Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (62 page)

“You know, you are great at running this restaurant.” Dean shook his head. “But sometimes, you’re dumber than a rock.”

Nick continued to stare at him. He had no clue, no idea what Dean was talking about.

Dean laughed a little, then said, “She did it for you, ya’ dumbass.”

Nick considered it, for about a half a second, and then dismissed the idea. “No way.” He shook his head and kept shaking it, as if that’d shake the nonsense out of Dean’s head too. “She doesn’t care about me. She’s leaving. Besides…girls like her don’t fall in love with guys like you and me.”

That much, Nick was sure of. Their worlds couldn’t be further apart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NICK MATTHEWS MIGHT NOT HAVE been in the same league with Lecie de Laurent, but he sure was grateful for what she’d done for the community center and he intended to tell her. And maybe they could come to a suitable arrangement regarding how he was going to pay her back.

Walking up to the front door, he saw that the flowers she had asked the gardener to plant along the front of the house had started to bloom. Santa Barbara daisies amid African Irises and the Matilija Poppy added an elegance to the house’s curbside appeal.

Nick was going to miss this place. He was also going to have to put “getting the loft above Hang Ten in livable shape” at the top of his priority list. As soon as their marriage ended he’d wouldn’t be staying here anymore. Nick was going to miss Lecie.

Nick went inside the house, feeling a little sad. “Lecie…” he called out her name, but got no answer. He went through the house, but couldn’t find her anywhere. She had to be here, her car was in the garage.

Standing at the sliding glass door off the living room, he looked out at the terrace. She wasn’t there either. But what about the little patio just down the hill on the other side of the yard? He headed outside because that was the only place left to look.

He was right, and felt a sense of peace when he saw her sitting on the little sofa with her back to him, gazing out at the ocean.

“Admiring the view?” he asked, sitting down next to her.

She nodded and looked at him. “I take it Dean has been to see you?”

“Yes, he has.” Nick looked at her, wanting to touch her, but he didn’t dare. “I’ll find a way to pay you back. I’ll make payments. Whatever you want.”

She shook her head. “No. It wasn’t a loan.” The slightest hint of pink stained her cheeks and she turn back to look at the ocean again. “I did it for the kids.”

“Are you still leaving?” He wished she wouldn’t, but he didn’t have the guts to say so.

She nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”

She was probably right. They were from different worlds. Nick wouldn’t know how to begin to fit into hers. Still, he couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing or hearing from her again. “You’ll keep in touch, won’t you?” he asked. “Let me know where to send your checks.”

She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“That’s the great thing about being a
silent partner
.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to do anything, but you still get paid.”

“Oh, the Hang Ten.” Lecie’s smiled, then shook her head. “I signed my interest in the restaurant over to the foundation as well. Now it’ll have a steady income to operate on.”

“I don’t know what to say.” And he truly didn’t. Dean was right in his assessment of Lecie. She
was
an angel. She’d swooped in and saved him, just when he’d thought the devil had done him in for sure. But the angel had done her job, and now she was leaving. Probably going on to do good for some other poor schmuck.

“You don’t have to say anything.” She smiled, looking every bit the angel he now realized she was.

One thing was for sure, no other woman would ever be able to do what Ginny had done to him, because Nick would always be in love with this one. The woman sitting next to him now.

“Lecie…” He sucked in a breath and looked at her. “I hope that you get everything in life that you want…because you deserve happiness more than anybody else I know.”

She looked at him, and for the first time he saw the sadness in her eyes. She smiled, a forced one, he thought, and said, “Listen…I’m leaving tomorrow but you can stay here at the house for as long as you want.”

“I do appreciate that.” He nodded. “I’m making plans to have the loft above Hang Ten renovated, so I can live there.” He couldn’t help noticing her looking at him a little oddly, and wondered if she was only saying that about staying at the house to be nice. Maybe what she really wanted was for him to be out of her house. ASAP. “It shouldn’t take more than a week,” he said, hoping to appease her. “As soon as it’s done, I’ll be out of your house.”

“There’s no hurry.” She shook her head and turned her focus back to the ocean.

