“Now you understand my dilemma. Britt could move to New York. His job allows him to live anywhere he wants to.”
Melody’s brow puckered. “But his job is here at White Castle.”
“This is a side gig, or didn’t he tell you that?”
“He mentioned that he’s an antiques dealer. My impression is that he loves the countryside. Small towns. History …”
“Those traits are proving to be a problem. I did sort of turn him down last week—but he gave me the ring to keep.”
“I got that impression, too,” Melody said drily.
“Did he tell you about me?”
“Um, a little bit,” Melody lied. Actually, Britt hadn’t said much at all until Crystal showed up. “I don’t understand the status between you two.”
“We decided to take a little break. But a week was all I could stand to be away from him.”
Melody chewed on her lips, fidgeting with the sheets. If she truly loved a man, she wouldn’t have let more than twenty-four hours go by without running back to him. “But aren’t you leaving for New York indefinitely?”
“Yes, but I’ve decided that there are some things too tempting to pass up.”
“My mind does not want to go there, so please spare me.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m not talking about that. Britt wants to wait for our wedding night. No, I’m talking about the fact that while sitting in my tiny cramped apartment, I realized what an idiot I am. What do I care if Britt and I don’t see each other very often? We can still travel first class to New York. He can hire more gardeners, for that matter. A hundred gardeners if he wanted to.”
“My brain is too muddled. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“For a girl with an MBA and a four-point-oh GPA, you’re having a hard time putting the pieces together. I thought long and hard while staring at my four-carat diamond and ruby ring. Why was I giving up the best eye candy in the South? And why would I voluntarily give up Britt’s money? I could have it all. My career. A doting husband. A lavish penthouse in New York City. Attendance at all the best parties and events. I’d be a very rich woman.”
“Now I’m even more confused—”
Crystal grabbed her by the shoulders, wiggling her fingers in front of Melody’s face. “Pay attention. There’s a blue Italian Maserati in the rear garages at the back of the Nottingham property with a red Ferrari in the stall next to it.”
“There is?” Melody echoed, trying to take in what her sister was telling her while her mind exploded.
“So here is my fiancé’s little secret, sweetheart. Britt Mandeville is a freaking billionaire.”
Melody’s heart stopped for three beats. She’d have sworn on a Bible it did. And then her heart began to pound so hard she couldn’t hear herself think. Her limbs turned to mush, and then liquidated onto the duvet into a puddle of shock.
“Whaa-aat?” she stuttered. “You’re making this up.”
“I swear on our parents’ graves that I’m not.”
A throbbing pain started on either side of Melody’s head, fracturing the light from the lamps. “Please don’t say that. You know I hate when you do that.”
Crystal held out her pinky to make a promise of honesty, just like they used to when they were kids. Except that Crystal always got the better end of the deal. Just like now.
“If Britt is a billionaire,” Melody said slowly. “What’s he doing at White Castle clearing brush after a hurricane?”
“That’s my entire point!” Crystal paced the floor, her heels clacking on the hardwood floors.
All the pieces of her sister’s revelations were pinging around like a pinball machine in Melody’s brain. “Let me get this straight. You guys went on a break, you told him ‘No' when he proposed, but you’re back tonight because he’s a billionaire. Because of his money. That’s pretty callous, Crystal. Even for you.”
“Hey, I’m not a fool. I know a good thing when I see it. It’s not like he and I won’t see each other at least one week out of every month.”
Melody winced, suddenly exhausted. This conversation was really beginning to bother her.
“Don’t give me that judgmental look, little sister. I’ve lived in New York long enough to know that sentimental hearts only get broken. It’s a cutthroat business I’m in and I need all the help I can get. Besides, who wouldn’t love Britt? He’s handsome, too nice for his own good, and he offered it all to me so I’m taking it with both hands. If that makes me a witch, so be it.”
“Except Britt doesn’t want your lifestyle.”
“How would you know that? You just told me you two hardly talked.”
