Her Homebound Billionaire: A Love Conquers Fear Clean Romance (Billionaire Tech Tycoons & Titans Book 3)

by Gigi Marlowe

  “It’s just that he used to be so friendly, Henry. Remember that time he insisted that we all run in Race for the Cure? We barely made it across the finish line because Patrick kept backtracking to cheer on other runners and talk with the volunteers handing out water. Now,” Sue’s voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands nestled in his.

  “Now, we practically have to beg him to leave his house to go anywhere at all, ” Henry released Sue’s hands and moved to put his arm around her shoulder.

  “What if Patrick stays the way he’s been?”

  “He hasn’t been any different to us, Sue.” Henry gave Sue a reassuring squeeze. They both noticed how each time they got together with Patrick, it took longer and longer for him to act like his usual, convivial self. They would have to joke more and more to pull him from his dark thoughts, but Henry counted himself lucky. He knew that they were part a small group of people who got to see the happy side of Patrick at all.

  “Of course not.” Sue said returning Henry’s thoughts to the conversation at hand, “He knows us. But I wish he’d let others get close to him again, Henry.”

  “He may not want any more friends.” Sue rolled her eyes at him. “I know it might be harsh, but Patrick’s changed, Sue. He’s not the same man who loved to travel and meet new people.” As the words left his mouth, Henry knew that Patrick’s change was a defense mechanism.

  “No, now he’s the man who wants to stay cooped up at home because he’s afraid of being used and cast aside,” Sue said. “Honestly, Henry, I’m not even sure if Patrick knows he has closed himself off to the rest of the world.”

  “Everyone changes, Sue. Look at me. It may be hard to believe, but before you and I met, I was completely different.” Henry thought back to the success and career driven man he had been in college. “I thought that life was just there to knock you down. But then I met you,” he continued. “You changed me. Your optimism in the face of everything life’s thrown at you made me believe that maybe life wasn’t trying to drown me in misery, maybe it was trying to teach me how to swim through a storm.” A small blush crept into Sue’s cheeks.

  “You changed me too, Henry. You helped me understand that it’s okay to not be okay. That I was allowed to let myself feel something other than happiness at all times. You helped me find my balance.” Closing her eyes, Sue took a deep, cleansing breath. Henry pulled her close against him and kissed her forehead softly. “It’s funny how the right person can bring out the best in you,” she said.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” he said. He thought about how much better a person he was because of Sue. He wanted that for his best friend. He wanted him to be with someone who had seen him while he was at his worst and loved him for everything that he was and could be. “And that’s exactly why we should set those two up. ”

  “I don’t know, Henry,” Sue nestled her face into his chest nearly breaking his concentration.

  “Think about how good it was for us that we met.” He pushed Sue softly away from him so he could gather his thoughts. “I’m not saying we have to meddle in their relationship or pressure them to date, we just have to make sure the two of them meet. That’s all it’ll take. One moment for the sparks to fly.”

  “I guess there’s no harm in him meeting her,” Sue relented. “She is pretty wonderful.”

  “She really is! She’s smart and funny, down to earth and she has her life together. She’s everything Patrick just described.”

  “That’s the thing though, Henry. If Patrick were to find out we set him up, he would be furious. ”

  “We’ll just have to keep it a secret, then.” Henry knew exactly how to do it, too. “Neither one of them can know that we’re trying to set them up.”

  “And how in the world are we going to pull that one off?” She said.

  “Easy. It’s all about getting the two of them in the right place at the right time.” Henry began pacing out of excitement.

  “But what if it doesn’t work?”

  “It won’t be that difficult to persuade her to meet us somewhere when Patrick is with us, or-”

  “No. I mean what if they don’t work. She’s so sweet. I don’t want her to get hurt if Patrick ends up shutting her out. And what if she does do something that breaks Patrick’s heart? She might not mean to, but Patrick has a lot of damage left over from Jasmine.” Henry winced as he remembered the fiery woman in Patrick’s past . “She was the first woman he ever loved, and he found out she was using him for his money. When she broke his heart, we were left with a shadow of the old Patrick. Imagine how worse it will be now. There’s barely any of the old Patrick left. I don’t want him to become more cynical than he is now.”

