The Trust of a Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  “No. You won’t abandon her just because you and I are …whatever this is. She doesn’t deserve that.”

  “I never wanted to. I thought you wouldn’t want to see me.”

  “Then I’ll expect you tomorrow.” He turned then, and left, unable to face being around her while so much emotion seethed within him. But as he stopped for his shoes at the light post, he saw her still standing there, looking out to sea. And then he knew, however angry and hurt he was at the moment, he still wanted her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Hannah went through the next day like a zombie. With Leah there to urge her to it, she’d finally found the courage to tell Carter she owned the house. And it had been every bit as awful as she’d thought it would be. Worse maybe.

  The look on his face, so full of reproach and hurt, had crushed her inside. And the coldness that had come over him had shattered her. Surely, surely, he would forgive her for it. She hoped that in time he would, but if not, there was no way she could keep working for him.

  Picking up Addi in the morning had been torture. Carter had left as soon as she arrived, leaving her feeling wretched and hopeless. Was what she’d done really so bad that he couldn’t even sympathize with the position she’d been in? If it weren’t for needing to cope for Addi’s sake, and having Leah around to keep her steady, she would have been a basket case.

  She looked over at Addi as she swirled blue watercolors across her paper to create the ocean. Hannah hated the thought of quitting. It felt wrong, but there was no way she could keep working for Carter if he continued to give her the cold shoulder.

  “He’s taking this all too seriously,” Leah said softly as she came up behind Hannah with a glass of pineapple juice.

  Hannah took the drink thankfully, sipping it for a moment before turning back to her canvas. Like Addi, she was painting a landscape of the beach outside. “Well, I’m the one who lied to him and then didn’t trust in the strength of his character. I understand why he was so hurt.”

  “Yeah, but if he really loved you, he would be able to forgive you for something like this.”

  “He’s never said he loved me, Leah. It was crazy that he was ever interested in me at all.”

  “Good gracious why?”

  “He’s just so…amazing.”

  “You know what I think you need?” Leah asked. “A trip back to Boston with me. It will give you a chance to get things in perspective when you aren’t in so close to him.”

  But Hannah just shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I’ll just stay here and hole up like a hermit. Except right now, of course, because I have to take Addi back to her condo. I’ve been waiting till I knew Carter would be home so I wouldn’t have to wait there long.”

  “Chicken.”

  Hannah shrugged. “Hey, Addi. It’s time to go. Do you want to pick out the painting you want to buy from me? You paid me already after all.”

  Addi gave an excited squeak and ran across the room. She pointed to a pastel toned painting of a mermaid swaying among the kelp in a violet lagoon. “This one.”

  Smiling, Hannah laughed. “Why am I not surprised.” Reaching up, Hannah took it down, leaving only a nail and a discolored patch on the wall. The painting was an old one and had been hanging there for a long time. She was glad to give it to Addi who would love it as much as she did.

  A few minutes later, she told Addi it was time to go. If Hannah hadn’t been so miserable, she would have laughed at the picture they made. Hannah wore cutoff shorts and her t-shirt was smudged with paint while Addi was pretty much a mess with wild curls, stains on her dress from a fudge pop she’d eaten earlier, and a bandage on her elbow from falling on the stairs down to the beach that morning. Not exactly fitting for the fancy resort, but Hannah thought Addi had never looked more adorable.

  Hannah held her hand. “Let me have the painting for now. I need to clean it up first. It’s been collecting dust for a while. You have your own work to carry.”

  “Oh yeah,” Addi said, running over to fetch her watercolor from the table.

  As they went outside, the stiff breeze blew Addi’s still-wet painting around like a flag, but she held it tightly.

  “Will Daddy like my painting?”

  “Of course. It’s amazing.” And Hannah had no doubt that he would.

  It was nice not having to sneak around the resort to keep Carter from finding out where she lived. Now they could just walk right up the beach in the open. It was the only good thing to come from telling him.

