corners every step of the way. Of that, he was certain. Julie was the perfect challenge, a treasure box that was locked hard and fast. And she had no intention of letting anyone see the beautiful jewels inside her for fear they’d also see the tarnished settings.
He had no issue with tarnished settings. In fact, they were his favorite things.
***
“J ulie, you hit the jack pot!”
Julie threw her head back and let out an exaggerated groan. “Kat! Don’t say stuff like that?”
Kat waggled her red eyebrows at her, giving her a big hug. “Like what? Do you know where we are?”
“We’re in Vail,” Stella said dryly, pulling her cashmere robe tighter about her body.
Kat rolled her eyes. “Yeah, in the most exclusive day spa in Vail.”
It was true. O’Neill had driven them down literally the moment Kat and Stella had walked in. Mr. Fitzgerald’s orders .
From the moment they’d walked into the cool, elegant, minimalist entrance, they’d been treated like well. . . Billionaires. Something the three of them definitely weren’t. Usually, if they’d walked into a place like this, the staff would have been polite yet slightly terse. They’d all but oozed and bent over backward today.
A hot stone deep soak awaited them.
As did another bottle of champagne.
Julie’s head was in the clouds. There was a significant part of her that had very nearly told O’Neil to just drive them back down to Denver, but Kat’s excitement had been too hard to deny. Even Stella had looked like Christmas morning had finally come to a kid that always got coal. So, Julie’d been unable to turn down Damian’s arrangement for them. Something she was almost certain he knew would happen.
It occurred to her that the entire reason Damian had invited Kat and Stella was purely so he would get his way. How could she say no to her friends? She wasn’t sure how she felt about his tactics, but for now, she wouldn’t think too hard about it.
“So,” Kat dropped her robe. “Who’s getting in first?”
Julie couldn’t stop her laugh. Kat had a great body. Lean, toned, sylph like and yet, she was the least vain person she’d ever met. Kat merely loved to be free.
“You, apparently,” said Stella.
“To pastures new!” Kat chirped. “Or baths. Whatever.”
She let out a squeal as she stepped down into the huge tub. Water was rushing into it from a fountain in the wall. The water was piped in from the Rockies, and its minerals were supposed to do wonders for their skin. The base was made of river stone. It was like bathing in rushing Colorado waterway without ever having to come toe to toe with dirt.
Julie clutched her robe, hating that even with her friends she felt a hint of discomfort. Jeez. If she couldn’t get naked with Stella and Kat, how was she ever going to get naked with Damian Fitzgerald? In the dark. That’s how. Maybe she’d buy him a blindfold. She knew it was a stupid thing to get hung up on, but she’d always been a little overweight and then after her mom died. . . Well, therapy was expensive. Cheeseburgers were cheap.
And so her body was not her pride and joy. In fact, her body had in many ways become the map of her sadness. She shook the thought away, determined not to think about cellulite or how it had got there.
“Come on, Julie,” said Stella dropping her own robe and stepping in.
She turned away, closed her eyes then steeled her nerves. She had to start loving herself sometime, didn’t she?
She shrugged her robe off and scrambled into the deep, wide tub. The minute the rushing water surrounded her, she let out a deep sigh. The tension in her shoulders immediately began to slip free and she sat along the edge, allowing
He smiled to himself as he headed for the private jetway that led to his Leer.
She was going to resist revealing those hidden corners every step of the way. Of that, he was certain. Julie was the perfect challenge, a treasure box that was locked hard and fast. And she had no intention of letting anyone see the beautiful jewels inside her for fear they’d also see the tarnished settings.
He had no issue with tarnished settings. In fact, they were his favorite things.
***
“J ulie, you hit the jack pot!”
Julie threw her head back and let out an exaggerated groan. “Kat! Don’t say stuff like that?”
Kat waggled her red eyebrows at her, giving her a big hug. “Like what? Do you know where we are?”
“We’re in Vail,” Stella said dryly, pulling her cashmere robe tighter about her body.
Kat rolled her eyes. “Yeah, in the most exclusive day spa in Vail.”
It was true. O’Neill had driven them down literally the moment Kat and Stella had walked in. Mr. Fitzgerald’s orders .
From the moment they’d walked into the cool, elegant, minimalist entrance, they’d been treated like well. . . Billionaires. Something the three of them definitely weren’t. Usually, if they’d walked into a place like this, the staff would have been polite yet slightly terse. They’d all but oozed and bent over backward today.
A hot stone deep soak awaited them.
As did another bottle of champagne.
Julie’s head was in the clouds. There was a significant part of her that had very nearly told O’Neil to just drive them back down to Denver, but Kat’s excitement had been too hard to deny. Even Stella had looked like Christmas morning had finally come to a kid that always got coal. So, Julie’d been unable to turn down Damian’s arrangement for them. Something she was almost certain he knew would happen.
It occurred to her that the entire reason Damian had invited Kat and Stella was purely so he would get his way. How could she say no to her friends? She wasn’t sure how she felt about his tactics, but for now, she wouldn’t think too hard about it.
“So,” Kat dropped her robe. “Who’s getting in first?”
Julie couldn’t stop her laugh. Kat had a great body. Lean, toned, sylph like and yet, she was the least vain person she’d ever met. Kat merely loved to be free.
“You, apparently,” said Stella.
“To pastures new!” Kat chirped. “Or baths. Whatever.”
She let out a squeal as she stepped down into the huge tub. Water was rushing into it from a fountain in the wall. The water was piped in from the Rockies, and its minerals were supposed to do wonders for their skin. The base was made of river stone. It was like bathing in rushing Colorado waterway without ever having to come toe to toe with dirt.
Julie clutched her robe, hating that even with her friends she felt a hint of discomfort. Jeez. If she couldn’t get naked with Stella and Kat, how was she ever going to get naked with Damian Fitzgerald? In the dark. That’s how. Maybe she’d buy him a blindfold. She knew it was a stupid thing to get hung up on, but she’d always been a little overweight and then after her mom died. . . Well, therapy was expensive. Cheeseburgers were cheap.
And so her body was not her pride and joy. In fact, her body had in many ways become the map of her sadness. She shook the thought away, determined not to think about cellulite or how it had got there.
“Come on, Julie,” said Stella dropping her own robe and stepping in.
She turned away, closed her eyes then steeled her nerves. She had to start loving herself sometime, didn’t she?
She shrugged her robe off and scrambled into the deep, wide tub. The minute the rushing water surrounded her, she let out a deep sigh. The tension in her shoulders immediately began to slip free and she sat along the edge, allowing
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