The Billionaire's Con

by Mackenzie Crowne

  She headed for the old swing at the back of the property, too wired to sleep just yet. It had been quite a day. Trevor’s swarthy image shimmered through her brain. Oh, yeah. Quite a day.

  When she’d pulled out of the driveway this morning, she hadn’t known what to think. The mixed messages she’d gotten from him during the few minutes they’d spent in the carriage house had left her rattled and a little bit hurt. Which was stupid. She hardly knew the guy. So, they’d shared a moment. That didn’t mean she had any business feeling hurt and bewildered when he gave her that hard look and spoke in that cold voice.

  Obviously, the memory of his father’s death was a touchy subject. But by the time he’d come into the kitchen tonight, the charming man she’d met the day before was back in place. Despite her opening night jitters, his warm smile made her heart pound in her chest, and a warmth washed through her that had nothing to do with the heat from the ovens.

  Introducing him to Cara, she’d been more than a little disturbed to find herself holding her breath. Even the most controlled of men tended to trip over their own tongues when faced with the statuesque and curvy Cara. It had never failed to amuse her before, but for reasons she couldn’t explain, she didn’t think she’d enjoy seeing the urbane Trevor Bryce making a fool of himself over her friend.

  When he’d greeted Cara politely and respectfully, without any of the usual male speculation Cara normally inspired, she was more relieved than she should have been. And when he’d immediately turned back, concerned only that he was going to be in the way, she’d wanted to step into his arms and hug him, right there in front of her staff.

  She frowned into the darkness. Trevor Bryce was going to be a problem.

  “What’s with the frown?”

  Meggy yelped as Trevor stepped out of the shadows. “I thought you’d be on top of the world considering the raving I heard in your dining room tonight.”

  “God! You scared me!” She slapped a hand to her chest.

  “Sorry.” He shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

  Her heart pounded, due as much to his presence as from the scare he’d given her. “Me either.” She breathed deep in an attempt to calm her quaking nerves. “I’ve been dreaming of tonight my whole life.”

  “So, how does it feel? Realizing your dream?”

  Her smile was wide and unapologetic. “It feels frigging awesome!”

  He threw back his head on a throaty laugh and with his humor came the return of that odd zinging across her nerve endings. His pale eyes continued to sparkle as he wound down.

  “Frigging awesome is a good thing.”

  “A very good thing,” she agreed, grinning.

  “Well.” He rolled his shoulders. “I don’t want to intrude. I was just enjoying the night air.”

  “Trevor.” She took a step toward him before he could turn away, and he met her gaze with a questioning lift of his brow. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you by reminding you of your father’s death.”

  “You’re sorry,” he muttered. His gaze roamed her face as though searching for something elusive. They were standing close, just a foot separating them, and his hand came up to cup her cheek. “Who are you, Meggy Calhoun?”

  The tingling heat was familiar now. She wasn’t sure what he was asking, and so answered the only way she knew. “I’m the head chef of the best damned restaurant in the Boston metroplex.”

  “You are that.” A dimple popped with his smile. His gaze dropped to her mouth. “And so much more, I think.”

  “Oh,” she breathed when he did what she wanted to do, and closed the distance between them. Her breath came out in a whoosh as he leaned down and covered her mouth with his.

  She immediately felt like she was drowning in a vat of warmed honey. His tongue slid along hers in a tempting caress, and she followed his lead like a willing student.

  Oh, yeah. The man had secret weapons. And he had aimed and fired this one with the precision of a Special Forces operative. If he didn’t stop soon, she wasn’t going to survive his mission. The question was, did she want to survive?

  Survival is overrated, the greedy little voice in her head insisted.

  Sliding deeper into his embrace was the most natural thing she’d ever done. Of their own accord, her hands slipped up over broad shoulders to bury themselves in his thick pelt of hair. The sharp angles and hard planes of his body complimented her delicate curves as she pressed closer, and she reveled in the feel of his strong arms tightening around her as his mouth ravaged hers.