  They went through the lobby, which bustled with people on their way out for the evening, and rode up the elevator with a crowd of people. It was packed until the final ride up to the exclusive level where Carter’s condo was. It looked like the resort was a hit. But how could it have ever been otherwise? Carter had created an oasis of casual luxury here.

  They went into the condo, but found it empty, which surprised Hannah. Carter always made sure he was off work in time to have dinner with Addi unless he had specific plans for the evening. She sighed. More than anything, she wanted to get out of this condo where there were too many memories of things that now just caused her pain.

  “Let’s hang your painting up on the fridge,” Hannah said.

  There were still only the two tacky palm tree magnets to hang it up with, but the magnets did the job and added a tropical flare to the smudgy, drippy painting.

  “Oh no. It got messed up,” Addi said, pointing to the drips.

  “No way. Lots of artists do that on purpose. Let’s go get you ready for bed and then I’ll find some pictures and show you what I mean.”

  Soon, they were cuddled up on Addi’s bed, looking at pictures. Hannah was just thinking that she would need to get Addi dinner if Carter didn’t get home soon, when she heard the front door open. Even though she’d been expecting him, her heart gave a huge, startled leap and her stomach fluttered with nerves at the thought of seeing him again. How would he react to seeing her this time?

  “Addi?” Carter called out, his voice sending goosebumps across Hannah’s arms. Oh, how she loved his voice.

  “Daddy,” Addi called. “I’m right here. Want to see my painting?” She got up off the bed and ran out to the living room. There was nothing Hannah could do but follow.

  Carter had swung Addi up into his arms for a hug, and when his eyes met Hannah’s over Addi’s shoulder, she froze to the spot. They were so direct and compelling that she couldn’t look away, but she couldn’t read his emotion in them. She was only freed when he turned and sat Addi down. “Show me your painting.”

  While they walked over to the fridge together, Hannah edged to the door. “I’ll be going then.” Her heart almost broke when he didn’t even bother to reply. When she opened the door, she found Mrs. Ellis and Jenelle on the other side. Hannah gave a startled, “Oh,” and stepped back so they could come in.

  “Were you leaving?” Mrs. Ellis asked her. “Carter, I thought you said Hannah could feed Addi before she left.”

  Carter walked around from the kitchen, his hands deep in his pockets. “Well, she seemed in a hurry to leave.”

  His words sounded like an accusation, and Hannah felt a spark of anger. Of course she was in a hurry to leave with him acting the way he was. But she wasn’t going to be made to look stingy. “I can get her something.”

  “You don’t have to,” he said, his voice sharp.

  “I don’t mind,” Hannah said, her tone matching his.

  “Excellent,” Mrs. Ellis said, looking back and forth between them with a pleased expression. Hannah hated the smug satisfaction in her voice as she said, “Carter and Jenelle are going out for dinner, so I’m watching Addi tonight.”

  “I see,” Hannah said, not caring that her voice was icy. She went to the kitchen and looked around for something she could fix Hannah to eat.

  Carter muttered something that sounded like, “I’ll go get ready,” and went into his bedroom.

  Addi went over to the living room and turned on one
of her favorite movies, and Jenelle sat beside her on the couch. Hannah had to crush down the protective instincts surging within her as she moved into the kitchen.

  While she made scrambled eggs and toast for Addi, Mrs. Ellis followed Hannah into the kitchen. Her presence made Hannah’s nerves jump and she clenched her teeth hard. She could tolerate this for the few more minutes it would take to cook Addi’s food.

  “You know, I really am sorry for the way things worked out between you and Carter.”

  Hannah stopped and looked straight at her. “No you’re not. Don’t talk bullcrap to me.”

  Mrs. Ellis gave a smile that any cartoon villain would have been proud of. “I just mean that I feel sorry for you. Of course I’m glad my son is no longer distracted by you. You never would have been any good for him.”

  Hannah glanced across at Jenelle who was scrolling on her phone with a bored expression. “And she is?”

