Goldie And The Billionaire Bear (Once Upon A Billionaire Book 1)

by Catelyn Meadows

  “I appreciate that,” he said. There was another pause. Usually, Rita ended calls with punctuality. She was all business, and he liked that about her. “Am I missing anything?”

  “I also expect a bonus for every cancellation you’ve had me make the past few weeks.”

  He grinned at her facetious tone. Undoubtedly, it wasn’t boding well for his reputation, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. They both knew he paid her well enough, though. She really was an amazing assistant. A good sport about things.

  “I’ll be sure to bring you a lollipop.”

  She chuckled. “Have a good day, sir.”

  “You, too. Thanks, Rita.”

  Adrian hung up as he veered toward the outskirts of town. He peered in his rear view mirror, making sure Goldie’s white truck was in view. She was tailing right behind him. The sight gave his heart a little hiccup.

  The other reason he hadn’t wanted to leave Goldie on some random front step had been sheer sympathy. He’d believed her when she’d claimed to be lost. Then, when she’d rang the doorbell at the address she’d given him when no one had answered, she’d seemed completely alone. Adrian could tell she’d been trying to hide how hurt she was. When she’d turned around, genuine disappointment had streaked across her face.

  His heart had gone out to her, foolish as that might seem. His mom couldn’t fault him for not wanting to abandon a woman in need.

  Oh, shoot. His mom.

  Adrian dialed her number as he turned toward the dirt road which would eventually lead to Rustic Ridge. “Mom, hey.”

  “You’re back?” she said. He hadn’t told her why he’d gone up to the cabin, and she didn’t ask. “Perfect. Did you call Danica? I spoke with her mother not long ago. She thought Dani was available and would be so pleased to be asked by you. The girl has been waiting for a phone call since you returned to town. I’ve always thought you two were perfect together. I’ll never understand why you ended things—”

  This was a conversation they’d had one too many times. “Mom, I’ve met someone. I’m bringing her home with me.”

  A silent pause filled the other end of the line.

  “Mom?”

  “You know how I feel about these pranks you and your brothers like to play.”

  “It’s not a prank. She’s great. We’re headed there now, actually. I thought you might want a heads up.”

  “You can’t get out of the fundraiser tonight, Adrian. Danica is a lovely girl, why don’t you just call her? Give her another chance, sweetie. Maybe this time things will work out between you two.”

  He’d given that relationship as much resuscitation as he’d ever hoped. Sure, they’d tried. The entire town thought he and Danica would wind up married once they’d graduated high school. It’d been one of the many lectures his father had given him, to take care not to go around breaking hearts. They’d gotten back together again after he’d finished business school, but she’d wanted to stay in Two Pines and had absolutely refused to move to Chicago where he’d needed to be for his budding business.

  “You can just do that here,” Danica had insisted.

  She’d sounded so much like his father, it was like a puncture. All at once, the path with her opened up before him in a way it never had. He’d seen exactly what would have happened had he done what was expected. Married her. Settled down. Given up on his dreams.

  If she’d been the right one, the decision to end things wouldn’t have been so easy to make. So he’d made it without question, and he’d never looked back since. He wasn’t about to go opening that can of worms again. He didn’t want to give Danica false hope.

  “I’m serious,” Adrian said. “Her name is Goldie. She’s coming home with me as we speak.”

  “You make her sound like a stray dog. It’s not a dog, is it? You know how I feel about that. We’ve already got your dad’s Lab. We don’t need another one around here.”

  “Mom,” he said, trying not to get exasperated. “I told you, this is for real. She’s a person.”

  “Are you two dating?”

  “I—yes, we are.” He cringed at the lie, but he wanted his mom to take him seriously since the truth obviously wasn’t doing it. He almost laughed at the irony.

  He wasn’t sure how to get his mom to believe he was blowing Danica off for a total stranger, though, or why he was vying for said stranger to have a room at their B & B. On top of that, he couldn’t exactly tell her how he and Goldie had met. He hadn’t wanted to call the police over Goldie’s breaking and entering, but he wouldn’t put it past his mother.

