Billionaire Bachelor: Sean (Diamond Bridal Agency Book 7)

by Melissa Stevens

  “Hello?”

  “Sabrina!”

  “Yes.” It took her longer than it probably should have to realize it was Sean on the other end of the line. She set down the bags of groceries and cradled the phone against her ear.

  “Are you all right?” his voice sounded a little panicked and she didn’t know why.

  “Of course. Is something wrong?”

  “I’ve been messaging you all morning, Then I tried calling your cell, but there was no answer.”

  “I forgot to charge it last night and by the time I found it this morning it was dead. I plugged it in, but don’t know your number so I couldn’t call.” She explained that she’d been to get groceries and had just come in the door.

  “I got worried is all. I was ready to head over and make sure you hadn’t fallen or anything.”

  “No, I’m fine. Just a little scattered this morning.” She tilted her head to one side. “Do you like seafood?”

  “I do.” He chuckled on the other end of the line. “I may be from Texas, and I admit to being partial to a good steak, but I like seafood almost as well. Why?”

  “Because they had some shrimp downstairs that looked amazing and I thought I’d make it for dinner.”

  “You can cook if you want, but don’t feel like you have to. We can go out or order in.”

  “I don’t mind cooking,” she said, it wasn’t quite true. She enjoyed cooking and was looking forward to showing off her skill by making him a meal as good as he could get anywhere, certainly better than delivery. “Are you allergic to anything?”

  “Nothing I’ve ever found.”

  “That’s good to know.” She glanced around and noticed that her empty coffee mug was missing from the counter top. “Do you have someone that comes in to clean?”

  “I do. I forgot to tell you. Her name is Brenda, she should be there sometime today. I’m not sure what time she comes in though.”

  “No problem.” Her mind raced ahead to dinner and what she planned to cook. “How are things going there? You still planning to be back about two?”

  “Things are going well here, moving faster than I planned, that’s part of why I had time to worry about you.”

  “I’m glad things are going well, and I’m sorry you had to worry about me. I’ll turn my phone on as soon as we’re through here.”

  “Mr. Callahan, your twelve o’clock is here,” a woman’s voice came across the line.

  “I’ll be right there, Harriet,” he said his voice a little distant as if he was holding the phone away from his face. Then he came back, “And there’s my next meeting. I better get to it if I ever want to get done.”

  “You go ahead. I have plenty to do here.”

  “All right. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Later.”

  She waited until the call disconnected then put the receiver back on the base and picked up the bags at her feet. She took them in the kitchen and set them on the counter, pulling out the cold stuff first and putting it away, then tackling one bag at a time. She was almost done when she remembered to turn on her phone, and by the time she’d finished with everything in the kitchen, it had chimed several incoming messages.

  Carrying the toiletries she’d bought into the bathroom, she was thinking about what time to start dinner and almost didn’t see the tiny woman heading out of the bedroom Sabrina now shared with Sean in time to keep from walking smack into her.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were still here,” Sabrina said.

  “I’m sorry, Missus Callahan. I didn’t hear you come in.” The small woman spoke at the same time.

  Sabrina blinked and wondered for a second if she should correct the woman about her name, then decided not to. In two days it would be true anyway, why confuse things? After all, she’d moved in, including into Sean’s closet, why wouldn’t the small woman think they’d gotten married?

  “I’m sorry. Brenda isn’t it?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Can you show me where to do laundry? I’m afraid men think they wear clothes and toss them on the floor or in a basket and magically they appear back on the shelf, clean.” She smiled. “Sean forgot to show me, and he had to go into the office.”

  Apprehension flashed in the other woman’s eyes. “I will be happy to do your laundry as well.”

  That’s when Sabrina realized what it was. Brenda was afraid of losing her position here. Sabrina didn’t blame her. Working in a place like this had to pay well, even if it was cleaning, and having been in a position to need the money, she knew what it was like to fear losing that income.

  “I’m not looking to replace you,” Sabrina smiled to soften the words, “but sometimes it’s best to wash things right away to keep a stain from setting in. Or heaven forbid, someone gets sick and bedding needs to be washed. I just want to be able to do that if I need to.” She glanced around the penthouse. “You keep this place beautiful. I appreciate that, and I have no intention of letting you go.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Relief was plain on her face. “Do you want me to put those away?” Brenda nodded at the bottles in Sabrina’s arms.

  “Oh, no. Let me just take care of these and then you can show me the wash room, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all, ma’am.”

  “Call me Sabrina. That ma’am business is going to make me crazy.” Sabrina gave her what she hoped was a friendly smile before she ducked into the master bathroom and left the bottles on the counter.

