Forgotten Stranger: A Billionaire Boss, Single Dad Mystery Romance

by Peters, Liz

  “Sorry, buddy,” he said to his pouting son.

  He glanced at the clock. Only an hour had passed. It felt like so much longer. How was he supposed to keep doing this all day?

  “Interested in going to see Grandma and Grandpa?” he asked Oliver, making a quick decision.

  He wanted to spend time with his son, but, like Raine, he needed to sort himself out first. He couldn’t do that while sitting on the floor playing with cars.

  Oliver lit up. “Yeah! Now?”

  “As soon as you get your shoes,” Mason promised.

  Oliver dashed off. At least he was pleased with the idea and hadn’t argued with his father about going. With Oliver out of the house for a little while, Mason could think things over. And he could speak to Raine if she returned today without worrying about Oliver overhearing.

  Sighing, he unlocked his phone and scrolled down his list of contacts until he found the number he wanted. He pressed his phone against his ear, listening to it ring.

  “Hello?” came his mother’s voice.

  “Hey, Mom, it’s Mason.”

  “Mason, I’m surprised to hear from you so soon,” his mother teased. “After seeing us two nights in a row, you must be sick of us by now.”

  Mason wanted to laugh. But he just wasn’t in the mood for it. “Will you look after Oliver for a little while?” he asked hopefully.

  “Of course. Is everything okay?”

  He opened his mouth to assure her everything was fine, but then he snapped it closed again. “I kissed Raine last night,” he admitted. “And she ran away.”

  His mother went silent for a long moment. And then, she giggled.

  “It isn’t funny,” Mason groaned.

  “It is a little,” his mother countered, amusement still evident in her voice. “Did she say anything before she ran off?”

  “She just looked kind of horrified,” Mason said. His mother cleared her throat, and he suspected she was trying not to laugh again. “And then she flew out the door. She asked for the day off to go see her parents.”

  “That’s probably the best thing for her. Things might be changing a little too fast for her. Give her some space to work it all out in her head and I think everything will be fine.”

  Mason didn’t want to give Raine space. She kept taking every bit of space he gave her and using it to run as fast as she could in the other direction.

  He sighed. “I’ll try. Anyway, I’ll bring Oliver over soon.”

  “As soon as you’re ready,” his mother said. “And Mason?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Raine seems like a sweet girl, and she’s obviously very fond of you. I don’t know why she’s running away, but isn’t that something you need to find out by talking to her?”

  “You’re right,” Mason said, wincing a little at the gentle rebuke. “Okay, see you soon. Bye, Mom.”

  He hung up before she could say anything else. Oliver raced into the room, shoelaces trailing behind him.

  “Ready!” he beamed.

  Mason smiled and got to his feet. He hoped his mother would refrain from making any more pointed statements with Oliver in the room.

  Maybe, if he was lucky, he would get home to find that Raine had returned, as well.

  * * *

  Raine hadn’t returned. The house was empty and silent, reminding Mason of the times when his parents looked after Oliver while he was trying to figure out his divorce with Emily. It was too quiet. He’d gotten used to Oliver running around and Raine either trying to stop him or joining in with his games.

  Mason smiled to himself. He loved watching Raine and Oliver play together. Oliver loved her. That was why Mason didn’t want her to go—for his son’s sake.

  (And for his own. But he wasn’t owning up to that.)

  Sighing, Mason headed to the kitchen. He, Raine, and Oliver had been spending a lot of time in this room since Raine had arrived. Oliver was constantly demanding that Raine teach him how to make cookies or cupcakes. More often than not, Mason came home to a kitchen covered in flour, but Raine and Oliver were always laughing, so he couldn’t bring himself to be mad about the mess.

  Was he going to lose all that? Would he have to return to splitting his time between business and family until the board grew sick of his excuses and kicked him out of his own company?

  Raine had brought so much joy and light into his and Oliver’s life. Mason hadn’t realized how dark and depressing everything in his life had been until she swept in like a mysterious whirlwind.

  He didn’t want her to leave. He would respect her decision if she decided to go—even if he did so reluctantly—but… he didn’t want her to leave them.

  Reaching into the highest cabinet, he pulled down a bottle of whiskey. He took both the bottle and a glass to the table and slumped into a chair. After everything that had gone wrong, he was starting to feel like the world’s biggest joke.

  Mason was just pouring whiskey into his glass when he heard the front door crash open. He jumped, shocked, and then he heard a familiar voice cursing loudly. His heart jumped into his throat.

  Raine had returned from wherever she had been.

  He didn’t move. He sat there, listening to her close the door more and walk down the hall toward the kitchen. What was he supposed to say to her? He sat up straighter, wishing he had time to hide the alcohol away; he almost never drank during the day, but today was a special occasion.

  Courtesy of the rain pouring down outside, she was completely drenched when she appeared in the doorway. She grinned at him, brushing her wet hair out of her face.

  “Hey,” she said. She looked around. “Where’s Oliver?”

  “Uh, I dropped him off with my parents about an hour ago,” Mason replied. His mouth was moving without permission; he hadn’t worked out how to make this right yet.