  He broke the kiss long before she was ready. She blinked up at him, doing her best to ignore the greedy voice in her head shouting for more. She settled on a lightly teasing tone, and was pleased with the attempt, even if it did come out a little more breathy than she’d planned. “You do that very well, Trevor Bryce.”

  A muscle twitched along his jaw, and his arms dropped from around her. “You have some talent there yourself, Meggy Calhoun.”

  What was a woman supposed to say to that? Hell, yeah I do! And why don’t you carry me to your bed so we can discover what other talents we both have? She was tempted to say just that. Instead, she took a cleansing breath. “Well.”

  “Well,” he parroted. “Goodnight, Meggy. Sweet dreams.”

  “You too.” She gulped as he disappeared into the night.

  Chapter Six

  Meggy heaved an impatient sigh. “It’s about time.”

  Cara and Erin, the youngest O’Shea sister, strolled into Palmer House’s kitchen. “Where’s Shan?” Erin glanced around the room.

  “She’ll be down in a minute.” Meggy eyed the newspaper in Cara’s hand. “Is it in there?”

  “Yep.”

  “Oh, God. Tell me! I can’t stand the suspense.”

  Cara shook her head. “We’re waiting for Shan.”

  “Have you read it?”

  “No, I’m waiting for Shan too.”

  “Then how do you know it’s even in there?” Meggy snatched at the paper.

  Cara held it out of her reach. “I know because Finn told me. He read it first thing this morning.”

  “And he didn’t tell you what it said?”

  “I told him not to.” Cara slapped the paper on the table. “We agreed to wait and read any reviews together. We’ll wait.”

  Meggy stomped over to the door leading to the second floor, leaning into the stairwell. “Shannon O’Shea! Don’t make me come up there! Your sisters are here with the reviews.”

  “You’re so bossy.” Shan’s clipped reply competed with the clatter of her feet flying down the steps.

  Meggy spun and rushed back to the table to grab the paper. She scowled when Cara snagged it first then ripped through the pages to the living section.

  “Palmer House,” she read aloud, “Ambiance and Excellence.” When she finished with the glowing review, she looked up at Meggy with a wide grin. “Four stars!”

  There was a moment of stunned silence before all hell broke loose. The paper crinkled between them as Meggy grabbed Cara, and Shan and Erin joined the fray. Squealing like little girls at a teen heart-throb sighting, they jumped up and down as one.

  Several moments later, the back door swinging open drew Meggy’s attention. “Trevor, wait,” she called out when he immediately wheeled around to leave. She broke free of the group, scooting around a prep table to grab his arm.

  “This definitely feels like a ‘girls only’ moment.” His lips pulled tight in a pained cringe.

  She laughed in delight, pulling him further into the room. “We just read our first review.” She beamed up at him. “Wallis gave us four stars!”

  “I saw that. Congratulations.” His smile soft, he pulled the folded edition from under his arm and held it out. “I was bringing the paper by. I wasn’t sure if you’d seen it yet.”

  “Oh.” She stared at the newspaper in his hand. The way she felt was the oddest thing, like laughing and crying at the same time. She was in the middle of an emotional
breakdown, and she didn’t care. With a sobbing laugh, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him fiercely. “Four stars! Can you believe it?”

  His arms came around her, and like a cat, she rubbed her cheek against the softness of his shirt. God, he smelled good. Four stars! And he felt even better. She burrowed closer, doing her best not to bawl like a baby. She wasn’t quite successful. A tortured hiccup escaped.

  His hands grasped her shoulders, and he stepped back until he held her at arms’ length. Panic filled his eyes. “Oh, shit. Don’t. Don’t do that!”

  “It’s just adrenaline.” Laughing in spite of the tears dripping down her cheeks, she swiped at them with stiff fingers.

  He nodded warily and edged backward toward the door.

  Meggy stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Wait, Trevor. You’ve met Cara.” She indicated Cara’s sisters. “These are her sisters, Shan and Erin.”

