FOREVER BELOVED (Billionaire Love Series) (11 page)

“Why?”

“Business reasons, mostly. But I do like
things that go fast.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Champagne?” A perky, efficient stewardess
presented me with a tray of drinks as I stood in the walkway.

“Don’t mind if I do,” I said, grabbing a
glass off her tray. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need
anything.” She smiled and headed toward the back, leaving Beau and
I alone.

“Where should I sit?” I asked him, glancing
around at all the places to sit.

“Wherever you want,” he supplied, taking a
seat in one of the teal chairs by a table. He set up his laptop,
while I wondered what to do with myself.

I chose the light brown leather couch. “We
don’t need to discuss this trust anymore?” I asked, after we sat in
silence for a few minutes.

He glanced over at me briefly. “We’ll go over
everything once we arrive.”

“Oh, okay.”

That was fine by me. This was his show.

So I concentrated on my yummy champagne as we
taxied down the runaway and took off into the bright blue sky. I
sat back and enjoyed the ride, thinking we were on a short flight
to New York.

Boy, was I wrong.

By the time I realized we had been over the
ocean for quite some time, instead of approaching a city, it was
too late to do anything about it.

“Beau, this doesn’t look like New York City,”
I announced worriedly.

“What made you think we’re going to New York
City?” he asked, glancing up from his computer.

“I assumed that’s where your bank is.”

“No. It’s in a little more exotic
locale.”

“Then where are we going?” I asked, suddenly
super sober after enjoying two glasses of champagne.

He smiled mysteriously. “Just sit back. We’ll
be there in an about an hour.”

Great, I was being hijacked to some secret
location.

Way to go, Marla.

Note to self: next time ask where you are
going, before you set foot on the private plane.

Oh, well.

Nothing could done about it now. I was stuck
on this plane until we landed wherever the heck we were going.
Staring out the window, I noticed the sea was changing into a
bright turquoise color. That must mean somewhere warm.

Oh, goody.

After what seemed like an eternity, the
wheels came down and the plane landed on what appeared to be some
kind of tropical island. We had only been on the plane for two and
a half hours. So we definitely weren’t in the South Pacific.

Still, curiosity was killing me.

“Now, will you tell me where we are?” I asked
Beau, as we stepped out into the beautiful balmy air.

He smiled beautifully. “We’re in the
Bahamas.”

The lush green landscape instantly calmed me.
This was much better than the concrete jungle of New York City.

“Why is your bank in the Bahamas?” I asked,
scrounging around in my purse for my sunglasses.

“Some of the best banks in the world are here
and this is where I manage my money.”

I slid the black tinted glasses onto my face.
“Sounds fancy.”

“It really isn’t. We’ll go the bank, sign
some papers, and be on our merry way back to Baltimore.”

“I can handle that.”

“Good. Here’s your renewed passport.” He
handed me a blue little booklet.

I opened it up and saw my bio picture from
the salon’s website. “How the hell did you do that?”

He smiled mysteriously. “I have my ways.”

“I bet you do.”

After clearing customs, we piled into an
open-aired jeep and Beau tore into town as the warm wind whipped
through my hair. It was going to be a tangled mess, but I didn’t
care.

The island was beautiful. Between the azure
colored ocean and the bright colonial style pastel buildings, I was
quite charmed to be in the Caribbean.

The streets were narrow, but Beau flew around
them, as if he had done it a million times before. I guess he knew
his way around the city.

When we got to the bank, the tall,
distinguished manager with the dark rimmed glasses and thinning
grey hairline approached us with a guarded glance in his brown
eyes.

“Hello, Mr. Shepard. Welcome back to the
Bahamas and Trust International.”

“Good to be back, Denton. Do you have
everything ready for us?”

“There’s been a development, Mr. Shepard,” he
explained worriedly.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

He wrung his thin hands. “The paperwork for
your trust won’t be ready until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked in alarm. I hadn’t made
plans to be away that long.

The bank manager turned toward me. “Yes, I’m
so sorry, madam. We have an unexpected delay with our legal
department and they won’t be available until tomorrow to verify all
the documents.”

