Billionaire's Second Chance

by Claire Adams

  I chuckled as she slipped inside. Then I closed the door to walk around to the driver’s seat. I was going to shake things up a bit with my plans, and I hoped she’d be responsive to that. I drove her to the edge of town where a helicopter waited for us.

  I felt Rebecca’s gaze on me. “Where are we going for dinner tonight?”

  “Not dinner, my love. Today, I am going to show you Texas from a different point of view. Did you know that helicopters are one of the most popular ways to sightsee these days?”

  I hopped out of the car and walked around to her side. Kyle was a friend of ours from high school, and while he lived in another part of Texas now, he agreed to do this for me. I waved to him as Rebecca got out of the car, a scared look on her face.

  “Is that Kyle Turner?” she asked. I nodded, and he waved at us. “I haven’t seen him for years.”

  “He does these tours now for one of his jobs. I hear it’s very safe.” I leaned down to kiss her lips gently, and she sighed.

  “I don’t know,” she said as I pulled her toward the helicopter. “Are you sure about this? Have you been in one before?”

  I had in New York, but I didn’t want to have to talk about how that was with Mia. I merely nodded, and she looked from Kyle to the helicopter a few times.

  “Hi, Rebecca,” Kyle said warmly. “It’s been a while. How’s your family doing?”

  “They’re great. I still see your mama at Grayson’s,” Rebecca replied politely. He laughed and nodded, telling her that his mom would never leave town. “So, how long have you been doing this?”

  “I got my license right after graduation,” he said. “I take folks on tours in Texas and the surrounding states. There’s no view like the one from one of these. You’re not scared of heights, are you?” I knew for a fact that she wasn’t and grinned when Rebecca shook her head. “Let’s go then.”

  Kyle took the front seat, and I helped her into the back, buckling her in as she looked at the mostly glass bottom of the massive bird. “I can see right through it.”

  “It offers the best view, Rebecca,” Kyle said. “All you have to do it sit back and relax.”

  She smiled at him, still not looking totally confident. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I frowned, knowing who it was.

  Goddamn Mia.

  Kyle made sure that we were secure before he turned on the engine. Rebecca grabbed my hand tightly.

  “You’re okay,” I told her, kissing her cheek.

  She watched us lift off the ground. She kept a tight hold as Kyle flew us over North Reed. She relaxed a little when she saw some of the places where we used to hang out from the air. Rebecca was delighted with the view of the meadow and all the creeks and ponds before we headed away from town to see more sights.

  Though Rebecca had traveled some with her family, seeing Guadalupe Mountains National Park from the air took her breath away. You could see all of it, and it made me want to take a road tour of Texas with her where we could just stop wherever we wanted. Kyle pointed out some of the most famous parts of the park, and Rebecca seemed to forget her initial fear completely. She leaned forward to see everything that she could.

  Kyle flew us over some more land and pointed down to Big Bend National Park after a little while. Rebecca grinned from ear to ear, and I loved seeing her smile like that.

  My phone vibrated again. I frowned and ignored it. I slung my arm over Rebecca’s shoulders and looked down at the rocks and the water below them. This was going great, and I tried to be happy for her, but the look in Rebecca’s eyes told me that she was onto me.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Did you suddenly develop a fear of heights?”

  “Not at all, baby. I am an adrenaline junkie. I’ve been parasailing over the ocean, and skydiving as well. This is great.” I added a laugh at the end of my sentence, even though she didn’t seem to believe me. “Look at that giant lake.”

  I wasn’t about to admit that my ex was trying to get a hold of me. I was trying to move on, for fucks sake. I had moved on. I didn’t want Rebecca involved in any part of my past, and Mia threatened everything I wanted with Rebecca. I could see the uncertainty in Rebecca’s eyes when she spoke about New York and the women that I dated there, and crazy-ass Mia would only confirm Rebecca’s doubts.