Nick looked her over and let his gaze linger on her a little longer. He wanted to remember everything about this moment, to commit every inch of her to memory. He never wanted to forget the way she looked right now—stunningly beautiful, yet somehow sad. The way she smelled of roses just after a summer rain. And most of all, the way he felt sitting here next to her.

D
eidra didn’t feel exactly good about lying to Lecie—her best friend since first grade. But damn, the girl was determined to leave the States without telling Nick the real reason she was going.

And Nick might not care, one way or another, but at least Deidra was going to know that she’d done everything possible to keep Lecie and Nick from parting on these terms. If there’s one thing she’d learned from her grandmother’s death, it was that life was short and you couldn’t leave things to fate.

She pulled open Hang Ten’s door, and a cool breeze wafted past her, carrying with it the scent of hamburgers and barbeque.

“Hey, Deidra…” Diane waved and hurried past.

“Is Nick here?” she called after the waitress.

“Yeah,” she said over her shoulder. “He’s in his office. Go on in.”

Deidra nodded and proceeded onward. Her heart pounded against her chest, reminding her she was going behind Lecie’s back. But that was beside the point.

Deidra shook off her fear and knocked on the office door. “Nick…?”

Within seconds the door opened and Nick was standing feet away, smiling. “Hey, Deidra.” Almost instantly, his brow furrowed and his smile faded. “I thought you and Lecie were leaving today?”

“We are.” She nodded. “But I wanted to talk to you before we go.”

Nick stepped back and waved her in. Once she was inside, he closed the door and motioned toward the couch on the left wall. She sat, then he sat. They remained silent for several seconds, then Deidra sucked in a breath and asked, “Are you back together with Ginny?”

“What?” Nick blurted out with genuine surprise. At least it looked genuine. Maybe Nick was in the wrong business. Perhaps he should consider acting.

“She saw you two kissing, some weeks back.” Deidra said, a little cooler than she would’ve liked. But no matter, it was done and now Nick knew that feigning innocence was not going to work with her.

“She?” he asked, still innocently.

“Lecie.” Deidra’s tone held the bite.

“Oh, no…” Nick hung his head. So he
was
kissing Ginny. Deidra realized she’d been holding onto a sliver of hope that it’d somehow turn out to be a misunderstanding. “She saw that?” Nick asked, as if the outcome would somehow change.

Deidra nodded emphatically. “You know…it’s probably none of my business, but how can you go back to her after what she did to you?”

“I’m not back with her.” Nick shook his head.

“Well, you were kissing her.”

“Technically, she kissed me.” A vile nature had taken over Nick’s voice now. It was as if the topic of Ginny had put a bad taste in his mouth. “And right after that I escorted her out of the restaurant. And I didn’t see Lecie here, anywhere, mind you.”

“Well…” Deidra couldn’t let go of her
I told you so
mind-set. “She saw you.”

Nick was silent for several seconds. Then his eyes widened. “Is that why she’s leaving?”

Deidra nodded.

“What time does your plane leave?”

“The de Laurent jet takes off tonight at six.”

Nick looked like someone had stuck a pin in his favorite balloon. “I’m kidding myself,” he said, shaking his head.

“Why?” Deidra asked, her tone carried a measure of hope. Obviously, Deidra knew something he didn’t. Lecie liked him. In fact, Deidra suspected that Lecie was in love with Nick.

“She and I come from different worlds. She has a private jet at her disposal. I couldn’t afford a deeply discounted ticket in coach.” He shook his head, looking like he’d lost his best friend. “Her family would never accept me.”

“Do you not remember her sisters-in-law?” Deidra asked.

“Yes.” He nodded. “The fact that we’re all Americans is the only thing we have in common.”

Deidra leaned back and smiled. “Boy, have you got a lot to catch up on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember Camille?” she asked, but didn’t wait for him to respond. “She was a reporter when she married Lecie’s eldest brother Julian.” There was no need to go into all that reporter-pretending-to-be-an-actress bit. “And Tasha…the one you miraculously got sprung from jail?” She nodded. “She was an aspiring actress who made her living as a waitress when she married Andre. Yeah.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I can call and you can ask them yourself.” She offered her phone.

