Ignite: a Billionaire Second Chance romance

C
opyright
© 2016 by Serena Sinclair

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

T
he woman
he loves isn’t the one having his baby.

M
ax King

I
've lived
the life of a billionaire playboy from the helm of the family business but my first love has me ready to settle down.

The only problem?

The woman who sees me as her golden ticket claims "we" have a baby on the way. 

If Cyn finds out I'll lose her forever.

C
yn
Diamond

M
y high school
sweetheart is back in town grieving his father. The connection between us is as hot as those long ago summer nights spent in each other’s arms.

Come to find out he has a fiancee. More like a gold digger. 

So why have I let myself fall for him again? 

Fiancee isn't the same as wife.

M
ax and Cyn
find the passion between them is twice as hot as it was that summer ten years ago before he left for college. When Max's self-proclaimed fiancee walks in, Cyn's belief in Max's whispered promises is shaken. Little does she know, there's a baby on the way. Max has to fix this problem, pronto, or Cyn will become a memory once more. It's the most important deal he's ever done. His happiness with Cyn is the ultimate prize.  

M
ax King stared
at her across the crowded room. Cyn Diamond sat beside his mother as his speech regarding the community center expansion unfolded. Cyn kept her gaze averted knowing if she allowed herself to roam his body with her eyes she would have to excuse herself from the table and visit the powder room.

She recalled the feel of his callused hands on her body the summer after their senior year. Max was to leave for college in the fall. The one with a fancy name where his father was an alumni. The King family was one of the wealthiest in the country and Max had been groomed as heir apparent.

The details of that glorious summer ten years ago were etched in her memory and she treasured the secret of his hands in places none other had dared touch. She fanned herself and turned to cross her legs. It was amazing he could still affect her like she was fresh out of high school.

One night in the back of his pick up truck under the stars, she had thought he might pledge his undying love but undying lust was more like it. Still, she couldn’t fault him. They were both young and dumb, and full of that other word.

She smiled as she thought of his tender kisses, the awkward ways they explored one another, the teenage infatuation that grew hotter and brighter as summer wore on.

By the time he was leaving for college, she was sulking around the house swearing her life was over and saying she’d repent by becoming a nun. She smiled to think of those days now. There was no doubt her love life was lackluster but being a nun would have been a bridge too far.

She glanced at Amelia King. Max’s mother was beautiful in the way only wealthy women are as they age. She had worn more gray this past few weeks and Cyn longed to place a colorful scarf about her neck to bring out the twinkle that had been missing from her eyes. Mrs. King always favored having her hair done by Cyn. She swore Cyn was the only one who didn’t try to make her look like an old matron.

That was the connection she had with Max over the years. He would come back to visit Belleport and bring his mama for her hair appointment.

Cyn’s body fairly vibrated at his presence in her salon. He had only grown more irresistible since their teen romance and she thought she caught him checking her rear view on more than one occasion. She couldn’t blame him. She’d certainly noticed his.

He was six foot three easily and had filled out quite nicely through the shoulders. She wished she could lay her head on one of those shoulders when he returned to take the seat beside his mother. She heard Mrs. King remark over how pleased she was to have him back in town for good now that Mr. King had passed.

Cyn felt the tears clouding her vision. They laid his father to rest three weeks ago today. Mr. King was the most popular man in Belleport, and not just for his money. He cared about the people who worked for him and made sure their little piece of heaven had everything a city of working class people could want. He was more than boss to many of them, he was a father figure, a benefactor, a good neighbor, a city leader.

Cyn wondered if Max knew his mother expected him to continue his father’s legacy. As thrilled as she was to have him back in town for good, Mrs. King had confided in Cyn that Max seemed distracted and eager to return to New York.

Amelia King excused herself from the table and Max stood offering his arm. She smiled up at her son and nodded to Cyn. “Keep him company Cynthia. I won’t be long.”

Cyn felt the color rise in her cheeks as he sat in his mother’s seat and smiled at her. She folded her hands in her lap and allowed herself a moment to breathe before she spoke. His undivided attention felt like the sun on a particularly hot summer day.

“That was a lovely speech, Max. It’s comforting to know you care for this town as much as your father did.”

Cyn bit her tongue when she saw the pain that flickered in his eyes. It was gone almost as quickly as it came but she could have kicked herself. She lowered her lashes and crossed her arms. Here she was talking to her first love and the star of her fantasies like he was some stranger.

Max sighed and shook his head.