“We—um, spoke a bit at lunch time,” Melody replied vaguely. She wasn’t going to give Crystal the details of the last twenty-four hours. Those moments with Britt were hers. The memory of him catching her, and the way his arms trembled, as if he was honestly frightened that she had almost fallen into the raging river to be swept away forever.
Good grief, was she in love with the man? But that was impossible. She hardly knew him.
“Don’t try to be evasive,” Crystal said. “I always know when you’re lying.”
Melody rolled her eyes, then looked at her sister straight on, hands on her hips. “In many ways, the world made us sisters tough. We had to be after Mom and Dad—but we both went after our dreams. I did, too—while you left me to take care of Granny Mirry. By myself, I might add,” Melody said curtly.
“You’re so much better at it than I am.”
Melody gasped at the flippancy of her attitude. “I could have used your help during the hurricane. Mirry was—is very sick. You’ve hardly asked about her. You could have offered to meet us somewhere with your car to drive us out of the city.”
Crystal gave her a smile. “I was a little busy dreaming about my engagement and Britt’s billions.”
The air left her lungs. She was shocked by Crystal’s lack of empathy. “Wow. I guess that says it all.”
Melody had no livelihood left while Crystal would go on her merry way to a dazzling career in New York City—with a cool billion of Britt’s embezzled in her back pocket.
Okay, not literally, but goodness, her sister sounded like a gold digger.
“I’m tired. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”
“It’s goodbye for me, Melody. You’ll see me in a few weeks.”
“Will I?”
“Of course. You’re invited to the wedding.”
“You have a date?”
“No, but we will soon. Or maybe we’ll fly to some exotic island for the ceremony. I could wear a flowing white dress and go barefoot. We’ll stay at a resort. I’ll make Britt buy a ticket for you and Avery.”
“How very generous of you.”
Walking forward with swaying hips, Crystal gave Melody a brief hug. “I have a car rental that’s going to show up for you tomorrow. Can’t have you here in the house alone with my fiancé, can I?”
“Not trusting your own sister and fiancé is pathetic,” Melody retorted. “I don’t appreciate the innuendo.”
“Just kidding,” Crystal said, pecking her on the cheek.
She sailed out the door and closed it behind her with a firm click.
“No, Crystal,” Melody whispered aloud. “You were not kidding.”
Chapter 15
To sneak down to the kitchen and raid the fridge—or not? That was the question.
Melody paced the floor of the suite now, too worked up to go back to sleep. Crystal could be so exasperating.
She’d come back to claim her territory and marry a man for his money. Oh, she probably had feelings for Britt, but Crystal had been very cold and calculating.
At least she was honest. But had she been honest with Britt, the one who mattered most?
What did Britt really think about Crystal? Were they just on a break? Or were those Crystal’s words because she’d decided she couldn’t give up on his money?
“And oh, my freaking heck,
” Melody whispered, striding toward the french balcony doors. “Britt Mandeville is a billionaire? An honest-to-goodness billionaire? I have to get some air.”
Stepping out onto the balcony, she gripped the railing to steady herself. Tonight had been full of revelations and she didn’t know quite how to process it all.
She sank into one of the cushioned chairs. Britt had given her one of the best suites in the house. He was very generous to a stranger that showed up during a storm and was dripping mud on the antique rug he was supposed to be caring for.
“Why are you here, Britt?” she mused aloud. “With that kind of money, you could go anywhere, do anything.”
Melody’s brain raced with more questions than ever before. Perhaps he really was telling the truth. He loved history and antiques and physical labor. Designing, creating, and beautifying. The owner of this historic home was getting a deal in this man.
She was now dying of curiosity to go sneak into the garages and see if Crystal spoke the truth. That was first on her agenda tomorrow—including a trip to the parish courthouse to look up old property deeds.
