The Trust of a Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  “What is your other wish?”

  “For Hannah to be my mommy.”

  That was it. He couldn’t take anymore. He fell to his knees next to Addi and grabbed her to him. “You do?”

  “Yeah. She’s my favorite person ever except for you. And she loves me. She tells me all the time.”

  “Yes, she does. And we love her, don’t we?”

  Addi nodded and pushed back. “Why do you look sad?”

  Carter took a deep breath. “I just miss her. Okay, you stay here with Miss Trudi, okay? I’ve got a lot to do.”

  Addi hugged him goodbye and Carter hurried to his office. There was no way he was letting Hannah slip out of their lives without a fight. As soon as he saw Brenda, he said, “Hannah has gone to Boston, and I need to get her back.”

  “Does this have anything to do with the way you’ve looked like a thundercloud since yesterday?”

  He crossed his arms. “Yes. Hannah confessed that she owns the beach house with her sister. She’s been keeping it a secret from the beginning. I didn’t take it well.”

  “Ah. Well that explains this.” She handed him a manila envelope.

  “What is it?”

  “Your standing offer on the house was accepted this morning. The closing date is one week from today.”

  Carter took the envelope, distantly noticing that his hand shook. He pulled out the documents and looked them over. Sure enough, there was Leah’s signature. What was Hannah thinking?

  He dropped the papers back on Brenda’s desk and started pacing. No. He wasn’t going to let her do this and there was no way in blue blazes he was going to tear that blasted house down either. “Now that her sister has signed that, it’s binding. I’m going to own a house I don’t want and can’t tear down because I love the woman who loves it, but I won’t have her.”

  Brenda’s eyebrows rose. “You need coffee. I’ll get some for you.”

  “No, I don’t need coffee. I need ideas on how to fix this.”

  “Just move it,” Brenda said dismissively from the Keurig. “Dark roast?”

  “Move what, Brenda?” Carter’s voice was sharp with impatience.

  Brenda looked over her shoulder, surprised. “The house of course. You already own the lot on the other side of it. Just move the house down. You get your view, the house survives, and you can give it to her for a wedding present.”

  “A wedding present? I’ll be lucky if I can get her to talk to me again.” Carter resumed his pacing across the office. “You’re a genius, Brenda! Okay, so get me an architect in here. I don’t know who else you need to move a house. Get my team on it. Tell them to drop anything else they have going.”

  “On it,” Brenda said, reaching for her phone.

  Carter realized he need to make a phone call too. What if she didn’t answer?

  Heading back to his private office and shutting the door, Carter took his phone out of his pocket. With his heart hammering at double speed, he called Hannah. It rang three times, making his heart sink with each one. Then her voice sent waves of relief through him. Until he realized he didn’t know where to start. “Hannah.”

  “Yes?” Her voice was hesitant and quiet. So different than he was used to.

  “I….Look, I want to fix this—apologize. But I want to do it in person. Where are you in Boston? I can be on a plane in an hour.”

  There was a long silence before she answered, during which time, Carter nearly broke his teeth from clenching them so hard. Finally, she said, “Actually, I haven’t left yet.”

  “You’re still here?” He didn’t stop to think. He just started walking.

  “Yeah. My flight isn’t for another three hours.”

  “Don’t move. I’m coming over.”

  He called back to Brenda. “She hasn’t left yet. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

  “Good luck!” Brenda called after him.

  He waved but didn’t stop to thank her. He was going to need more than luck. He needed a miracle.

  As he made it outside, he started running. When he made it to the beach, he saw her coming toward him, her dress and hair blowing in the breeze. Never had he seen a more welcome sight.

  When he’d first met Hannah, he’d been trying to kick her off his beach. Now he had to convince her to stay.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  When Hannah hung up her phone, she splashed cold water on her face and wished there was time to comb her hair. But tangles seemed so unimportant with Carter coming. To her house. To talk to her.