“I’m going to have my lawyer take care of
it,” Beau snapped, obviously annoyed.

“Whatever you wish, Mr. Shepard.”

Beau grabbed his cell phone out of the
interior pocket of his grey sports coat. “Can you make a quick trip
to the Bahamas?” he fired into the phone. “Good. I’m sending the
jet now.”

“So he’s on his way?” the manager asked.

“He should be here by this evening. He can go
over the paperwork first thing in the morning,” Beau said, tucking
his phone back into his jacket.

“Very good, sir.”

“That still doesn’t fix my problem of being
stuck here,” I pointed out, wondering what to do about the
situation.

“You want to go back with the jet?” Beau
asked. “Be my guest. But you’re just going to have to fly back down
here tomorrow.”

“That seems silly.”

“It is. You can stay at my house and enjoy
the beach.”

That piqued my interest.

With that in mind, I agreed to go with Beau
back to his house. If I was forced to stay over for a night, his
villa was the place to do it in style.

Villa was an understatement.

It must have easily been ten thousand square
feet of pure Caribbean living. Decked out with antiques from
various centuries, wide bright windows with a panoramic view of the
ocean, and pastel greens and blues splashed across various walls,
it was amazing. Breathtaking.

I took it all in as Beau introduced me to his
housekeeper. “This is Mrs. Thorngood. She’ll take care of you and
get you set up in a room.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending my
hand.

Mrs. Thorngood was a lady of about
sixty-five, with a friendly bearing, which made me feel right at
home, as she warmly shook my hand. “We’re glad to have you. Follow
me and I’ll give you a tour and show you the room you’ll be staying
in.”

“Sounds awesome.” I was eager to see Beau’s
mansion.

He disappeared while I went on a tour of the
house. I had no idea if I would see him before the next
morning.

The first place Mrs. Thorngood stopped by was
Beau’s office. “This is Mr. Shepard’s study. He uses it quite a
lot, but it’s stacked with books if you want to borrow
something.”

Black bookshelves were built-in along all
four walls, which popped against the light blue paint. A simple
black desk resembling a table sat in the middle of the room, while
a rich cream marble with black diamond inlays ran along the floor,
contrasting with the white coffered ceiling.

I ran my hand along the different books on a
nearby shelf. Titles like
Patriot Games
,
Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo
, and
A Game of Thrones
caught my eye.

Did Beau read for fun now?

I hoped so.

“Come along, dear,” Mrs. Thorngood called as
she stepped out into the hall.

“Yeah, sure.”

She showed me around the rest of the house,
each room more spectacular than the one before. His house had
warmth and color, which was a far cry from the one he grew up in. I
was glad to see him embrace a cozier vibe, even if it was dripping
in sophistication and designed by professionals.

Mrs. Thorngood took me outside to show me the
rest of his property. The grounds were immaculate with an orchard
of trees growing oranges and mangos, while other plant life, such
as palm trees and tropical flowers, popped against the terracotta
color of the Mediterranean style villa.

His property was a good twenty-five acres.
His nearest neighbor was across the cove from where his estate sat,
with the mansion right on the beach. The warm, turquoise water
lapped against the white sand, beckoning me to come play. I was
definitely going to need a bathing suit.

After touring the outside, Mrs. Thorngood led
me upstairs to a spacious bedroom. It was beautiful with a king
sized bed, draped in a canopy of sheer white material hanging off
each of the wrought iron posts. Very romantic.

My room faced the sea. I could definitely get
used to waking up to that gorgeous view each morning. I was
suddenly thrilled with my predicament. I couldn’t ask for more than
a night in paradise.

“The chef is cooking up a nice Mahi Mahi fish
for a late lunch. It will be served in about twenty minutes in the
dining room,” Mrs. Thorngood informed me as she opened up the
window and the sound of the ocean rolled in.

“That sounds delicious.”

“Yes, it is. Mr. Shepard always brings in the
best chefs.”

She bid me good day as I stared at the
beautiful water crashing into the shore. So beautiful.

