Love Letters from a Billionaire (Lone Star Billionaires, #1)

by Farr, Beverly

  He smiled as he spoke, but I could tell there were other emotions as well. I said, “Oh, no. Was your heart broken?”

  “No. I was embarrassed at first, but deep in my heart, I knew she would prefer Gareth to me. Everyone did.”

  “That sounds pathetic.”

  “No, it’s the truth. I am not a dynamic person. I’m actually very boring.”

  “I don’t think you’re boring.”

  He leaned forward. He said, “And that’s why I want to marry you rather than someone else.”

  “I don’t love you,” I said. “I like you. I admire you. But I’m not in love with you.”

  “I’m not in love with you, either, but I think perhaps that it is better to start as friends and let the love grow gradually.”

  He had a point. My prior attempts at love had not been successful.

  He asked, “And we are friends, aren’t we?”

  I supposed we were. As odd as it might sound, I considered Vidar Nilsson, multi-billionaire, creator of the Nils operating system, my friend. I nodded slowly. “Yes, we are.”

  He looked at me pointedly as if to say ‘well, then, what do you say?’ but I wasn’t ready to commit to anything. I looked down at my plate instead, considering the matter.

  I was tempted by the offer – who wouldn’t be? Vidar was handsome, rich, and a very nice guy. I said finally, “I don’t think you know me well enough.”

  “What else do I need to know? You’re honest, hard-working, and kind. And you make the best chicken soup in the world.”

  I looked him straight in the eyes. It was time to come clean. I said, “I grew up in Houston, in one of the poorer neighborhoods in a dysfunctional family situation. My mother has no idea who my father is, and she’s been in and out of jail for petty crimes – shop lifting, destroying other people’s property, driving drunk. I was raised mostly by my grandmother. By the time I was eighteen, I was desperate to leave home, so I married my boyfriend Peter and we moved to San Antonio. He wasn’t a bad guy, and I think he loved me, but we were too immature and when money got tight, he went drinking with his friends and ended up sleeping with the bartender.”

  Vidar said, “If you marry me, I promise that I will be faithful.”

  I said, “That’s not all. Peter ruined my credit, kept sleeping around, and it took me two years to decide I wanted something better for myself. I divorced him and moved to Dallas.”

  “You kept moving north, I see.”

  “That’s right. And if Dallas doesn’t work out, I’ll go to Oklahoma City.”

  He smiled briefly at my humor.

  I continued. “But that’s not all. In Dallas, I got some temp office jobs because I could type and answer phones. Eventually, I got a job working for a financial advisor, Mr. Edward Lindsey. I worked for him for two years. He liked me. He wanted to marry me, and I said ‘yes.’”

  I sighed, remembering those dark days. “He was seventeen years older than I was. I didn’t love him, although I admired and respected him. Maybe he was the father figure I never had, I don’t know. But whatever the reason, I agreed to marry him. I told myself that marrying for love hadn’t worked out, so this time I would marry for security – and that love would grow, as you said.”

  He said quietly, “Then what happened?”

  I took another bite of my steak. “Well, I think my guardian angels or Gran’s prayers must have been working overtime. Because a week before we were supposed to get married, Edward was arrested on fraud charges. I’d signed a lot of papers for him, acting as his secretary, so I was in trouble too. But the prosecutors offered me immunity to testify against him. He was sentenced to seven years. It was during that investigation and trial that I started working at Nilsson Tower.”

  “Is that it?” Vidar asked.

  “Isn’t it enough?” I asked. “You can tell from my history that I have lousy judgment. That’s probably why I’m studying psychology, so I can figure people out better.”

  He said, “I don’t see it that way. When I look at you, I see a survivor. Someone who doesn’t give up. Someone who isn’t afraid to do the hard work. Someone who doesn’t sit around feeling sorry for herself.”

  “That’s very kind of you to say but be honest. Would you have proposed to me if you’d known all that before?”

  Vidar said, “I did know it.”

  “How?”

  “I run background checks on everyone that has access to my personal apartment, and when I decided that I wanted to marry you, I hired a private detective as well.”

  Good heavens. I wasn’t sure what I thought of that. “I’d like to see that report, if I could.”

  “Sure. I’ll email you a copy.”

  I watched him warily. He reached across the table to touch my hand gently. “Did you ever think that maybe third time is the charm?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your first and second attempts at marriage didn’t work, so maybe this one will.”

  “Third time lucky?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked at me so earnestly, I could not refuse him. I said finally, “I’ll think about it.”

  Vidar brought my fingers up to his lips and kissed them. “Thank you,” he said calmly, then looked at our empty plates. Somehow, during our conversation I had consumed a steak and a potato.

  He raised his hand and said, “Dessert, I think?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  VIDAR

  I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I watched as Nicole ate her desert – a slice of hot apple pie with ice-cream on top and the entire thing drizzled with caramel.

  After one bite, she licked her spoon and I could tell from the way she looked at me that she was thinking about marrying me, weighing the pros and cons.

  I said carefully, “In order to be fair, I should tell you more about myself, as well.”