  So even though she was hurt and angry and confused, she went out to meet him—out the back door, down the steps to the beach, and across the snow-white sands.

  He was running to her. With her heart throbbing so hard it hurt, she waited, no matter how the wind pushed at her to run to him. There was too much she didn’t know and more things she didn’t understand.

  As he got close, she looked up at his face that had once been merely handsome and now was the most splendid sight on earth. As he stopped before her, his eyes glinted in the sun, but darkly, like the deep waters. His hands reached for her, but hesitantly. Did he not know how much she needed him to hold her? To make her whole again? She took a step closer and took his hands.

  “I’m so glad you’re still here,” he said. “But I would have followed you anywhere to tell you how sorry I am. I was too selfish in my reaction, thinking only of what I felt. But I should have tried to understand things from your perspective.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you” she said breathlessly. “I just never knew when or how to tell you.”

  His fingers gripped hers. “What made you decide to tell me that night?”

  “I knew we couldn’t move forward with such a secret between us. I wish I’d told you a lot sooner.”

  He let go of her hands and pulled her to him. She went willingly, leaning into his strength.

  “Hannah, is there any way you can forgive me? Give me another chance?”

  Hannah sighed and relaxed into his arms. “I just want you to forgive me. The last two days have been…hard.”

  His arms banded around her as if she might be torn away from him. Laying his head against hers, he said, “It’s killing me that I was such a fool—that I caused you so much pain. I take it back. Don’t forgive me. Not till I deserve it.”

  Hannah slid her hands up his chest and took his firm jaw in her hands. “Just tell me you want me.”

  “Want you? Of course I want you. Every day, every moment I can grab onto. I once believed that it was impossible to fall for someone so quickly, so easily, because the first time it went so wrong for me. But this is different. Everything I felt for Mandy was superficial. What I feel for you is based on real, meaningful things—like the way you smooth Addi’s hair with a smile on your face and the way you look at the ocean. I love your zest for life and the beauty of your soul. You’re warm and open, but you cut me down to size. And the way your eyes light up when you see me undoes me every time.”

  Hannah blushed that he’d noticed that and looked down, but Carter nudged her chin up with gentle fingers.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, Hannah. It meant so much to me that I mattered to you. Not my money, not my family—me. Do you remember that the first time we met, you said I should say please and ask nicely when I wanted something?”

  Confused, Hannah gave a shaky laugh. “I did?”

  “Yes, you did.” He gripped her hands more tightly and knelt down in front of her, his knees digging into the soft sand.

  Hannah gasped and waited, breathless with hope.

  “So, Hannah Rhodes, will you please find it in your heart to forgive me, and love me, and—if I’m very lucky—marry me?”

  She grinned though tears ran down her cheeks. “You really want me?”

  “Completely. Totally. Emphatically. Every way there is to want a woman.”

  Laughing and euphoric with joy, Hannah tackled him onto the sand, wrapping her arms around his neck as they fell. She grin
ned down at his surprised expression then kissed him before he got his bearings.

  When her lips first touched his, she felt their square, solid shape, and luxuriated in their warmth and the knowledge that they were all hers. But it only took two seconds for him to kiss her back, and once he did, all she could do was hold on.

  Keeping his arms around her, he sat up, settling her across his lap while never breaking the connection between their lips. She angled her head as he deepened the kiss, knotting her fingers in his sandy hair. Time faded away, marked only by the pounding of their hearts and the crash of waves.

  When Carter pulled back to rain kisses along her jaw and down to her neck, the reaching edge of the rising tide skimmed over Hannah’s toes. It pulled her partially back to reality—but what a very perfect reality it was.

  “Carter, your shoes are getting wet.”

  “I couldn’t care less,” he said into her ear, his hot breath sending a tremor through her. But after a few more kisses, he sat back and looked at her. Love gleamed in his eyes as he pushed back a strand of her hair. “I don’t remember if you said you loved me back, but I’m pretty sure that’s what that kiss meant. But I do want to know if you’ll marry me.”

