Hired by the Unexpected Billionaire

by Susan Meier

  Defeated, Danny rose.

  Jace leaned back again. “Want my advice? Put the story out yourself. Control the narrative.”

  “She shouldn’t have to face this again.”

  “But she does. That’s life. And the only way to get ahead of it is to put the story out yourselves.”

  * * *

  When Danny stepped off the elevator of the penthouse, his eyes met Marnie’s and she knew something was wrong. Not only was it midafternoon, and he normally didn’t get home before six-thirty or seven, but also his usually bright eyes were dull. Listless.

  She walked over and kissed him. “What’s up?”

  He stepped back, away from her and the first level of panic hit. “I could use a drink.” He strode to the wall bar tucked behind the piano. “You want a drink?’

  She ambled over to him. “I’m on the clock.”

  “One drink won’t hurt.”

  “Okay, now you’re scaring me. What happened?”

  He set his empty glass on the bar. “I talked to Jace today.”

  “Oh, that’s right! He and Charlotte are home from their honeymoon.”

  “It wasn’t a cheery visit. I asked him to investigate you.”

  Mouth open, she fell to the teal-colored sofa. “Oh.”

  “I wanted to see how difficult it would be for someone to uncover your past.”

  That was actually a smart, positive step. “Okay.”

  He closed his eyes and let his head fall back. “He knows. He’s always known.”

  A weird sensation bubbled through her. Her past and her present met. And not kindly. It left the room cold, the conversation awkward. “Well, that didn’t take long.”

  “I don’t know how long it took. He said he couldn’t trust the care of Mark’s first grandchild to someone unless he knew everything about her.”

  “And he let me stay?”

  “That’s a point in your favor. He didn’t let you stay because he likes you—though he does. He let you work for me because you aren’t the bad guy. You were the victim.”

  Everything he’d said was good. Which meant there was more. “But—”

  “But he believes there’s trouble on the horizon if the press finds out.”

  Relief rippled through her. “Of course, there is. But the press isn’t going to find out.”

  “Jace thinks they are. Maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually and you’ll have to face this.”

  Her blood froze. “Face this?”

  “He believes the only way around this is for you to come out in the open with it.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I’m your nanny. How silly will it look for me to call a press conference or give an interview?”

  His eyes met hers from across the room. “Not silly at all if we wanted to come out in the open about our dating.”

  Her frozen blood stopped flowing. “No.”

  “Marnie, just listen. I’m trying to figure this out.” He walked over, sat beside her. “I want this so bad I can taste it. We’re good together naturally, easily. You know as well as I do that what we have doesn’t come along every day.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. That had always been her touchstone—that what they had didn’t come along every day. That’s why she savored it, wrote in a journal, pressed certain memories into her heart. She wanted to have all of this to remember.

  Danny rose unexpectedly. “We don’t have to make a decision today. And no matter what we choose, Jace will be with us every step of the way.”

  Marnie’s breath returned. Her lungs filled with air. Her world righted. “Okay.”

  He walked into the kitchen as if totally back to normal. “Paris is next week. Is there anything I need to do to help you get ready?”

  She rose from the sofa. “No. I have everything under control.”

  “Only staying a weekend makes a big difference.”

  “Yeah.”

  He reached for his phone. “What do we want for dinner?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t care.”

  “I’d love a steak.” He pursed his lips. “But I don’t want it delivered. Too bad we can’t go out.”

  His words sent a shaft of fear into her heart as the reality of their situation hit her. He would eventually tire of having to tiptoe around her life. And she wouldn’t blame him.

  He brightened suddenly. “I know! Let’s get Italian.”

  “I love spaghetti.”

  “Me too.”

  And just like that her fears disappeared again. But the sense that she’d witnessed the beginning of the end of their relationship lodged in her brain. Not because Danny was a demanding guy or even impatient. Because there was no future. People had relationships in secret because there was no way to come out into the light. And Danny and Rex deserved light. Light and love and laughter that they didn’t have to hide.

  They arranged to have dinner delivered at seven, so Rex could help Marnie eat her spaghetti. When Rex went to bed a little after eight, Marnie shoved her fears away. If this was all the time she got, she refused to waste a minute fretting about the future.

  They slept together, made passionate love, but for Marnie there was a ticking clock. An end. A vibrant, attractive, interesting man like Danny wouldn’t live a lie, have a secret.

  In fact, the one thing they’d both forgotten was that Mark Hinton’s lie, his multiplicity of secrets, had already ruined Danny’s well-planned life. It was no wonder he was trying to get them out from under her past. Once he realized that what they were doing was no better than what Mark had done, he’d be gone.

  Or he’d ask her to go.

  He wouldn’t be able to live a lie.

