The Billionaire's Bride (Complete Collection) (4 page)

How absurd of me
....I focused on the road ahead.

“That's it? You're weird, Lucas. You're all over me, and now you're all dark and brooding. I said it's fine. You don't have to be a martyr now.”

“My apologies. I wasn't being a martyr. I was just thinking about something.”

Something which I couldn’t tell her.

Or maybe I should?

Should I tell her how much I want to be inside her, to have her clawing at my chest, for her to realize there's no escape, that she’s mine, and that she would never be anyone else's again? Would that scare her? Or would that excite her?

“Thinking about what?”

Of course, she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

I sighed. “You've got a way of breaking me down. You know that?”

“We already sound like a couple who are too good at arguing,” she said, but when I looked, she was already turned to the window, her hands bunched on her lap. She seemed to regret saying it.

“I hate bickering. I would prefer to spend what little days we have in this life not worrying about petty things, but cherishing what makes life worth living.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. She gave me this grim expression, her features all down and dour. She continued, “I think you're an all right guy, but we're from two different worlds. You've got to do this thing for your father. This absurd thing, where you're finding a marriage like you're in the 1300s with lords and fiefs. And I'm trying to do something different. A whole lot different. So…sorry.” She trailed off to a long sigh.

It sounded like she was breaking up with me.

We traveled through the city, going to an area which looked like it might be going through a renaissance. There were fresh produce markets with some areas left open for city gardening, but then we turned off, and we were close to her street in City Heights. It didn’t look as revitalized.

It took everything in my power not to open my mouth and offer her a room to sleep at my place.

“This is it here,” she said. She was real on edge, her hand resting on the handle like she was getting ready to jump out.

She pointed to a two story house, which looked like one of the better ones in the neighborhood. My heart sank when I noticed the bars on her windows.

“Are you sure I can't interest you in dinner?”

She nodded. She gave my thigh a pat. I assumed it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, but once she touched me, her hand recoiled as if touching a hot stove.

Too hot for you, babe?

“I'm sure. Thanks for everything. It's been an interesting evening. And the weirdest job interview I've ever had,” she said, fingers curling on the door handle.

“Job interview?”

“Yeah, they told me that this would be an opportunity. I thought it was a job.”

Oh, fuck. I looked at Tia with the rundown neighborhood in the background. I felt like that monster that I tried to convince myself I wasn't. It was time to be realistic. I was a spoiled billionaire. I was a man who had done nothing for others. I was only concerned with pleasure. I was a glutton. A monster who tried to pretend they were sympathetic, when my actions were anything but.

“I'm sorry. I didn't know they did that. Are you sure I can't try to make it up to you in any way? Tia, I don't want this to be the last time I see you. Don’t be afraid.”

Afraid was the wrong word.

Really
it was the wrong word. Her nose scrunched up. She clawed for the handle and popped the door open.

“I'm not afraid. This is wrong. What happened between us was wrong.”

No, she was lying. Except she seemed convinced, and she was leaving, taking a step out of the car, leaving as fast as possible.

So this was the end?

Fair enough. It was what I was used to. Disappointment felt comfortable. Nothing real like her was possible. She was right. Different worlds and never should they meet.

“Don't,” I yelled.

She slammed the door in my face.

Watching her perfect ass sway away, I wistfully sighed and said so long. That was one fine woman leaving me, but what could I do? I did my best.

As I drove away, peeling out and hitting the gas, wanting to feel alive again, I didn't believe that this would be the end.

This couldn't be the end.

It would take every ounce of willpower to keep me from Tia.

One kiss hadn’t been enough.

I
had a secret billionaire admirer
. Me....with a secret billionaire...it was absurd. Even more absurd, I’d turned him down.

Was Lucas still waiting? Sneaking a look would alert my mother. It was best not to tell her of my secret billionaire. Her reaction wouldn’t help me forget him.