  Her grinned broadened. Her eyes were sparkling, and he realized he had never seen such a happy, free expression on her face.

  “Okay,” she said.

  She strode toward him. Mason watched her, his brow furrowing as she reached for him. Was she going to hit him? He wasn’t sure he deserved that.

  Instead of hitting him, however, she gently cupped his face and pressed her lips to his.

  It was the first time she had initiated such intimate contact between them. When she pulled away, smiling softly, Mason stared at her.

  “What was that for?” he asked before his brain could catch up.

  “An apology,” she said. “I’m sorry for running off like that last night. There was so much going on, and I didn’t know what I wanted. But I do now.”

  She kissed him again.

  Mason’s heartbeat quickened. “And what do you want?”

  “You,” she murmured.

  The ache in his chest disappeared as though it had never been there. He leaned up to kiss her, feeling happier than he’d ever thought possible.

  “I’m sorry everything’s moving so fast,” he said when he pulled back. “But you’re beautiful, Raine. And you’re smart and funny and irresistible. I want to hear all your stories. I want to be with you.”

  He couldn’t say who moved first this time, but then they were kissing again, fiercer and more heated. Mason stood from his chair, almost knocking it over, and wrapped his arms around Raine’s waist. At some point, they began making their way toward the stairs and then up them, almost stumbling when Raine stepped on the squeaky stair.

  Raine laughed against his lips and pulled back, taking his hand in hers. Mason smiled up at her, his heart full as she tugged him up the stairs.

  He wasn’t sure how they’d gotten to this point. But it didn’t matter. He was just happy they’d finally gotten here.

  Chapter 14

  The next morning, as Raine pulled out bread and milk for breakfast, she found herself humming. It was strange how peaceful she felt; when was the last time she had been so content?

  The knowledge that Oliver wasn’t her son should have been cause for unhappiness, b
ut it wasn’t. She finally had the answers she’d wanted. And, even if she wasn’t Oliver’s mother, over the past couple weeks, she’d come to love him as her own. She knew the love she felt for him wouldn’t replace or diminish the love she felt for her own son, but now, at least, she could stop thinking up half-crazed theories about the child she’d lost years ago.

  The grief was still there, simmering beneath the surface. But it was a lot easier to deal with now. She had gotten the closure she had sought for so long. Yes, her son was gone. But she had gained so much in her search for answers.

  “You’re happy,” Mason commented as he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.

  Raine jumped. She hadn’t heard him sneak up on her. Then, she grinned and turned in his arms, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. After spending so long pretending she didn’t want to kiss him, it delighted her that she could now do it without feeling a rush of conflicting emotions.

  “Yeah,” she said simply. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving. Oliver is still in bed.”

  Raine smiled. They had gone to retrieve Oliver from his grandparents’ house after they had sorted everything out. When they’d returned, they had put the sleepy boy to bed and slipped into Mason’s room to lie in each other’s arms for hours while they spoke about what to do next.

  Mason had been all for starting a relationship. Raine was unsure. She was still technically his employee, but the larger part of her wanted to start a relationship as much as he did.

  “We’ll get him up a little later since it’s Saturday,” Raine decided. “We can have breakfast together, and we’ll have time for… other things.”

  She kissed him again, stepping closer. When she pulled away, his eyes had darkened in desire, and his hands tightened around her waist as the charged air around them began to sizzle with heat.

  “Or we could just skip breakfast,” he suggested in a low voice.

  Raine pretended to consider this, then stepped away, making Mason blink in surprise.

  “Sorry, I don’t want the toast to burn,” she said, giving him a teasing smile.

  Mason laughed and shook his head. He surveyed Raine with a warmth in his eyes that made her feel like she was standing outside on a sunny day.

  She had been a little concerned that things might be awkward between them with the newness of their potential relationship hanging over their heads. But, as they sat for breakfast and talked and laughed, Raine found that they had slipped into the same easy camaraderie they had developed over the last few weeks. The only difference was that now Raine could run her foot along Mason’s ankle under the table.

  It was as they were clearing away the dishes, about to head upstairs to wake Oliver, that a knock sounded at the front door.

  Raine blinked at Mason, confused. “Are you expecting someone today?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “My parents often drop in unannounced, but they usually just walk straight in.”

  Raine looked at Mason and then down at herself. She had thrown her pajamas on and wrapped a robe around herself before coming downstairs; Mason was only wearing a pair of pajama pants. “I’ll go see who it is,” she decided.

  Mason grinned at her as she left the room. Raine laughed softly to herself. Nothing, not even this unexpected interruption of her morning, could darken her mood.

  Or so she thought.

  Then, she opened the door and found Emily Parker standing on the doorstep.

  For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Raine, who only recognized Emily from magazines and the family pictures around the house, stared at the other woman open-mouthed, too stunned to say anything. Emily, with a flare of shocked recognition in her eyes (Raine didn’t know how the ex-wife of a billionaire would know her), opened and closed her mouth a few times.

  “Raine?” Mason called from somewhere behind her. “Who is it?”

  “It’s…” The words got stuck in her throat. “It’s Emily.”

  There was a long beat of silence, and then Mason appeared at her shoulder. She didn’t look up to see his expression, still busy looking at Emily as though she was a ghost.