Right now, investigating her grandmother’s mysterious request was the most important task. Melody wondered if Granny Mirry did know about Crystal and Britt. Is that why she had sent Melody here? Knowing she’d be safe with her sister and they’d be together during the hurricane?
That made as much sense as anything else.
Melody leaned her head back, enjoying the luscious night air on her bare legs and neck. Oh, it was lovely here. What a waste of a gorgeous home on Crystal who didn’t appreciate it at all—or appreciate Britt.
Fairy lights in the oak and cypress trees glittered over her head like frosted raindrops. The lights along the rose garden pathway glowed in shapes of sunbursts and stars. It was so very beautiful it almost made her cry.
The sound of feet below her on the lawn sounded and Melody sat up straight. Then the footsteps paused and Melody rose from the balcony chair to stare down at the yard, the sheer curtains billowing behind her from the light breeze.
When her eyes came into focus she recognized the figure of Britt standing on the grass just beyond the roses, his face gazing up at her.
Melody sucked in a breath. “Oh!” she said, holding a hand to her mouth. Britt’s gorgeous green eyes studied her and the expression on the man’s face was startling.
She stepped back, acutely aware that she was only wearing her tiny little nightgown.
“My apologies for startling you, Melody,” he called out softly. “I was just coming back from the barns.”
“Barns?” she repeated. “There are horses?”
“Um, no. We used to have them, but they’ve been converted to storage sheds now.”
She stepped backward into the shadows. Her skin broke out in goosebumps at the appreciative way he was looking at her. Oh, to have those eyes gaze at her every single day. Who wouldn’t fall in love with this man?
But he belonged to her sister, so Melody needed to leave this place as soon as she could. Britt was dangerous to her soul. Dangerous to her heart. Her feelings would take over all of her senses if she stayed any longer.
“I promise I’m not looking,” Britt said, staring down at the ground. “Just heading to bed. Hey, did you find the dinner I saved you?”
She shook her head, not daring to speak. Afraid she’d either burst from delight at the euphoria he gave her, or run downstairs as fast as she could and jump into his arms. “Thank you,” she finally told him, retreating back into the room and locking the balcony doors.
What a silly woman she was, but now that she was awake, she was hungry. Famished, in fact.
Throwing the robe over her nightgown, Melody tiptoed to the upper hallway. The house was quiet. The grandfather clock downstairs chimed one.
On bare feet, she padded down the staircase to the breakfast area. Pushing open the door to the kitchen, she collided right into Britt. “You were supposed to have gone to bed, Mr. Mandeville,” she told him sternly.
He chuckled, raiding the refrigerator and pulling out plastic containers. A skewer of shrimp and a fillet of catfish were slowly sizzling in a pan on the stove.
“What are you doing?”
“Making you dinner. I’m sure you’re famished. I couldn’t let you go to bed hungry.”
She giggled. “I’m not a poor orphan child. Actually, I’d fallen asleep with all the lights on—and then Crystal barged in.”
Britt’s head jerked up. “You mean Crystal went up in the last hour or so?
“She left my room about thirty minutes ago. We had a little sisterly chat.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “That sounds ominous.”
“It was about normal.”
“Ah. And what is normal about Crystal when she’s in sister mode?”
“I get lectures on my comportment and manners, mostly. And then there’s the usual stay-away-from-my-man discussion.”
“Uh-oh.” Britt let out a breath. “I have a feeling she is quite fierce.”
“That’s a good way of describing it.”
Before Melody knew it, Britt was taking her and tugging her toward the table. The bolt of electricity that shot through her was so powerful she actually gasped—and then she immediately blushed so hard her face heated up like she was standing near a fire.
“Are you okay?” Britt asked. He pulled out a chair and laid the plate of food on the table for her. The shrimp was sizzling and the catfish seasoned and blackened along with a pile of rice and steamed green peppers. “You want a serving of salad, too? I made it with spinach and strawberries.”
Melody moaned with pleasure. “This food looks fantastic, and it smells divine. Have I eaten in the last two days?” she joked.