  He nodded a greeting, looking so endearingly uncomfortable as he continued to inch toward the door that she wanted to grab him once again and bury herself in his arms.

  She didn’t, and he made his escape with amazing speed.

  “It was sweet of you to bring the review by,” Erin called out just before the door closed behind him. She pinned Meggy with narrowed eyes. “Well, well.”

  “Bite me, Erin.” She choked on a laugh. She’d known Erin wouldn’t let the moment pass, but couldn’t bring herself to care. It had been sweet that he’d thought to bring her the paper and the review. And the panic in his eyes at her blubbering had been adorable.

  There was just something about the man that made her feel all soft and shivery inside. What was a woman supposed to do about that, other than take the next step and see where it led?

  “Oh, I know that look.” Cara crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

  Meggy turned to find three pairs of identical green eyes watching her with undisguised interest.

  “What look?”

  “The same look you had when you stole Paul Peterson from Amy Holbrook in high school.”

  She frowned indignantly. “I didn’t steal Paul from Amy. They broke up.”

  “Only after he got a look at you in that red bikini.”

  Meggy scowled and propped her hands on her hips. “Now, how exactly was that my fault? I didn’t do anything. I was just there. Can I help it Amy showed up in the same suit, and looked like a twelve-year-old boy in it?”

  “You’re getting off point here, ladies,” Shan interrupted. “We were talking about our tenant. The one you just shared a touching embrace with.” She turned a stern stare on Meggy “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” She shrugged.

  “It didn’t look like nothing to me.” Erin cocked her head. “He didn’t exactly shove you out of his arms.” She hesitated for a heartbeat. “Well, not until he noticed the waterworks.” She grinned at Shan. “Did you see his face? It was priceless.”

  Meggy didn’t join her friends in their laughter, but she did smile. “I like him, that’s all.” Pulling a large bowl from a shelf, she began her dessert preparations. “He’s a nice guy.”

  “He’s a nice, gorgeous guy.”

  She slanted Cara a sly look. “Noticed that, did you?”

  “We all did,” Shan pointed out. “So, what’s going on between the two of you?”

  “Nothing,” she repeated, only to be met with three disbelieving stares. With a roll of her eyes, she accepted the inevitable. The O’Shea women were as close to her as sisters, and they knew her well enough to know when she was hedging. They wouldn’t be going anywhere until she admitted all. “Okay, fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “He kissed me, all right? And I liked it.”

  “When was this?” Shan shot a quick glance at her sisters. “He just moved in three days ago.”

  “I couldn’t sleep after we closed up last night. He was out back, and so was I. We were just talking, and one thing led to another and...” She broke off, pressing a hand to her belly. “Holy cow! Does that man know how to kiss! I barely stopped myself from ripping his clothes off, and throwing him to the ground.”

  Shan’s eyes widened, and she turned to gape at Cara and Erin. All three burst out laughing.

  “I’m taking advantage of being closed on Monday and asking him out. I just have to think of something to do with him.” She glowered at Cara’s grin. “Besides that!”

  Erin was thoughtful for a moment before her eyes brightened. “Ryan has to work Monday night. If he hasn’t already given his Celtics tickets to someone else, you can take Trevor to the basketball game.” She whipped out her phone and started punching in numbers to call her husband.

  “Oh, the man’s a goner,” Cara predicted. “What guy wouldn’t be seduced by floor seats at the Garden?”

  “Who said anything about seducing him?” she protested.

  “You did.” All three sisters spoke as one.

  “I did not! Considering ripping his clothes off was a healthy sexual fantasy, not a blueprint for seduction.”

  “Semantics,” Erin quipped over her shoulder, proving she was capable of following more than one conversation at a time. “Love you, baby.” She snapped the phone closed. “The tickets are yours if you want them.”

  Cara studied Meggy’s stubborn face. “From the way he was looking at you when you grabbed him, I’d say those tickets will just be overkill.”

  Erin snickered, and Cara and Shan grinned.