  I could tell that she was uncomfortable as Kyle continued the tour, which lasted two hours. I initially thought that it wouldn’t be enough time for us, but now, time dragged for me as I tried to figure out what to do. I needed to get Mia off my ass and convince her that moving on would be best for both of us. Rebecca tried to ask me one more time what I was nervous about as the tour continued, but I snapped that I was fine.

  That really silenced her and dimmed her smile. We didn’t speak at all for the rest of the flight. Kyle seemed to pick up on that and headed back before we’d seen everything that I mentioned to him. Once we were back on the ground, I shook his hand and gave him a large tip for the trouble. Rebecca waited a few feet away. Kyle waved to her and told her that it was good to see her again before he gave me a concerned look.

  I thanked him again and walked to the car with her beside me. “Did you enjoy yourself?” I asked her.

  She looked at me for a moment, stopping by the door. “It was beautiful, Austin. I appreciate what you did, but I wish you had enjoyed yourself, too. What was bothering you up there?”

  I sighed. “Nothing, Rebecca. I was fine, but I was thinking about my dad. Why can’t you take what I do for you with grace and appreciate what I have to offer? I’ve worked hard, and my money gives me the chance to see things in a new way. What’s wrong with that? I am enjoying my life.” I opened her door.

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “You work all the time. What are you enjoying, Austin? I didn’t see you wanting to run off at Christmas to leave your family and me behind for vacation. That was for a business deal.” There was anger in her voice, and I sensed that she’d been thinking more about this than she wanted to let on.

  “Jesus, Rebecca. I let that deal go, and it was huge. I stayed here with Dad, and I have spent a lot of time with you. What do you want from me?” I saw something pass through her eyes before I cupped her face gently, pressing my lips to hers softly.

  “I’m sorry. I know you walked away from it, and I appreciate that. I just wish…” Rebecca let her voice drift off and shrugged. “Forget I said anything.” She slipped into the car.

  I sighed as I closed the door. I needed a break from this shit for a moment. My phone vibrated again, and I pulled it from my pocket. It was a text from Mia. I unlocked the screen to see a picture of her in a doorway holding a key to the hotel that Preston stayed at while he was in North Reed.

  Fuck me. Mia was here? Another text came through telling me that she was in room 78 and wanted to see me Monday afternoon. She’d give up after that if it was what I wanted, but she just needed one more chance.

  Austin: What the hell are you doing in North Reed, Mia?

  Mia: I was passing through anyway and made an extra stop. I need to see you. Please, Austin?

  She added a series of hearts and kissy faces after that, something that used to drive me nuts about Mia.

  Austin: Fine. I’ll be there at two, but after this, I am done.

  I shoved my phone in my pocket and looked at Rebecca staring at me through the glass. There was a look of disapproval on her face, and I walked around to get into my side of the car. “Sorry. That was a colleague from New York who has been trying to get a hold of me. I just wanted to deal with it once and for all. I didn’t mean for it to interrupt our date.”

  “It’s fine, Austin.” I knew Rebecca well, and the way she sank down into her seat told me that there wasn’t all that much to interrupt in the first place.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Rebecca

  I didn’t work until Monday, and it was a shame that I was in a foul mood over everything with Austin on Saturday. The man was like an open book, and it was obvious that something was bothering
him the entire afternoon. He could deny it all he wanted, but I knew him from our years together. I knew him.

  It was no surprise that the date ended so suddenly, but I regretted sulking about it for the rest of the weekend.

  I was at work for the afternoon shift and found it nice to be there, apart from all the speculation about my relationship with Austin. Small-town women loved gossip, and since it was slow for me, I was stuck being involved in the conversation. It was clear that these women only saw the positives of his wealth and were maybe a little jealous of me.

  It made me want to roll my eyes.

  “How long until you quit on me and start having his babies?” Mary asked me.

  I smiled patiently, not feeling that way at all inside.

