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“I know that didn’t go so well.” I stroked her cheek. “He died in Afghanistan when you were two.”

“My mother never really recovered from that, which is why we never moved out of my grandparents’ house.” She trailed her fingers along my jaw. “It was always natural for me to live with them.”

Her mother overdosed when she was ten. Ivy hadn’t had an easy life. She had already suffered too much loss for such a young age. The more I got to know her, the more she became human to me. I never let my business marks become people to me. Now I knew why.

“The inn was so much fun growing up,” she continued. “We always had guests. I looked forward to the ones who came back every year. Christmas was my favorite time. There were even years when we had people stay over on Christmas Eve. I love the hustle and the bustle. The house always smelled wonderful and everyone was so happy.”

Her eyes sparkled when she spoke of the holidays and the inn. I noticed it when she and her uncles reminisced at dinner. Of course, the brothers did it to get on my good side, but Ivy’s face glowed over childhood memories.

As stunning as I thought she was, that house brought her to life. I didn’t anticipate her nostalgia affecting me. This was business. And my offer was her only valid option.

“What do you think happened to business?” I asked.

“After my grandfather died, it was difficult for my grandmother and I to maintain the house. We still had guests, but not as many people wanted to return. Families got older and moved on.” She shrugged. “Things changed.”

“They often do.” Being adaptable and reading what consumers wanted contributed to most of my success. I had a knack for finding land or spaces that needed revitalization and I blasted forward. This community would be no different. “Your uncles didn’t help their mother?”

“They were building their business. Once they left Connecticut for Manhattan, they lost interest in the inn.”

Another reason I wouldn’t work with them. A man who didn’t respect his family and where he came from didn’t interest me.

“I didn’t ask her to leave it to me.” She gazed down at the floor. “Maybe if she hadn’t…” Stopping her sentence, she smiled at me. “I don’t want to talk about my problems. I’m having an amazing night.” She twirled around in a circle. “The dress, dinner, the beautifully decorated ballroom.” She motioned toward the tree. “This Christmas tree. I feel like I’m in a fairytale.”

“I can make all of your dreams a fairytale.”

“You don’t have to be the prince though.” She gripped my tie and pulled me close to her. “I don’t need that.”

“What do you need?”

“You brought me back here.” She kept a firm hold on my tie. “You tell me.”

“Well, since you’re so fond of that tie, I’m going to put it to good use.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Her genuine question amused me.

“Let me take you upstairs and I’ll show you.” I took her hand and led her to the stairs. “But be warned, once I have you in my bedroom, you won’t be leaving until morning.”

Her wide gaze soaked in the long hallway as we wandered down to the main suite at the end of the hall. “You’re going to live here all by yourself?” she asked.

“You live at the inn all alone.” I pushed open the double doors that led to my sanctuary. I never shied away from the finer things in life. This house wasn’t any different. “Does it bother you?”

“Sometimes.” She reached down and took off her shoes. “I love those but my feet are killing me.”

As she took in the room, I switched on the lamp in the sitting area. Life must have been lonely for her. She went from having a family to everyone leaving through death, or in her uncles’ case, childish motives. They had bid on the contract to build this house. Something didn’t sit right with me, so I didn’t go with them.

My instincts were spot-on.

“Oh, wow.” She motioned beyond the fireplace. “Can you see that from either side?”

“Yes, my architect thought it would be a fabulous feature, and I agreed.” I slipped off my jacket and draped it over the chair. “The city life is becoming a bit repetitive for me. I needed a retreat.”

I removed my shoes and socks as she roamed into the bedroom. Our night together at the hotel had been on my mind for days. She had become a foreign compulsion. I didn’t often allow my judgment to become clouded. I had seen plenty of pretty faces in my time, but she had taken over my thoughts and had somehow managed to affect my actions in ways that I didn’t understand.

Before I met her, my only goal was to acquire the property I needed to complete this phase of my project. I had vowed to concentrate on nothing else until that task was finished. How had I let the one obstacle in my way take hold of me and become more of an obsession and less of a business deal?

This wasn’t like me at all. But I didn’t seem to mind.

I turned on the fireplace and then stood behind her as she soaked in the warmth from the gas hearth. Swiping her hair to the side, I breathed in her vanilla scent as I kissed her neck. Her flesh prickled beneath my lips.