  “His heart was broken by misplaced loved and trust. Don’t you think the real deal with the right woman could heal his heart? Trust me, Sue. You and I both know that they would make a perfect couple. She’s just the person to help Patrick learn to trust in love again, and I have a feeling Patrick is just the guy for her.” Henry walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed Sue’s cell phone. “Just give her a call. Give them the chance to find the same happiness that we’ve found.” Henry smiled as Sue nodded and began searching through her contacts. He hoped he was right.

  Chapter 2

  “The Picasso Museum in Old Town had to be one of my favorite places. Antibes was just stunning. There were cafés everywhere, and the air seemed to perpetually smell of freshly baked croissants.” AJ commented as she pulled another piece of bread from her freshly baked pizza focaccia.

  “Sounds like a dream,” Lizzie chimed in as she bit into her oven-baked meatball sandwich on warm pizza focaccia. This was their Saturday morning tradition. Ever since they moved there, the two had met early on Saturdays at Liguria Bakery to stand in line for their famous pizza focaccia. AJ preferred to eat hers warm in the bag, but Lizzie always wanted to walk to Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store and make it into a sandwich. She always tried to get AJ to wait and make hers into a sandwich too, but the warm smell of baked bread was just too much for AJ to resist.

  It was a warm San Francisco Saturday and AJ felt like the sunshine was for her personally. She had struggled the past few days to find the energy to do her regular tasks. Although she blamed a lot of her frazzled thought process to prolonged jet lag, she suspected that she was a tad disappointed to be back from vacation. As much as she was relieved to be home, the trip had sparked in her the desire to travel more, but AJ knew that was a fantasy she could not entertain. Instead, she would have to cling to the memories of France until she could afford to take time away from work again.

  “It really was,” AJ sighed into her cup as she sipped ice water with extra lemon. “I’ve worked so hard to get here,” her words felt like they were more for herself than for Lizzie. “I mean who would have thought a first-generation graduate from a small town in the U.S. would ever get to go to France.” This was the fact that AJ needed to remind herself of. She was not some well-to-do designer who could jaunt around the globe at the drop of a hat. She was a small town, Midwest girl. She grew up living off of next to nothing and not knowing any better.

  “You’re right,” Lizzie agreed. “You have worked really hard to get here, and France was a great way to celebrate.” AJ wasn’t sure if she should trust her friend’s sudden show of support of the amount that she worked. “And you could do more of that if you would let yourself enjoy life.” There it was. AJ knew that Lizzie had to be gearing up for something like that. It didn’t matter that both AJ and Lizzie were two of four partners at the same architecture firm. Her friend still believed that AJ worked much too hard for her own good.

  “I do enjoy life. What am I doing right now, huh?” AJ pointed to her half-eaten focaccia. “I am enjoying life.” She then took a bite to emphasize her point.

  “Because I love you, I’m gonna be honest with you, AJ,” Lizzie began.

  “Aren’t you always?” AJ chuckled as she swiped at a meatball that had rolled out of Lizzie’s sandwich a
nd onto her tray.

  Lizzie watched with mock horror as AJ ate the lonely meatball before she collected herself and continued. “The amount of work you do without taking a break is not enjoying life.”

  “I just took a break, Lizzie.”

  “Yeah, your first break in who knows how long. I have to take a break from our job once a month just so I don’t accidentally throw blueprints at anybody. You on the other hand,” Lizzie said as she pointed a finger at AJ, “take on more clients than anybody in the firm.”

  “That means that the firm’s reputation is growing. Shouldn’t you be happy about that?”

  “I would be if that also didn’t mean that my best friend just went on a trip to one of the most romantic places in the world...alone. That, AJ, is just sad.”