  “Of course, I love you, cuddle cakes. I don’t roll around in the sand with just anyone. And I’ll marry you on one condition.”

  “You’ve done nothing but torture me since I met you. What is your condition?”

  “You tell your mom when I’m not around.”

  Carter’s face grew serious. “Yes, I wouldn’t subject you to that. The next time you see her, she’ll be fully aware and sworn to behave herself. Try not to worry too much. I think she lost it when I took Addi away from her. I’m hoping she might go back to her opinionated, controlling but less-crazy self eventually.”

  Hannah smiled and blushed as a thought occurred to her.

  “What are you thinking about?” Carter asked, tipping up her chin.

  She laughed. “Oh, just that it might help if she had more grandkids.”

  Carter’s eyes flashed and his eyebrows shot up. “I like the way you think. How soon till we can tie this knot and get going on your genius plan?”

  Hannah’s brains scattered. “I don’t know. There’s so much to figure out. I went from crushing on you to loving you to nearly losing you in a really short space of time. Don’t you think we should slow down a bit now?”

  Carter shook his head. “I don’t. But I’ll try to be patient if that’s what you want. Addi is going to flip when she finds out her wish came true. Come to think of it, so did mine.”

  How was it possible that he could make her heart squeeze like this so often? “What wish?”

  Smiling, Carter held up his wrist and showed her the band on his wrist. It looked more weathered and natural than the day she put it on him. “Well, they were slightly different, but amounted to the same thing. I wished for you to be mine forever. Addi wished for you to be her mom.”

  Gasping at the over-powering emotion that swept through her at his words, Hannah pressed her face into his shoulder. She held him, breathing in his scent and feeling more at home than she ever had. Hannah turned her head and kissed his neck then raised up to meet his eyes. “I love you both so much. That’s the best gift ever.”

  Carter smiled tenderly. “I have a better gift to give you, but you’ll have to wait for it.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not telling, but it’s about your house.”

  Hannah stiffened. As much as she loved Carter, the house was still a tender spot and a huge sacrifice for her.

  Carter’s hands ran over her back in a soothing motion. He leaned forward and delicately brushed his lips over hers. “Do you trust me?”

  Staring at him, searching his eyes for some clue as to what he meant, Hannah felt peace settle deep in her heart. “I do.”

  He grinned. “Just keep practicing that phrase, sea witch, and we’ll be just fine. Now, I want to meet your sister. She and I have some business to work out.”

  As he started to get up, Hannah pulled him back. “Not yet. You said something once about getting me alone without the possibility of getting interrupted. Well, I don’t see any doors around here.”

  Carter stood and pulled her to her feet. “True, but what I intended was not suitable for a public beach either. Is a quick wedding sounding better yet?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes, “Are you always so determined to get your way?”

  “Always. But lucky for you, the thing I want most in the world is to make you happy. Get ready for a lifetime of being spoiled to death.”

  She threaded her fingers through his. “I don’t want to be spoiled. I just want you.”

  “Sorry, sea witch. When a billionaire loves you, you get both.”

  Epilogue

  Carter had gotten updates from his crew and his new sister-in-law, Leah, the whole time he and Hannah were gone on their honeymoon to Italy. He kept Hannah out of the country—and completely distracted from what was happening in the rest of the world, until he knew the house was ready.

  Back home in his condo, Hannah had gone in to Addi’s bedroom with her to look over all the projects she’d made with Miss Trudi while they were gone, so Carter walked out onto the balcony and saw for the first time that the house was indeed a hundred yards further to the east. A rectangle of bare earth against the sand showed where it had once stood. It was unreal.

  Soft footsteps behind him caught his attention. He turned and saw Hannah walk past. “Hey, sea witch, come here and let me show you something.”

  Hannah smiled at him. “Just a minute, pookie boo. I wanted to go put my stuff in our room.”