  “Please tell me you have a room for her.” Something he should have checked before he made the offer to her, but still.

  His mom’s tone was cautious. “What did you say her name was?”

  “Goldie.”

  “Goldie? Like the actress?”

  “Like the actress.”

  “She’s blonde too, isn’t she?”

  Adrian laughed. “I guess you’ll see when we get there.” A nugget of guilt wriggled into his stomach. He didn’t mean to lie, but he didn’t want to pull it back now, not when she’d thought he’d been teasing her. Maybe he could work something out with Goldie, to see if she would agree to be his girlfriend while she was here. It would make things easier for him, at least. Maybe it would help her too, depending on her situation.

  His mom sighed loud and long. “Danica will be disappointed,” she said in a singsong kind of guilt-tripping way.

  “She’ll get over it, I’m sure.”

  After hesitating, his mom said, “A few rooms are available.”

  “Thanks, Mom. We’ll be there soon.”

  He turned the corner, passing fields on either side of him and fighting away the pessimism this sight always instilled in him. The dilemma inside him was such an oxymoron. He’d felt more sequestered and caged within these open fields than any cubicle in his life in Chicago. It was Murphy ’s Law, he supposed, to have something get in his way every time he tried to return to his business, to where he really wanted to be.

  The sight of Goldie’s truck in his rearview mirror held a small dose of comfort, though. This was the first time he could remember not completely dreading the return trip home. Now he just had to present the whole girlfriend thing to her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  GOLDIE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE AND keep her eyes on the road—and Adrian’s tail lights—all while bending lower over her steering wheel for a better look at the amazing view. Everywhere she gazed was open fields and grassland. A mountain rose up in the distance, and she suspected it’d been the one to hold her hostage the night before.

  She’d seen The Horse Whisperer. She knew just how far-spread Montana’s rural land was, but it was always different thinking she knew how something should look based on a movie, and seeing it for herself. She couldn’t get over the lack of trees—there were trees clustered at every turn back home. This was nothing but vast, open space, allowing the sky to dominate and spread its cloak far and wide. It took her breath away.

  Ahead of her, Adrian veered onto another dirt road flanked by a tall sign dubbing the area as Rustic Ridge Ranch: Bed & Breakfast & Horseback Rides.

  The driveway was a long one, bumping and jostling as she shadowed behind him to a large, beautiful home that put the sophisticated cabin in the woods to shame.

  Two levels high, with exposed logs and green shutters, it was rustic posh to the max. A large, long barn was located several hundred feet away, separated from the main house with corrals and pens for animals. Several horses grazed within one of the adjacent pens, bending to sniff the patches of grass at their hooves. A handful of cars took up space in the gravel parking lot off from the main house.

  Goldie knew she should be leery about trotting off and following a complete stranger home, but something inside of her had offered a comforting nudge. While fear had trickled in during the drive out here, she was glad she’d come. This place was incredible, much better than the natty hotel they’d pa
ssed.

  Her stomach twisted at the comparison. The hotel might have been a little more affordable. This, though, this ranch was so charming and inviting, it must cost a fortune. She would have to put the reservation here on credit and then take the next thousand years to pay it off.

  “Just for one night,” she told herself. Aunt Bethany would get back to her by tomorrow for sure.

  She exited and found herself filled with amazement. The air smelled sweet, like hay and honeysuckle. Birds chirruped in the trees lining the left side of the driveway. A wrap-around porch hugged the front and sides of the main house. Flower boxes were exploding with tulips, and pansies. Daffodils dotted the beds in front of the hugging porch, and the sense of being rooted settled straight into her.

  Her house back in Baldwin had never felt like this, like she wanted to dig a hole, plant herself in it, and never leave. It was picturesque and more fairytale-like than anywhere she’d ever visited. It had a back-in-time, settle-in kind of feel.

