The Domville 6: The Domville, #6

By C.J. Fallowfield

A friends to lovers romance

 

Toni Bradbury was nervous for her ten-year university reunion in The London Domville's ballroom. She hadn't seen Finian Delaney in all that time. Just the thought of him made her heart race and palms sweat. Best friends from the moment they met in college and inseparable throughout university, they'd never once ended up in each other's beds. It wasn't for lack of attraction on her part.

 

With his sexy Irish lilt, wild untameable dark locks, eyes as stormy blue as the Celtic sea he'd grown up near, Finian was the guy all the women wanted. Finian was the guy all the women got. Except for Toni. She'd always wondered why, but when he left for Dubai and never looked back, he took the answers with him.

 

Sparks fly when the former friends reunite, but would it fan the flames of desire, or burn their friendship forever?

 

The Domville 6 is the sixth in a series of standalone hot reads that take part in the exclusive six-star hotel chain. They are told in alternating points of view of the hotel guests and/or staff.

 

All of them can be read as standalone stories in which ever order you choose. Not all of them are guaranteed a happy ever after, and some cover topics and push boundaries that I felt strongly enough about to explore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.J. Fallowfield
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393140504

C.J. Fallowfield

C.J. Fallowfield writes novels that will leave you hot under the collar one moment, have you crying with laughter the next, before she rips your heart out and then slowly rebuilds your faith in a happy ever after. She is an Amazon #1 UK and international bestselling author of contemporary humorous erotic romance novels, and released her debut novel in January 2014. C.J. lives in the beautiful Welsh countryside with her significant other, and two much loved tuxedo pets, Mr. Pumpkin, feline of mass destruction, and Waffle, the boisterous cockerpoo. She has a myriad of titles under her belt, under two pen names, and is proud to be both an independent, and traditionally published, author. Her website the most comprehensive information about her, as well as her current and up and coming releases.  Her sweeter alter-ego, Charlotte Fallowfield, is an Amazon UK top 50 bestselling author who writes romantic comedy novels. Her titles have hit the Amazon #1 bestseller charts internationally for romantic comedy, humour, and contemporary romance.  C.J. is represented by Meire Dias of The Bookcase Literary Agency. All publishing enquiries should be directed to her at: [e-mail]

Book preview

Prologue

The History of The Domville

Mr. Domville

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The Domville chain of six star hotels is my pride and joy. It took me years of hard work to build up to the opening of the flagship hotel in New York, but it set the benchmark for all other hotels. I now have one in every major city in the world. All hotels aspire to offer the level of comfort, service, and extra finishing touches that have become standard in my chain.

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Luxury is a word that has become synonymous with The Domville and I intend for it to stay that way, especially in my Signature suites, the crème de la crème of hotel penthouses, affordable only to the rich and famous. They are protected by bulletproof glass, and the interiors are adorned with suede and calf-leather walls, 18-carat gold trim, and priceless works of art and artefacts. We also only use luxurious 1200 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets embroidered with 22-carat gold, at $2,400 a sheet. What really sets us apart though, are state-of-the-art heat signature cameras that enable staff to observe and come and go undetected as they clean up and replenish supplies.

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My staff are only appointed after a long and vigorous assessment, our customer service has to be second to none, and when it comes to our Signature suite guests, nothing is too much trouble. Nothing is impossible.

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As for my guests, well, they come from all walks of life, but the one overriding common denominator is money. My guests are people of means. They pay top dollar because they expect the best and that’s what we offer, no exceptions. While my clientele may be financially secure, it goes without saying that their private lives can be somewhat risqué. If only I had normal cameras to capture what really happened in my hotel suites, then I truly would be the richest man in the world.

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There’s a well-known saying that most definitely applies to the guests of The Domville, no matter which country they may be staying in.

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No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Chapter One

Friday

Toni Bradbury

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‘Ok, Charlie, what do you think? Go, or stay in and sulk?’ I asked, waving the university ten-year reunion invitation at him.

