Daisy's Secret Billionaire

by Francesca Lane

  They stared at each other, waves crashing behind them, the sound neither soothing nor welcome. Daisy barely heard Jake as he bent forward and whispered, “Goodbye, Daisy,” turned on his heels, and left.

  Twelve

  Jake tossed his shirt across the room and laid on his parents’ old queen-sized bed. How had he gotten so many important things wrong? Wren? His father? Maggie? What Daisy said about his sister’s situation gripped him. Had he really missed her saying something so crucial? The last thing he wanted to do was drive Maggie back to that jockstrap.

  He flipped over onto his back, cradling his head with his hands and looking squarely above him at the sloped knotty pine ceiling. So many shapes and pictures in an old ceiling like this. He remembered the times he would sprawl out here on hot nights, grateful for the single air conditioning unit his parents kept in the window.

  If only this ceiling, with its swirls and figures, could give him answers to the questions burning inside of him. Like, why hadn’t he been able to see, until now, where the anger he had been carrying had come from? Jake closed his eyes, remembering his parents, how they loved each other—and teased each other fiercely. He missed them, even though he and his father often landed on the wrong side of each other.

  In the end, Jake realized, he had been angry with his father for something that was never really his fault. The night that Jake had come home for a surprise visit, he hadn’t been prepared. His mother wasn’t herself. She had eaten dinner with the two of them in near silence. Wasn’t like her—at all. Throughout the evening, his father had smiled at her, patted her hand, and ushered her to bed.

  And Jake had gone to bed angry for not knowing, until then, the extent of her illness. Later, when he had spotted his dad with Wren out there on that balcony, he became incensed. Had made his own conclusions and directed his anger there. Wren—and his father—had become his scapegoats.

  Jake sat up and picked up the framed design Wren had saved for him. He had forgotten all about it. The drawing of a home much like his family’s beach house was riddled with errors. He knew just by glancing at the design behind glass that the structure could never be built as he had laid it out. Didn’t matter, though. His father had chosen to keep it, long after Jake had virtually thrown it away.

  He smiled at it, ruefully. Maybe it was time to get back to the basics and do what he loved so much—build houses. Old styles, like this one. Places with wide-open rooms where families and friends gathered, built with warm weathered beams and interesting nooks. The idea satisfied some sort of lost part of his artistic soul and he knew he would pursue it. Maybe even find the happiness that had been missing from his life.

  Happiness … missing from his life.

  Daisy might have been the one to share that kind of happiness with him, if only he hadn’t driven her away. She was like no woman he had ever known. Jake cringed, thinking about his past. Was it possible that he had put all women in the same category? Had he assigned his general mistrust of people to someone who never cared about his money—even if he were to lose it all?

  Daisy had already been through so much—the loss of her father, her mother’s accident and illness, and now his lie of omission. He had kept her in the dark about what he believed to be true about their parents and hurt her deeply. He couldn’t soon forget the crushed look in her eyes. It tore away at him, like a bandage from an open wound. He ached, but he knew this: He wouldn’t go after her. She needed something better, someone in her life who wouldn’t hide their injuries from the person who could help them heal.

  Jake steadied his breathing, hoping that, somehow, sleep would come.

  Daisy had not seen Jake for two days. She’d noticed a single light on during the evenings, but otherwise, not much sign of life over there. It was for the best, really, though she missed him—despite the lingering anger.

  She dipped her paintbrush into a gallon of wood stain and applied it to the balcony railings on her mother’s front deck. It felt like months since she had been out here with a sander, preparing these rails for refinishing, but really, it had only been a few weeks. Enough time to spar with an old crush, fall in love, and begin the hard process of picking up the shards of her own heart.

  She inhaled sea air and refocused on the silvery wood deck. Without Rafael to help her with various tasks, this particular one had dropped low on the list. The crunch of tires onto Jake’s driveway caught Daisy’s attention. A car pulled up, stopping only long enough to let out two people and their luggage: a woman and a young girl. Daisy shaded her eyes, trying to make them out. Maggie?

