The Faithful One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance

by Checketts, Cami

  His mouth pursed. “I’m trying to help you.”

  “I appreciate that, but maybe at some point you should think about helping yourself.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Get some help, Zander.” She was mad, but she was also concerned about him. “You know your mom wouldn’t want you to blame yourself and not think you can move on. You could do so much good with your money, your looks, your influence, but you hide yourself away, don’t make any lasting friendships or give yourself completely. Are you going to be able to stay committed to us or am I a fling like alcohol or your training?”

  Zander backed away. Trin wanted to take the words back. But maybe he needed to hear them, and okay, she was a little torqued at him right now. Her entire existence was being threatened and he told her to relax? How would he feel if someone uprooted his hopes and dreams? Wait. He didn’t seem to have any roots. He hadn’t gone home in ten years.

  He said nothing, simply stared at her for a few uncomfortable seconds then walked toward the Cloverdale.

  Trin’s anger burst into a heat that had her walking around the back yard to try and cool down. How dare he tell her not to worry? The day she’d turned eighteen her stepdad had given her a hundred dollar bill and told her she was on her own. She would’ve left home anyway, but being kicked out like that and knowing she had to survive on her own was terrifying. She’d spent every minute trying to prove that she was worth something. Zander had no clue what it was like, scraping an existence out of nothing, losing the Cloverdale when her mom sold it, the only home she’d ever cared about, then having his dad give her the opportunity to manage it and stay in the one spot where she’d felt unconditional love.

  Yet she should go apologize to him. He obviously had post-traumatic stress disorder from seeing his mom murdered and never dealing with it. If she was truly falling for him like she thought she was, she needed to be more understanding with him and what he could deal with. He’d been through more horrible trauma at seventeen than she could even imagine. He was doing good things with his life, just because she was slightly jealous of the increased good he could do, didn’t mean he had to do it. Maybe. Yet she still wanted him to get past the pain so they could have hope at a healthy relationship. Oh, she was so confused.

  She was on her fifth round of the yard when a shadow suddenly darted out from behind a huge oak tree and grabbed her arm. She screamed out. He tugged her back under the tree.

  “Zander!” Trin hit his arm, but he didn’t let her go. Why would he pull a juvenile trick like scaring her when he knew she was mad at him? “Don’t scare me like that.”

  He pushed her against the bark of the tree and Trin gasped. It wasn’t Zander. It was Marcus, but it was a Marcus she hadn’t met often. His eyes were glassed over and he was weaving on his feet. “So pretty,” he murmured, pushing his body up against hers, his arms clamping securely around her back.

  “Marcus,” Trin said sternly, squirming away from his touch, but having nowhere to go with his body pressing her into the tree. “Let me go,” she said it slowly and clearly, hoping he was with it enough to understand the command.

  “No, ma’am.” His hot breath was on her neck then he licked her.

  Trin gagged. Disgusting.

  “Let me go or I will fire you.”

  “Don’t care about the job. Been wanting you for a long, long time,” he slurred out.

  Cold terror raced down Trin’s spine. He was lucid enough, but either the alcohol had a hold of him or he had been planning this and needed the boost of being drunk to give him courage.

  She screamed at the top of her lungs, praying someone would hear her.

  With surprising strength and quickness Marcus kicked her legs out from under her and slammed her back into the ground. She gasped in pain and shock as Marcus dropped on top of her. His mouth came down hard on hers, muffling her screams. Trin could hardly breathe with the pressure of his larger frame on top of her. One of her arms was pinned between them, but she kicked, and hit at him with her free arm. He didn’t seem to notice. His breath was foul and tasted of strong alcohol. Trin bit his lip hard between her teeth.

  He howled, pulled his head back and slammed his forehead into hers. Pain burst through her head and the world went black for a few horrible seconds. Marcus grabbed her face between his hands and slammed her head into the unforgiving ground. Trin cried out. She was going to pass out and if she did, he could ravage her body without any struggle from her. She whispered a short prayer for help, but didn’t hold out much hope as she tried to buck her hips and flail against him. He was too heavy, too strong.

  He had her head in his hands again and she didn’t know that she’d stay conscious through another hit to her head.

  “Hey!” she heard a voice through the fog, an angry, male voice. Zander? She could only pray it was him. She was so out of it, she might be imagining things.

  Marcus pivoted while still on top of her and the pressure of his body ground her into the grass. Trin groaned. Marcus was lifted off of her and she heard as much as saw his body flung against the tree trunk. He slumped down. The man lifted him up to his feet and drove his fist into his face. Marcus looked like a limp doll. The man let go of him and he slid to the ground.

  The man turned to her as Trin struggled to sit up. Zander. She muttered a prayer of thanks.

  “Trin, no, what did he do to you?” Zander’s arms were around her and he gently lifted her off the ground, carrying her back to the main house like she weighed nothing more than a child.

  “I’m okay,” Trin muttered. “He didn’t, you know.” She laid her head against Zander’s chest, his warm scent and strong body comforting her as if she’d come home at Christmastime. Christmas was a little over a month away. Would Zander even be here then? She closed her eyes, realizing her thoughts were erratic. She’d just been attacked by her employee and she was worried about if Zander would be hanging up Christmas stockings with her. Dumb.