He stopped watching TV when he heard his name and looked over at me, his eyes giving away no clue as to what he was thinking, before he quickly turned back to watch it again. ‘Yeah, I have no answer either,’ I sighed, looking back down at the white embossed card. Ten years. Ten years, I thought as I stared at the fancy black writing, inviting me to The London Domville ballroom. Part of me thought it might be worth going. It was the same as when I left school, everyone said let’s stay in touch but rarely did. Uni had been one of the best experiences of my life, but I hadn’t made that many friends there. Alexis had been my best friend, female one anyway. Then there was him. Finian Delany. The Irish charmer, with his stormy blue eyes and wild untameable dark locks. Not to mention that gym-buffed, honed to within an inch of its life body that he loved to flaunt in board shorts during the summer. Damn him. I’d gone nearly a week without thinking about him and now my heart was trotting at a faster pace and my palms were clammy.

‘Fat lot of help you are,’ I muttered at a silent Charlie as I dropped the invite on the hall table.

I went to the kitchen to make myself a coffee. I sat at the dining table, propping my elbows on the solid oak surface as I cradled my mug, inhaling the steam and letting out a heavy, and frustrated, sigh. Finian Delany. My God, how did someone I hadn’t seen, or even heard from, in ten years make my body respond like that? We’d met on the first day of college. I’d dropped an armful of books in the library as I’d rounded the corner of the stacks and seen a gorgeous-looking guy, casually reclined in the window seat with his head in a book and a studious look on his face. There was nothing hotter than a guy who loved to read. Unless you counted a guy with movie star looks and a pair of trendy black-rimmed specs, who also had a book in his hand. I smiled as I remembered the moment that our eyes had locked, when he lifted his head to see what had caused such an almighty racket in the usually quiet library. He’d physically taken my breath away. I’d never seen a guy who made my heart race in an instant, or my palms sweat, or legs tremble. Those eyes of his were hypnotic and his lips. I heard a throaty moan leave mine as I remembered how many times I’d fantasised about his lips on mine.

I shook myself out of my daze and took a gulp of coffee. I was thirty-one years old now, not a sixteen-year-old with a crush on the one guy she shouldn’t. That day in the library had been both a blessing and a curse. When he’d dropped his book on the cushioned seat and rushed to help me gather my books from the floor, I’d met the guy who was to become my best male friend for the next five years. With the exception of different classes, we’d become glued to the hip with our shared love of literature and fun. As well as my best friend Alexis, who was often busy with relationships of her own, I suddenly had someone else to laugh hysterically with, to watch out for me, to protect me when guys in the bars got too leery, and to hold my hair back when I was being sick after a drunken night out. I even had someone to hold me when I was upset, to wipe away my tears over the various dating disasters I’d had and spend the night in my bed, holding me tightly and telling me I deserved better. That was where the curse came in. Hard as I’d tried not to, I’d fallen for him. I’d been sure that he wasn’t just my best friend, but that he was my soul mate. I’d never felt the level of attraction to any man that I had to Finian.

I drank some more coffee as a wave of sadness washed over me. I’d never told him how I felt, too scared to ruin an amazing friendship. We’d been hideously drunk at the party to celebrate us both getting into the same university and I’d grabbed him and kissed him. Straight on those full, soft lips. He’d been so surprised, he’d fallen backwards off his bar stool and knocked himself out cold on the flagstone floor. We’d spent the night in A&E as they’d pumped his stomach and kept him in for a concussion. When he’d woken up in the morning, with me curled up in the chair at his side, he’d asked what had happened. I’d told him that we’d been in The Crown and Feathers, testing the water to see if he remembered. He’d groaned and asked if he’d made a fool of himself in front of Amy De Lucca. Amy was the girl every guy at college wanted. If she was the poster girl for perfection, Finian was the male equivalent. With his good looks, buff body, Irish lilt, and charm, he was the guy that all the girls wanted. But he was the biggest tart out there. Totally upfront about the fact, but that didn’t stop a long line of broken-hearted girls coming to cry on my shoulder when he brushed them off after having his way with them. Asking after Amy had silenced my feelings for him immediately. He didn’t remember the kiss and he didn’t want me.

I shook my head. For a guy who shagged around and didn’t like to commit, he had a heart bigger than the moon. No one had ever been as attentive to me as Finian had been. It was like we had the best relationship in the world, just without the sex. I’d been too scared to show or tell him how I felt again. Too worried I’d end up cast aside like all those other girls, just like Amy De Lucca. She’d been his longest relationship. They lasted a whole summer, before he told her that he couldn’t commit to anyone while he was away at uni. She’d come crying on my shoulder as well, totally distraught, begging and pleading with me to try and get him to change his mind. I’d heard it all, from every single one of them. How amazing his kisses