  Wouldn’t live under the shadow of secrets.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  EVERY DAY BECAME SPECIAL, important to Marnie. She cuddled Rex a little more, loved Danny a little harder and didn’t make weekend visits to her mom’s anymore. Judy didn’t mind. Having loved taking care of Wiggles while Marnie and Danny were in Scotland, she’d gotten herself a dog. A big, mixed-breed variety, Charlie walked her mom, instead of the other way around. In a fragile sort of way, everyone seemed to be happy, moving on with their lives.

  As the little jet Danny had been assigned flew into Paris, she could see the Eiffel Tower, and an unexpected peace filled her lungs with air. Out of the country, where no one really cared about the Hinton family, the trip would be glorious.

  With no property large enough of his own to use as a family headquarters, Mark had booked two floors of a luxury hotel. As in Scotland, Marnie and Danny were assigned a suite with Rex’s crib in Danny’s room.

  She entered the sitting room with a gasp. “Wow.” Drapes were open, revealing a view of Paris that stole her breath. Bowls of white roses sat on every table. Plush rugs covered hardwood floors. White sofas sat across from each other, with white club chairs beside the table in front of the window.

  Danny looked around. “There is no denying that being rich has its perks.”

  She laughed, taking Rex from Danny’s arms, so she could get him ready for his nap. “What’s on today’s agenda?”

  “Nothing. There’s not even a rehearsal dinner. Mark said the ceremony will be simple. As his best man, I’ll stand beside him with the ring. Charlotte will be her mom’s maid of honor, and Leni will do a reading.”

  “We can do anything we want tonight?”

  “Yep. Sightsee. Have a nice dinner out. Take a walk along the Seine.”

  “I’m getting Rex on France’s time. What’s going to seem like afternoon to us will be his bedtime.”

  “That’s okay. I’ve arranged for my parents to watch him tonight.”

  “You have?”

  “Don’t worry. They figured things out long ago. Most of the family has.” He caught her gaze. “Are you okay with that?”


  Everyone had always treated her more as a friend than an employee. “Yes. I mean... I suppose we do have a certain glow.”

  He laughed, then caught her up for a quick kiss.

  His parents arrived at eight o’clock Paris time, actually one o’clock in the afternoon, New York time. She gave them the instruction to let Rex sleep but Danny’s dad all but shoved them out the door. “Go! Have fun! We got here two days early. We got most of our sightseeing in. Rex is in good hands.”

  Walking down the hall, Marnie said, “Coming a few days early was smart.”

  “My dad has been with his employer a long time. He has oodles of vacation time. I don’t.”

  The elevator came and they stepped inside. “You could if you went to work for Hinton, Inc.”

  He groaned. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Okay, then don’t be jealous of your dad’s many vacation days.”

  Danny laughed and shook his head. “Let’s just focus on our own stuff. Like the house that’s in escrow down the street from theirs. There’s absolutely no furniture and I sold my condo furnished. So that’s a big job that’ll be waiting for us after we close.”

  She sighed. “That’s a lotta house to furnish.”

  “We can hire a decorator.”

  They stepped out into the warm Paris night. The scent of pastries drifted around her. The streets were crowded with tourists and residents of the world’s most romantic city.

  “Hiring a decorator seems cold. Impersonal.”

  “I’m glad you said that because my mom asked if she could help get the place organized.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  He took her hand, turned her to the right, and they began walking up the street. “You do?”

  “Sure. That house is all about cementing your adoptive parents’ place in your life. She’s your mom. Moms usually like a part in things like this.”

  “Then it’s settled?”

  “Yes.” And she felt good about that. She felt good in general. The night was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. She was with a man she adored. His parents seemed to like her. “Where are we going?”

  “Restaurant’s just a few blocks up the street. I thought you’d like to walk.”

  “I would.” She glanced around. No one was looking at them oddly. No one was really looking at them at all. “Where’s the bodyguard?”

  “Outside the hotel, watching Rex.”

  “Good idea.”

  He slid his arm across her shoulders and nestled her close. “The best idea. There’s nothing like being in the most romantic city in the world with the woman you love.”

  It took a second for the words to sink in but when they did, she stopped dead. “You love me?”

  “You don’t love me?”

  Their gazes met. Her past tried to overshadow her, but she was in Paris. The man she loved had just told her he loved her. In Paris. She refused to let her past ruin this moment.

  Warm fuzzies filled her. Dreams that she didn’t even realize she had came into focus. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Yes. I do.”

  He caught her by the waist and hauled her to him, kissing her deeply. She remembered every second of the kiss, the habit of memorizing every detail so engrained that it happened automatically. She cataloged the feeling of his lips, the way their bodies met, the warmth in her soul—

  And a little voice whispered, You don’t have to give this up.

  She didn’t want to. It cut her to the core to think of moving on to protect her secret.

  So, don’t think of it. Test the waters of believing this is your future.