  Her heart sank, what was left of it anyway. If Maggie were here for her month at the beach house, that meant Jake might have already moved back to Los Angeles to his work, his phone calls and emails, and his legal problems. She watched the two of them climb up the stairs and knock, a knot forming in her throat.

  When Jake didn’t answer the door, Daisy put down her brush, pulled off her gloves, and walked across the divide. “Maggie?”

  The oldest Morelli sister spun around. “Daisy? Is that you?”

  “It’s me.”

  Maggie swept her up in a bear hug, her brunette waves tickling Daisy’s face. They hadn’t seen each other in years—other than via those video calls—but the gregarious Maggie hadn’t changed. Daisy remembered how fun she always was, like a babysitter with chocolate in her purse.

  “And this is my daughter, Eva.”

  The girl was a miniature version of Maggie, with big brown eyes and full hair. “Hi! Are you the Daisy that used-ta live in the house next door? My mom says you were kinda a loner but real nice.”

  Maggie gasped.

  Daisy’s brows rose.

  “That’s not at all what I said.” Maggie gave her daughter a chiding look. “I said you played alone a lot, like Eva does—she’s an only child too. I did say, though, that you were really nice.”

  Ah. Okay then.

  Daisy glanced at the two suitcases on the porch next to the girls. “Moving in?”

  Maggie’s smile faltered. “Uh, yes. We’re early, though.” She slid a glance toward the door. “I haven’t been able to reach my brother, but I’m hoping he’s here to let me in.”

  Daisy kept her expression as neutral as possible. She had no idea where Jake was, but couldn’t ignore the lift she felt when she learned he might still be around. “I haven’t seen him today, but he sometimes goes for a run in the mornings. He usually leaves the back door open.”

  Maggie sighed, looking relieved. “Perfect. I’m exhausted. We took the train.”

  “The train? Doesn’t that take—”

  “About twenty hours.”

  “Oh my word!” Daisy picked up both suitcases, laughing. “Guess I better help you two with these.”

  Maggie laughed too. “I just hope he’s got a nice coffee maker in there.”

  “Just you wait. The kitchen is truly beautiful.”

  As suspected, the back door was open. Jake’s expensive running shoes lay on the back porch. Maybe he hadn’t gone for a run after all.

  Daisy followed the women inside, carrying their bags like a porter. The creak of the hall’s old wooden floors greeted them. “I suppose Eva will take this room,” Daisy said, stopping in front of the room she had occupied for more than ten days.

  Eva ran inside and leapt onto the bed with a lively sigh. “It’s perfect!” She sat up and looked at them both. “I’m going to sleep now. Bye.” She shooed them away with laughter.

  “That was easy,” Maggie quipped. “Here, I’ll take my bag until Jake gets here. I haven’t decided which room will be mine for the month. Will you join me for coffee?”

  Daisy hesitated. If Jake suddenly showed up, things could get awkward.

  Maggie said, “Please? I need the company.”

  “Sure. A coffee break would be nice. In fact, let me make it.” Daisy led the way down the hall, calling over her shoulder, “I learned my way around here pretty quickly.”

  Minutes later t
hey each curled up on the couch with a mug of hot coffee, the sky over the beach particularly blue and clear through the picture window. “Colibri really pulled out the best weather for you, didn’t it?”

  “She really did,” Maggie said, looking more relaxed than she did when she first arrived. “I forgot how much I liked it here.”

  Daisy nodded. “I had the same thought when I came home last month.”

  Maggie sighed, relaxing a little more. “I’m glad you came over when you did. If you hadn’t, we would probably still be out on that porch.”

  Daisy laughed.

  Maggie lowered her voice. “But seriously, I owe you a thank you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes.” Maggie looked at her over her coffee mug. “My brother came clean with me. Told me he had been depositing money into my bank account. Apparently, you’re the one who made him fess up.”