  Mrs. Ellis lowered her voice. “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps. I have a list of others to try if she doesn’t work out. But that’s none of your business.”

  Hannah spooned the eggs out onto a plate and started rinsing off the skillet. “Why are you talking to me?”

  “I just think it would be better if you moved on. I’m sure the agency you work for can send a replacement easily enough. You see, Addi is growing too attached to you, and since you can’t stay around forever, it would be better if you made the break now.”

  “Better for your schemes, you mean. You might want to try letting him run his own life, you know. Before you lose him and Addi.”

  Having at last spoken the words she’d been burning to say for days, Hannah buttered the toast and took it over to the dining room table. Though she was seething inside, she still managed to smile at Addi. “Come eat, moonbeam. I have to go. Give me hugs.”

  Addi got up and ran to the table, hugging Hannah before she sat down. “Good night, Miss Hannah. I had lots of fun today.”

  “I’m glad.” Hannah kissed her cheek and walked to the door. But before she opened it, Carter’s voice stopped her. She hadn’t realized he’d come out of his room.

  “Thanks, Hannah.” His voice was rough but firm. It sounded like goodbye.

  Going out, she resisted the urge to slam the door behind her, because she was a lady, dang it. But right now, she was also a flame that wanted to burn something to the ground. What an idiot she’d been to let herself get so caught up with Carter, as if he was just a normal man. She’d known better but hadn’t listened to her own good sense. Well, he could have his manipulative mother and her string of Barbie doll candidates to be his wife. He’d end up miserable and jaded when he could have had someone who truly loved him.

  But thinking those words ruined her composure, and her anger gave way to the stronger emotion welling inside her. Heartbreak crashed over her, taking her unaware as she rode down the elevator. Tears swam in her eyes, but the elevator stopped at every floor, more and more people crowding in, trapping her against the glass wall. She saw a nice-looking woman watching her with concern and turned her eyes to the floor until they reached the ground floor.

  As soon as the bell dinged and the door opened, Hannah squeezed her way through the mass of happy tourists and ran, almost blinded by tears, out the back entrance, past the pools and flowers and floodlights. By the time her feet hit the sand, she was sobbing, but still she ran.

  The crescent moon glinted on the dark water of the gulf, and the surf washing the shore looked like silver lace, but for once, there was no solace for her here. Nothing could ease the sharp pain in her heart. Nothing. Still, she stopped there and let the salt of her tears grow sticky as the breeze dried them on her cheeks.

  Leah found her there. She wrapped her arms around Hannah. “What can I do to help?” she asked.

  “I’ll take you up on that visit to Boston.”

  “Of course.”

  “And can we sell the house to him?”

  “Oh, Hannah, why? You love this place.”

  “But I could never be happy here again, not living so close to him. And anyway, it will be rather fitting, don’t you think? For him to tear it down? Symbolic in a way.”

  “You’re just upset. Let’s go inside and we’ll talk about it in the morning.”

  Hannah let Leah pull her inside and didn’t say another word, but her mind was made up. If only she’d known from the beginning how it would end, she would have sold it to him weeks ago before she lost her heart to him as well.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Carter got out of bed feeling like he’d been hit by a train. And maybe that was the fate he deserved.

  He couldn’t forget the look on Hannah’s face before she’d left the night before. He knew she’d been doubly hurt by his coldness and that he’d gone out with Jenelle. He had hoped she’d never know, but his mom and Jenelle had arrived early. And then it was too late to tell her then he’d just been setting Jenelle up with one of his rich friends. If his mom had gotten a hint of his plan, she would have tried to throw a kink in it. Fortunately, Jenelle hadn’t given him another thought once she’d met Carlo. No longer having to worry about that complication, he’d been able to slip away early and face his mom. Maybe once he cleared up everything else, he could think more clearly about Hannah.

  Back at his condo, he had made sure Addi was asleep, then told his mom, “You can give up on Jenelle. She’s perfectly happy with my friend Carlo downstairs. And now, you can go home and let me try to figure out my life.”

