(2 Book Box Set) Loving The White Billionaire: 2 & 3

by Monica Brooks

  I realized immediately that the person was not just a street performer, but that he was playing just for us. I looked up at Axel to see that he knew exactly what was going on. I smiled, hoping that he would reveal his secret when a simple red rose was held before me.

  I took it gingerly in my hand as I thanked Axel. I was so confused where he got it from. By the time I went to turn around, Axel had his hand at the small of my back, and was leading me towards what seemed to be a dock.

  As I got up to it, I realized that was exactly what it was, and on it stood a man dressed in stripes. Oh! A gondolier! Something that I’d only seen on TV was in living color in front of me. He extended his hand towards me, and escorted me onto the gondola.

  The violinist came as well, and perched himself beside the gondolier as he began to push his way down the canal. I felt so special in the moment that I could’ve cried. Who else had ever done something this special and romantic for me?

  I noticed with more delight that Axel had a blanket ready, some wine chilled, and fruits and cheese for a light snack. This man was too perfect, but I loved every single second of it. I curled up close to him and soaked in this moment.

  I didn’t want this to end. I knew that it had to, but right at that moment I felt like I was the only girl in the world. I wanted that feeling to last forever. But I didn’t need all of this to make me feel that way. Every time I looked into those frosty blues, I knew that all he saw was me.

  ***

  Though our trip to Venice only lasted a day, I was more than ready to get back to Tuscany. There was something about that house that made me feel warm. I felt more at home there than I did back in the states! Arriving back four hours later, we immediately trekked upstairs and fell into bed together.

  The night before had been intense and passionate, and our long car ride did nothing but fuel the passion we had for each other. As soon as we reached the sheets, our clothes came off in an explosion of lust and heat. Our clothes lay scattered across the floor, in an array of colors, and the sheets hung off the bed by the time we were done.

  “I hope you enjoyed yourself in Venice,” he said as I lay on his shoulder, back against chest.

  “Is that even a real concern? Of course I enjoyed myself, Ax that was the best time of my life,” I said as he nuzzled his nose deep within my locks.

  “That’s good to hear, sugar.”

  “I’m so sleepy right now. You put me out every time,” I commented.

  “You do the same to me,” he said after a huge yawn.

  “I’m glad that I have that effect on you, it makes me feel special.”

  “Oh, you are definitely special, my dear,” I heard in a whisper.

  “Promise me something, Axel,” I whispered back.

  “Anything.”

  “Promise me, that no matter what happens, you won’t give up on me.”

  He was silent for some time. I honestly thought he’d fallen asleep. Maybe he was thinking? I didn’t know, but I started to feel embarrassed. The next thing I heard was a soft as a feather, I almost didn’t understand it.

  “I will never give up on you.”

  Chapter Three

  I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of shrill ringing. At first I didn’t know what it was. That was until I ran downy he stairs and answered the telephone. I could hear sobbing and frantic voices on the other line, but I couldn’t understand who they were coming from. Only two people had this number, and those two were Josie and my mother.

  “Mom? Josie? Who is this?” I didn’t bother to look at the caller I.D. What I did look at was the time.

  “Baby! I need you to come back,” the voice was cut off by muffled cries, “it’s your Dad!” my mom cried.

  “Dad? What’s wrong with Daddy?” I asked.

  My heart was in my throat, cutting off the circulation to my head. I steadied myself against a chair as I began to sway. My mom hadn’t told me anything about what happened to my dad, but I knew that it had to be serious for her to call me screaming like she had.

  “We’re at the hospital! Please come home,” she sobbed.

  “Mom, I need you to calm down; tell me what happened!” I shouted in frustration.

  “It’s his heart! Just come here, I have to go! We’re at the hospital you were born. I love you baby, bye,” and with that the conversation was over.

  I had never experienced my mom like this before. She was frantic and absolutely out of it, which scared me even more. I slammed the phone back down on the hook, and darted up the stairs, nearly tripping in my attempt to get to Axel. His posture was erect when I finally reached him.

