“Welcome, everyone; you’ve each agreed to join our guest of honor—who should be arriving shortly—on an unparalleled journey aboard the Belmond Grand Hibernian,” Luke declared with pride. “Each of you will have your own private, luxurious cabin, as well as a sitting room while we travel throughout the Irish countryside. Tonight, we kick off the festivities with a masked ball. Please, enjoy the amenities while we wait for our final arrival.”
A group of men appeared in the room. They picked up their instruments and started to play classic Irish folk music. Couples began to trickle into different parts of the area, and soon the area was thick with a throng of masked guests. True to form, Heather made quick work of dragging William onto the dance floor, leaving Vanessa on her own.
There was clapping and cheering from the other end of the car, and Vanessa assumed the guest of honor had arrived. Caring little as to who it was, she decided to make her way around the room and inspect the lavish Georgian decor. She stopped and sampled the macarons and puffed crab pastries. Her last stop was at the bar, where she ordered a Sazerac.
Vanessa turned to face the crowd, leaning back against the bar as she watched the other party guests interact with one another.
“You’re far too sexy in that dress to be standing here alone. Let me rectify the situation,” a blond man with a deep voice asked, as he extended his hand to her.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m content on my own,” she stated dismissively. She wasn’t even sure why she was there, but the last thing she wanted was to have some elitist snob think he could entice her into a weekend dalliance while they were on the train.
“Don’t be like that, baby. We could have fun together.” He moved closer to her and brushed his hand down her arm. “Why don’t you let me get you a better drink? Maybe it’ll make you a little bit more pliable.”
Angrily, Vanessa gritted her teeth together. Letting out a heavy sigh, she finally turned her attention to the man who wouldn’t leave her alone. “Like I told you, I’m good on my own. I don’t need you getting me a drink so you can roofie it while I’m not paying attention.”
The man huffed with indignation. “Why, I would never do that. I simply wanted to get you something better to drink. What kind of odd cocktail is that, anyway?”
“Sazerac,” she heard the familiar voice of Samuel say from beside her. “And it’s her favorite.”
The blond man’s brown eyes grew wide with frightened recognition as his head snapped towards Samuel. “Sammy, I didn’t know you got here already.”
“I told you not to call me that; we aren’t kids anymore. That’s your second strike, Scott. I’m regretting inviting you to come to my birthday celebration.”
“What was my first strike?” Scott asked in a confused tone.
“Continuing to hit on Vanessa when she made it clear she wasn’t interested,” Samuel expounded. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll disappear for a while and hope I don’t make the decision to have you kicked off the train in the middle of nowhere.”
Scott scurried off, like a dog with its tail between its legs.
“I’m sorry for my friend. He can’t seem to control himself around women.”
“How unfortunate for women,” Vanessa stated snidely, still irritated to be treated so crassly. “I can’t believe you associate with someone like that.”
“He isn’t all bad. He’s a great doubles partner for racquetball, and our families have been friends for decades.”
“If those are his two redeeming qualities, I pity any woman stupid enough to get mixed up with him.”
“That’s a valid point; he’s an idiot. Harmless for the most part, but he can be…a lot to handle.”
Vanessa slammed her glass down on the edge of the bar. “Look, Samuel, I’m not in the mood to hear you make excuses for your friend after he treated me so crudely. I think I’m going to head to my cabin so I can rest.” She turned to leave, but didn’t get far before Samuel stretched out his hand and stopped her.
“Please, don’t do that,” he begged. “Stay with me.”
It was the sincere vulnerability in his voice that made her pause. Slowly, she turned back to face him. Even through his silver mask, she could tell the look in his eyes matched the tone of his voice. She could tell he meant what he said. He didn’t want her to go.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, but I couldn’t be happier about you being a part of my birthday surprise.”
So, it seemed Samuel didn’t plan for her to be there. With him being the birthday boy, she would have thought he would have been in charge of the guest list.
“How did I end up here then?”
“My concierge knew about our encounter at the resort’s lounge. I’m assuming she invited you, thinking I would approve, which I do. I’m glad you decided to come.”
“My sister was the one who wanted to be here. She loves an adventure, so when the club issued the mysterious invitation, she jumped at it, insisting I come with her.”
“You didn’t know the celebration was for me?” the disappointment was clear in his voice as he asked the question.
“I’m sorry, but no,” she admitted.
“Well, even if you didn’t come for me, I hope you’ll stay because I want you to.” Samuel reached out his hand to her, the earnestness in his eyes urging her to give into his request. “Dance with me, Vanessa.”
Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his. He pulled her onto the dance floor and gathered her into his arms. Just like New Year’s Eve two years ago, they fit together like a matched set of gloves. As he looked into her eyes, she could feel the fire that had been dormant rekindling, setting her insides ablaze.
Chapter Five
Since a small boy, Samuel had been obsessed with trains. The information hadn’t been on his questionnaire. It caused him to wonder if Simone had gotten help from Tara. She’d been able to find out his childhood love of circuses; perhaps Tara found out about the trains, too, and placed it in his file last year. However it happened—as he had walked through all ten cars of the luxury train, transformed specifically to his tastes from the art on the walls to the colors of the décor—he couldn’t help but be astounded at the attention to every aspect of the experience. Not only did it please the little boy at the core of him, but the extravagant details also appealed to his adult tastes.
When Samuel had walked into the ballroom at the end of the train, he couldn’t believe all of his closest friends were present. It took him nearly thirty minutes to make his way through the crowd. What he didn’t expect was to see a breathtaking woman in a gorgeous red gown catch his eye. Not only was she wearing his favorite color, her gold mask was both mysterious and ethereal. He knew instinctively, he needed to dance with her. It wasn’t until he reached her side and saw the Sazerac that he realized that it was Vanessa. It was as if fate had intervened and granted him the one wish he wanted most for his birthday.
“You look gorgeous in that dress; red is my favorite color,” Samuel revealed as he pulled her in a little closer.