  She said, “Actually, I’ve been Googling you and your family for years.”

  “Not all of it’s on Google,” I said. “I told you about my father being a bigamist.”

  She nodded. “At least he was married to Gareth’s mother. Most men would have just had an affair, but going through a ceremony, even if it was illegal, shows some kind of commitment – doesn’t it?”

  “Perhaps. I think he went through the ceremony to keep DeeDee quiet. I also believe he had many other affairs. Whether they resulted in children, I don’t know.”

  She said, “If I marry you, I’d be marrying you, not your parents.”

  “That’s not completely true. You would have to deal with my family, just as I’d have to deal with yours.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Give me your worst.”

  “My Aunt Trudy is going through her fortune. I don’t know how much is left, but she may be penniless before she’s seventy. She married six times and lost a lot in settlements, and the rest she’s given away or wasted. She’s always looking for something to make her happy, but she hasn’t found it.”

  “They say money doesn’t buy happiness,” Nicole murmured.

  “No. And then there’s my mother. She has battled depression her entire life, and after the death of my older brother Emil, it got worse.”

  “Emil died in a motorcycle accident, right?”

  “No. Drug overdose.”

  Her eyes widened. “No, you’re right. That’s not on Google.”

  I took a deep breath. “He was only sixteen. I was ten, and that’s why I was sent to a boarding school. My mom, Joanne, couldn’t bear to see me, reminding her of the perfect son she had lost.”

  “I don’t think I like your Mom.”

  I was touched by her defensive tone. I said, “It’s all right. We’re at peace with each other now, but she still takes a lot of prescriptions to feel better.”

  “All right,” Nicole said. “So far, nothing you’ve said has alarmed me. Every family has skeletons. And if we’re going to talk about addictions, my mother is an alcoholic and my Gran smokes like a chimney. But then, maybe with your inves
tigation you already know that.”

  I nodded. “It was thorough.”

  I added, “I never expected to marry. I never expected to have children. But having Chloe has changed me, made me realize that I can be a father if I want.”

  “She’s a beautiful little girl.”

  “Would you like to go upstairs and say ‘good-night’ to her?”

  Nicole smiled. “That would be using the cute baby to seal the deal. Not fair.”

  She was too smart. “Guilty,” I said.

  Nicole and I finished eating and then we rode the elevator up to her floor. We stood for a moment outside her door. “Do you want to come in for a few minutes?” she asked awkwardly.

  I said, “I guess that depends on whether you think a good-night kiss would seal the deal.”

  “A kiss?” Nicole’s eyes widened, and she looked briefly at my lips, when glanced quickly away. “You want to kiss me?”

  “I’m not going to marry someone I don’t want to kiss.”

  Nicole said, “Then maybe you should come inside for a bit, so we can talk about this.”

  She unlocked her door and we both walked into her small living room. She motioned for me to sit on the couch and then sat across from me in an arm chair. “I thought we were going to kiss,” I said.

  “I said ‘talk’ not ‘kiss,’” she said firmly.

  That was one of the things I liked about her, her willingness to argue about words and their meanings. I sat on the couch and waited for her to speak. After a minute, I prompted, “Well?”

  “What kind of marriage are you proposing? I thought it was going to be a marriage of convenience.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Just friends. Platonic.”

  “No. I don’t want a platonic marriage. I want a real marriage with sex and the possibility of more children. But I don’t expect to jump right into that. We can get married and go slow. As slow as you like.”

  “What if I never want to sleep with you?”

  I raised one eyebrow inquiringly. I’d noticed how she’d eyed me when I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom. She felt some attraction for me, just as I felt some for her. I said, “We’re two reasonably healthy adults and we’ll be sharing the same apartment. Proximity and hormones are going to take their toll. What is the probability of your wanting to be celibate for let’s say – the next five years?”

  Nicole blushed. “1 percent,” she said quietly.

  “All right then,” I said. “I’m willing to take the risk. What about you?”

  She lifted her chin. “I think I’d like that kiss now. Just so I know what to expect.”

  I patted the seat next to me on the couch. “Ready when you are,” I said. “I’m happy to give you a free sample.”

  “Like Rick with his sweet rolls.”

  “Exactly.”

  She sat beside me and I looked into her pretty blue eyes. “I do like you, Nicole,” I said. “I have liked you for a long time, but I didn’t realize how much I liked you until recently.” I leaned forward and smoothed her hair behind her ear as she often did.

  “I like you, too,” she breathed out.

  Then I kissed her. Her lips were soft and sweet, and I knew I’d made the right choice to propose to her. She felt right. There was no awkwardness. After a moment, I pulled back a few inches and smiled at her. “Well?”

  “I’ll tell you tomorrow. I need some time to think about this.” She smiled as she said this, and it gave me hope.

  I stood and told her she could always leave me a note in my sock drawer.

  Another smile.

  We both walked back towards her door.

  And then I blew it.

  Nicole was looking at me, so trustingly, and I felt a twinge of conscience.

  I knew I had to tell her everything now, rather than having her learn it later and resent me, so I said quickly, “There’s one more thing you need to know about me. I just want to tell you now, and if it’s a deal breaker, you can tell me tomorrow. I’m just going to say it and get it over with.”