  “What’s going on? It’s three in the morning! Are you okay?” he asked reaching for me when I walked away.

  “I need you to take me back to the states! My dad is in the hospital, and from the way my mom was screaming, it’s bad!”

  “Alright, Jaida, calm down ok? We’ll be out of here by six ok?”

  I whirled around, stumbling at the speed. I glared at him incredulous as he sat in confusing on the bed. My heart was pumping and I could barely catch my breath.

  “What do you mean in three hours? We need to leave now!”

  “Listen to me Jaida! I know that you’re worried, but the pilot doesn’t wake up until five. We are about an hour from the plane ok? We’re going to have to wait. In the meantime, you can pack your bags and get everything you need while I do the same,” Axel said calming me down.

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to sensibly deal with the situation. Axel was right; there was nothing that I could do at the moment. I needed to calm down. Besides the fact that there was nothing that I could do until six; I was naked.

  “You go take a bath or something; I’ll pack our bags and get the car ready. If we leave in under an hour thirty, we’ll make it there by five instead,” Axel said softly while holding my shoulders.

  “You’re right. It’s kind of chilly out there, and my birthday suit is inappropriate.”

  “Right,” he said with a chuckle, “Go on, I’ll handle everything.”

  “Thank you Axel.”

  I walked away after fist giving Axel a squeeze and made my way towards the bathroom door. I decided on a hot shower instead. I could soak in it for a few minutes to get the tension out of my back. The water was the perfect temperature; it caused the glass of the mirror and windows to fog. I could’ve sworn it sizzled on my skin as soon as I stepped in.

  One thing it did do was relax me. Of course not completely, but it did help me take the edge off. As I lathered the bubbles up and down the length of my arm, I found myself thinking about my dad. I especially thought about the time that we spent in this very country.

  I found my eyes stinging unshed tears. My dad was the reason I never quit school, I needed him in my life. I felt so terrible about leaving the states so unexpectedly; what if I were in Puerto Rico at the time? I’d skipped town and hadn’t even turned on my phone. He would’ve been rotting in the hospital, I wouldn’t have even known.

  Shaking my head to try and get rid of the thought, I focused on the good. I focused on how close we were and how I could talk to him about anything. I thought about the time when I was a teen and I thought that I was pregnant. I told him before I’d told my mom. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t told my mom.

  He didn’t make me feel like I was a tramp or that I was stupid. He said that he understood, and that mistakes happened. He let me know that he would still see me as his little girl no matter what the outcome. Turned out that I wasn’t pregnant.

  It was all cleared up in a matter of weeks, so there was nothing to tell by that point. But my mom did feel upset, when later she found out from Dad, that I hadn’t told her. But the thing was, it wasn’t about her. It has always been about my dad and I.

  “Hey, I shot a text to the pilot about thirty minutes ago, and he’s awake. You almost done with that shower?”

  “How long have I been in here?”

  “About t
hirty minutes now.”

  “Oh,” I must’ve been thinking really hard, “I’ll go get dressed,” I said reaching out towards the shower nozzle.

  “Ok.”

  “Did you need to hop in?” I asked backing away from the nozzle and hopping out.

  “Here, I took this out of the dryer; I thought you might appreciate it,” he said as I wrapped the warm towel around my cold body.

  “It’s like heaven, thank you, Ax,” I said before kissing him on the cheek.

  “You’re welcome Jay.”

  The towel felt like a hug around my body. Axel was a life saver. I smiled before he kissed me on the cheek and hopped in the shower. I knew that I would be crying by the end of the day, so I decided to keep a fresh face, and just lathered a small amount of coconut oil on.

  I pilled my curls on top of my head, got dressed, and headed downstairs. I figured that I would tidy up the kitchen, making sure that there wasn’t anything that could attract insects on the counters. My mind must’ve been seriously flustered; I couldn’t even remember who cleaned the kitchen last night.

