The Trust of a Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  Chapter Twenty

  Hannah could not get herself out of bed. She was an emotional, sleep deprived wreck, and all she wanted to do was get under the covers. Maybe if she was late for work, Carter would fire her and put her out of her misery. But even though she was joking with herself, her heart twisted with panic. If she got fired, she wouldn’t see Carter and Addi every day, and that just wasn’t an option.

  She knew, though, that she was living on borrowed time. Eventually, Carter was going to find out that she was one of the owners of this house—especially now that she was watching Addi here. Ugh. It was all such a mess.

  She had almost convinced herself to open her eyes when she heard a crash down the hall as if the front door had been flung open. Jumping out of bed, now very awake, she ran out of her room and stopped short at the sight of her sister wrestling her suitcase through the door while carrying an armful of grocery bags in the other.

  “Leah. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here for a vacation before my kids get out of school. Trevor says I need to relax.”

  “But isn’t school already out?”

  “Not in Boston. Hey, are you happy to see me or not?”

  Hannah realized that she was more than happy. She ran forward, maneuvering past the suitcase and flung her arms around Leah’s neck. “I have so much to tell you. I think I’m going to be miserable for the rest of my life.”

  Leah dropped her groceries and gently pushed on Hannah’s shoulders. Taking Hannah’s face in her hands, she said, “Does this have anything to do with the hottie I saw coming out of the apartment downstairs?”

  She looked way too excited about that. Annoyed, Hannah shook her head. “Brant? Ugh. No way. Come on, let’s get your stuff put away.”

  She started to take Leah’s suitcase into the master bedroom, but Leah grabbed it. “It’s just me, Hannah. I’ll be perfectly comfortable in the smaller bedroom. Now, you go make some coffee and I’ll be right out there to hear all about this.”

  Hannah stood in the hallway, rubbing her eyes and fixing her hair into a slightly-less-messy ponytail, then headed to the kitchen. Feeling more human, she started the coffee. She thought she was ready to bare her soul until Leah came back in and plopped down on a stool at the counter.

  “It’s a man, right?”

  Hannah nodded.

  “Do you love him?”

  Biting her lip against the shooting, sparkling sensation in her chest caused by this very complicated question, Hannah just stared back at her.

  “Oh my gosh! You totally do. Who is it?”

  “That’s the, um, crazy part.” She took a deep breath. “It’s Carter Ellis.”

  Leah’s eyes shifted and her mouth scrunched to the side like she was perplexed but thinking hard.

  Hannah couldn’t stand the wait. “You know, the billionaire next door? The cause of all our stress over the house? The man who wrecked our childhood neighborhood only to fill up our beach with hordes of tourists?”

  With her mouth dropping open, Leah stared. “Uh, wow, sis. So, maybe you should tell me why you love him, because I’m not sure I understand. Although I do remember you saying he was good looking.”

  Hannah’s temperature rose a few notches, as it always did, when she thought of how attractive Carter was, but there were so many other things to tell Leah about him. “He’s amazing in so many ways, Leah. He’s got a six-year-old daughter named Addi and he loves her so much, it just radiates off him every time he’s around her. And I may not like the resort coming in here, but it’s an incredible place and he did that. He’s so driven and charismatic, and even though he’s crazy rich, he isn’t snobby or arrogant. Well, maybe a little bit, but in a sexy way. And…”

  “Okay, slow down. You might combust if you keep going like that. How does he feel about you?”

  Hannah turned to pour coffee. Telling Leah how she felt about Carter had been hard enough. This might be impossible. As she turned back to with steaming mugs in hand, she pushed sugar and creamer toward Leah. “I’m just guessing at this point, but I know he’s at least…physically interested in me.”

  Leah’s eyebrow rose so high, it disappeared behind her bangs. “And how do you know that?”

  “He kissed me a couple of nights ago.”

  “And?”

  Hannah sighed. “It was…perfect. And devastating—the kind of kiss that turns your world upside down.”