  “Mary, you’re jumping ahead. We are nowhere near that point, and I love working here.” Did I right now, though?

  “A man with that kind of money doesn’t want you working. He can take you anywhere in the world! What if you two move somewhere like Europe or somewhere fancy like that?” Elsie was talking now, her sweet face bright with speculation. “I see that all the time on that television show, you know.”

  “Elsie, I have no intention of doing that!” I assured her as I ran my hand down my ponytail.

  “I remember you kids in school. You were in love. I don’t know why you didn’t go with him then, and you’d be a fool to let him go again,” another woman spoke.

  I slowly sipped my coffee and took deep breaths. They didn’t know what happened and didn’t need to. Not everything was the town business. I cherished my secrets here, and for a moment, being invisible in New York sounded wonderful.

  “Is it true that he flew you to Paris just for dinner?” Elsie chimed in.

  I shook my head. “No, he didn’t. We went to his restaurant in Dallas, that’s all. Just an hour away!”

  Everyone gasped and pressed their hands to their faces as talk of how dates at the diner and the coffee shop were a big deal to them.

  I just wanted to scream that I liked the idea of those dates. I craved them. I liked the idea of simplicity more than I liked the extravagant ideas some of these women had.

  “I also heard a helicopter flying above my house this weekend. I’ll bet that was his bodyguard or something like that. Maybe he even has the FBI working for him, or the CIA.”

  I looked across the room at another regular and covered my mouth as I resisted the urge to laugh like a maniac. I didn’t tell her that was us, though I was certain someone knew about it.

  I was a little relieved when Gertrude came in for her regular cut. I greeted her with a warm smile. She was a calm, observant woman who had lived a lot in her life. I could see it in her eyes when she spoke to me.

  “Morning, Gertrude. How are you?” I asked as she sat down and looked at me with her big, dark eyes.

  “I’m just fine, dear. How about you?” There was a twinkle in her eyes as she spoke.

  I smiled at her. “I am doing good.” I knew it was a bit of a lie, but she could see my wry smile enough to know what I meant. “The usual this morning?”

  “Yes, please.” Gertrude settled in the seat as I covered her shoulders and reached for my coffee again. Maybe I needed my own coffee stand out front that served alcohol as well as coffee. That would be wonderful.

  I clipped her curls as the talk just kept moving along. Now they were discussing our wedding, and it sounded outlandish to me.

  “If you had one of those destination weddings, we’d never get to see it,” Mary told me.

  I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “It could be televised, like Princess Kate’s,” Elsie said. “He could even fly all of us out there on some big plane, and we could stay in those beach huts. Have you seen those?”

  I shook my head in defeat. I was complaining about flying to Dallas in his plane, and here they were, having me get married in the tropics somewhere.

  We were all so different.

  “If you got married in New York in that big church that they always show on television, that would be easier. It fits thousands, I hear. Imagine a trip to the city like that!” There were giggles and gasps, and I leaned my head down and sucked in my breath.

  “What would we do for wedding gifts?” Wanda mused. “That boy must have everything the two of you would need, and if not, he could just buy it! I’ve heard of couples asking for donations towards a honeymoon these days, if it’s a second or third marriage. He could buy that, too. I’m just going to feel so useless when that time comes.” Wanda wrung her hands together as if all of this were happening right now.

  “Y’all, nothing like that is happening,” I told them clearly. “You’re getting ahead of yourselves with all this talk. We’re just dating is all.”

  Gertrude smiled at me in the mirror. Even as I spoke, I wondered myself if this was a definite future between us. Austin had only been back in town for a few weeks now, with no real plans to stay. The time that we spent together before that was what connected us so much this time, though I didn’t know if it was enough to make him stay for me. He was certainly trying with all the creative dates and trying to woo me, but I was certain that he was just going to drop the idea of New York on me all over again.