“It’s okay, Cyn. No one has said his name to my face since I’ve been back.”

She looked up and placed an arm around his broad back before she realized what she was doing.

“Henry King was an amazing man,” she said, her voice breaking. Cyn cleared her throat and absently traced light circles gently over his back with her hand.

“You know, the last time I saw him he was bragging about you. Talking about his dreams for luring you home to run King Enterprises from afar.”

Max took her free hand and placed a kiss on the tips of her fingers. Cyn trembled as the spark between them flashed. Max shifted in his seat, his eyes locked on hers. He leaned over closing the space between them. She had dreamed of moments like this since he’d come home for his father’s funeral but dared not approach him. He dropped his voice to a husky whisper.

“I’ve been wanting to spend time with you. Reminisce and hear your laugh again. You always knew how to make me smile.”

He leaned towards her and Cyn caught her breath, the nearness of his body causing her heart to skip a beat. He bent his head and placed a large, warm hand on her knee. The warmth of his breath tickled her earlobe as his lips caressed that spot on her neck. Cyn forced herself to remain still as he whispered in her ear.

“You taste the same Cyn.”

She pulled back abruptly as she spied his mother across the room. Her head was spinning from his words and the feel of his lips and hands. Grief could make a person do things, she knew. Being back home with constant reminders of life before his father passed was taking a toll. Still, if he’d thrown her over his shoulder and strode from the room Cyn wouldn’t have put up a fight.

Mrs. King made her way back to the table and Max turned at her voice. Cyn clasped her hands in her lap and smiled up at his mother. Max rose from his seat and took Mrs. King’s arm.

“Mama, would you like to leave now? I don’t want you overdoing it. Let me get the driver to take us home.”

Cyn could see the strain on his mother’s face and her heart ached for the woman. She had been gracious and composed every time Cyn saw her since her husband’s death. She stood and placed a hand on the woman’s arm.

“Amelia,” she said gently, “I can come out to the house tomorrow if you like. You could use some pampering and I could use a home cooked meal. Jo did promise last time I was out there.”

Max glanced from his mother to Cyn. The smile on his face made Cyn blush. Amelia King took her hand.

“My dear, I would love that! Jo will be pleased to set out brunch. Will you come around noon?”

Cyn nodded and leaned in for a kiss on the cheek from her favorite client.

“Yes ma’am, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Cyn grabbed her clutch from the table and walked out of the community center with the Kings. Max delivered his mother to their limo and insisted on walking Cyn to her car.

He placed an arm around her shoulders and the warmth of his body called to her own. Cyn felt her knees weaken as his hand moved to rest lightly on the small of her back.

Max opened her car door and Cyn turned to stare into his eyes once more before leaving. He held her hand and looked away, his profile stark against the clear sky of the golden fall afternoon.

“I thought of hurrying back to New York for a few months before moving home for good but after today, I’m not so sure. There’s nothing there for me besides promoting my vice president.”

Cyn tried to contain the joy that filled her heart at his words but Max turned and caught the smile on her lips before she could hide it.

A breeze tugged at the strands of her long dark hair and swept them across her face. Max reached out and brushed them aside, leaving a kiss on her forehead before he turned and strode away.

Cyn stood as though her feet had grown roots and watched him make his way back to the King limo. He turned to catch her staring and a slow, sexy smile from his lips made her ache in all the right places.

C
yn pulled slowly
up the sweeping drive of the King property. The house was a gorgeous red brick mansion in the Georgian style. Her small bungalow was modest in comparison, even smaller than the guest house a mile down the road.

She parked and retrieved her bags from the trunk. She intended to spoil Amelia King royally today. She wouldn’t own her salon if it weren’t for Mrs. King. The woman was a powerful force when it came to bringing in wealthy clientele.

Cyn closed the trunk and nearly jumped out of her skin when Max appeared. His long muscular legs were encased in a worn pair of low slung jeans and a baby blue tee that made his blue eyes more intense than possible hugged his torso.

She glanced down at her own attire. This was likely the last day she might get from her short sundress with fall coming on quickly. Instead of sandals, her feet were happy in her favorite cowgirl boots and Max stared at them for what seemed an eternity.

“Those can’t be the same boots you wore all summer way back when…”

Cyn laughed and pushed her bags into his muscular arms.

“No, they’re not, but close! These are Roses and Thorns from Lucchese. Most comfortable boots known to womankind.”

Max nodded, enjoying the look of her long legs as she modeled them for him.

