The Billionaire's Secret

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Justin? It’s Max. You left me with Amber, and she’s passed out. I have no idea where she lives. Call me as soon as you get this, so I can take her home.” He could barely hide the agitation in his voice as he punched the end call button. His only option now was to take her back to his place and hope Justin called soon.

  As Amber was still passed out in the car when he pulled into the garage, Max left her there for a moment while he checked to see if Peyton was asleep. Though the situation was innocent, he didn’t want her seeing a woman coming into the house.

  “That was an early night,” Helen said, smiling at him as he entered the kitchen.

  “Yeah, unfortunately it isn’t over yet. Is Peyton asleep?” He glanced around for her as the words left his mouth.

  “Yes, I put her down a few minutes ago. Why?” There was an edge in Helen’s voice that was more than idle curiosity.

  “Justin left me with a drunk girl. I couldn’t leave her there when her friends left, so I was going to take her home. Unfortunately, she drank so much she passed out, and I have no idea where she lives. I was going to let her sleep it off in the other guest room and take her home when Justin calls me back or she wakes up, which ever happens sooner, but I didn’t want Peyton seeing her come in.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Helen asked.

  “No, but I don’t have many other options.”

  “I could take her to my house,” Helen offered.

  “Thank you, Helen, but she doesn’t know you, and I don’t want to scare the girl too much.”

  Helen tipped her head. “All right, if you’re sure.” The raise of her eyebrow let Max know she didn’t like this plan, but he didn’t either. However, he had little choice.

  “I am. Thanks, Helen, and I’ll see you Monday.”

  After Helen gathered her purse and bid him goodnight, Maxwell headed back to the car. Amber was still passed out in the passenger seat, her mouth open and a tiny line of drool tracking down the right side of her mouth.

  Max unfastened her seat belt and snaked an arm behind her back. Her other arm he draped over his shoulder, holding her right hand in his. She was dead weight, but he managed to extricate her from the car this way. Then he dropped her right arm and squatted to slip his arm under her knees and pick her up. He was glad she didn’t weigh much and that he worked out, but dead weight was still heavy.

  Thankfully, the door to the house hadn’t closed completely behind him, and he was able to push it open with his shoulder and shuffle down the hall to the other guest bedroom. That door was closed, and he was forced to drop her legs to open it. She let out a muffled grunt, but her eyes remained closed. How much had she had to drink?

  After the door was open, he scooped her back up and crossed to the bed. He laid her down gently, pulling the covers out from under her and then back over her body. She looked young as her brown hair splayed across the white pillow, and he wondered how old she really was.

  Shaking his head, he exited the room and headed down the hallway. A quick check on Peyton revealed her asleep in her bed, so he continued to his own room.

  As he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he checked the screen, but there had been no call from Justin or Alyssa. Sighing, he plugged it into the charger and changed for bed. As his head hit the pillow, he decided he had given her enough space, and like it or not, he was going to call her tomorrow.

  Chapter 16

  "You’re up early,” Roxy said as Alyssa entered the kitchen.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I was up all night thinking again about Max. I’ve been praying since the other night, and though I have no clear answer, I can’t stop thinking about him, so maybe that is my answer. I’m going to go see him and apologize this morning.”

  “Good for you.” Roxy raised her mug of coffee in a mock salute.

  “After some coffee, of course.” Alyssa laughed as she filled her own mug and took a sip.

  With the coffee finished and her outfit on, she stood in front of the mirror. Dark circles still ringed her eyes though they were lighter after her application of foundation. She didn’t think Max would care, but she still wished they weren’t there. It was her own fault, however. If she had trusted Max the first time, she wouldn’t have lost sleep over it the last few days.

  As she pulled up to Max’s house, she wondered briefly if she should have called first. Maybe he would still be sleeping, or maybe he and Peyton would have gone out to breakfast. It was still early after all. Dismissing the negative vibes, Alyssa parked the car and walked up the pathway to the front door. Her finger paused but pressed the round doorbell.

  Max opened the door a moment later. A genuine smile flashed across his face before it fell, and his eyes widened. His head turned to both sides as if looking for something. He looked... nervous. Was it because she caught him still in pajama pants?

  His pants hung low on his waist and a white t-shirt stretched across his chest. Alyssa’s eyes were drawn to his muscular chest before she caught herself and looked away.

  “Sorry, I guess I should have called, but…” her voice trailed off as she caught movement behind Max. A woman with long brown hair padded down the hallway as if she owned the house.

  Max, hearing the noise, turned to the woman and then back to Alyssa. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. “It’s not what you think, Alyssa.” His head shook back and forth, as he said the words, as if that added an extra reason for her to believe him.

  “I think a woman spent the night in your house.” Alyssa nearly spat the words at him in her anger.

  “Okay, it is what you think but nothing happened. I went out with Justin last night because it was his birthday and Amber was too drunk to tell me where she lived—”

  “Amber? You remember her name? Well, I guess that is an improvement from the lady at the restaurant. What was her name again? I should have listened to her. I can’t believe I spent the last few days losing sleep over not believing you, and then when I come to apologize, you have another woman here.” Her words were rushing out like a waterfall, but she couldn’t stop them. “Was I just another notch to put in your bedside then? Were you going to seduce me and then forget my name too?”