  The counters were spotless and the floor was mopped. There was nothing in here for me to do. Maybe the living room needed something done to it. I shook my head; there was nothing in here for me to do. I decided to check the bathrooms, all three of them. I felt the tears building as I realized that we had only used the one since we’d gotten here.

  I knew what I was trying to do, and the fact that it wasn’t working was getting to me. I started thinking about my dad, and how I’d left him. I thought about all the calls I could’ve made to him in the past, and I thought about how I might not make it to him in time. The thought broke the dam, flooded my thoughts, and trickled down my face.

  I perched myself on top of the counter, and tried to collect myself. My hands were covering my face as I breathed into my palms. My body convulsed with sobs that soaked my hands and drenched my face. I needed to stop, but I couldn’t.

  What if last month was the last time I got to see my dad? I cursed myself for being so neglectful. Footsteps sounded, and then ended before I felt arms around me. His chest supported my weight as I melted into him. I took deep breaths, but each one broke off into a sob.

  Though I cried, for maybe ten minutes now, Axel never once told me to stop. He never once told me to get a grip on myself. He just held me tight, and let me cry. He let me get out all that I needed to before I calmed down. He held me against him like he could stand there forever.

  “The car is started, our bags are packed; we’ll leave whenever you’re ready, but no sooner,” he said softly against my curls.

  “I’m ready; we need to get there as soon as possible,” I said after clearing my throat.

  “Okay honey, let’s go.”

  Nodding my head in compliance, I was helped down from the counter, and escorted towards the door. Axel stopped me before we reached the car door. He turned me to face him before he planted a kiss on my forehead.

  “Don’t let those thoughts flood your head. We’re going to get you to your dad.”

  “Okay,” I said softly.

  “I’ll be next to you the whole time. Everything will be okay.”

  “Ok honey, let’s go,” I said nodding my head and showing him that I was fine.

  Once we were in the car, Axel pulled out nearly as fast as he could, and shot off towards the airport where our flight awaited us. As we drove, I found my mind trying to binge on the negative thoughts again, but I quieted them with Axel’s reassuring words. I decided to close my eyes, and try and get some sleep before we made it to the states.

  Chapter Four

  The first thing I did was hug my mother. Her arms were like a vise around me. My tears mimicked the Niagara Falls as they made patterns down my cheeks. My brothers hugged me one by one before I finally made it to my dad.

  I began to sob as I reached my hand out to touch his face. He wasn’t even awake. Poor thing must’ve been too exhausted from his heart. I bent down to wipe the tears off his face before I kissed him. I rested my head on his shoulder and I prayed, for the first time in a long time. I needed my dad, I needed him to be ok, and I needed him in my life. Finally straightening up, I turned to my mom.

  “Tell me what happened?”

  “He woke up coughing something terrible. I thought it was just his cold messing up again, so I went to the cabinet to fetch him some medicine,” she paused for a moment and tried to collect herself.

  “It’s okay Momma,” Sammy comforted.

  “He was gagging, and blue! And I knew then that this was not just some cough.”

  “What’s wrong with his heart?”

  “Just heart failure. He’s eating too much fried foods, getting old, and not exercising,” she stated with a defeated shrug.

  “Well, what have you been feeding him? He only eats your food!” I pointed out.

  “Apparently, he’s been eating over at his sister’s house because I have been cooking too clean for him! That’s what he decided to tell me before he passed back out,” she said choking up towards the end.

  “Oh Daddy! Why did you have to be so stubborn?”

  “Can we address the elephant in the room?” Lucas asked suddenly.

  It just dawned on me that I had not come alone. This was the moment that I’d feared. Damn! I should’ve had a better game plan than this. I was so worried about my father that I completely forgot about the introduction.

  “Family, this is Axel; he brought me here from Italy.”

  “Italy?! What the hell were you doing in Italy?” Samuel asked.

  “With a man other than your fiancé!” Lucas added.