  Daisy let that wash over her.

  Maggie set her mug down on the scarred-up coffee table. “You saved my hide, girl. I was giving all the credit to that no-good, deadbeat ex-husband of mine.” Her eyes flashed in anger. “And he was lapping it up, taking my praise and never correcting my misperception of him.”

  “Wow, that’s so tough, Maggie. But I’m glad you found out before that went on too long.” She held her mug, allowing it to warm her hands. “May I ask … does Eva have a good relationship with him?”

  A crease formed between Maggie’s eyes. “Not really.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  She frowned, her eyes beginning to glisten. “No big deal. He didn’t want to be a father. Broke my heart. He left a long time ago, years ago, really. But he still lurks around sometimes, for what, I don’t know.”

  “That’s rough.”

  “Yeah.” She shrugged. “In some ways, coming here was for the best. Finally puts some distance between us.”

  Daisy nodded, compassion for Jake’s sister rising within her. “I’m glad Jake told you how he’d been helping.”

  “Me too. Not that it makes the heartbreak any easier, you know?”

  Daisy did know. She was taking each day as it came, knowing that her mind might heal, but the heart would take longer.

  “Here I am talking about my brother being honest with me, and there’s something I haven’t told him yet. Or anybody.” She peered at Daisy. “We were evicted.”

  A gasp flew out of Daisy. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to react that way.”

  Maggie waved at her. “Don’t be. It’s crazy that I let my debts get me this far into the pit. Even with Jake helping me financially, I still had trouble with my bills. Then my salon closed on me last month.” She let out a tortured sigh. “My landlord had enough and kicked us out.”

  “Oh Maggie.” The news battered Daisy’s insides, yet she knew that here, Maggie and Eva would be safe. “So, what’s next?”

  “I don’t know, really. We still have several months before we can sell this place. I know I wouldn’t be able to pay for the taxes on my own. Hopefully, we’ll get a good amount for it.”

  Daisy nodded, more bad news filtering through her.

  Maggie grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her middle. “Enough about me. How about you, Daisy? Your mother doing better now?”

  “Yes, much. In fact, I was outside making myself useful when you got here because the home health nurse is there now.” Daisy stood. “So good to see you, Maggie. I’ll be around for a few weeks more, I think. Maybe we can grab coffee again.”

  Maggie walked her to the door and gave Daisy a hug. “I’d like that.”

  Daisy’s mind spun with the changes coming to the Morelli house. She turned to go home, when she ran right smack into Jake as he stepped into the house.

  Thirteen

  Instinctively, Jake’s hands went to Daisy’s waist, the feel of her comforting, sizzling, though mildly awkward. She stiffened, and he immediately put his hands in the air, surrendering.

  A familiar voice drew his attention away from the sexy little flower who had met him at the door. “Hey, Jake.”

  Maggie?

  His sister tipped her head, watching him and Daisy, her eyes narrow and assessing.

  He stepped toward her. “Maggie? What-what’re you doing here?”

  She slid a look at Daisy, as if the two had been cooking up something. What, he couldn’t fathom.

  Maggie pulled him into a hug, then slapped him on the back. “Long story, Jakey. But I’m here now and I need a shower.” She looked from him to Daisy. “I’ll leave you two here to … chat.”

  Still stunned by his sister’s sudden appearance, Jake watched her bound toward the hallway and out of sight. He sensed Daisy sneaking out the door and stopped her with one swift wrap of his arm around her waist. “Please. Wait.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, Jake.”

  He tipped her face upward, with a gentle touch under her chin. “I’ve been thinking about some things you said, and you were right. You were a distraction for me.”

  She pushed her arms into his chest and stepped back, but he scooped her closer still, until their faces were a breath apart. “One wholly perfect and beautiful distraction. I needed you then, Daisy. And I need you now.”

  “You’re leaving Colibri. Leave me alone to get back to being invisible to you.”