  She looked at me, concerned. “Okay.”

  I blurted out, “I never thought I’d marry because over the years, I’ve had various diagnoses. Either Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism, depending on the day and the doctor. I didn’t even talk until I was five. Before that, I just made animal noises.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  NICOLE

  Vidar didn’t wait for me to respond. He just turned abruptly and left my apartment, slamming the door behind him. By the time I opened the door, he was almost to the elevator and I knew from his closed expression that he didn’t want to talk to me, so I stepped back into my apartment and sank down onto the couch.

  Gran sometimes said she felt as if she had been run through the wringer and hung out to dry, and until this moment, I did not know what she meant. But now I did.

  So much had happened in a short time – the dinner, the proposal, the kiss, and now, his outburst about being Autistic. It was almost too much to process.

  My first reaction was anger at Vidar’s parents. How dare they send that sweet boy to a boarding school?

  His dad didn’t care, obviously. He was too busy messing around with DeeDee. I didn’t like her either since she was trying to take Chloe away from him. Saying he wasn’t capable of caring for Chloe!

  And his mother! Granted, she had her issues and she was grieving over the loss of her dead son, but Vidar’s comment about his brother being the Perfect Son, made me think they had seen him as the defective one.

  It made me furious.

  I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care about any stupid label. He was a brilliant, wonderful, kind man. And if he’d overcome difficulties to get where he was today, more power to him. People should admire him instead of putting him down.

  But I also knew the pain of rejection. My mother hadn’t taken care of me, and kids at school used to tease me for wearing worn and out of style clothes.

  As I thought back over our dinner conversation, I was appalled by my smart aleck comment to Vidar about money solving all his problems with a snap of his fingers. What did I know about the sorrows he’d experienced?

  Nothing, apparently.

  So, what should I do?

  Vidar wanted to marry me, but what did I want?

  I didn’t want him to lose custody of Chloe, but could I marry him, eventually sleep with him, possibly have his children?

  After my engagement to Mr. Lindsey blew up, I had abandoned my dream of having children.

  But now, everything was possible.

  And that kiss.

  Wow.

  Never in my life had a man looked at me so tenderly as if I was the most wonderful woman in the world. I nearly swooned. And when he said, “Well?” my first thought was ‘where have you been all my life?’

  To think that I might have that man – and those chiseled abs – in my bed for the rest of my life?

  I rubbed my face with my hands as if I could rub some sense into my head.

  Vidar didn’t think my family would be a problem, but I knew my mother would be a problem. As soon as she thought I had money, she would come with her hand out.

  And I didn’t look the part of a billionaire’s wife. I was very ordinary, and I was afraid that after the custody battle was over, Vidar would regret choosing me. I was nothing like the willowy Yvonne had he had crushed on when he was younger.

  But I guess if I was married to him, at least I could afford to have someone apply my make-up and design a wardrobe.

  I laughed at myself. It seemed so improbable, and yet it was true.

  Vidar Nilsson wanted to marry me.

  I wished that there was someone I could talk to, someone who could give me advice. I couldn’t talk to Brooke. I would call Amanda, but I didn’t think Vidar would want me to tell anyone what we were thinking about doing.

  That left God as the only one who could help me, and I hadn’t prayed in a long time. Gran had rai
sed me right, but over the years, I had fallen away from some of her teachings.

  I sighed. If I ever needed wisdom, I needed it now.

  I got down on my knees, closed my eyes and bowed my head.

  Dear God. I am sorry it has been so long, but I am here now . . .

  CHAPTER NINE

  VIDAR

  I didn’t sleep well the night after my dinner with Nicole. I kept thinking of better ways I could have explained things, so eventually I got out of bed and worked out for an hour, increasing the weights until I reached muscle failure. Then I looked at the coding for new data base.

  In the morning, Miss Elizabeth came to take care of Chloe. Instead of leaving the apartment after I ate breakfast, I waited for Nicole to arrive.

  When she came to the apartment with her metal cleaning cart, I met her at the door. “Well?” I asked. “Have you thought about it?”

  She looked at me straight in the eyes. “I haven’t thought of anything else. And I don’t care what your diagnosis is.”

  “It could be hereditary,” I warned.

  “I know. But down the road, if we do have children and they need help, we’ll get them the help they need.”

  She was so kind. I wanted to believe her. I said, “All right then. We’ll need to get a marriage license and move forward.”

  She smiled wryly. “I thought I’d get another kiss.”

  I laughed. She didn’t have to ask twice. “Of course,” I said and kissed her. This time we were standing up and it was even better than before.

  NICOLE

  THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE a blur of getting a license, arranging for a wedding and a reception, and looking at houses. Vidar thought the custody proceedings would work better if Chloe had a home and not just an apartment. Part of the complaint against him was that Vidar was a recluse and that he kept Chloe trapped in his apartment as if it were a prison.

  That unfair accusation made me want to grind my teeth with frustration. Vidar thought it possible that Jessica would provide evidence against him if the case went to trial.