The Billionaire's Triplets (A Steamy Contemporary Romance Novel) by Mia Caldwell Page A
Authors: Mia Caldwell
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After meeting her, after touching her soft skin, staring into those deep brown eyes, making insanely passionate love to her, feeling her supple brown body entangled in his, having her passion mingling with his, he’d thought she meant forever too. But after he’d left, with both of them joyfully promising they’d be together soon, he never heard from her again. He only even heard about her briefly.
He’d scoured the business pages for word of her doings. He knew she’d consulted on a restoration project in Prague and never contacted him. Finally she had disappeared, or seemed to.
Any number of things could make a person do that. Once or twice Julio had thought of doing that himself. The idea of closing his apartment and office and going off to a tropical island, leaving no forwarding address, no contact information, sounded like the height of self-indulgence. A time like that could be restorative, give your brain the time and opportunity to get out of the routines and rituals it was prone to fall into; he could let new and dramatically different surroundings reshape his thinking. It could let him set new goals and find exciting new pathways towards them.
Willa’s private investigators reported that she’d turned over the reins of her business to her number two and dropped out of sight. She wasn’t attending conferences or consulting on major projects, yet that was her life, who she was. The New York public records didn’t list her death, so it was as if she’d retired and gone into seclusion.
But why hadn’t she contacted him? Even to say there were problems and ask for his help and support? Even if it was just to say that the moments they had together in Switzerland had left her angry, or fearful of losing herself? That knowledge would be a balm on his spirit. Whatever had kept her from wanting to move ahead with him, with what had seemed so powerful, magical, and beautiful… he could respect her choice. He just wanted to know what it was, that a decision was reached. The vacuum of silence bothered him. It didn’t seem like the woman he had known and loved so intensely.
As a practical man, Julio didn’t expect anyone to live in dreams, but throwing a dream away without any discussion horrified him, made no sense. He couldn’t see Lissa as a hysterical or fanciful person. He’d thought she was the same kind of dreamer he was—a person who enjoyed a dream and then set out to find out how much of the dream could be attained, could be made real if you were willing to struggle for it. Dreams were to be considered, not abandoned without a thought.
That was the way he understood things, the way he did them.
He had to consider the possibility that he’d been wrong about her. Totally and completely. That made him sad. For once he thought he’d found someone special—he’d never met anyone like her before. If she wasn’t the person he thought she was, then perhaps he was foolish to think he’d ever meet a woman who would or could be his perfect love.
That thought pained him. It meant settling for sex and companionship and forgoing the hope of actual love as he understood it. He could accept that, not be happy about it, but accept that as a possibility. Unfortunately, most people settled for what came easily, and someone who understood the difference between his ambition and greed, someone who celebrated life the way he did, was a rare find. What truly troubled him was the idea that he had been so wrong about her. Where had he gone wrong? A great part of his success came from assessing people, judging their strengths and weaknesses. The woman he’d known so briefly hadn’t seem at all like the kind to cut and run without a word. If he’d been so wrong, it was his failure, not hers. That was on him, and he didn’t like doubting his own judgment.
The door opened and Willa came in. He gave her an appreciative glance. She was an interesting contrast to the ideal he’d allowed himself to build Lissa up to
He’d scoured the business pages for word of her doings. He knew she’d consulted on a restoration project in Prague and never contacted him. Finally she had disappeared, or seemed to.
Any number of things could make a person do that. Once or twice Julio had thought of doing that himself. The idea of closing his apartment and office and going off to a tropical island, leaving no forwarding address, no contact information, sounded like the height of self-indulgence. A time like that could be restorative, give your brain the time and opportunity to get out of the routines and rituals it was prone to fall into; he could let new and dramatically different surroundings reshape his thinking. It could let him set new goals and find exciting new pathways towards them.
Willa’s private investigators reported that she’d turned over the reins of her business to her number two and dropped out of sight. She wasn’t attending conferences or consulting on major projects, yet that was her life, who she was. The New York public records didn’t list her death, so it was as if she’d retired and gone into seclusion.
But why hadn’t she contacted him? Even to say there were problems and ask for his help and support? Even if it was just to say that the moments they had together in Switzerland had left her angry, or fearful of losing herself? That knowledge would be a balm on his spirit. Whatever had kept her from wanting to move ahead with him, with what had seemed so powerful, magical, and beautiful… he could respect her choice. He just wanted to know what it was, that a decision was reached. The vacuum of silence bothered him. It didn’t seem like the woman he had known and loved so intensely.
As a practical man, Julio didn’t expect anyone to live in dreams, but throwing a dream away without any discussion horrified him, made no sense. He couldn’t see Lissa as a hysterical or fanciful person. He’d thought she was the same kind of dreamer he was—a person who enjoyed a dream and then set out to find out how much of the dream could be attained, could be made real if you were willing to struggle for it. Dreams were to be considered, not abandoned without a thought.
That was the way he understood things, the way he did them.
He had to consider the possibility that he’d been wrong about her. Totally and completely. That made him sad. For once he thought he’d found someone special—he’d never met anyone like her before. If she wasn’t the person he thought she was, then perhaps he was foolish to think he’d ever meet a woman who would or could be his perfect love.
That thought pained him. It meant settling for sex and companionship and forgoing the hope of actual love as he understood it. He could accept that, not be happy about it, but accept that as a possibility. Unfortunately, most people settled for what came easily, and someone who understood the difference between his ambition and greed, someone who celebrated life the way he did, was a rare find. What truly troubled him was the idea that he had been so wrong about her. Where had he gone wrong? A great part of his success came from assessing people, judging their strengths and weaknesses. The woman he’d known so briefly hadn’t seem at all like the kind to cut and run without a word. If he’d been so wrong, it was his failure, not hers. That was on him, and he didn’t like doubting his own judgment.
The door opened and Willa came in. He gave her an appreciative glance. She was an interesting contrast to the ideal he’d allowed himself to build Lissa up to
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