  She had picked up her purse and walked to the door. “At least I won’t have to worry about Hannah now that you’ve come to your senses about her.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, mom, but I have, at last, come to my senses about Hannah—with the exact opposite effect you’ve been hoping for. My driver will take you to meet my pilot in the morning. Please ask before coming back again.”

  He shut the door before she could protest and walked through his condo, breaking the silence by sliding open the door to the balcony. The ever-constant crash of the surf and the heaviness of the humidity washed over him as he sat in a deck chair. He’d spent so many evenings hear with Hannah that the pain of her absence burned like an ember in his chest.

  Somehow, there had to be a path through this maze of hurt feelings and heartache, but he couldn’t see it yet. He knew he needed to start with an apology, but he held out little hope of her accepting after the way he’d treated her. He’d at last gone to bed, but only managed a few hours of restless sleep.

  With the bright morning light, came a new wave of regret and clearer perception of how inexcusable his behavior had been. Even if she had kept a big secret from him, she’d told him by her own choice and not because she’d been caught in a lie like with Mandy. It stung his pride, but she hadn’t been completely wrong about whether or not he would have done his best to talk her into selling the house. He had always been relentless about getting what he wanted.

  Loving her had changed that of course, but when had that line been crossed? He didn’t even know. How could she have?

  And that realization led him to another. She didn’t know he loved her.

  He felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to tell her. Today. To let her know that even though he’d lost his temper and needed time to cool down, his feelings for her hadn’t gone away. If anything, they’d gotten stronger as he realized how desperately he wanted to make everything right so she could be happy again.

  He rushed to get dressed, glancing at the clock every few minutes, knowing Hannah would be coming any minute to watch Addi for the day. But when he heard a knock on the door, he froze. Hannah wouldn’t have knocked.

  With his heart pounding in dread, he walked to the door and opened it to find a short, older lady with a round face and a big smile. “Hello. I’m Trudi. I’m filling in for Hannah.”

  Feeling as if his blood had turned to ash, Carter stepped aside and allowed her to come in. “Where’s Hannah?”

  “She’s going to Bo
ston with her sister. At least I think that’s where she said she was going when she gave me this.” The woman held up the gift bag she carried. “It’s a gift for Addi.”

  A gift. That was not good. At all. “How long will she be gone?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Addi ran out of her room then, still in her pajamas. She stopped short when she saw Trudi and her eyes flew to his. “Where’s Miss Hannah?”

  Trudi smiled. “She went to visit her sister. Isn’t that fun? But look, she left something for you.”

  Addi smiled and dove for the gift bag. She sat on the floor and started throwing the tissue around to get to the present.

  “It’s my painting. Look, Daddy. Hannah is so good at painting.”

  Carter took the canvas and stared at it, amazed at how ethereal and lovely it was. She truly was talented. He longed to see all her work.

  Addi rooted around in the bag and pulled out a stuffed mermaid doll. It was beautiful with shiny scales on her tail, and long, yarn hair. “Ooooh, she’s so beautiful!”

  Carter’s throat tightened as he saw the thoughtful gift, but he couldn’t handle what it likely meant. He needed a clue, anything that might tell him this was something besides her saying goodbye. “Is there a note, honey?”

  Digging down in the bag again, Addi pulled out a piece of paper. “Here it is.”

  “Read it.” Keeping his voice light was taking too much effort to manage for long.

  “It says: Addi, I wanted to make sure your wishes come true. Here is the mermaid you wanted to see. I hope she can be your best friend till school starts and you can make real ones. I love you, moonbeam. Hannah.”

  Carter almost lost it. This wasn’t happening. He wouldn’t let it happen.

  Addi looked up, looking confused. “Daddy, is Hannah coming back?”

  He clenched his teeth until his emotions were under control. “Yes, baby. She’s coming back. I’m going to make sure she does.”

  “Oh good,” Addi said, happy again. “Cuz if she doesn’t, my other wish can’t come true.”