“Roses and Thorns, hmm…” he said as he moved closer, his hands regrettably too full to touch the places his eyes wandered.

“Life will always have thorns but I am grateful for the roses.”

She left him standing by the car and went to meet Mrs. King at the door. A light drizzle had begun to fall and she turned to see Max hurrying up the stone path to the house.

Cyn resolved to keep her attention on Mrs. King instead of her gorgeous son, but Max wasn’t going to make that easy. He placed her bags on the floor and took her arm, leading her past his mother and into the dining room.

Mrs. King followed behind, a happy smile on her face. Max had been as stoic as she and having Cyn to brunch was the perfect distraction for them both.

“Cynthia, Jo will set up your things in the sun room as usual so when brunch is over we can visit while you pamper me.”

Max sat across from Cyn at the table and reached for one of Jo’s famous croissants.

“You pamper mama often it would seem,” he said as he brushed butter on his first victim and slowly took a bite.

Cyn’s eyes were on his lips, wishing she were that croissant. Melting in his mouth was an activity she would like to revisit soon. She shook her head and remembered his mother was in the room and her own promise to focus on Mrs. King.

“Amelia, what’s been the best part of having Max home again?” she asked and turned her eyes away from the devilishly handsome man seated across from her.

Mrs. King smile and watched her errant son sitting at her table once more dressed casually and looking right at home.

“It is the memories, I think. It feels as though we’ve rolled back ten years since he came home.”

Cyn nodded. It felt just like that to her too. She dared not remind everyone that ten years ago Max was more than her boyfriend, he had been her first.

“Rhys will be home again in a few hours. He had to go in his father’s stead to a meeting in Boston. Hopefully the running of all the King holdings will soon return to normal. I believe Brooke is flying back with him.”

Cyn saw Max shift in his chair from the corner of her eye and wondered who Brooke was.

“Has Rhys married, then?” she asked Mrs. King

Max had a coughing fit and Cyn turned to see that he was okay. He glanced away and took a long swig of his water.

“Oh no, dear, Brooke is Max’s fiancee. Hasn’t he mentioned her?”

Cyn bit her tongue hard and smiled at Amelia King. “He hasn’t. I guess he’s been so busy it slipped his mind.”

She kicked him under the table and Max struggled not to yelp. Cyn ignored him for the rest of the meal and struggled to keep her emotions under control. She might have known a man as wealthy and gorgeous as Max King wouldn’t live his life celibate.

Once brunch was finished, Max helped his mother from her seat and came back for Cyn. Her gaze cut him to the quick but she accepted his arm and rose from the table. The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene in front of his mother.

“Mama, I wanted to take Cyn out to the garage and show her my old pick up, you know the one I drove in high school?”

Cyn gave him the side eye at his easy manner. She didn’t think it was safe for them to be alone together after yesterday. Now, especially after this news of Brooke, he better keep his hands to himself.

Mrs. King smiled at the two of them and nodded. “Only for a moment, young man. Cynthia is mine this afternoon.”

Max led Cyn from the dining room into the kitchen. Jo saw them and rushed to wrap Cyn in a bear hug. Jo had been with the Kings for more years than Cyn could remember and when you won her favor you never lost it.

“How are you Cynthia? I hear you’ve come to pamper Amelia. Heaven knows she needs it. We’ve all been drifting along since Henry died, you know.”

Cyn hugged Jo tighter, and then stood back to look into her sweet face. Her sparkling green eyes and her rosy cheeks were the same but time had begun to streak her blonde hair with gray.

“You know what? You come on down to the salon and let me work some magic, Jo. My treat.”

Jo blushed and turned away to hide a tear that fell down her cheek. “You two go on now, but don’t keep Amelia waiting too long. I don’t want to have to come looking for you.”

Max put his arm around Cyn and pulled her closer as they left the house through the back door. She wanted to pull away and be angry with him but the reality of being near him was so much better than her dreams.

They walked across the grass to a grove of trees where the old garage sat, mostly overgrown and looking worse for the wear.

“Funny, they say the years mellow a person. My shin doesn’t agree,” Max said as he stepped away and pulled open the doors. Cyn enjoyed the ripple of muscle under his shirt as he pushed the doors wide open and walked inside. Cyn called after him.

“Tell me the truth and your shins are safe.”

She leaned over and peeked inside the dimly lit garage to see the old truck was indeed still there. Memories of their bodies writhing on a blanket in the back of the pick up heated her skin as a chill breeze lifted the hair at the nape of her neck.

She shivered and stepped inside.