  Adrian slammed his car door shut, jolting her out of her daydream. She jumped a little inside at the sight of him. Yep, she could get used to a view like him, too. He really was good-looking, with the casual swatch of his hair sweeping to one side, the shape of him in his jeans and the way his shirt spread tight across his shoulders.

  “This is it,” he said.

  “This is seriously the most incredible place I’ve ever seen.”

  A shrug. “It’s all right, I guess. Shall we? The reception desk is just inside.”

  Goldie was ready to retort. All right. All right? How could anyone with eyes look at this place and classify it as just all right?

  The interior was staged like something from the Parade of Homes. Cozy and homey, it idealized the rustic part of its namesake. Cowboy hats hung above doorways, muted colors of green and brown were in every fabric, and sage and wheat filled up vases on tabletops. Exposed wooden beams stretched overhead, while a stone-clad fireplace and chimney climbed up the wall where leather couches welcomed visitors to sit. The open area also hosted a collection of round, wooden tables where a few people were sitting with coffee mugs. Massive windows also displayed an exquisite view of the surrounding land.

  “There you are.” A middle-aged woman with dark hair cut to a stylish A-line scampered toward Adrian, trailed by a chocolate Labrador. The dog seemed much happier to see Goldie than the woman did. Adrian stopped at the reception desk where a teenaged version of himself sat staring at his phone.

  “Goldie,” Adrian said, gesturing. “This is my mom, Sylvia Bear. Mom, this is Goldie Bybanks. She’s my friend.”

  Goldie’s stomach cinched. Could people who’d only met hours ago be friends this soon? She supposed so, considering the phrasing she’d used in her email. She warmed at the implication. He’d called her his friend.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” said Sylvia, though the words were nicer than her expression.

  Adrian slapped the reception desk, yanking the boy’s attention from his phone. “And this is my little brother, Jordan.”

  “Hi,” Goldie said with a timid wave.

  The good-looking teenager blinked a few times before giving her a robotic wave.

  “She needs a room, Jordan. Mom said we have something available?”

  Jordan set his phone on the desk and focused on the laptop before him. Adrian stepped away to speak with his mother, leaving Goldie to ruminate. Doubt began to waft through her. What was she doing? She couldn’t afford to stay at a place like this, not with these unfamiliars and their mother who kept glaring at her with all the pleasantness of a threatened raccoon.

  Maybe Aunt Bethany was home now. If only she’d given Goldie her number. Goldie was ten seconds from withdrawing when Jordan said, “Here we go. Room Four.” He pronounced a fee that would have covered two weeks’ worth of groceries. “Credit or debit?”

  Goldie was grateful Adrian wasn’t close enough to witness her humiliation. “Credit,” she said, handing him her card. Whatever his conversation with his mom entailed, Mrs. Bear didn’t seem too happy about it. Their glances kept shifting in Goldie’s direction.

  Just one night, she told herself again, pushing down the nausea at spending so much money.

  Jordan returned her card, along with a good, old fashioned key. Every other hotel Goldie had stayed at used plastic cards, but this was a legitimate, dangling key.

  “You’re up there,” he said, pointing toward the stairs. “Second door on the left.”

  “Thank you.”

  Adrian returned his attention to her, acting more chipper than he had earlier. Was he that happy to be home? “Here, honey, you don’t need to worry about that. Jordan, whatever you just charged her, cancel it. She’s my guest.”

  Did he just call her honey? Not charge her for the room, was he serious? “That’s really not necessary,” Goldie argued, but Adrian bent for her bag as confusion from what he’d said rankled her.

  “I insist,” he said, adding a wink.

  What was with the winking? He was bounding up the stairs before she got the chance to ask, and she was hot on his heels, eager for an explanation.

  “What was that about?” she asked, rushing to catch up to him.

  Adrian glanced behind her but didn’t slow his pace. She didn’t fail to notice the patch of red in his cheeks. “Here we are. Room Four.”

  He waited for her to unlock the door, followed her in, and then closed it behind him.