  “Wow.”

  “But then his mom walked in on us and she basically hates me.”

  “Okay, I can’t just keep saying wow, but that definitely warrants another one. Why on earth doesn’t she like you? Everyone likes you.”

  Hannah took her coffee and walked over to stare out at the beach. It looked to be a beautiful day, with no storm clouds in hand. “Apparently not rich women who don’t want their son tangled up with someone from the lower classes. She looks at me like I’m a streetwalker or something. And she’s here all week, so I’m basically going to be avoiding her the best I can. And avoiding Carter too. He thinks I just want to wait to figure things out between us because of his mom, but really, I have another problem.”

  “What?”

  “Carter doesn’t know that I am the one saying no to him about this house. I thought it was funny at first that he was paying me the money I needed to pay the bills on the house so I could keep telling him no.”

  “Pretty ironic,” Leah said, chuckling.

  “Yeah, but now that things have…developed… the way they have, what’s he going to think of me?”

  Leah shook her head. “You’d better tell him and get it over with.”

  Hannah nodded and looked out the window again. “I know, and I would, but I’m afraid that if he knows, he’ll use my feelings to leverage me into selling it to him.”

  With a clunk, Leah put her mug down and walked over to Hannah. “If he would do that, he’s not the kind of man you’d want to be involved with anyway.”

  She tried to smile, but tears were pricking her eyes. “I know. I keep telling myself that. But you don’t know how badly he wants this house. I’m afraid of the whole situation. I’ve been trying not to fall for him, but I can’t help it. What if everything shatters?”

  Leah pulled her in for a hug. “You’ll survive.” Then she grinned. “And you can spend the rest of your life in this house, snubbing your nose at him, and knowing that it’s driving him crazy.”

  Hannah laughed, though it was muffled and rough from the tightness in her throat. “I have to go over there now and get Addi. He can’t see me like this.”

  Stepping back, Leah pulled on her arm. “Come on then. Let’s get you fixed up.”

  ***

  When Hannah got to Carter’s condo to pick up Addi, she was twenty minutes late. With her nerves frayed, she went inside and immediately looked around for Carter. She didn’t see him so she went to Addi’s room instead. She was still asleep, curled up in a curly-topped ball on the bed with the covers pushed down around her ankles. Hannah smiled at the angelic sight. Her heart filled with affection for the odd, lonely little girl who had blossomed so much in the last two weeks. Not wanting to wake her up yet, Hannah turned around and ran straight into Carter.

  “Well, good morning,” he said, laughing and putting his arms around her.

  “Carter,” Hannah said idiotically.

  “Hannah.” His voice was deep and warm as he teased her.

  She’d braced her hands against his chest, and now as she looked up at him, her fingers moved up to his shoulders with a mind of their own.

  With their eyes locked on each other, she saw him ignite at her touch. Her breath came quickly, and she knew this was a bad idea, but it felt so very right. Carter’s hands slid to her sides, then he gripped her t-shirt on either side and tugged her around the corner so she was pressed against the wall. When he dipped his head to kiss her neck, she surrendered to the heady delight, to the fireworks bursting in her veins. Everywhere his lips touched, her skin exploded w
ith sensation, but as he moved up to her ear and finally, blessedly, to her lips, the focus of her heart was on the joy of being wanted by this man she loved.

  “I didn’t plan this,” he said between kisses, his words like feathers against her lips. “But you wouldn’t believe how much I’ve wanted to kiss you again.”

  Hannah thrilled at his words, but she was too impatient for conversation, so she rose on her toes and kissed him with a new urgency. She might never get another a chance to have this. She was going to tell him about the house, soon. But not now. Not when he was holding her and kissing her as if she was the sunrise in his world.

  Hannah thought she might melt into a puddle at Carter’s feet until she heard rustling in the bedroom behind them. She pulled back and took a deep, unsteady breath. “Addi’s awake,” she whispered.

  “I know,” Carter whispered back, leaning in to nip at her bottom lip.