  “Oh my God! The wedding was called off!” I argued.

  “And for a reason none of us know!” Lucas snapped.

  “And can I ask what this man means to you? He better be the pilot!” Samuel added.

  “Excuse me!” my voice echoed throughout the room.

  “There’s no excuse for you!” Samuel interrupted.

  “Stop yelling! Maybe you all have forgotten that your father is in the hospital, but I have not! If you want to continue to yell, you can do it elsewhere.”

  “Ok fine, let’s use our inside voices,” Luke said sarcastically.

  “And you can start, Jaida, by telling us who this man is to you.”

  “My name is Axel, and I am Jaida’s boss,” he said speaking for the first time. His voice caused the air in the room to stand still. It was so deep and authoritative; it put my mind at ease.

  “I thought your boss was female?” Mom pointed out.

  “She was, until I started working for Axel.”

  “And you met him on your honeymoon?” Samuel pointed out judgmentally.

  “On my vacation; Ethan and I broke up remember?” I said.

  “Still, I mean you break off your relationship, you leave to Puerto Rico on a whim, and then you hook up with him?” Lucas said in all seriousness. “Don’t think we don’t know what you meant by being my little sister’s new boss, you nasty son of a-“

  “You better stop that cussing! I don’t tolerate that!” My mom said while she popped Samuel in the mouth like he was five.

  “Momma!” Sammy complained.

  “Don’t talk to him that way; he’s been very good to me since Ethan,” I defended while walking over to stand next to him.

  “He’s the rebound guy, he could be pimping you out on the streets and you’d have googly eyes.”

  “Samuel Jackson Peterson!” Mom chided.

  “Yeah, calm down,” I spat.

  “That’s enough out of all of you! We will talk about this later, in the meantime, I would like for you all to get me something to eat, and you will get along!”

  Some task my mom set us all on. My brothers didn't start any arguments, but they didn’t speak either. Every now and then, I would catch them looking over at Axel, just for a moment before looking away. Axel on the other hand was totally complacent.

  He didn’t seem at al
l bothered by the immature behavior that my brothers were exhibiting. He actually seemed quite amused. At certain points, I could tell that he felt that it was actually sort of funny. In a way it was; these men were in their thirties and were acting like they are in high school.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah, Jaida, are you hungry?” Luke asked stepping closer in a goofy sort of manner.

  “Luke, don’t make me drop you in this food court,” I warned with a pointed finger.

  “Ooh, like I’m scared,” Luke said taking a step backward.

  “So, Axel. What is your last name?” Samuel asked.

  “Frost,” he answered politely.

  “That sounds familiar. As a matter of fact…you look familiar too,” Samuel said while rubbing his jaw.

  “Oh snap, that’s the man that we were looking at in the Forbes magazine!” Luke said in awe.

  “Yes, that’s him. The creator of frost computers.”

  “The billionaire!” Luke’s facade finally broke. The only thing about Luke that bothered me was the fact that, only for moments he was truly himself. The rest of the time, he followed Samuel. I knew that Luke was upset about Ethan and I, but I knew that he wasn’t as upset as he let on.

  “Billionaire or not, you’ll never be good enough for our little sister.”

  “That’s right,” Luke said remembering whose side he’d taken.

  “Of course not. I fully understand,” Axel said towards Sam who’d sucked his teeth.

  “Sammy stop it!” I said.

  “You just go ahead and take this back to Momma,” he said handing me her plate of food before turning around, “I don’t feel that I’m ready to accept this.”

  Just following suit, Luke lost interest and walked away. Rolling my eyes, I looked down at the container of salad for my mom. I was so annoyed that I didn’t feel a sturdy hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I looked up and into shimmering eyes.

  “Don’t let it get to you. You saw how your brother Lucas reacted to me. He doesn’t dislike me, but your brother Samuel does. Only because I am the new guy who happens to be involved with his kid sister,” Axel explained the situation.