Read A Gambling Heart: A BWWM Billionaire Romance Online
Authors: Tiana Cole,BWWM United
A Gambling Heart: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (12 page)
“Sienna, are you alright?”
The concern in Chantal’s voice penetrated through my fogged brain. I had been staring at the same spot on the wall for ages, curled up like a fetus in my bed. The last few hours of weeping had dried up all my tears and I was exhausted.
“I think so…considering I just turned down one of the most eligible bachelors in America…twice.”
“Yeah! Who can boast of that feat?”
Our eyes met. Laughter bubbled inside my gut then came gurgling up my throat. We guffawed in laughter. It felt good after all that drama. Senseless laughter…but healing, somehow.
When the paroxysm passed, I asked, “Do you think I did the right thing? I mean…how often will guys like Gareth ever appear in our radar?”
Chantal frowned and replied, “Probably never. But you chose yourself over him and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“It would have been easy if my heart wasn’t in it…if it were just all sex. But I’m in love with him…and I am scared shitless he’ll never feel the same way about me.”
“Yeah. The heart knows what it wants, good or bad. But the brain tells you the best path to take. You’ve made a choice and your heart doesn’t agree so you’re hurting now. But eventually you’ll move on and forget him.”
“When did you become so erudite?”
Chantal grimaced and replied, “I sure as hell don’t know what that word means, but if it means wise, then blame it on experience. The hurt will go away. It makes you stronger…and you don’t make the same mistakes again.”
I knew she was right. But it didn’t make it any easier. To have something in your hand that was so exquisite and then having to let go sucked big time.
“I just hate the thought that I may regret this for the rest of my life, you know.”
“Stop thinking about what ifs. Close this chapter in your life and start a new one. And I know exactly how we can do that. There’s a bottle of wine in the refrigerator which has our names written on it. Let’s order pizza, and drown ourselves in old cheesy movies.”
Chantal was right. It helped that the hospital was seriously understaffed. I buried myself in work the next few days, taking double shifts so that I was exhausted when I returned home. I didn’t have time to think about anything else except showing up for work again the next day.
Days turned into weeks and the pain I felt became just a dull ache inside my chest. Sometimes I would find myself suddenly thinking about Gareth. I would immediately shrug the thought aside, never allowing regret to settle in.
Nurse Silva had an inkling that something was wrong but never asked why I asked to be replaced. She was just happy to have me back. And I felt relieved when the construction for the new hospital wing commenced. It meant Gareth was true to his word and gave the hospital the donation he promised.
The thought that he would show up for the groundbreaking gave me momentary panic. I was torn between anxiety and excitement over the thought of seeing him again. But he never showed up and sent Steve instead. I stayed away, not wanting to run into him. I knew I was being childish but I blamed Steve for some of the pain I went through.
It was a particularly hectic morning when I started my shift one day. There was an outbreak of food poisoning in one of the schools and children were constantly wheeled in and out of the ER.
I had my hands full comforting worried mothers and monitoring the gravity of each patient’s needs. I had to decide which kids could be discharged and which ones to admit for further treatment.
“Oh, there you are, Sienna.” I heard Nurse Silva calling out my name.
I was surprised to see her come in late during an emergency situation. She was usually right there in the midst of all the chaos, barking her instructions to orderlies and trainees.
“Nurse Silva, I was wondering where you were,” I replied.
“I…err…I was holed up in a meeting. The toxicology report came back and this is just a mild strain. We’ll administer anti-nausea and electrolytes. For the more severe ones antibiotics will be given. The kids will be fine. I came to ask you a favor though. I have a stack of reports on my desk which needs to be filled out and I can’t trust anyone except you. Would you be an angel and help me out, please? I…uhmm… have to attend to something very important.”
I was surprised but didn’t question her decision to pull me out from the ER. I thought she was acting rather strangely. But it would be a respite from all the crying and vomiting I had to endure since early morning.
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” I replied as I escaped to the peace and quiet of her office.
When Nurse Silva said ‘stacks of report’ I didn’t think she meant it literally. I groaned as I saw piles of folders on her desk. This would take most of the day and late into the night. I wanted to bang my head in the wall for being so cavalier. Shit.
I was inside that office for ages. My eyes were swimming from all the fine print and my back was on fire from hunching over the table. Even my fingers felt numb. Nurse Silva had the good sense to send over food from the cafeteria earlier. But the concern didn’t do much for me. I was annoyed at having been stuck here for hours.
“Inconsiderate slave driver!”
I wondered if she had forgotten all about me when I heard the door open. A few minutes more and I would have burned her office down. She looked elated which annoyed me even more.
“Sienna, things took longer than I expected.”
Really?
“It’s quite alright, Nurse Silva. I think I have managed to finish all of them.”
I put on my ultimate faker smile. I really wanted to get out of here and head for home.
“Just leave all those on the table and I’ll file them tomorrow.”
What?
If there was no urgency to get those reports done, then why on earth did she even bother to get me working on them when there were so many patients earlier? Was Nurse Silva going bonkers?