  I felt as confused as most of these women, but I faked a casual front, and they kept talking. “Austin is really quite the catch for a girl from this town, Rebecca,” Elsie said. “Surely you understand that?” I nodded. “Nothing against North Reed, but we’ve all dreamed about the what ifs. Am I right, ladies?”

  Cheers and laughter filled the room. I looked at them with wide eyes. They all seemed so happy here, and I wondered when all this dreaming was happening.

  It wasn’t like my parents were rich where they lived. They just found a different air quality for my father’s health but still lived on the same monthly budget.

  “What do you mean? I thought all of you loved it here?”

  Eyes looked at me from every part of the room.

  “There’s nothing like a small town, Rebecca,” Elsie said. “It has a certain feel to it that you can’t replace, but when the kids are little, and you might be struggling with the bills a little…you can’t help but want more. More money, more things to do, and more things to see every day. I know it’s a great town to grow up in as a kid, but you have to get bored sometimes. Other cities have so much more to do, right?”

  I shrugged. I supposed that Kim and I did have those talks sometimes. It made me wonder what it would be like to have a baby in a city that offered more, but deep down, I did love this small town.

  “Yeah, I suppose so,” I said. “It took me getting older to appreciate it, but I certainly didn’t want to move away.”

  “You weren’t the kind of person to move away and look for more,” Mary said. “Austin was. His goals walked into the room before he did, even when he was young. Maybe you were just different back then. People have a tendency of coming back together if it’s meant to be.”

  I blushed and smiled. “Second chance romance. It’s the best story. Frannie James married her first love after her first husband died twenty years ago. Remember that? They have two kids together along with their blended family, and it’s wonderful.” I loved Frannie, and her story was amazing. They went separate ways, much like Austin and me. Then they reconnected when they both lost their spouses, just in time to have a couple of kids together.

  That could be us under different circumstances.

  The news was on as usual, and I ignored it until the show that followed came on the screen. It was one of those gossip shows, and being from a small town, I enjoyed them for entertainment purposes. They started their first segment with a picture of Austin and a beautiful blonde woman who I recognized from pictures. She was Mia Laht, some big-time model who was perfect in every way. The salon fell silent as we all watched the segment. They kept the picture up and discussed the steamy relationship for a few minutes.

  A lump formed in my throat. It sounded ideal, based on the com
ments, but Austin had ended it with her. He was with me now, and I reassured myself of that fact throughout the report.

  They skipped to the New York streets at night and found Mia in the front of a night club on Christmas. What kind of person spends a holiday at a bar? She wore a skimpy red dress and looked as beautiful as always in her tall heels that matched the dress, as well as the red lipstick. What could Austin possibly see in me after being with her?

  They approached her, and I saw the way she smiled in anticipation. Mia clearly loved the media, and she tilted her head to let her smooth blonde hair fall over her shoulder as she looked around.

  “Miss Laht! What is the current status of your relationship with Austin Harris?”

  “Is it true that he’s away for the holiday?”

  “Are you getting married anytime soon?”

  “Are you dating anyone else right now?

  The questions were rapid-fire as she looked around. She crossed her arms over her large chest and giggled. “There are always so many different stories out there. I know how hard it is to keep the facts straight, but rest assured that I’ll be seeing the man I love very soon. We’re meant to be, and we are going to be together. How could he resist me?” Her words were flirty and confident, and her voice oozed sex appeal.

  My heart sank. She was talking about Austin. My heart and gut told me that deep down, but he was here with me. How would she see him if she was there in New York?

  The show moved on to another clip. I looked around to see all the women looking at me. “Silly gossip,” I murmured.

  They all nodded and responded with reassuring comments of their own. Women like Mia weren’t respected here, despite the love of gossip. She came off as fake and manipulative. She knew what to say to shake things up.

  “I saw a woman who looked like her at the diner this weekend,” Linda said. “There’s no way it could be her since she lives in that city, but this was a new girl I hadn’t seen before. Probably someone just passing through.”