  Brenda showed Sabrina where to find the laundry room and finished with her cleaning while Sabrina got to work in the kitchen. She was going to fix something easy for lunch, then get a head start on the prep-work for dinner. After the housekeeper left, Sabrina texted Sean for the wi-fi password and instructions on the sound system. She figured out how to play music through the speakers from her laptop. She was working in the kitchen, dancing to the 80s rock blasting through the apartment as she worked. It had taken opening a few cabinets and some searching, but she’d found everything she had to have, and a little making due with things that weren’t an absolute must. She considered starting a list of things for the kitchen, but decided to put it off. She’d just put the shrimp in the refrigerator to sit in the marinade until time for supper, singing along with Guns ‘n’ Roses at the top of her lungs as she worked. She turned to finish cleaning things up until later and found a woman standing a few feet away, staring at her with a deep scowl.

  Sabrina closed her mouth in mid-sentence, picked up the remote off the counter and muted the music. The woman appeared to be somewhere in her late forties, maybe early fifties and she wore an expensive blouse and nice jeans. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered who this was and how she’d gotten in.

  “Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you’re doing in my son’s apartment?” the woman demanded before Sabrina had a chance to speak.

  Well, that answered half her questions, now to find out how she’d gotten inside. It also made Sabrina adjust her age estimate, either she had been a very young mother, or she’d aged well.

  “My name is Sabrina and it seems Sean forgot to tell us both some things.” She kept her voice calm and soothing as she reached for her phone. She quickly sent her fiancé a message letting him know his mother was here and asking what she should do. Then shoved it in the pocket of her yoga pants. Of course, her future mother in law would show up while Sabrina looked like the help.

  “Like what exactly?” the woman’s eyes narrowed, and she watched Sabrina carefully.

  “Like he forgot to tell me you were coming, and he forgot to tell you he was getting married.”

  “MARRIED?” the woman’s eyes flashed fire. “He married you?” her eyes skimmed Sabrina and it was more than obvious she found Sabrina lacking.

  She couldn’t have been more aware of how unkempt she looked if she’d been standing in front of a mirror. She didn’t have a chance to tell his mother that they were
n’t yet married before she continued.

  “How much money will it take to get you to leave?”

  “Excuse me?” She had to have heard the other woman wrong. His mother didn’t just offer to pay her off to get her to leave. Did she?

  “Five million.”

  Sabrina blinked, not believing her ears.

  “Ten million.”

  Her eyes went wide and she looked at the other woman, it was plain now what kind of person she thought Sabrina was. A gold digger. While it wasn’t entirely untrue, she had been sent to Sean because of his money, she honestly had no idea how much he was worth, and she didn’t care. The money only made her own dreams, her own goals attainable.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what kind of person you think I am. But you’ve clearly gotten the wrong idea.” Sabrina didn’t want to be rude, but she was not going to let this woman push her around.

  “Twenty million.”

  Wow. The offer kept getting higher and Sabrina wondered what kind of women Sean had been taking home to warrant this kind of reaction from his mother.

  “I’m not after his money.” She shook her head, picked up the glass she’d been drinking from and went to the sofa. She should probably offer his mother something, but the woman had done nothing but insult her since she’d found the older woman in the apartment. Oh, yea. “How did you get in anyway?”

  “Sean gave me a key months ago.” The older woman shook her head. “Don’t try to distract me, where did you meet my son?”

  “In Florida. Surely you’re aware he’s been spending a great deal of time there recently?” She smiled, glad they’d worked out at least that much of their story. She wished he’d replied to her text and told her what to do, but the phone in her pocket was dismayingly still and silent.

  “I do.” She narrowed her eyes at Sabrina again. “He’s been there dealing with difficulties on several different projects.”

  “Are you sure?” Sabrina couldn’t help but smile, knowing that Sean would back her up. They’d both signed confidentiality agreements with the Agency and he’d told her no one would know where he’d found her.

  Doubt clouded the other woman’s eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name. I’m Sabrina.” She decided to try kindness. Maybe all this was bluster and shock at finding someone here. Maybe she was just trying to protect her son. If so, that was a concept Sabrina could get behind, even if she didn’t have any children of her own. Yet.

  Chapter 13

  Shit, shit, shit.

  “Cancel the rest of the day. If you need me I’ll be at my place,” Sean said over his shoulder to Harriet as he hit the call button on the elevator several times. What the hell was his mother doing here? A ball of dread settled in his stomach as he thought about taking the stairs instead, but down twenty-three flights? It would be faster to wait. After what seemed like twenty minutes, but he knew couldn’t have been more than two, the door opened and he stepped inside.

  Hitting the buttons for the ground floor and to close the door at the same time he considered sending Ree a text, but what would he say? Run? Panic? Sorry? No. It would just be better if he could get there and deal with it himself. His mother wasn’t unreasonable, but she would be angry and hurt that he hadn't told her he was getting married and she wouldn’t understand his not telling her before now.

  As soon as the doors parted on the ground floor, he rushed out. On the street, he broke into a jog, ignoring the strange and indignant looks as the single block between the building that housed his corporate office and his apartment building seemed to stretch for miles. Eventually he was once more in an elevator waiting to reach the right floor. Barely winded after the short trip he used the time to catch his breath and straighten his clothes, so it didn’t look like he’d raced right over. He could only pray his mother hadn’t scared Ree badly enough to make her leave. How badly would that have to be? Sean had no clue.