“I-I know you must be dying to go home but can you do me one last favor before you do?”
Now what?
“A patient was just brought to in. Can you check on him and see what needs to be done?”
I didn’t even try to hide my rancor as I made an obvious display of studying my watch. This was going beyond the call of duty. Nurse Silva knew it. Maybe she had a death wish for me or I was on the wrong side of her benevolence. But I knew I would give in anyway.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Heart problems,” she replied.
Coronary? Shit! Why couldn’t it be a simple case of appendicitis?
“Okay, I’ll check in at the ICU, then.”
“Oh…oh…he’s not at the ICU. We thought it would be better to admit him to a private room. Here’s his chart.”
I was surprised, but at this point I really didn’t care if he was admitted to the engine room. The sooner I did my duty, the sooner I could go home. I glanced at the room number on the chart and pressed the button of the elevator, still fuming over my alpha bitch’s impervious demands. I swear to god she could be such a tyrant sometimes.
The elevator hummed its way then came to a stop as the doors opened slowly. Reluctantly I strode out and then stopped dead in my tracks. I felt disoriented like I just entered another realm. I struggled to take control as vexation and weariness played tricks on my mind.
“What the…”
The walls of the passageway were filled with white decorative flowers from floor to ceiling—almond flowers, amaryllis, asters, and carnations.
Their heady scent filled the hallway. String lights of gold and silver were concealed beneath the wreaths giving the confined space a magical glow. I swear I could feel a zephyr on my skin. Multicolored winged-creatures fluttered in the breeze.
“Butterflies?” I uttered in awe.
I was going crazy. I knew it. Nurse Silva must have slipped me a hallucinogen. I blinked, trying to shake the hallucination away. My body shuddered in shock as I stepped on delicate rose petals that were strewn on the floor. I picked a handful from the floor. They felt real.
A wreath forming an arc over a room entrance caught my attention. Gingerly, I turned the knob and entered.
The first thing I noticed was the ceiling. It resembled a nighttime sky with tiny twinkling starlight. A recessed halogen resembled a full moon. Foliage covered the walls interspersed with more flowers in various blooms.
I felt like I entered a secret garden of my childhood dreams. The only thing missing were wood nymphs, fairies, and a unicorn. But the magic didn’t end there as a figure revealed itself.
“Gareth?”
It was all I could say as I stood there transfixed.
“Hello, Sienna.”
Seeing him in the flesh in a perfect three-piece suit with that uncombed hair was too much for me. I felt my body tremble. This had to mean something significant, but I was still afraid to hope.
“Am I going crazy?” I squeaked.
“No, but I am. Not having you with me these past few weeks had been the worst torture in my life. So I thought if I gave you your fairytale setting you may just realize how deeply I feel about you.”
“You did all this…for me?”
“Yes. With Nurse Silva’s help. I went to see her this morning and confided my feelings for you and what I wanted to do to make you believe me. I wanted to give you a fairytale setting and show you I could be your prince charming. I know that you think I’m superficial…”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest of what he had to say. I ran straight into his arms. The kiss he gave me was more than enough to convince me just how sincere he truly was.
When we finally came up for air, I was still speechless.
He removed a box from inside his pocket and revealed its contents. Three beautiful rings were nestled within the velvet lining of the box.
“I didn’t want to overwhelm or pressure you in any way. So I bought along these three rings. You can choose how and where we can start. There’s a promise ring, an engagement ring, and a wedding ring. Choose, Sienna…but whatever you choose, just tell me that you will come back to me.”
I looked at the three rings and picked up one.
“Why don’t we start with a promise ring?”
I gave it to him as he took my hand and placed it on my ring finger.
He smiled mischievously and asked, “Why not the engagement or the wedding rings?”
“Because all I really needed from you was a commitment.”
“I’m here to stay.”
It was the sweetest promise and I believed him. I knew that someday soon those two other rings would find a home in my finger.
For now I was where I needed to be, in the arms of my prince charming. As I gazed at those earnest eyes I knew what I had known all along…fairy tales did come true, even for someone like me.
The End
Tiana's a young writer who only recently began having her stories published. At only 30-years-old, Tiana plans to continue her writing for many years to come and seems to have a never ending stream of unique story ideas.
Tiana was raised in New York City and currently resides in a small apartment house in Philadelphia with her two adorable cats. She's yet to meet Mr. Right, but in the meantime enjoys depicting him in her various interracial stories!
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Excerpt from:
Southern Charm
Cecilia finally pulled into the sprawling ranch and looked around, just barely stopping herself from wrinkling her nose against the pungent smell and pervasive dust and mud. This was definitely not what she had in mind for her career when she had become an accountant. She had envisioned a quiet office in some high-powered firm for a few years and then starting her own practice as a certified public accountant. Instead, she had been canned for a mistake someone else had made, and it was haunting her at every interview, sending her career spiraling further down until she ended up here, of all places. It was likely this one would be no different, although she wasn’t sure that she cared.