Wobbling, her body resisting as she attempted to stand, she managed to plant her walker. She began to walk toward me with it, but I waved her back. It might annoy me when she did that, but it was good to be home, someplace safe, where I knew I could think without any of Lucas’s distractions.

“Mom, sit down. Please,” I begged.

Like usual, she didn’t listen. I took a seat on the beat-up Craigslist couch, and she dropped back in her recliner. Everything in the place didn't match. Cramped, the only wall furnishings were the crosses and religious paintings which my mother would never replace. The only view was from the slight break in the shades from our tiny barred window.

In far contrast to Lucas's mansion, our apartment was sweltering. I wanted to change right away into shorts and a tank top. Maybe a cool blast from the shower would help me forget Lucas’s kiss that my body still refused to forget.

“Tell me all about it. I want to hear everything,” my mother said.

Yes, I lived with my mother. No, it wasn't as pathetic as you're thinking. Okay, it's still pathetic, and I hated it, but it was understandable. We were both buried in debt. Not from poor choices, which made it more understandable, I hoped.

Seven years ago, my mother was hit by a drunk driver. Then hefty hospital bills. Most of the hospital stay was paid for by the driver, who, by the way, didn't go to jail, because he was rich and could afford the best lawyers and protection from the judge.

Rehabilitation wasn't covered. It sucked our reserves, until I had to get another job to help out, and eventually quit University of Santa Barbara, which in turn, resulted in debt on my part.

It also didn't help that I was struggling to make ends meet day to day with three jobs. Are you beginning to understand my disdain for the wealthy, who could get by without a lick of work?

“It was a bust,” I replied, focused straight ahead at the TV. My mother promptly turned it off.

“What do you mean?” My mother almost threw her walker out the window. The edges of my lips strained to fight back a smile.

If only Lucas could see her reaction. If he thought I was bad...

I crossed my legs and leaned back. “No opportunity, but it was interesting, to say the least.”

“You're going to need to tell more,” my mother shouted.

“Fine, I'm going to tell you, but you need to calm down. I just got in the door.”

I continued after a long sigh, “It's complicated. I would rather not get into it right now. How are you feeling, Mom?”

She rocked forward. When she did, a sharp pain struck her and she flinched, and I did as well, like I could feel her pain. That's how it always went. The accident put her into a coma, had given her mild brain damage, and walking was difficult. Every day for my mother was a struggle.

I would stay by her side through all of it. Life was unfair, but it would be even more unfair if those who you counted on left you when you needed it the most. She would always have my help.

“Are you okay?”

She settled back into her chair. I worried that she would meld into it one day. She stayed in it most of the time, but who could blame her when she went through so much pain? Doctors still wanted to give her pills to numb her and keep her hooked, but she tried to struggle through it, only taking it when necessary. Her courage was admirable.

“I'm worried about you,” she said.

That wasn't the first time I had heard that. “There's nothing to be worried about.”

“You don't have to be worried about me. Do you think I've got anything better to do than to live vicariously through you? There might have been a Family Feud marathon on, but what you have to say is a lot more important than a couple of dimwits shouting at one another.”

“It was some sort of matchmaking. It wasn't a job. It was to hook up with some guy.”

She clapped, winced, and settled in again.

“Easy, Mom.” She shouldn't get
too
excited. Not when she heard how it went. Her happiness over the whole affair annoyed me.

“How
fun
. Who is this man? Someone famous?”

“The son of a wealthy CEO.”

“Oh my. Well, how did it go?” She frowned and added, “Not well, considering you're back here.”

I wished she wouldn't get so emotional over this...

“It didn't go so hot. So what? There were so many girls there. They were all so rich and gorgeous and he had to choose one of them to be his bride. He wasn’t going to pick me.”

My mother sprang up again, fighting the pain. If she continued, I would force her down and strap her to the recliner. She didn't need to hurt herself over this silly business.

“What do you mean they were gorgeous? You're gorgeous! Don't be a fool, Tia. Why didn't you sweep this guy off his feet?” She reined herself in. “Was he a bad guy?” she asked.