  The elevator door opened on the top floor and he didn’t hear screaming. He wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. Had Ree packed up and left or had she talked his mother down? He knew his mother could be difficult when she thought she was protecting him. Sometimes he’d wished he wasn’t an only child so she would have someone else to spread her protective instincts over, but the older he got, the less convinced he became that it would have helped.

  He stopped in front of the door to his penthouse and listened for just a moment. Now the silence on the other side seemed eerie. After only a moment’s hesitation he pasted a smile on his face, then unlocked the door and let himself in, half convinced he was going to find his bride packing.

  “Ree?” he called as he stepped in the door, hoping it looked like he was just coming in from the office and didn’t know his mother was there.

  “Ree?” his mother snapped right away, making Sean realize he’d used the name he’d been calling his bride in his head. She spun and looked at Sabrina who sat on the couch, a glass of ice and what looked like water, though after dealing with his mother, he wouldn’t blame her if it was vodka, dangling from a hand propped on her knee as she lounged on the sofa, looking comfortable. “I thought you said your name is Sabrina?”

  “It is Mom. Think about it a second. Sa-BREE-na.” He tried to fix his faux pas. “Ree is my pet name for her, you know, like Dad calls you Lainey. Though, Ree is much more like Sabrina than Lainey from Colleen. And what are you doing here anyway?” He set his keys on the table next to the phone and went to stand next to Sabrina. He wanted to bend down and give her a kiss that let her know how much he’d missed her while he was at work, but he didn’t want to set his mother off again.

  “Can a mother not check in on her only child?” She pretended to look hurt. “I haven’t heard from you in days. You normally call when you come back from Florida and I hadn’t heard a word.”

  “So instead of picking up a phone and checking in, you drove three hours to check on me?” He knew there was more to it than she was admitting to, especially with her wearing designer jeans.

  “Well, no. I was in town. I’m having dinner with some girlfriends.”

  “So you stopped by the penthouse, why?” He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “You knew I would likely be in the office.”

  “Well,” she looked at her feet a moment and Sean knew the truth was about to come out, “I needed to use the restroom. I wasn’t expecting to come in to find music blasting and someone making themselves at home in your kitchen.”

  “But you thought it was a good idea to attack Ree for making herself at home in her home when you were going to do the same, despite the fact that not only do you not live here, you don’t even live in town.” He folded his arms across his chest. “How often have you done this before?” It had never occurred to him she would have “popped in” when he wasn’t home. He was over thirty and had no reason to believe his mother was making surprise visits to his home when he wasn’t there. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have given her a key or the code to the elevator. He stared at his mother with hard eyes, waiting for her to respond, to say something, anything to defend herself.

  “I don’t do it often.” His mother at least had the decency look embarrassed. “And you never would have known if you had told me you got married.”

  “Not got, am getting. But soon enough it doesn’t matter.”

  Fire flashed in his mother’s eyes. “You haven’t done it yet?”

  “No but only because of legalities. Push me and we’ll hop on a plane in the next hour and be married by sundown.”

  “I can’t believe my only son would elope and not let your father and I see you married.” She put on hand on her chest as if she was stricken with shock. Sean couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

  “I can’t believe you use my home as your own personal gas station.”

  “Well, I never!” She clutched her purse strap. “Your father will hear about this.” She turned on her heel and marched out. She didn’t slam the door, but she did let it close with a lo
ud smack.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start a fight between you and your mom.”

  Sean looked down at Ree where she sat just as she’d been when he’d walked in, one hand draped carelessly over her raised knee. Giving into the urge he bent and kissed her soft lips.

  “No worries. She only gets like that when she knows she’s in the wrong. Give her a few days, she’ll call, act like it never happened, and be sweet as pie.”

  “Really?” She looked skeptical.

  “Really.” Sean shook his head. “I don’t get why Dad doesn’t tell her to knock it off, well, once in a while he does, but she doesn’t pull that crap much when he’s around. Maybe that’s why.” He sat on the edge of the sofa next to her. “I only threatened to hop on a plane to piss her off, but let’s do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Let’s fly to Vegas and get married. Today. Right now.”

  “That’s silly. We already have the license, we can get married here in two more days.”

  “What’s the point in all this money if we don’t use some of it sometimes? Besides. I don’t want to wait. I want to slide between the sheets tonight with my bride, not my fiancée.”

  “But—” Ree’s eyes went wide and she started to protest then exhaled in a heavy rush. “Let’s do it. How quickly do I need to be ready to leave?”

  “Let me make a call, but is twenty minutes too soon?”

  “Nope, what do I need to pack?”

  “Whatever you want to get married in.”

  “You got it.” She sat up, put her glass on the coffee table and reached for him. He was a little surprised by the fervor of her kiss before she stood, taking her glass with her. Damn, he could use a drink after that. Instead, he pulled out his cell and called Harriet.

  “Have Nate meet us at the airport, I want the plane gassed and ready to go in an hour.”

  “Yes, sir. And where are you going?” He knew they needed to file a flight plan before they could take off.