SECRET BABY (A Billionaire Romance) (7 page)

She loved you
, I reminded myself. Carol hadn’t been perfect. She had been a jealous wife, though not psychotically so, and my head told me she wouldn’t want me to live my life alone. Twelve years had passed since her death, twelve years of sporadic dating that led to nothing because I couldn’t let go of her. I still loved her, and always would, but maybe it was finally time to live my life again.

Mel and Carol were similar in some ways, but so opposite in others. Carol would have liked her, and that helped ease my mind a little. Cara already liked her, enjoyed spending time with her as her teacher, but how would she feel about Mel if the woman became a permanent fixture in our lives? I would have to discuss it with her at length because I was sure I wanted Mel in my life.

She murmured in her sleep and rolled away, for which I was glad. I enjoyed having her in my arms, but I was getting sweaty and wouldn’t be able to sleep. Apparently, she wasn’t a cuddly sleeper either, and her perfection became even more evident. I grinned, pulled the covers over her naked shoulders, and went back to sleep.

***

At seven, my phone dinged. And dinged. And dinged. I mumbled, “Who the hell is texting me?” and reached for my phone. The alarm. I had a horse to buy today.

Mel rolled over and wrapped her arm around my waist. Sleepily, she told me, “I know you said you had to leave, but imagine this.” She sniffed and lifted up so she could see me. “Hot morning sex and breakfast in bed, prepared by yours truly.”

I laughed and kissed her hand. “I’d like to, believe me, but I have to meet the guy at the corral at nine. And a shower beforehand would be nice.”

She growled at me. “Your loss.” Her voice was almost a pout.

“I agree,” I murmured and grabbed her. “What night can I take you out again this week?”

“Well, I’m not sure I’m available,” she replied haughtily, her eyes twinkling at me.

“I’ll make it worth your time,” I promised, squeezing her until she giggled.

“All right, fine,” she said with pretend petulance. “I’ll have to check my schedule. Can I text you later?”

“Of course,” I said as I crawled out of bed and searched for my clothes. “I mean, I was planning on texting you later. I might even call.”

She laughed as she watched me dress from her bed. “You sure do have a nice ass, Mr. Sheron.”

“Really?” I asked skeptically. “I don’t work out much, but I guess wrangling cattle might keep me in shape.”

“You’re doing something right,” she said as she threw the covers back and dug in her drawers for some shorts and a tee.

“So are you,” I replied, having frozen to watch her shapely body as she moved. After we were both dressed, I wrapped my arms around her. “Mel, I can’t tell you when I’ve had a better time. You made me smile more last night than I have in a long time. And not just because of the awesome sex.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Well, I bet the sex helped a lot. I had a great time too, Will.” She walked me to the door, smiling. When I moved to step outside, she slapped my ass. “Have a good day, handsome.”

I kissed her on the lips. “You too, gorgeous. I’ll call you later?”

“You better,” she said. “Bye.”

I waved as I walked to my truck, and I felt like a kid again. There was a bounce in my step that hadn’t been there in years, and Mel was the source. As I drove away, I couldn’t wait to see her again. I had it bad, and I didn’t care.

Mel

Watching him drive away was hard because I really wanted him to stay. However, I wasn’t that kind of girl—the kind of girl who expected a man to drop everything at her every whim. But I was disappointed, nonetheless.

I marched back inside and locked the door behind me. I adjusted my shorts—I really was sore and knew a bath would help, but it was seven o’clock on a Sunday morning. I wanted a couple more hours of sleep. I walked back into my room, stared at my broken bed, and sighed. I dismissed it with a wave, flopped down on it, and fell back to sleep almost instantly.

Two hours later, I giggled as I walked to the bathroom, my soreness more pronounced now, and started a bath.
That man’s cock is a masterpiece
, I thought to myself.
One that will take adjusting to
. I giggled again as I stripped and eased my body into the bath. The hot water instantly soothed the tenderness between my legs, and I relaxed back into the warmth, my thoughts playing around in my head.

The man was amazing, everything I wanted in a partner, and though he didn’t seem to have any baggage, none that was visible anyway, everyone had some. I didn’t want to find his. I wanted him to remain perfect so I could have an uncomplicated relationship.

An idea struck me and I reached for my phone, careful not to drop it or get it wet, so I could text Madison. I glanced at the time…Madison wasn’t an early riser, but I thought I was safe.

Mel:
Good morning! Let’s go have lunch at Antonio’s.

Madison:
Do you have any idea what time it is?

Mel:
Nearly ten?

Madison:
Do you mean 9:15? Because that is not nearly ten.

Mel:
It’s close enough. I need to tell you about Will!

Madison:
What time?

Mel:
Noon. That way we can enjoy a margarita while we eat.

Madison:
Did you fuck him?!?!

Mel:
I’ll tell you at lunch.

Madison:
Fine. Bitch. I’ll be there at noon.

***

After my bath, I got caught up on cutting some music for a dance and lost track of time. When I glanced up, I realized it was nearly noon. Luckily, Antonio’s was only a few minutes from my home, and I had dressed after the bath rather than lounging in a bathrobe like I normally would on a Sunday morning. Just as I parked my car, my phone pinged.

Madison:
Where are you?

Mel:
I’m walking in now.

Madison:
I’m on the patio and have already ordered your margarita. Hurry up.

“Can you let a girl walk through the damn restaurant?” I asked as I stepped out onto the patio and caught sight of her.