A bad guy? Well, no, he wasn't bad at all. He was quite sweet, in his own way. Sweet, but not pathetic, which was something I wasn't used to. It always seemed like one or the other.

“No, he wasn't bad.”

“What was wrong with him?”

“Nothing was wrong with him.”

She slapped her thighs, exasperated. “Then what was the problem? Why are you here?”

“Easy, Mom.” How many times did I have to say that?

“Well?”

“Look, I don't have to explain...but I will, since I know you won't let up. I'm not competing with a group of girls over this guy. It's not right.”

“He didn't pick you first?”

I chuckled. I looked out the window, but when that didn't quite have the effect of taking me away, I realized that
in a way
he did pick me first.

But what did it matter?

“I don't want to talk about it.”

My mom smiled. She pointed her finger at me, having the same effect as poking me in the ribs. “Something happened.”

Was it time to tell her everything? No. It wasn’t time to tell her we kissed, otherwise she would demand that I return to Lucas. So we kissed. That didn't mean anything. He almost kissed that other girl as well. I thought I had done the right thing when I escaped his wicked game.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice my mother coughing until it was too late. She attempted to stand, but in her coughing fit, she trembled too much to walk. On my feet in an instant, I helped support her. She coughed violently, her throat hoarse as she said, “Thank you.”

“I'll get you your water.”

I brought it to her and helped her sit. She looked pale and drained now.

“Are you okay? Do you want to go to bed?”

The bed, unfortunately, was up a flight of stairs. We had a chair to help her up, but it was still a struggle for her to make it that far.

“Don't send me to bed.” She waved me away.

“It sounds like you had a long day. I'm worried about you. How did your physical therapy go?”

“It went fine. I walked around for twenty minutes. Then I sat my ass down for the rest of the day. That's how it always goes.”

I shot her a knowing look.
Who
didn't want to talk now?

“Did she say anything about your progress? Anything about how it's going?”

Mom shrugged.

That wasn't good. I hoped she would regain some strength, but it was going so slow and therapy was expensive.

“Fine, time for bed,” she said, her eyelids fluttering, ready to be taken by sleep. She held up a finger, stopping me in my tracks. “You need to stop worrying about me. You helped me enough. It's time for you to help yourself. I hurt, yes, I hurt every day, but I hurt more when I think about how much you struggle, Tia. I only want the best for you.”

“I know, Ma,” I said, helping her stand with the walker. Defiant, she walked without me to the motorized chair lift.

“You should think about this guy. He sounds different, and I think different for you would be good. What are you going to do, go back to—”

“No,” I said, interrupting her, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Jordan.

He was my ex. Jordan held out hope that we would get back together, all while doing absolutely nothing to facilitate our reunion. That was Jordan. He did little, only played video games, never worked, and smoked weed. That was fine, if someone was motivated enough to send out applications and eventually get a job, but Jordan had no motivation.

There was no spark between us. He still seemed right for me out of necessity. No one else, it seemed, wanted me.

Until Lucas.

Was I really entertaining the thought? It was best not to get my hopes up. The man was more than different. He was an alien. Another race from a distant world I could never understand.

“I'm not thinking about Jordan,” I snapped back.

“Good, because you already broke up with him. I'm going upstairs to sleep, but I’ll do three Hail Marys before I do. I'll be praying for you,” my mom said, winking at me as she hit the button that would begin her slow ascent to the top of the stairs.

I rolled my eyes. There was nothing to pray for.

It was time to get into something more comfortable and relax. I took a long, cold shower, avoiding my sensitive, super responsive flesh as best as I could—Lucas could still touch me from miles away—and then slipped into a tank top and shorts. Once my mom was upstairs and settled, I put on some nature shows, squealing to the cute baby foxes that frolicked on screen.

Lucas might be cute, but he was no match for baby foxes. Lucas faded to the back of my mind, where I would keep him, until hopefully he wouldn't haunt me again.