  Goldie’s eyes widened, her senses pitching into high alert. Had she made a mistake trusting him? What about the warm feeling she’d had? “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Her conversation with Sadie may not have been that far-fetched, though she seriously doubted he would try anything. He seemed too classy, too put-together, to ruin his own life or hers like that. But what if she was wrong?

  Adrian set her bag on the bed and faced her, running a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry about that. I wanted to talk to you, about tonight.”

  “By calling me ‘honey’?”

  He cleared his throat. “Right. Again, sorry. My mom is under the impression I need to marry a girl I used to date. I told her I was going with you to the fundraiser tonight, and since my mom can’t believe I’m picking an outsider over Danica, I may have given her the impression you and I didn’t just barely meet…”

  “You what?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about it, though,” he said, holding out a hand.

  “Seems like it’s a little late for that. You called me honey.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know, I should have said something sooner. Called you, or something and explained. But I didn’t want to tell her I caught you sleeping in our fishing cabin, and in the moment, I wasn’t sure what else to do. I didn’t really think things through.”

  Chagrined, Goldie ducked her head. He did have a point there. He’d been gracious enough not to press charges, and he’d helped her find her way into town. If it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t have been put in the situation in the first place.

  “How about it?” he asked, resting a hand on the back of the nearby chair. “Want to be my fake girlfriend while you’re in town? At least until either you or I go back home?”

  She frowned. “I thought this was your home.”

  “Not anymore,” he said. “I’m just visiting.”

  If that was the case, she was curious where he was from. She decided not to ask. “I have about a week here in Two Pines,” she said. “And if I get ahold of my aunt, I’d like to stay with her.”

  “Works for me,” he said. “Does it work for you?”

  Goldie pressed her lips together. This was getting more and more unexpected by the minute. “I’ve never been a fake girlfriend before. What does that even mean?”

  “Just spend time with me.” He shrugged. “Act like you like me.”

  A thousand things could go wrong, couldn’t they? In the moment, she couldn’t think of anything. She was going to be here for one night. She’d
go to this fundraiser with Adrian, find her aunt, and move on with her life. He’d go to wherever he was from, and she would go home. That would be that.

  “This feels so weird,” she said.

  He chuckled. “It does for me too.”

  Goldie bobbed her head, grateful they were on the same page, at least. After a few more seconds, she exhaled. “I can do that,” she said. “You know, be your girlfriend. But I don’t like lies.”

  He stepped closer to her, and something inside of her shifted. His closeness made her breath quicken. “Then it won’t be a lie. Goldie Bybanks, will you be my girlfriend for a day? Possibly a week?”

  She quirked a brow. “You must really not like this Danica person.”

  Adrian laughed. “Danica is fine. She’s just not for me. You, on the other hand. You look absolutely like the kind of woman I want to be my girlfriend for a week.”

  “And you look like…”

  “Don’t finish that,” he said with a grin. His cheeks held the same pink tinge. He was cute when he blushed.

  Goldie’s lips twisted. “Fair enough.” She glanced around the room, finally taking in the log head-and foot-boards, the brown and green plaid curtains, the lampstand hugged by a black bear. In fact, there were bears on everything, in the pictures on the walls, even a stuffed bear sitting on the dresser beside a notepad and pencil. Snuggling, anyone? “Bears?”

  “It’s a family joke. Can’t have a last name like Bear without having a little fun with it.”

  “Yeah, I can see that. There’s not much you can do with a name like Bybanks.”

  “Could be worse,” he said.

  “That’s true.”

  The agreement hung between them, making things uncomfortable again, at least for her. Girlfriend? How was she supposed to act around him now? He’d said to act as though she liked him, and she supposed she did like him. Still, exhaustion wore on her. She’d been traveling for days, pent up with the uncertainty about meeting Bethany Harold and finding out the story behind her years-long distance from her family. Add to that the frustration of getting lost and the disappointment of Aunt Bethany not being there, and Goldie was downright tired. If she had a date later tonight, she wanted to get some rest.