  “There will always be time for romance. I’m not like most women, Lizzie, I don’t need a man in the picture to complete it. Right now all I need is to focus on my career. If I just work a little more, I can finally pay my parents back for everything they’ve done for me.” AJ blinked back a sudden onslaught of homesickness. Thinking about her family and everything they sacrificed to help her make it this far was always a sure-fire way to make her crave the beautiful fields of Missouri.

  Lizzie waved her hand impatiently in front of AJ’s face. “And why is that?”

  “What do you mean ‘why is that?’ You know very well why I have to pay them back, Lizzie.” AJ brushed Lizzie’s hand away. “They went into debt for me, sold part of their land for me. What kind of daughter would I be if I didn’t help them out?” AJ thought about the day her parents had handed her an envelope with a check for the first year of college tuition in it. They had told her they were proud of her and held her while she cried in gratitude. They had never asked about the money, not once, but AJ knew that if they had not paid for her first year of college, they wouldn’t be struggling so bad right now. She knew that she would work until she had paid them back every cent and then some.

  “AJ, you might think I’m cruel to say this-”

  “-Then don’t,” AJ stared pointedly at her best friend. She loved Lizzie with all her heart, but sometimes AJ just couldn’t handle Lizzie’s frankness.

  “But, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to repay them the way that you want to,” Lizzie said gently.

  “That’s not true. I just want to pay off all my parents’ debt, with interest,” AJ said as she counted off each thing she wanted to do for her parents on her fingers, “design and build them a dream retirement home, purchase back the land they sold, hire someone to run the farm, and put money away for them to travel.”

  “AJ, I know your parents. There’s no way that they want or expect you to do any of those things. They just want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy,” AJ insisted.

  “But will you be happy if it ends up being too late to find love by the time you’ve decided you’re successful enough?”

  Just then, AJ’s phone rang alarmingly loud. Startled, she jerked her hand into her pocket. She resisted the urge to kiss the screen of her phone as she saw SUE CHOW: FRANCE FRIEND flash across her screen. This was precisely what she needed to escape the seemingly endless conversation of love that Lizzie desperately wanted to have with her. Smiling apologetically at Lizzie, AJ excused herself from the table to take Sue’s call.

  “Hey, Sue!” AJ said warmly. “You have no idea how good it is to hear from you.” AJ listened enthusiastically as Sue briefly caught her up on what had been happening in her and Henry’s life. In the corner of her eye, AJ could just make out Lizzie subtly shifting closer in her seat. She wouldn’t put it past her friend to try and eavesdrop on the conversation, in case AJ was talking to a man. Rolling her eyes at Lizzie, AJ turned her attention back to the discussion at hand.

  “Listen, AJ, I know this is a little strange, us having met overseas and all, but I was wondering if you could stop by and take a look at my kitchen. Henry and I need to get it remodeled, and you instantly came to mind.” A smile lite up AJ’s face. This was exactly what she needed.

  “I would love to,” AJ said as she walked happily back towards the table. Watching her walk back, Lizzie pretended to be busy feeding the nearby pigeons small pieces of her leftover bread. “I can come over right now, actually, if you’re free?”

  “That would be perfect. I’ll text you our address. Thank you again AJ, this means so much to us.” AJ assured Sue that it was no problem at all. She hung up the phone and grabbed her purse from her chair. Giving Lizzie a hug, she promised that she would think about their conversation.

  And she did. AJ thought about love, specifically the lack of love in her life, the entire ride to Sue’s house. She thought about many of the women she had seen growing up, whose whole lives revolved around their the hunt for the big “catch” - a man of means. She didn’t have anything against those women, but their main ambition was to be someone’s wife. She couldn’t understand it. AJ would never forgive herself if she became like that, unable to have an independent identity, apart from a connection to a man. It frightened her.

  Pulling into the driveway of Sue and Henry Chow’s house, AJ thought about the affection her new friends shared with each other. She would never admit it to them, but she had watched them closely when she had first met them. She had watched Henry steal glances at Sue. She’d seen him look for any excuse to brush his fingers lightly across her skin, whether it was for a fallen eyelash or an almost unperceivable stray hair. She’d noticed the way Sue gravitated effortlessly towards Henry like she was a moon hopelessly caught in his orbit. To AJ their love seemed like second nature, akin to breathing, it was strange, unfamiliar. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, something about that was appealing.