“When you wake me up at the crack of dawn, the least you can do is be on time for lunch,” she complained.

“Nine-thirty is hardly the crack of dawn.”

“Nine-fifteen,” she reminded me pointedly.

“Whatever. You know, if you’d had wonderful sex last night, maybe you wouldn’t be so damn crabby,” I said nonchalantly, as if a good romp in the sack was my usual Saturday night.

Madison put her palms on the table and gasped out a laugh. “You did fuck him! You slut! I love it!”

“What can I say?” I returned, lifting my hands. “The man is charming. And perfect. And oh, my God! So well-endowed I was sore this morning!” Madison squealed, and I remembered we were in public. I glanced around, but the few patrons who were on the patio paid us no attention.

“Oh my God, I want all the details. Did you say perfect?” Madison asked, her eyes wide.

“Yes, perfect. He’s so sweet, Madison, and he makes me laugh,” I gushed, my eyes rolling back in my head in an I’m-in-heaven kind of way. I sounded like a lovesick teenager. I told about her the kiss at the beginning of the night and what he’d said about telling him to leave or he’d fuck me right there. She loved it and was so excited for me. Somewhere in the middle of my story, our margaritas were delivered, and we finished them as I told her the rest.

“I’m so happy for you, Mel,” Madison said after we ordered more margaritas and our lunch. “I do have some juicy gossip about him, though. Want to hear it?”

I debated for a moment, and my thoughts about baggage returned.
This is it
, I thought, hoping it was just ugly gossip rather than one hundred percent truth. “How accurate is this gossip?”

“Pretty reliable. I happen to work with Denise’s sister-in-law, who told me the whole thing when we were on the phone yesterday.”

“Who is Denise?”

“Will’s ex-girlfriend,” Madison said with relish. She loved good gossip, as did I, when it didn’t affect me.

“I was hoping there was no baggage with this one,” I mumbled and flopped my body back into the chair. I thanked the waiter when he set down my second margarita. I glanced at Madison and lifted it. “How many of these will I need?”

“Not sure. I mean, I don’t know that it’s that bad, but I guess it could be,” Madison replied before sipping her second one.

“Let me enjoy a couple more moments of pure bliss and tequila before you destroy all my hopes,” I said with some sarcasm in my voice. She chuckled as I inhaled a large slurp of the lime-flavored drink.

“You’re so dramatic. That’s why we’re friends,” she told me.

I waved at her. “Go ahead and tell me about his sordid past.”

“It’s more
her
sordid past.”

“Her who?”

“Denise Irving. You know her. Her daughter is one of your dancers…um, Brittani, I think,” Madison said.

“I do know her. She’s nice enough, and I know I’ve met the mother but can’t remember her,” I said with a shrug. “Of course, she and Cara—that’s Will’s daughter—they hate each other.”

“Well, you’re about to find out why.” Madison and I sat back as the waiter delivered our enchiladas. “So, Will and Denise were high school sweethearts. They’re both hometown Brayman.”

“But he didn’t marry her?”

“No, he met his wife at college, apparently, and from what Laura told me, Denise went crazy, spreading awful rumors ruthlessly about the wife and about Will once they moved back to Brayman—although Laura says Will didn’t know about any of that, and I’d bet the wife didn’t, either. Anyway, after the wife died, Will and Denise rekindled their relationship.”

“But wasn’t she married to Brittani’s dad?”

“They divorced because he was screwing his secretary,” Madison said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“Oh, my God, am I in a soap opera?” I asked, laughing. The margaritas were strong, and I was beginning to think I needed another one. “Could this get any worse?”

“Well, they broke up pretty quickly, like less than a year,” Madison told me. “Laura didn’t know why, but the rumor was that she was screwing around with some dude they went to high school with.”

“And this is all rumors?” I asked.

“Some of it,” Madison sighed. “I mean, he did date her, and you know the daughters hate each other, so it must have been at least a little ugly.”

“Awesome. All I need is more drama. Teenage girls create it from nothing. Can you imagine what will happen if I date Will?” We had finished our meal during the conversation, and the waiter asked if we wanted another margarita. “Um, no thanks. I have to drive home, and I have work to do.”

“Boring,” Madison crowed, though she shook her head no as well.

“I’ll bring your check in a minute, ladies,” the waiter said with a smile. “Unless you want sopapillas?”

“Um, yes. Bring us an order please,” I answered. When Madison lifted an eyebrow, I said, “Hey, I can’t have another margarita, so I’ll consume the calories by eating fried bread with cinnamon and sugar all over it.”

“Are you freaking out over this information?” Madison asked me. I nodded, staring at the table. “That’s stupid, Mel.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve already thought about the whole conflict-of-interest thing. I’ve had to settle arguments between Cara and Brittani…minor things, but still. This will make it worse, and you know it.”

“I do know it’s a possibility, but you’ve been forewarned. You can cut it off early.” Madison shrugged. “Please, for the love of God, do not blow this man off because of a minor issue with an ex.”

“A minor issue that could become a major one. It could affect my job, Madison,” I huffed irritated. My mind spun with all the ways this could go wrong.

“Stop it!” Madison said, slamming a palm on the table loudly. “You are sitting here thinking about all the ways this could go wrong when you should be thinking about the awesome time you had with a handsome, kind man. Those girls will get over it.” She grabbed my hand, forcing me to look up at her. “This relationship could be real, Mel. Don’t let some small town bullshit ruin it for you.”