He was silent again for a time, then he stood and looked down at Deidra. “I’ve got to talk to her. Is she at the house?”

Deidra nodded and stood. “She was there when I left. As far as I know, she’s not going anywhere before we head out to the airport.”

“I hope you won’t think I’m rude.” He moved toward the door. “But I’ve got to go.” And then he was gone.

Deidra sucked in a satisfying breath. Damn, she was good. She should do this shit for a living. Hook people up. She could be a matchmaker. Yeah.

Half-seriously considering it, she left Nick’s office and went to the bar. She deserved a drink. Besides, she needed to give Nick and Lecie time to
make up
.

If this worked out the way she thought it would, she and Lecie wouldn’t be going anywhere, which was good. She was not ready to leave California. Not yet.

Who knows, given a little time, she might find her own Americanized Prince Charming.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR OF LECIE’S HOUSE, expensive luggage crowded the foyer, bringing it home to Nick that she was truly leaving.

Damn. When the girl got an idea in her head, she didn’t waste any time.

Gerard appeared in the entryway of the living room. “Ah…Mr. Matthews. Will you be requiring my services after Mrs. Matthews returns to France?”

Mrs. Matthews. He’d never heard anybody call her that. It was kind of shocking, and exhilarating. Once Nick got control of his senses and realized what Gerard had said, he laughed. Not a jovial laugh, but one of those,
yeah, right
kind of laughs. “That won’t be necessary, Gerard.” Hell, the guy probably made more money than Nick did.

“Very well, sir.” Gerard looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it and backed out of sight.

“Oh, wait…Gerard…?” Nick rushed after him and caught up to him in the living room. “Is Lecie upstairs?”

“No, sir.” Gerard shook his head. “She left a while ago. I believe she said something about errands before heading to the airport.”

Nick looked around at her luggage. It was still here. But of course it was. Lecie wasn’t the kind of person who dealt with her own luggage. She had staff at her disposal for that.

Just when inferiority was about to overcome Nick, he swatted it away with a mental slap. He had more important things to do than get swallowed up by his own insecurities. He had to find her before that plane left the ground. Trouble was, he had no idea where to look.

N
ick tried Lecie’s cell, but got nothing. He checked back in at Hang Ten, but Lecie hadn’t been there. He stopped by a couple of other places he knew she liked, but they hadn’t seen her either.

He glanced at his watch. 5:00. Was she already at the airport? He tried her cell again. Still nothing.

On a whim he called Deidra, and was surprised when she answered. “Deidra, it’s Nick. I’ve been looking for Lecie ever since I left you, but I can’t find her anywhere. Is she with you now?”

“No, she’s not.” Deidra’s voice sounded puzzled. “I thought you two would’ve met up by now.” She was silent for a minute. “You have to tell her that Ginny’s not back. That you don’t want her back.”

“I don’t want Ginny back!” he insisted.

“Lecie doesn’t know that.”

“I know.” He nodded, as if Deidra could see it. “I would tell her, if I could find her.” Nick sucked in a breath, trying to quell the frustration that was starting to get the better of him.

“She’s not at Hang Ten?” Deidra asked, and then started rattling off all the places she could think of that Lecie might be.

Nick had the same response for each location that Deidra suggested. He’d already been there and nobody had seen Lecie. At least, not today.

“Well, what about Dean…?” she asked. “Has he seen her?”

Dean. He was the only one Nick hadn’t talked to. “I’ll give him a call.” About to hang up, he added, “Thanks for your help.”

He heard Deidra chuckle just before he clicked off the call.

Nick wasn’t feeling all that lucky when he set the call to Dean, but he was running out of options.

When he heard the call connect, Nick said, “Have you seen Lecie today?”

“What’s the matter?” Dean said, a little too cheerily. “You lose her?”

“This is not funny,” Nick said. “She’s heading for France in…” He glanced at his watch. 5:30. “God, I’m so stupid, I should be at the airport right now.” He shook his head. He’d never get to LAX by six o’clock.

“Why would you want to be there?”

“Her family’s jet is taking off at six.”

“Well if it is…” Dean said knowingly. “It’ll be leaving without her.”

“And what makes you so sure of that?”