  He smirked, his eyes heavy. “I’m not that jerk teen anymore.”

  Daisy lifted her chin on her own now. She looked him in the eyes. “I forgive you for … not being completely honest with me.”

  “You were going to say lying. And you’d be right. I lied to you, Daisy, by omission of the facts about what I thought about our parents. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded, tears visible. He watched her needle her bottom lip and snap a look up at him. “What does any of this matter anyway? Maggie’s here and you’re leaving soon to go back to your old life away from here. I’ll be in Colibri for the foreseeable future. The end of our relationship was inevitable.”

  He took her hand and pulled her toward the hall. “Come up to my bedroom. I have something to show you.”

  Daisy stopped, her face flushed, eyes wide.

  Jake laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”

  She exhaled, a confused smile on her face. “Okay.”

  “Then again,” he said, drawing closer, his voice deepening, “I could easily change my mind about that.”

  Daisy frowned, but he only laughed and pulled her down the hall, past a couple of closed bedroom doors, and up the steps to the master bedroom. He guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. “Wait here a second.” He picked up a leather satchel, unbuckled the latch, flipped it open, and pulled out a single document.

  Jake took a seat next to Daisy on the bed. “First, the good news: We’ve found Bask.”

  “The foreman on the hotel project, right?”

  “Exactly. The contractor threw him under the bus by spreading the word that Billy messed up. The payoff money ran out and now the guy can’t get work anywhere.”

  “So he’s ready to talk.”

  “Yes. The deposition’s tomorrow, in fact.”

  “That’s great news, Jake. So happy for you.”

  “But that’s not the main reason for bringing you up here.” He handed her the document. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

  Daisy’s eyes traveled to the page. Her eyes popped open wide and her voice sounded mildly suspicious. “Jake? Is this your, uh, bank statement?”

  He tipped her chin toward him until their eyes met. “No more secrets from you, Daisy. None. My father taught me that wild displays of wealth were crude. Not a bad rule to live by, but I went too far. My desire to hide my status almost resulted in my sister going back to the lowlife who had abandoned her and Eva. An unintended consequence.”

  Daisy continued to hold the bank statement in her hand, stunned. “Shouldn’t you be on a list of the richest hunks in the world or something?”

  Jake chuckled, grabbed the bank statement from her han
ds, and tossed it onto the floor. Then he wrestled her onto the bed as she laughed, mockingly fighting him off. He rolled on top of her, their faces inches apart. “Did you just call me a hunk?”

  She was laughing now, her wispy blonde hair a hot mess around her. “I might have.”

  “You really think so?”

  Her laughter quieted until all he could hear was the steady rise and fall of her breathing. “Yes,” she whispered. “You’re the hunkiest guy I’ve ever fallen in love with.”

  His smile dimmed, a soberness overtaking him. She loved him. He had no reason to doubt her.

  And he knew something else: He loved her too.

  Fourteen

  The Following Sunday Night

  Jake turned his laptop screen so that all three of them could see and be seen. “We’re on.”

  Lacy appeared first. She was sitting on a balcony somewhere, sipping a sunset-colored cocktail. “Don’t mind me,” she said. “Calling you from work.”

  Maggie harrumphed at her sister, who was probably doing a site visit of a hotel property, something she did often in her sales role. “Must be nice.”

  Lacy held up her glass. “You know it.”

  “Hi, y’all!” Bella appeared. She had apparently acquired a southern accent since their last family call.

  Grace’s face popped onto the screen, her blonde hair in a tight bun, black-rimmed glasses on her nose. She appeared to be typing. “Hi, family.” She barely looked up.

  “Looks like we’re all here,” Jake said. He quietly reached over and squeezed Daisy’s hand.

  Bella’s voice rose. “I didn’t know you would be there already, Maggie. Did they let you off work early to go out there?”

  Maggie exhaled roughly, as if preparing herself for an onslaught of questions. “They let me off forever.”