  Hannah smiled at how calm he was about it, but they needed to stop this anyway before it went any further. She turned her head and licked her lips, which felt hot and sweetly tender. “We have to stop.”

  “Then stop being so irresistible.”

  He clearly deserved at least one more kiss for that, but a knock on the front door made it impossible. Carter groaned and dropped his head down to rest on hers. “Someday, Hannah, I’m going to get you all alone with no possibility of being interrupted.”

  Whoever was on the other side knocked again, so Carter dropped his arms from her waist and went to the door. Hannah watched anxiously, wondering if she looked as soundly kissed as she felt. When he opened the door, her worst fears were realized. His mother.

  Mrs. Ellis’s eyes shot back and forth between them, and the knowing look in her eyes showed she knew what had been going on between them. But she didn’t say anything as she came in. Jenelle came in on her heels, wearing a bikini that displayed her generous figure under a sheer, open-front cover up. She floated into the room as if confident in her welcome and completely unaware that her choice of dress was a little much for 8:30 in the morning. Hannah highly doubted she was going for an early swim with all that makeup on.

  Realizing she was just being catty, she spun around and went to get Addi ready to go for the day. She wasn’t staying in this condo a second longer than necessary. She greeted Addi, who was sitting up in bed, still looking drowsy, then handed her some clothes and sent her off to the bathroom. By the time she was done, Hannah had a bag packed with her swimsuit, towel, and sunscreen. “Ready to go to my house for the day?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s hurry.”

  When they came out, Jenelle was out on the balcony, her coverup blowing in the breeze, her head dropped back like she was in a photo shoot or something. Hannah rolled her eyes and nearly bumped into Addi who had stopped dead at seeing her grandma.

  “Good morning, Addilynn,” Mrs. Ellis said. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry about cutting off your bracelets yesterday. Though I see Hannah made you some more. How very… sweet… of her.”

  Addi didn’t respond, just looked over at Carter who watched solemnly.

  Mrs. Ellis pulled a pink box out of her bag. “And look, I brought you a beautiful new one to wear.” She opened the box and presented a silver charm bracelet with several little charms and gem stones dangling from it. Addi took it and looked it over carefully.

  “Thank you, Grandma Ellis.” Then Addi walked over and gave the box to her dad. He took it when she handed it to him. “I’m going with Miss Hannah, Daddy. I’ll see you later.”

  He kissed her cheek and hugged her, then met Hannah’s eyes. His expression was difficult for Hannah to read but she knew he wanted her to help Addi. So, she held her free hand out and Addi ran to her. “Come on, moonbeam. Let’s go have some fun.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sunday night, Carter could no longer stand not seeing Hannah. She’d dropped Addi off the day before as soon as he’d texted her that he was done with work, then slipped out again before he could ask her to stay to have dinner with them. He knew she’d done it on purpose.

  There was no way she hadn’t been as affected by their last kiss as much as he had. They hadn’t just been chasing their desire, they’d been communicating about deeper things, like feelings and hopes and tomorrows. Since Sunday was her day off, he hadn’t seen her for way too long. Because he missed her so much, all he could focus on was plotting ways to see her again.

  Addi had actually given him a perfect excuse. She’d given him four grubby dollar bills and asked him to buy one of Hannah’s paintings. “To make her wish come true,” she’d said.

  But before he could use it, Hannah texted him. It simply said: Can we talk?

  A sense of foreboding chilled him. Those three words were more dangerous than the three words he wanted to say to her so much. But getting a chance to see her couldn’t be rejected. Where are you?

  Her reply came quickly: Meet me on the beach in front of the resort.

  He stayed only long enough to change out of his business clothes and leave Addi with his mom. Hopefully his mom would take the opportunity to rebuild her relationship with her granddaughter.

  The sky was still burnished gold from the sunset when he got outside but was quickly fading to blue as night took over. When he reached the beach, he kicked his shoes off under a light post and walked down toward the surf, keeping a sharp eye open for Hannah in the murky twilight. The beach was almost empty since most people had gone in for the night, but a few people were still outside watching as the dying sun sank into the steel-grey horizon line.