  “That’s not fair,” he said, firing back at her. “First off, you haven’t let me explain. Second, you haven’t called all week or returned my calls. I didn’t know if you were ever coming back.” His posture had quickly shifted from nervous to agitated, and he seemed to fill the large doorframe.

  The woman appeared behind Max and laid a hand on his arm. “I heard shouting. Is everything all right, Max?”

  He glared at her as he brushed off her hand.

  After she looked from Max to Alyssa, the woman disappeared again.

  “So, you just jumped on the next train, huh?” Alyssa hated the caustic tone in her voice, but she couldn’t turn it off.

  His arms crossed as he leaned back onto the frame. “I was trying to be a gentleman. I couldn’t leave her at the club, and as she passed out in my car, I had no way of knowing where she lived. I didn’t really have another option, Alyssa.”

  “There’s always another option, Max.” His name felt like poison on her tongue now. “Here, I’ll give you one more.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “See anyone you want. I’m done. I should have known you couldn’t really change.” She turned and headed toward the car, tears pricking her eyes and blurring her vision.

  “Maybe it’s a good thing,” he shot back. “You talk about love and forgiveness, but all I see is a stubborn woman who thinks she never makes mistakes.”

  “That’s not true,” Alyssa said, but even as the words left her mouth, she wondered if it was. She spared one final look at him before climbing in her car. He still stood in the doorway, shaking his head at her. Her hands were shaking as she buckled the seatbelt, but blissfully the tears waited until she pulled out of the drive before tumbling down her cheeks.

  “I’m such a fool. Why did I think he could change?” She said the
words aloud, hoping for a sense of peace, but silence was all she received in return. Silence and the mocking reminder that she had been too angry to believe him when he tried to explain. Could it be possible that he was just being a gentleman? The woman had been fully dressed after all, but she could have put on her clothes before exiting the bedroom. And if he was just being a gentleman why even go out in the first place?

  She had no answer by the time she pulled up to her apartment, but at least the tears had stopped for now.

  “Whoa, that was short,” Roxy said, pausing the show she was watching on TV when Alyssa entered. “What happened?”

  Alyssa rolled her eyes as she slumped down beside Roxy. “There was a woman there who spent the night. He said it was innocent, but I don’t believe him. I feel so stupid.” At the last word, the tears sprung anew and began another slow trickle down her cheeks.

  “Hey, it’s not your fault. This guy has been playing the game for a while it sounds like. The only one to blame is him. I know what will make this better. Hang on.” She bounded up from her chair and into the kitchen. Roxy had been a track star in high school and her long legs were still toned and in shape as she ran three miles every day.

  There was the sound of cupboards opening and porcelain clinking, followed by the drawer and then the fridge opening and closing two times. A moment later, Roxy returned with two bowls of Chocolate Monkey ice cream.

  “Ice cream? It’s not even lunch time.”

  “Hey, ice cream makes everything better. It doesn’t matter what time.”

  Alyssa smiled as she took the bowl, but though ice cream would make her feel better for the time it took to eat it, she knew it wasn’t going to fill the aching spot inside her heart.

  Max sighed as Alyssa’s car exited the drive. How had this gone so wrong so fast? Why hadn’t she let him explain? He shut the door and trudged to the kitchen. Amber was perched on a barstool with a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to some coffee. I tried to ask, but you looked a little busy. Boy, this is quite the place you have here.”

  Her voice was too perky this early in the morning, and Max was already feeling grumpy after the argument with Alyssa. “Yeah, it’s great.”

  “You seem angry. Is it about the woman at the door?” Her wide eyes were filled with curiosity but seemed to be lacking the knowledge of her part in his anger.

  “Yes, it’s about the woman at the door. She thinks I brought you home to... she thinks we…” He shook his head. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. She left.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell her that nothing happened?” She flicked her hand and took another sip of her mug. “I mean, I assume it didn’t, since I woke up by myself and still in my clothes from the night before.”

  He stared at her, trying to contain his anger. “I tried telling her that, but unfortunately your poor timing didn’t help matters.”

  Amber’s head snapped back in surprise. “Well, excuse me. I had a pounding headache and needed some coffee. By the way, where’s your aspirin?”

  Rolling his eyes, he stepped over to the highest cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. He walked back to her and slammed it on the counter before returning to his room. He wanted this woman out of his house now, and as Peyton was still asleep, he needed Helen to come stay at the house in case she woke.

  She showed up fifteen minutes later wearing what looked like a housecoat with curlers in her hair.

  “You could have gotten dressed first,” he said as he opened the door. A sliver of his anger fizzled at the sight of her.

  “And risk your daughter seeing some strange woman in the house? I think not. You should have let me take the girl home last night.” She poked him in the chest as she stepped inside the house.

  “Yeah, I should have,” Max sighed. “Alyssa showed up to apologize, but then she saw Amber. She’s furious this time, Helen. I don’t think she will ever forgive me.”