  Even the thought was scary, but they broke the kiss, their gazes staying connected, and she felt what her soul was trying to tell her. This was it. Danny was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

  The question was... How?

  No answer came, but throughout the night she noticed that no one paid them any mind. Danny’s last name, the name on his credit and bank cards was Manelli. Not Hinton. When he paid for dinner or pastries at the little café just a few blocks down from the restaurant, his name aroused no curiosity. As they strolled along the Seine, passersby smiled politely but no one knew who they were... Who he was.

  Like Scotland, no one knew who he was. No one cared who he was.

  A plan began to form. A simple one. Danny wasn’t ready to leave his job at Waters, Waters and Montgomery yet. But he would be one day. The whole world had opened up for him, and someday—with no restrictions to bind him—he’d realize he could be, have or do anything he wanted, the way Leni and Charlotte had.

  And when he was ready, she would suggest that they move to France or Spain or get a vineyard in Italy.

  Suddenly, their future opened up to her. The life she wanted. The life she could have.

  And she knew moving was the answer.

  * * *

  Mark and Penny’s wedding was held at the Musée Rodin. Penny looked spectacular in a short white dress with a skirt of tulle ruffles and a short veil. Mark was resplendent in his tux. The wedding party posed for pictures around the manicured grounds, inside the museum, with Rodin’s sculptures sometimes, sometimes without.

  Danny did not give a flying fig that the pictures took forever, the wedding planner was like a drill sergeant or that Rex was cranky. The night before, Marnie had been different.

  His.

  Totally his. No hesitation. No fear.

  He could feel it in her touch. He could sense it in the way she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

  So he’d made a plan. He’d decided to talk to Jace again when they returned to New York. They’d find a sympathetic reporter, someone who would know how to tell Marnie’s story correctly, and they would come out.

  Just the thought filled him with relief. Dancing under the stars, they’d laughed more than usual. She hadn’t held back or hidden her feelings for him around his ever-growing family. Charlotte had beamed as if she were the matchmaker who’d set them up. Leni had smiled knowingly, reminding them that the family was meeting in Mannington, Kansas on Christmas Eve and she expected them to be there.

  It was the best night of his life.

  When Rex couldn’t stay awake even a moment longer, his parents volunteered to take him back to Danny and Marnie’s suite. They loved the elaborate, elegant wedding, but they loved Rex more.

  Danny and Marnie stayed, dancing until the band quit. Then they took a limo to the hotel.

  This time, when they stepped out of the car, she saw a gaggle of guys huddled together beside the door, smoking.

  Odd for such a high-class hotel.

  When Danny turned from helping her exit the limo, a rumble went through the group. They spoke French so the only word she understood was Danny.

  At the sound of his name, Danny caught her elbow and hurried her inside the hotel. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw their driver, Danny’s bodyguard, walk up to the entrance and stand in front of the door. As if guarding it.

  Of course, he was guarding it. That was his job.

  When the elevator doors closed behind them, she said, “What was that?”

  “I’m guessing someone recognized me.”

  Fear raised gooseflesh along her arms. “Recognized you or was waiting for you?”

  He took a breath. “My entire family is here. For all we know they were waiting for Charlotte. She’s the pregnant one. The interesting one.”

  The elevator doors opened. “But they knew who you were.”

  He motioned for her to walk down the hall. “I’m going to say that they didn’t know who I was. They took a guess and got lucky.”

  Which was why they hadn’t raced to follow him inside. Her fear subsided. They hadn’t known for sure he was Charlotte’s brother.

  Relief
sighed through her as they entered their suite and though she didn’t forget what had happened, she put it to the back of her mind. But when they returned to Manhattan and exited the limo in front of their building, there was no guesswork among the reporters.

  “Danny! Danny! Mr. Manelli!”

  Marnie unbuckled Rex from the car seat and pressed him to her as she raced to the door.

  “How was the wedding!”

  “Is Mark happy?”

  “Do you like your new stepmother?”

  They entered the building to the sound of questions. None of the reporters was foolish enough to follow them, but Jace’s men closed in on the door, standing in front of it.

  As the elevator door shut behind them, Marnie turned to Danny and just gaped at him.

  He sighed. Staring ahead, at the elevator door, he said, “The wedding might have been a secret, but Mark released a statement that he’d gotten married before he and Penny left for their honeymoon.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “The reporters were just curious.”

  He peered at her. “And not about you. They barely saw you. They were curious about Mark and Penny.”

  The elevator door opened, and she stepped inside the penthouse. Realizing she was still clutching Rex, she loosened her hold but a thought hit her. She was holding him like a mother, not like a nanny.

  Reporters weren’t going to assume she was the nanny. They’d think she was Rex’s mom—

  Or Rex’s stepmom—

  At the very least Danny’s girlfriend.