Working as the bookkeeper for some cowboy type was definitely not ideal. She thought again of her upcoming rent and utilities, and the cell phone and Internet that were just days from being turned off. With bills to pay though, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Mustering her best smile, she stepped out of her older BMW, which looked horribly out of place among the trucks and farm equipment around her.
Hesitatingly, she walked up the short incline, looking around the large ranch for any sign of life besides the chickens who were clucking contentedly in a group, pecking at the dirt road in hopes of extra grains or seeds. One looked up at her with its tiny, beady eyes and she took a hasty step back.
Don’t look at me, buddy
, she thought as she continued up the small hill, giving the birds a wide girth. Her gaze landed on movement at the top, and she headed in that direction, giving the chicken one last warning look behind her shoulder.
“Mr. Mayhew?” she asked tentatively, addressing the broad shoulders of someone in jeans and a flannel shirt who was overseeing what appeared to be work on a tractor of some sort. He turned to look at her and grinned as he appeared to take in her pressed black suit and matching pumps with some amusement. His look had her smoothing her hands unconsciously down the front of the crisp, ankle length skirt.
“No. I’m the ranch foreman. Jack is around behind the barn with an employee,” he said, his words drawled in a way that had her working at it for a moment before she understood what he said.
“I see. I’m supposed to have an interview with him this morning,” she said.
“You don’t look like a farm hand to me,” the man laughed.
“I’m here for the accountant position,” she replied primly.
“Ah,” he looked her up and down again. “That makes much more sense. If you just walk around the edge of the barn right there, you’ll see him,” he told her, pointing her in the direction of the large red barn sitting a few yards away.
“Thank you,” she said uncertainly, heading off in the direction that he had pointed. Her heels scuffed in the gravel along the side of the road and then dug into the ground around the edge of the barn, sinking into the moistened soil left behind by a recent rain. She arrived behind the back of the large structure with mud caked along the heels and bottoms of her shoes. So much for first impressions, she thought to herself. And then she calculated the cost of a new pair of respectable heels, knowing it would be impossible to work it into her meager budget. She could always try to salvage them herself. She glanced down, noticing a small tear in the leather itself from an especially sharp rock. Or, maybe not, Cecilia sighed.
She looked up at the angry voice that reached her first, and then she saw them.
“You can’t just run over things that you don’t want to stop and deal with, Irvin. Look what you’ve done to the blades. How am I supposed to use this as a demo machine when necessary if you keep tearing up the blades like this?” The man standing with his back to her barked at someone who appeared to be a young farm hand.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Mayhew. I just don’t always see stuff,” the young man replied, scuffing a boot in the dirt, trying to look anywhere but at his irate boss.
“Don’t see it? How can you miss a large sheet of twisted tin that has blown off the barn? You had to run over it with the tractor before it got jammed up in the pull behind. This is the last time this is going to happen, or you’ll find yourself looking for another ranch to work. I’m going to lose three days getting this repaired, and now I have to either bring out a new pull behind or put off my demonstration tomorrow. If your father wasn’t an old friend, I’d fire you on the spot,” the man barked at him. She watched as the young man dropped his head and nodded in response to his employer’s admonishment.
Cecilia stood there awkwardly as the young man shuffled dejectedly away to his next task, the other man still mumbling angrily to himself as he examined the twisted piece of metal in front of him. She took a tentative step forward, and then another, clearing her throat. She cleared it again, hoping he would notice her presence, and when it was clear he wouldn’t, she stepped up behind him and spoke.
“Excuse me. Mr. Mayhew,” she interjected his grumbling reluctantly. He turned toward her, a scowl still on his face.
“Yes?” he said impatiently, his attention obviously still on fixing the problem in front of him.
“I am sorry to interrupt, but I was supposed to be here at eight a.m. to interview for the position as an accountant. I’m Cecilia Barnes. The Kelly Group sent me,” she told him, extending her hand out in greeting.
“You’re late,” he barked, “And this isn’t a good time,” he said gruffly, turning back toward his employee, stopping him before he could get any further away. “Go home for the day, Irvin.” He threw that last comment over his shoulder as he turned back to the mangled machinery.
“Um, I know, I apologize.” Cecilia swallowed hard when he still didn’t look up at her. “I got a little lost trying to get out here…” She trailed off when it was clear he wasn’t listening to her anyway. “When would be a better time?” she asked, trying to maintain her composure. He finally turned around, spearing her with his striking gaze. Despite herself, her heart started beating just a little faster under that look.
She couldn’t help but notice that Jack Mayhew was an attractive man despite his somewhat weather-worn appearance. He was tall, tanned, and very fit with muscular shoulders and a chiseled jaw line. The sprigs of dark hair that stuck out from beneath his cap were slightly curled, sticking to his neck in the heat as he turned back to look at her with his deep blue eyes slightly squinted against the sunlight. He seemed to fit perfectly in his rugged surroundings, like he was as much a part of them as the trees, the rocks, the ponds, and small streams.
“I tell you what, I’ll just interview you while I finish up a few things. I don’t have time for anything else. Follow me,” he gestured for her to walk with him as he turned, heading for another part of the ranch, taking for granted that she would tag along after him.