  But Meggy just sighed. “I can’t believe I’m admitting this to you three busybodies, but I like him. I’m not saying I wouldn’t like him naked too.” She smiled widely. “But I like him, that’s all.” She ended with a shrug.

  “So what’s the problem?” Cara laid a hand on her arm.

  “There’s no problem. Not really. It’s just that...” Reluctant confusion filled her. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s just that he’s not like any other man I’ve ever met. I think I could really like him with a little time, and that scares the crap out of me.”

  “Suck it up, Calhoun.” Cara squeezed her arm and let go. She smiled at her frown. “So you like the guy. If it turns out he’s the one for you, there isn’t anything you can do about it anyway. You’re already a goner.” She wrapped an arm around Meggy’s shoulders, bumped their hips together and grinned. “Spend some time with him. Get to know him. Better yet, seduce him with the Celtics tickets. You know you want to.”

  Her smile was slow and thoughtful. The basketball game would be a nice diversion, but she didn’t need floor seats to seduce Trevor Bryce. That was something she could do all on her own. And, she thought, she might decide to do just that.

  Chapter Seven

  By midday Monday, Trevor had to admit there was a good chance he’d been wrong about Meggy Calhoun. The question of whether or not Ashford blood ran through her veins remained, and what she’d been doing at the farm was still a mystery, but he no longer believed her capable of running a con.

  With each passing hour, it had become increasingly more difficult to equate the bright, compassionate, quirky woman running the Palmer House kitchen with the money-hungry con artist he’d expected to find when he’d come to town. He’d had no trouble finding locals willing to speak with him about the town and Meggy. Over at the Bluebell Diner, the apparent headquarters for the town grapevine Meggy and Jill had mentioned, gossip was a side dish, served along with the home cooking coming out of the busy kitchen. He’d been back several times for more of both.

  On each subsequent visit, he’d been barraged by locals competing to answer his questions. By all accounts, Meggy Calhoun was a pit bull when she put her mind to something, but she wasn’t devious. You knew where you stood with the tiny powerhouse, they all insisted, and despite her straightforwardness, or perhaps because of it, the townspeople tended to like her.

  Among other things, he’d learned that she and Cara had been inseparable friends since grade school. After witnessing the easy friendship between the
two women, he’d already been forced to discard the idea of the Finnegans being a target of any con she might be pulling.

  The possibility of her being partners in crime with the big, blonde bruiser was a dead end as well. According to the report he’d received, Justin Cooper was one of Boston’s finest and, by all indications, he was a clean cop.

  In truth, nothing he’d seen or learned about her since coming to town indicated Meggy was capable of what he’d been accusing her of in his mind. In fact, just the opposite seemed true. She appeared to be an open, loving, loyal woman, feverishly content with the life she’d carved out for herself.

  The question of whether or not she had been adopted by the Calhouns still hadn’t been answered. He was tempted to ask her outright, but the tiny seed of doubt that still lingered in his mind had him holding back. His investigator was still digging, and just in case he was totally misreading the situation, because his gonads were clouding his judgment, he’d wait.

  Kissing her had been a mistake.

  The tangy sweetness of her mouth had haunted him for days. He’d never let lust interfere with a project before, and he couldn’t afford to do so now. His grandmother was relying on him. He wouldn’t see her hurt, not by anyone.

  So where exactly did that leave him? It all kept coming back to her showing up on Martha’s Vineyard only to turn around and walk away again. Nearly two weeks later, she hadn’t returned to the farm and hadn’t made any kind of claim.

  And yet, her resemblance to Anne was undeniable. The pictures he’d seen of Anne in her early twenties could have been taken of Meggy this morning. They said everyone had a twin. Could it be just an incredible coincidence after all?

  He sprawled back in the oversized chair, and turned his head to glance through the window at Palmer House. Whatever the truth, things were going to get dicey when his true identity was revealed. And it would be soon. Elizabeth’s insistence on meeting Meggy at the end of his three weeks would see to that. Even if this situation turned out to be one big coincidence, the damage would be done, and tonight’s date with the pixie chef was only going to complicate matters.