  Helen had the decency not to say ‘I told you so,’ but she did shake her head sadly. “We’ll figure something out, Max. For now, get that woman home.”

  Max nodded and marched back to the kitchen. “Let’s go, Amber.”

  She jumped at his forceful voice, spilling coffee on the countertop. “Go? Where are we going?”

  “I’m taking you home.”

  “Already, but I thought we could—” She stopped as he glared at her.

  “You have cost me quite enough. We aren’t going to do anything. Now, come on.”

  After another swig of whatever was left in her coffee mug, she set it on the countertop and slid off the barstool, following him out to the garage.

  “Where to?” he asked her when they were both buckled.

  “3410 Buckley Street.”

  Unfamiliar with that location, Max plugged it into his phone and sighed when the ETA showed half an hour drive.

  “So, I guess this means you won’t call me?” she asked when he pulled up in front of her place.

  “Out.” He pointed out the door, feeling a little mean, but also relieved he would never have to see her again, and he hadn’t tried to trick her. He should have just called her a taxi, but in his effort to turn over a new leaf, he had thought taking her home was more gentlemanly. Now, he just wanted to get home.

  She pouted her lip as she opened the door. “Fine.”

  After the tedious drive home, a cup of coffee called his name. The pattering of little feet echoed down the hall as he entered the house.

  “Daddy, Helen’s here. You going somewhere?” Peyton asked, running up to him.

  Reaching down, he swung her into the air and situated her on his hip. “Nope, I’m staying home with you all day. Helen was just watching you while I took care of some business.”

  “Oh, good. Can we play princess today?” Her bright blue eyes shined back at him.

  “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do, but can you let me get some coffee and breakfast first?”

  “Okay.”

  After he set her on the floor, she scurried into the living room to watch her favorite cartoon. Max turned to Helen. “What does playing princess involve?”

  “Well, when I play with her, it involves a tiara and a wand, but maybe she won’t make you wear the tiara.” Helen winked at him and smiled.

  “Haha, very funny.” Max grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it with coffee. Though the warm beverage calmed him, it did not heal the hole in his heart from Alyssa’s departure. “What am I going to do, Helen?” he asked as he sank onto the barstool.

  “First, you are going to eat breakfast.” She placed a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of him. “Then, we are going to figure that out. Now eat up.”

  Chapter 17

  "Where are you going?” Roxy leaned against the counter, her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised, as Alyssa wheeled a suitcase behind her into the kitchen.

  “I’m going home. I need to get away from here for a few days, so I’m going to see my Aunt Sandra.”

  Roxy’s head fell forward. “Are you sure? You haven’t been back there since—”

  “I know,” Alyssa said, cutting her off. She hadn’t been back home since her mom died a few years ago from cancer, but her conflicting emotions proved too much for her. She needed some clarity and her Aunt Sandra was the one person who had always been able to give her clarity. “But I’m hoping it will help, and it’s only for a few days.”

  “I get that.” Roxy pushed herself off the counter and crossed to Alyssa, enveloping her in a hug. “Have a safe trip, and I hope you find the answer you’re looking for.”

  “Me too.”

  As Alyssa pulled into Sandra’s driveway, a feeling of peace enveloped her. Sandra wasn’t her aunt by blood, but she had been her mother’s best friend and had always been like a second mother to Alyssa. Now, Alyssa couldn’t wait to see her. It had been too long, especially since Henry had passed away and all of their children were now out of the house. Sandra m
ust be lonely, and Alyssa made a mental promise to visit more often.

  Sandra opened the door before Alyssa could even knock. The smile on her face reached from ear to ear. “Alyssa, it’s so good to see you.”

  She opened her arms and Alyssa dropped her suitcase, so she could lean down and hug the woman. “It’s good to see you too, Aunt Sandra.”

  “Well, come in, come in. I’ve got chicken in the oven and a salad ready for dinner. You do still eat, don’t you? You’ve gotten so skinny, I’m no longer sure.”

  “Yes, Aunt Sandra, I still eat. I’ve just been so busy with school that I’ve been going non-stop, but I finished my last final last week, so I’ll have time to slow down now.” Alyssa set her suitcase just inside the door as she followed Sandra to the kitchen. She must be cooking her famous garlic chicken because the scent of garlic was strong in the air.

  Alyssa watched as Sandra wheeled over to the modified counter and began tossing in the few remaining ingredients needed for the salad. “How did you do?”

  “I did well. I got A’s and B’s on all my finals.”

  Dropping the wooden spoon she was using to stir the salad, Sandra turned her deep brown eyes on Alyssa. “Your mother would be so proud of you—is so proud of you as I know she’s looking down on us.”

  Tears pricked Alyssa’s eyes at the mention of her mom. “Thanks, Aunt Sandra. I just wish she could help me with finding a good man.”

  Sandra opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the doorbell. “Oh, that will be my friend Callie. Will you go let her in? I invited her over because you two are about the same age and she needed a night off. She’s got a little one at home.”

  “Sure.” Alyssa blinked as she headed back to the front door. Why would she invite someone else over? Alyssa had told her she wanted to talk, right?