It was a long night of cute nature shows. The next morning, I rolled out of bed as the sound of whales and dolphins woke me. What I thought would be a fun alarm now made me detest whales and dolphins. It was time to hit the grind. Getting dressed into a grey t-shirt and some shorts, able to do comfortable for this job, I waited for the bus to Adventure Zone.

It didn't pay well, but it was able to accommodate my schedule. Hours dragged on in the front booth that morning, my only job ripping tickets and dealing with change. It was early, so there wasn't much adventure at Adventure Zone. With the baby foxes gone, my thoughts returned to Lucas.

Maybe my mother had been right. Maybe I was too cynical. There was no harm in seeing how far this could go, right, just a little more? So far, he had been sincere. His kiss still played over my body. I shuddered and got a little moist whenever I thought about it.

Four hours later, I clocked out and walked over to the Santa Barbara Zoo. In between jobs, I always loved visiting the animals, some of which had become, silly to say, like close friends to me. Regret would fester in me as I approached. This was where some of my classes were for college. I was forced to leave the zoology program to bring in money for my mom.

I came to the huge enclosure which housed Kojo, a massive female gorilla. Her eyes seemed so human, so alive and understanding. Kojo could sign. I had begun to study sign language as well in my free time, but she surpassed me.

As I sat on the bench and watched Kojo thump her massive chest and run circles in her pen, tension began to unwind. Constant distractions were the only thing that kept thoughts of Lucas at bay.

“Tia,” a voice that I instantly recognized cut through the crowd’s chatter.

Lucas, in a black suit and black dress pants, towered above me. He gave me a warm smile. There was hesitation there, and rightfully so. How did he find me? It struck me as kind of sweet that he would go out of his way, but also kind of alarming. Had he been following me?

“Hi. What are you doing here?”

He sat next to me. Tourists on the far side of the enclosure were far enough where we wouldn't be bothered.

“I wanted to talk to you. Your mother told me where to find you.”

I took an inch away from him. “You talked to my mother?”

“Easy,” he warned me. “For a second. I only asked where you were. I didn’t mean to meet the family so quickly, but you never offered your phone number.”

I found myself smiling. “You never asked.”

“I didn't think you would give it to me.” His smile assaulted my defenses, tearing down my walls, my thighs tingling with excitement. He was too confident, something which usually bothered me, but with Lucas, it was alluring.

“You're right.” My smile wavered and I directed my attention on Kojo, who was far less complicated. Lucas could be on the hunt, but I wouldn’t be easy prey.

He leaned in closer. “Why so hostile?”

He was right. Maybe I was coming off too strongly. I threw up my shoulders and relaxed. “Sorry, I'm not usually this bitchy.”

“I can tell when I'm not welcome.” He reared back. I dropped my hand onto the space between us.

“Wait, stay. Sorry, I'm a little defensive, but I'm sure you picked that up about me already.”

Lucas settled again. “This wasn't where I expected to find you.”

“I like to come here. It reminds me of a simpler time in my life.” I walked up to the glass enclosure. He followed me. I rested a hand on the glass. Kojo walked up and put a hand up to it. The tourists oohed and awed as if I had power over Mother Nature, and for a moment, I believed it as well. That wasn’t the case, however. Kojo just trusted me. She had seen me a lot.

“He seems to like you,” Lucas said. Kojo shifted to Lucas, snorted at him, and gave him the middle finger. I burst out laughing as Kojo howled and broke away.

“She does that sometimes,” I told him. Lucas bowed his head graciously.

“She? I thought it was a male.” He shouted after her, “You've got some bad manners, miss. Who taught you that?”

I chuckled to myself. “She takes time to get used to someone.”

He nodded. He watched her, engrossed more than I expected.

“She’s a lot like me in that sense,” I added.

I dropped my hand. I wanted so badly to rest it against his chest, but I kept it scrunched against my burning thighs. I asked him, “Why are you here, Lucas? Are you going to ask me back?”