  Zander swung the front door open then carried her into the sitting room and set her on a couch.

  “I heard some screaming,” Mr. Gunnell said from behind Zander. “Everything okay?”

  “Marcus attacked Trin. Can you call 911? I left him in the backyard unconscious.”

  Mr. Gunnell’s eyes widened. “No! I’ll call right now.” He pulled out his cell phone and walked away, giving them a little privacy.

  Zander knelt down and brushed the hair from her face. “Are you okay, love? Do you need an ambulance?”

  Love? Had Zander just called her love? “No,” she lied. “I just want to lay here.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Zander stood and rushed to the kitchen.

  She wanted to lie here, but she wanted him to stay close. Had she told him that or not? Everything was pretty fuzzy right now.

  Zander returned with a wet towel and a glass of water. “Here, love.” He held her up and pressed the cup to her lips. “Drink this.”

  She sipped a little bit. The cool water slid down her throat, recharging her. “Thank you.”

  He helped her lay back down and put the cold towel on her forehead. It felt almost as wonderful as his hands touching her.

  “The police are on their way,” Mr. Gunnell said from somewhere in the room. Everything was distorted. “I’m going outside to make sure that weasel doesn’t escape if he wakes up.”

  Zander stood. “Are you sure? I can go.” He glanced back down at Trin and she held up her hand to him.

  “I’ve got this.” Mr. Gunnell stood straight. “Take care of our girl.”

  Trin wondered what Mr. Gunnell would do if Marcus woke up with any fight left in him. The old man would be no match for him. But selfishly she wanted Zander here with her.

  Zander knelt down next to the couch again. He cupped her cheek with his hand and stared at her. Trin blinked up at him. The world was clearing and his perfectly handsome face was the one thing she wanted to look at.

  “Thank you for coming,” she whispered.
>
  “I heard you scream.”

  “I’m glad I can scream loud.” She tried to smile but it fell flat.

  Zander glanced over her face and shuddered. “The police will bring EMTs and they can check you out, make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay. He head-butted me then slammed my head into the ground, but everything’s clear now.”

  “You might have a concussion.”

  “Probably just a huge headache.”

  She closed her eyes for a second and savored his fingers caressing her cheek, his wonderful scent surrounding her. “Just stay with me, please.”

  “Of course.”

  Sirens wailed in the distance. The police would come and take Marcus and she wouldn’t have to worry about him hurting her anymore. For some reason tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Marcus—dumb kid throwing his life away. Even though he’d attacked her, she had a hard time not feeling sorry for him. He’d had a hard life and he’d been under the influence.

  “Does it hurt?” The words ripped out of Zander. “I can’t stand for you to hurt.”

  Trin opened her eyes to see Zander studying her with far too much concern. “No. I just feel bad for Marcus.”

  “For Marcus? I told you to fire him. You have no idea how unpredictable somebody under the influence can be.”

  “I was trying to help him. He’s had a hard life.”

  “I’ll give him a hard life,” Zander muttered. “You weren’t helping him. You were putting yourself at risk. Nobody can help somebody like that except for a treatment center. But he deserves prison after what he did to you.”

  “He’s just a dumb kid who has nobody to look out for him,” she said from between clenched teeth. “I would think you of all people would understand being intoxicated and making poor choices.”

  His hands fell from her face. He reared back onto his heels. “I never hurt someone while under the influence,” he muttered.

  The sirens descended on the house and Zander stood to go meet the police. Chaos ensued as guests came out of their beds to see what had happened and the police and EMTs were all over Trin. Luckily, they said she might have a mild concussion but didn’t force her to go to the hospital. Zander promised he’d watch over her. True to his word, he stayed close by, but there were no more references of love and there was a hardness in his eyes she knew she’d put there.

  Chapter 11

  Chapter

  Zander carried all his luggage down the stairs the next morning. He hated to leave Trin after her being hurt and now she would have even less help with the bed and breakfast with Marcus in jail. Yet at the same time he needed to go now. Seeing her attacked had brought back too many feelings and memories of his mom. Plus, Trin didn’t respect him or understand that he was dealing with what he’d gone through the only way he could ... Not thinking about it.

  He loved the time he’d spent here, but his race in Australia was the perfect reason to escape before he or Trin said more things they’d regret. She was right in thinking they were from different worlds. Whether those worlds could ever intersect was anyone’s guess. He didn’t know, but he did know walking out this door was going to be as hard as admitting himself to Tranquility Woods. He’d become more addicted to Trin than he had to any substance. She was the best high he’d ever had and it was natural, like his training. Now he was walking away to protect his heart from shattering when they couldn’t reconcile their differences. Maybe someday he’d come back. Maybe not.

  She wasn’t in her office. He slipped out the front door and loaded up his rental then turned back to the house, steeling himself to say goodbye.