  He soon found Hannah, standing alone near the water with the waves just washing over her feet and the stiff gulf breeze whipping her long sundress around her legs. Her arms were crossed, and despite the wind whipping her long hair, there was a tense stillness to her that worried him. The crashing roar of the waves hid the sound of his approach so that he was only a few feet from her before she sensed his presence and turned to face him.

  Her expression did not light up when she saw him, and he realized how much that warmth in her eyes had meant to him. Now, she looked as if she’d been dreading his arrival. Confused and tense, he pulled Addi’s money out of his pocket. “I have something for you.”

  She looked curious but wary as he reached in his pocket. “What?”

  He held out the money. “Addi wants to buy one of your paintings. To make your wish come true, she said.”

  Hannah sniffed. He realized she was crying. Her hands trembled as she took the money from him. “Bless her angel heart. Oh, gosh, as if this wasn’t going to be hard enough.”

  Carter could barely breathe from the dread building inside him. “What is it, Hannah?”

  Hannah wiped her tears and tried to brush the hair out of her face. But the wind was determined to keep it there, so Carter reached out to help.

  As his fingers brushed her cheek, she looked up at him. “I should have told you when you hired me, but, well, I enjoyed not telling you then. I had no idea that you would ever be more to me than the powerful billionaire who had bulldozed my neighborhood and wanted to do the same to my home. And now that you are…more…well, it’s time you knew.”

  Carter stared down at her, processing her words. He wanted to bulldoze her home? Then, her meaning hit him. He looked up to the sand dunes and realized that they were standing on the border between his property and the beach house he’d been trying to buy for so long. The house that had caused him so much stress and difficulty with his investors. He looked back at Hannah, his throat tight with disbelief. “You own the house?”

  She shrugged. “Technically, legally, my sister owns it. My parents left it to her with the understanding that I could live in it for as long as I liked. All along, I’ve been the reason she’s been rejecting your offer.”

  “Your sister is Leah Parker?”

  She nodded and looked down at the sand. Then, turning away from him, she looked out to the water again. “I didn’t mean for us to get emotiona
lly involved, but now that we have—at least, I have—I couldn’t let this go any further without telling you.”

  Carter felt as if he’d been knocked over by a ten-foot wave. He remembered the times they’d talked about how much this resort’s success meant to him. Still, she hadn’t said anything. He’d been lied to before, by Mandy, and now he was facing it again. Maybe not at the same level, but it still hurt.

  Even though he could understand her reasons, he hated that he’d trusted so much, so completely, in her integrity, when the whole time she’d been keeping this a secret from him.

  And now what? He didn’t know. His heart still ached for her and it was all he could do to not reach out to hold her, but he needed to figure this out. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  Hannah turned her head back to him. “I was afraid you’d pressure me into selling you the house. Once I had feelings for you, I was afraid you’d use them against me. I didn’t want to deal with that.”

  “You really thought that about me?”

  “That you do what it takes to get what you want? Yes. Don’t tell me you would have been happy to just have a fling with me and never once wish that I would sell the house to you. Not with your investors breathing down your neck and your bottom line in jeopardy.”

  Carter crossed his arms over his chest. “I never considered this a fling, Hannah.” He slammed his mouth shut when he realized he’d raised his voice. He needed to stay in control but hurt and anger warred for dominance within him. “Why did you finally decide to tell me all this?”

  “Because I didn’t want things to go any further between us before I did.”

  Carter shook his head. What hurt the most was that she didn’t trust him enough to know he’d never choose profits or some house over her. And apparently, he couldn’t trust her to be honest with him unless she had to be. “I need some time,” he finally managed to say. “I don’t know how to deal with this right now.”

  Hannah nodded. “I guessed that would be the case. I can call the agency and have them send someone else over to watch Addi.”