Britt turned his dazzling smile on her. It was like basking in sunlight after the storm clouds—the storm clouds known as Crystal. “I’m pretty sure I fed you two square meals earlier today. Breakfast and lunch, right? Or was it all a dream?”
She laughed again. “Nope, it was real. But this is too much to eat this time of night. I’ll have late-night-food nightmares.”
“We can’t have that. I’ll serenade you below your balcony to make sure you have only sweet dreams.”
“You’re a singer, too? Oh, my. Is there nothing you don’t excel at, sir?”
His brow puckered into a line of frowns. “I’m a terrible boyfriend—fiancé—friend. Love with all its complications isn’t my forte. I’ve never been good at finding the right woman.”
Melody ate one of the shrimps and then took a bite of the catfish, launching into a series of appreciative sounds. “I have a hard time believing that. This is heavenly by the way. While I eat, you tell me about your romance woes. I’m a good listener.”
“Believe me, it’s all very boring.”
Overwhelmed at sitting in Britt’s presence, his body being so close to hers sent tingles up her spine. Melody cleared her throat. “Love is never boring.”
He smiled at her and Melody lit up inside. She really needed to stop looking at him. She was probably giving herself away. She had to remain cordial but distant.
“That’s a very wise statement,” Britt said. “But every girl I date only lasts a year at most. Usually less. I always pick the ones who are career-driven and make plans without me as part of their life.”
“Crystal is very determined to be a star—of some kind. The stage, the fashion industry. She’s quite talented.”
He nodded, but his pained expression belied his feelings. Melody wanted to erase the lines of consternation on his face with her fingertips, but instead she gripped her fork and knife even harder, determined to appear nonchalant. Which wasn’t very easy with the powerful level of emotions that arose in her due to the close proximity of Britt, and including the struggle of remembering Crystal’s veiled threats concerning Britt.
“Maybe my relationship with Crystal worked better than other girls in the past because we spent half our time apart.” Britt folded his
arms over his chest, laughing at himself, as if he realized how foolish that sounded. “I thought proposing would solve everything. That she’d choose me. But she didn’t.”
“What did she say?” Melody was too curious not to ask.
“Mostly complained about living in an old house. Crystal is a very modern woman.” Britt raked a hand through his thick, dark hair. “How dumb can I be?” He glanced up at Melody. “Don’t answer that,” he warned. “She needs the big city, her career, her agent gushing over her. I could see in her hidden eye rolls that White Castle didn’t appeal to her at all.”
“You did give her quite an impressive diamond.”
“That was the moment her eyes twinkled,” Britt admitted. “Isn’t that an old saying—the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? And—”
“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” Melody finished.
“I’ll quit talking and let you finish eating.”
“You don’t have to stay up and keep me company.”
“I’m too restless to sleep yet. Besides, you’re pretty good company.”
“Well, thank you, kind sir,” Melody said primly. “So,” she drawled out. “Did my sister turn you down flat?”
“Not exactly. When I realized she wanted me to give up this place and my business and move with her to New York, I let her off the hook. I told her that maybe we needed a break, but she could keep the ring. It was a gift.”
“Very generous of you. She was wearing it in style tonight. With pride.” Melody spoke the words, but she knew deep down that Crystal just wanted to show it off.
Britt rose to grab the pitcher of ice water, pouring more into Melody’s glass. “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it was a complete surprise when she showed up tonight wearing the ring. Saying she was having second thoughts. That she did want to get married. Pretty fast turn-around in her feelings. Or am I reading too much into it?”
Melody glanced up at him quizzically. What was she supposed to say? Especially after her sister confessed that she wanted to marry Britt because of his wealth. But maybe that was wrong, too. Britt was just so down-to-earth, so real. He certainly didn’t act like a wealthy man, let alone a billionaire. Maybe Crystal had it all wrong?
The Owner's Secret (A Secret Billionaire Romance Book 4) Page 10