  Trin stood on the porch, watching him. “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”

  He slowly walked back, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  She moved to the edge of the steps, but didn’t descend them.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked. She had some bruising above her eyes, but she looked pretty good, considering what she’d been through.

  “Nothing a little ibuprofen won’t fix.” She wrapped one hand around the porch railing. “So … Australia?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And then where?”

  Zander studied her, wishing he knew that she wanted him to fly back to her as quickly as possible. “I don’t know.”

  She nodded. “Thank you for being here.”

  “Thank you for having me.” Zander didn’t know if this goodbye could get any worse.

  “Well then.” She was still hanging on to the railing like it was her lifeline.

  Zander had never felt so awkward. Was he supposed to turn and go? Or was there any possibility he could rush up those porch steps, sweep her into his arms, and give her a goodbye kiss she’d never forget?

  Her eyes were filled with as much uncertainty as he felt. He slowly pushed out a breath and raised a hand. This was hard, but he was strong. “Goodbye, Trin.”

  She gave a little gasp and ran down the stairs, throwing herself into his arms, and about knocking him off his feet. Zander recovered from the shock quickly, holding her close and capturing her mouth with his own. The explosion of light and joy raced through him that he’d started to expect when he held her and kissed her. He wanted her, all of her. He couldn’t possibly let her go.

  She pulled back and he forced himself to release her though it was harder than dumping his last bottle of Jack Daniels down the kitchen sink. “Goodbye,” she whispered then ran back up the stairs and slammed the front door.

  Zander didn’t know how long he stood there staring at the door. The etched glass and wood that had been so welcoming, but now was closed to him, shutting him out.

  Part of him wanted to forget about the race he’d been training for the past few months, bang through that door, and sweep her off her feet, but the rational part knew they had a lot of barriers separating them. Her unwillingness to understand his lifestyle and his unwillingness to change his lifestyle. Not to mention her unsympathetic insistence he get help to overcome his mother’s death and her unbreakable bonds to this house. Neither one of them were good at relationships or had much hope of making one last.

  He finally turned and plodded to his car. He would be in airplanes and airports for the next day and a half, but that misery didn’t even come closing to wondering if he’d ever have Trin in his arms again.

  Chapter 12

  Chapter

  The next week and a half was horrible for Trin, but she got a lot accomplished. Zander was gone and the hole in her happiness was huge. She’d gotten so used to him being with her throughout the day, and though she teased him about not knowing how to work, he really did know how, and he’d lightened her load considerably. Thanksgiving was a lonely affair and she had a hard time being thankful for much of anything.

  She’d gotten a text from him Saturday, December third.

  Australia is beautiful. Miss you. Please call my dad and hire some help.

  He missed her. Ahh. Yet why did he have to tell her what to do? She didn’t tell him, go get a therapist so you can learn how to form lasting relationships. Well, she had said something close to that, but she wasn’t texting it.

  Miss you too. Good luck in the race.

  Thanks.

  Monday morning, she and Moriah had finished breakfast and cleanup and Moriah was straightening rooms by herself while Trin tried to take care of the yard. She’d made a list of all the projects that needed to be done this morning and knew she’d have to call a repairman. It was little things like one of the outlets in the dining room needed to be replaced and the vacuum wasn’t sucking properly. She didn’t miss Marcus after what he’d done, but she sure missed his handy skills.

  She hadn’t called Zander’s dad, half-terrified of what he had to say to her so she kept putting it off. She was dying to know how Zander’s race had gone and if he would come back here, but she didn’t want to be the one to instigate anything. She’d flung herself at him before he left,
and though the kiss was amazing, she really had no clue how to accept him for who he was. She loved him, but was that enough to make it work? Did he even care to make it work anymore?

  Her phone beeped. She rested against her rake and pulled it out of her pocket. Her heart leapt when she saw it was him.

  Race was miserable. Miss you. Why haven’t you called my dad yet?

  She smiled yet prickled at the same time. He didn’t need to push her.

  Sorry about the race. I’m sure you did better than you think.

  Not really. Too many of Moriah’s cookies. Tell her I blame her.

  She fully smiled then.

  I will.

  His only response was a smiley face.

  She kept her phone out and pulled up Peter Keller in the contacts. Maybe she just needed to do it before she lost her nerve. Zander either didn’t know why Mr. Keller sent him to her or didn’t want to tell her. Was this her moment of truth? She would rather keep dealing with things than have a heart-to-heart with her boss. She just couldn’t lose her house.

  She swallowed and noticed her hand was trembling over the screen. Before she could second-guess the decision she pushed the call button. The phone started ringing and she almost cancelled the call, but Mr. Keller’s cultured voice came through before she could, “Trin! How are you?”

  “I’m good, thank you, sir.”

  “Zander had great things to say about you.”

  “H-he did?”

  “Yes, he did, but he tells me you’re working yourself too hard.”

  Trin shook her head then remembered he couldn’t see her. “I love this place, you know that, sir.”

  “Yes, I do, which is why I’ve decided to give you part-ownership.”

  Trin’s legs buckled and she slowly sank onto the dead grass. Had she really heard what she thought she’d heard? “Excuse me?”