I didn’t have anything to unpack, so I
wandered into the stunning bathroom, complete with a claw foot tub,
to see if I could freshen up. I found some toiletries like designer
shampoo, conditioner, and soap, but that wasn’t going to cut it. I
was going to have to get some more things for my stay.

My tummy rumbled with hunger, so I wandered
downstairs and found my way into the dining room. It was quite
charming with a Caribbean flavored design fused into the room with
a couple of tropical ceiling fans and a lime green accent wall.

Beau was already there, sitting at the head
of the long, rustic, wooden table as I arrived. He smiled,
welcoming me in. He was acting different. Civil. Nice. I didn’t
know what to think of his friendliness, but I was in too good of a
mood to care.

I sat down and we were served an amazing
spread of Caribbean fare as the chef brought out all the food.
Every bite was delicious. I loved the jasmine rice and asparagus
with the Mahi-Mahi.

“When are you planning on heading back?” I
asked Beau as I put my fork down after finishing off my food.

“A couple of days. I don’t get down here very
often and I have some pressing business to attend to.”

“Oh.”

He shot me a big smile. “That doesn’t mean
you can’t play. The house and staff are at your disposal. You can
come and go as you please.”

It was tempting to stay that long. I hadn’t
had a vacation in a long time.

“What about clothes?”

“You can go shopping later this afternoon and
pick up what you need.”

“What about a toothbrush?”

“We have plenty.”

“I bet you do,” I said, thinking about the
many women who had probably shared his bed down here.

He read my thoughts. “Nothing like that,
Marla. I’m just a man who’s prepared for anything.”

I didn’t know whether to believe him or not,
but I would give him the benefit of the doubt. “Good to know. I
guess it wouldn’t be horrible to spend some time in paradise. It’s
been awhile since I had a vacation. Owning my own business hasn’t
left me a lot time to get away.”

His blue eyes filled with understanding. “I
know the feeling...work, work, work.”

“Yeah, what do you do for fun these
days?”

He shot me a mischievous look, which reminded
me of when he was a teenager. “Well—“

“Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to
know. Let’s just call it a truce for the time we’re away. You can
go back to hating me when we get back and I’ll pretend to be cold
and distant.”

He stared at me for a long moment. “I’ve
never hated you, Marla.”

“Really? You’ve sent some pretty strong hate
vibes my way the last several weeks,” I said, picking up a little
spoon to eat the raspberry sorbet Reeves slid onto my plate.

“Trust me, I don’t hate you.”

I was kind of surprised. “Oh, glad to hear
it.”

He shot me a warm grin, disarming whatever
reservations I had left. “How’s Emma doing? I haven’t seen her in a
little while.”

I beamed, always super proud of my sister.
“She’s so good. She’s busy with her new family, the salon, and the
foundation. But she couldn’t be happier.”

His blue eyes were soulful and bright. “You
were a good mom-sister to her,” he admitted unexpectedly.

My cheeks colored. “Thank you. Emma was a
great kid, though. She made me look good.”

“No, you had a hard job and you did it
well.”

His compliments made me all gooey on the
inside. I didn’t know what his angle was, but he had found one of
my soft spots.

“Would you like some more wine?” he asked as
he signaled for Reeves to refill our glasses.

“Why not? I’m on vacation,” I claimed,
holding out my goblet. “How do you get used to it?” I asked, as the
butler left the room.

“Get used to what?”

“People waiting on you all the time.”

“They make my life run efficiently. These
people are well paid and well treated to see to what I need.
Everybody wins in this situation.”

“You do have a point. I guess you do your
part to keep the economy going.”

“I guess I do,” he offered with a twinkle in
his eye.

“So do they bathe you, too?” I teased, seeing
if he would show his sense of humor.

His blue eyes danced with mischief. “No. That
I take care of on my own. Unless, of course, you’re offering to do
it.” He shot me a wicked grin.

“Hmm…very tempting,” I said, playing along.
“But I think I’ll let you shower alone, tonight. Unless, you know,
your harem of women are tucked away somewhere to keep you
company.”