  A smile tickled her cheeks as she walked up to the couple’s house. It was exactly how she had imagined their home to look like. The front porch had a wreath full of colorful flowers that subtly accented the brick and mortar surrounding the teal front door. It was friendly, approachable, just like them. Knocking on the front door, AJ heard the booming bark of a dog and nails scrambling across the floor. The doorknob rattled once before she spotted a black nose pushing against the door of the mail slot.

  “Place, Su Su.” AJ heard Henry’s strong voice command from the other side of the door. AJ wasn’t sure what awaited her inside the home, but she knew that it was sure to be just as warm as the Chows. When Henry opened the door, AJ was surprised to see an enormous long haired German Shepherd waiting patiently for her to enter. “Su Su, wait,” Henry said to his very small horse of a dog. “Don’t worry, AJ, she’s very friendly. Come on in.” Henry drew her into a hug and pushed the dog away from the door.

  Inside the house, AJ was pleased to see that she was right about the interior. The walls were decorated with smiling photos of Henry, Sue, and their friends. As she walked towards the kitchen, AJ could smell recently-baked chocolate chip cookies and hear the beeping of what she suspected was a coffee machine. Taking a quick glance around, she could see why they wanted a remodel. All of their appliances, while spotlessly clean, were outdated. Their stove top sported old coil cooktops, and the hood hung so low, AJ doubted anyone could access the back burners without fear of being sucked into it. “You and Sue didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” AJ said as she saw Sue piling a plate high with cookies. One glance at the small sink and oddly-positioned dishwasher told her that cleaning the kitchen must have been a laborious task in the Chow household.

  “Nonsense! You’re our friend,” Henry said. He gestured for her to take a seat at their circular kitchen table that barely fit the small room off the main kitchen. AJ had to squeeze herself into a chair and reflected on how this area might have been the only place in the house that wasn’t welcoming. The walls were bare of photos and in the corner, she could spy a large dog crate with a plush pink bed pushed against the wall.

  “You came all the way out here to help us with our kitchen,” Sue said as she walked into the room. AJ watched as she
shuffled around the corner with a plate in one hand and a large cup of coffee in the other. “We owe you more than a cup of joe and some cookies.”

  “Although, I will say Sue makes the best cookies,” Henry said joining them at the table with a cup of coffee for himself and Sue. Their dog gilded regally in behind them with a fluffy, stuffed bunny in her mouth. She walked calmly into her open cage and laid down on her bed. By now the table seemed close to crowded with six hands reaching for one plate of cookies and three cups of coffee.

  “He’s only saying that because the last time he tried to make cookies, they ended up tasting like cayenne pepper. He thinks that if he compliments me enough, I’ll never try to make him bake some again.” Sue smiled relentlessly at Henry as he gave her arm a playful shove.

  “Oh no Sue, the truth is,” Henry said conspiratorially as he leaned back in the chair. He looked at both women before he continued, making sure that they were going to hang on his every word. “I would bake you anything in the world if we had a different kitchen.” A boyish smile materialized on Henry’s face as Sue rolled her eyes. AJ tried to conceal a giggle by coughing. She was glad that Sue and Henry were exactly the same as they had been in France: bright, friendly and down to earth.

  “Don’t worry, Henry, I can help you out there,” AJ said as she pulled the sketchbook she always kept with her from her purse. “Tell me what you would like in your dream kitchen.”

  “Henry and I want to start a family,” Sue began, “so something that can accommodate all of us plus a couple of friends would be nice.”

  “We definitely need something more functional,” agreed Henry.

  “Is there anything else I should take into consideration?” AJ asked.

  “I’m not sure,” replied Sue. She glanced earnestly at AJ. “We pored over different pictures of kitchens, but Henry and I can’t seem to find a functional kitchen that wasn’t bland.”