  Carter grinned. At least she was keeping the nicknames g-rated now that they were around Addi again. “That can wait, I promise. There’s something on the beach I want you to see.”

  But she was already in their room. He followed, determined to get her over to the balcony. When he got inside, Hannah had dropped her bag on a side chair and slipped her sandals off. “Come on, sweetie. I’ve been dying to show this to you.”

  “Yeah?” Hannah asked. “Well, there’s something I’ve been dying to do to.”

  Without another word, she stood up on his bed and started jumping. Her hair flew in the air, her chest bounced around in a distracting way, and a smile of pure glee lit her face.

  “You crazy woman.” There was only one thing to do. Carter kicked his shoes off and jumped on the bed with her, tackling her onto the silky coverlet. “Are you ready to stop acting like a three-year-old and come see what I’ve done for you.”

  “What? You want me to act like the very grown up, loving wife I am?” She pulled his head down and kissed him, and having perfected her seductive techniques, thoroughly lured him off-track.

  Only the knowledge that Addi was home and their door was open kept him from getting lost in her arms. Pulling away, he got up, smiling at her disappointed expression. “I’m going to show this to you if it’s the last thing I do.”

  He grabbed her feet and pulled her to the end of the bed, pulling the coverlet into a puddle on the floor. Hoisting her over his shoulder, he carried her out to the balcony. Only then did he set her down again.

  “What in the world is going on?” she asked, looking around in a confused way.

  Carter didn’t say a word though—just waited for her to figure it out.

  “Oh my gosh, Carter, where is my house?”

  He laughed at the menace in her voice. “May I remind you that it is my house? I bought it, remember?”

  “And then I married you, so now it’s mine too. What did you do to it?”

  “I moved it. Look.” He pointed down the beach.

  Hannah leaned over the rail. “You moved the house? Holy smokes! I didn’t even know you could do that!

  “Yeah. It wasn’t easy since I wanted to keep it a surprise. Leah had to pack all your stuff and I had to buy Brant out of his lease. Turns out the guy knows how to negotiate with a
love-sick fool like me.”

  Hannah snorted. “I’ll bet. You got it moved while we were gone?”

  “The actual moving process only took an afternoon once the new foundation was ready. The house is just like you left it, just with a new address. I wanted to paint it and remodel it a bit, but Leah warned me to wait till I knew what you thought. I figured you could use it as an art studio…”

  He didn’t get another word out though because Hannah jumped on him, squeezing his neck so tightly he couldn’t breathe.

  “Carter Ellis, this is the best gift ever, ever, ever.”

  He kissed her, smiling against her lips. “Give me time, sea witch. We’ve got a whole lifetime to go still.”

  “You never did tell me why you call me sea witch.”

  He laughed. “Because you bewitched me from the first time I set eyes on you and that was the only explanation I could come up with. And after the last week, I’m pretty sure it’s true.”

  She smiled and ran her fingernails up his side in a way she knew drove him crazy. “Okay, sugar lips, I guess you can keep calling me that. Now, let’s go get Addi and look at the house.”

  She ran inside to get Addi and he followed behind her, a blissful smile stretching his lips. For a man who’d never had a real home before, he was pretty sure he now had two. It was going to take that many to contain all his love for her anyway.

  As they walked down to the beach toward the house, Hannah and Addi ran ahead, splashing through the waves and scattering seagulls. He’d come here for the view, and in his opinion, this was the best one he’d ever seen.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my family, as always, for their love and support.

  Thanks to my critique partners, Amy Meyer, Victorine Lieske, and Judy Corry.

  I love working with all of you, staying up late with you, and podcasting with you. (Even though my phone pings a lot.) Also, thanks for another great cover, Victorine!

  To my incredible Beta Readers, Editors, and Proof Readers, you are the best ever! Thank you, Arielle Bailey, Christina Tarbet, Cara Seger, Amberly Lucas, Amy Klaus, Debbie Jo Harvey, Hannah Lanman, Lorena Rodgers, and Joel Reese.