  Mason sputtered. “Emily? What… how…?”

  “Mason, I came to speak to you about something,” Emily said. Her eyes flicked over to Raine again. “It’s very important.”

  Somehow—perhaps because of the sinking feeling in her stomach—Raine just knew Emily had arrived to shatter their newfound contentment.

  * * *

  Mason wasn’t sure how he should feel as he closed the door to the study and turned to face Emily. He had asked Raine to wake Oliver, making her promise not to tell him about Emily until he figured out what his ex-wife wanted.

  “Where have you been?” he demanded. “You filed for divorce, and then you completely disappeared! I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

  “That’s one of the reasons I came,” Emily said with a pained expression on her face. “But we have something damn more important to address. What is she doing here?”

  Her face had twisted into a distinctly disgusted expression. It took Mason aback. Emily acted as if she knew Raine, but Raine hadn’t mentioned ever being acquainted with his ex-wife.

  “Raine? She’s my nanny. I hired her because I needed help when I returned to work.”

  “Are you sleeping with her?”

  Mason frowned, indignant. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we have decided we want to be together.”

  Yes, they had slept together (as recently as last night), but Emily didn’t need to know that. He didn’t know why she felt she could demand answers about his love life when she had disappeared for five years.

  “How stupid are you?” Emily groaned, and he glared at her. Anger began to rise to the surface, and he was only seconds away from ordering her out of the house. “Do you even know who she is?”

  “She’s Raine Hart, and she’s been invaluable these last few weeks,” Mason snapped. “If you think you’re going to come into my house and start throwing accusations—”

  Emily cut him off. “How can you even think about a relationship with Oliver’s mother after what happened seven years ago?”

  Mason felt as if the floor had fallen out from under him. He stared at Emily, looking for some hint of a joke.

  “She… Oliver’s… what?”

  Emily looked at him sharply. “Have you seriously not figured it out yet?”

  “But… Raine is Oliver’s mother?”

  He wanted to call her a liar. But, already, that strange familiarity he always sensed in Raine began to make sense. When he looked at her, he always felt as though he knew her even though she was a stranger to him.

  And now, it all made sense. He did know her. He had met Raine before. She was the one he had drunkenly slept with seven years ago, the first step in the breakdown of his relationship with Emily.

  And… damn, he could kick himself. He had seen how similar Oliver and Raine were, had noted that they shared some features and that Oliver mimicked Raine’s mannerisms. But he’d just chalked it up to them spending a lot of time together. He had ignored the signs because… how could it be possible?

  All this time, he had unknowingly been courting the mother of his son.

  He shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t Raine just tell me?”

  A flicker of something crossed Emily’s face—something that looked an awful lot like guilt—and she looked away, stubbornly avoiding Mason’s gaze.

  “Emily,” he said through gritted teeth. “What do you know?”

  She sighed. “Raine… well, she doesn’t know Oliver is her son.”

  Mason opened his mouth, but no words came out. The story Raine had told him, about the death of her son, replayed in his head. The grief in her eyes had been too raw, too real. She honestly believed her baby had been stillborn.

  So…

  He connected the dots all at once, his head swimming as everything fell into place.
/>   But…

  “No.” He was breathing too fast, his chest heaving. “The mother… you told me she agreed. That she signed the child over to us because she didn’t want it.”

  Emily shifted uncomfortably, the only outward sign of her guilt. “I may have… forgotten to tell you I never actually met Raine.”

  Mason covered his eyes with a shaking hand. “Tell me what happened. Right now. And leave nothing out.”

  “Fine,” Emily sighed. “It’s about time you knew the truth, anyway. You remember Olivia Johnson’s party?”

  How could he forget? It was the only party he had ever attended without Emily, who had been too sick to go. He would never forget getting drunk and waking up in another woman’s bed, horrified by what he had just done—even if he had forgotten a lot of the details.

  “You came straight home and told me,” Emily continued. “You didn’t know who you’d slept with, but you were an absolute wreck. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but we worked things out from there.”

  “Yes… and then, six months later, you told me that the girl I’d slept with was pregnant and had agreed to give us the baby,” Mason said.

  Emily ignored him. “With Olivia’s help, I discovered the identity of the woman you’d slept with—Raine–not long after the incident. I don’t know why I wanted to find her… maybe I just needed to put a face to the betrayal. Once I found her, I let her be; she wasn’t important, anyway.

  “But then, Olivia told me that Raine was pregnant. Of course, I didn’t know if it was yours, so I did a little digging. I found out that Raine had broken up with her boyfriend the month before the party, and that she hadn’t been with anyone but you since. It was still possible that the child wasn’t yours, so I paid her doctor, Dr. Monroe, for information; the timeline matched up, and I knew you had fathered her child.”

  “So you… what?” Mason asked. He still wasn’t sure he could take all this in; he felt nauseous. “You kept tabs for the next three months?”

  “Naturally,” Emily said with a nod. “An illegitimate child as a result of your mistake… I couldn’t have that getting out. It would have ruined you. It would have ruined us. So, I struck a deal with Dr. Monroe: He would list you and me as Oliver’s parents, and…”