The Billionaire's Secret (18 page)

“Strip poker . . .?”

“I give up. Maybe we should take a break
from games for now. It’s almost ten, which means I’m almost out of
the woods with my concussion. Just a few hours more to stay awake.
Funny, I’m not tired anymore. I think I’m going to take a hot
shower and get ready for the day.”

“Would you like company?” Jon teased. “The
doctor did say to not let you be alone for twenty-four hours, and
it hasn’t been that long yet.”

“I don’t think that’s what he meant,” she
said, laughing, as she got up and headed out of the room, pulling
her shirt over her head as she left.

“Are you sure? I clearly remember his
instructions,” he said as he followed her.

She reached behind her, unhooked her bra,
and slipped it off. Now bare from the waist up, she turned to face
him and said, “Who am I to disobey doctor’s orders?” She let the
bra drop from her fingers before she scooted away with Jon close
behind.

Jon turned the shower on as they quickly
removed their remaining clothes. He stepped in first, then grabbed
her hand and pulled her in beside him. She reached to put her arms
around his neck, but he stepped back. “What’s the matter?” she
asked.

He didn’t answer; instead, he picked up the
soap and lathered his hands. He then took the soap and began to
wash her neck, gliding his hands over her shoulders and down her
arms, and back up again only to now begin washing her breasts,
first one and then the other. She closed her eyes and let him do as
he wished. The soap traveled lower to her most delicate areas, then
down her thighs and calves, and back up again. He was driving her
crazy. Then he whispered, “Turn around.” She did as he asked. Once
again he started on her shoulders, arms, then back, hips, and legs,
only to trace his way back up. She heard him put the soap back, and
she was just about to turn and face him, when he stopped her. He
pulled her back against him. She could feel his hard throbbing cock
against her. His hands came from behind and cupped her breasts,
caressing her nipples. A moan escaped her as he gently pinched
them. With his foot he gently nudged her legs apart and teased her
with his firm cock. Then he plunged deep inside her, causing her to
shudder with an orgasm so strong her legs trembled and threaten to
give out. Jon held her close until she stopped. He began moving
again with slow, deep thrusts, one hand on her hip pulling her to
him, the other exploring every inch of her he could touch. She bit
her lip as he gripped her ass to bring her even closer, each thrust
more intense than the one before. His breath became as ragged as
hers and they both exploded at the same time. It was a shower
neither of them would ever forget.

Lizette broke the silence by saying, “I
think this is the first time I actually need a shower after a
shower.” They both laughed. They finished showering, and this time,
they only washed themselves.

As they were dressing, Jon’s cell phone
rang. “Sorry,” he said. “I need to take this, it’s Matt.”

“Of course. I’ll go make us some coffee.”
She kissed him on the check and headed to the kitchen.

“What’s going on, Matt? I told you to hold
all calls. This better be important.”

“Yes, Mr. Vinchi. I thought you would want
to know that a few reporters have stopped in today asking
questions.”

“Questions? About what? Don’t tell me some
idiot leaked information before we received FDA approval. That
would jeopardize everything.”

“No, they were not here regarding that.”

“Spill it, Matt. You know me by now—I don’t
like to play guessing games. What is so damn urgent you need me
right now?” His frustration was getting the best of him, no matter
how he tried to control it. It seemed there was only one person who
sparked a different fire in him, one he was enjoying very much.

“Mr. Vinchi, they were here inquiring about
the accident Miss Burke had yesterday.”

“Oh, is that all? You should handle that
like everything else. Just tell them no comment.”

“No, that is not all. They referred to Miss
Burke as your,” Matt cleared his throat, “as your fiancée.”

What the hell had he done? Just one simple
little word and boom, all this shit happened. He had no choice, he
was going to have to tell Lizette the truth and hope it wouldn’t be
too much for her. If he didn’t tell her now, she would eventually
regain her memory and realize their engagement was a lie. One way
or another, the truth was going to come out. It might as well come
from him, and no better time to come clean than the present.

“Mr. Vinchi. Mr. Vinchi, are you there?”

“Just tell them no comment. Understood? No
comment on anything,” he said firmly and hung up the phone.

He wanted to smash his cell phone against
the wall; he wished he had never received Matt’s call. Avoiding the
truth any longer was only going to make things worse. He wasn’t
exactly sure how things could get worse, but at this point, nothing
would surprise him.

Leaving the room to join Lizette in the
kitchen, he could overhear her talking. It appeared she was also on
the phone.
Please don’t let it be reporters
. Her back was to
him as she spoke.

“Yes, I will . . . yes, I understand . . . I
will, Mom . . . Don’t worry, Jon is taking wonderful care of me . .
. I promise we will come see you guys soon . . . Okay, Mom, I
understand . . . I have to go now . . . I’ll call you later. I love
you too, Mom. Kiss Dad for me.”

She turned with the cell phone clutched to
her chest, almost oblivious that he was there.

“Everything okay, Lizette?”

She jumped. “Oh, yes, sorry, I was talking
to my mother. She was worried I hadn’t called her.” Lizette had a
puzzled look on her face. Then she hit him with a question that
would change everything. “Jon, I know we’re engaged, but the
details of how it happened are fuzzy. Okay, actually, completely
missing would better describe it. When I was talking to my mother
just now, I was shocked to find out we never told my parents.
They’ve actually never met you. Why would that be? They’re
everything to me. Was it so recent I never had the chance to tell
them?”

Jon took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Lizette, come sit with me on the couch. There’s something we need
to talk about. Something I need to tell you.”

Lizette continued to stand in the kitchen.
She was suddenly nervous. Jon had a look on his face she could only
describe as dread. What could be that bad? Yes, her memories of
their time together were limited, but the last twenty-four hours
with him had been wonderful. The way he’d been by her side, so
gentle and loving—she couldn’t believe what he had to say could
change any of that. “Jon, what’s the matter? You’re scaring me.
Just tell me. What’s going on?”

“Please come sit with me on the couch and I
promise I’ll explain everything.”

She followed him, then reached out and
touched his hand. “Just tell me, Jon. We need to be able to share
everything with each other.”

He looked into her eyes and said, “You are
the most incredible woman I have ever met, and I care about you
very much.”

“Thank you, Jon, you’re pretty incredible
yourself.” She smiled.

“Well . . . you know Matt just called
me.”

“Yes, is there something wrong at work? If
you need to go I understand. I am sure I’ll be fine on my own
now.”

“No, it had nothing to do with work. It had
to do with us, you and me. He wanted to tell me that reporters had
been to the office, asking questions about our engagement.”

“Oh, what did he tell them?”

“Nothing, thank God.”

“Well, that was nice of him. I was glad my
parents hadn’t heard it on the news before I could tell them. But
it was bound to get out eventually, right? I mean, you didn’t
expect it to be a secret forever. Or is there a reason you didn’t
want people to know?”

“Lizette, please, I want you to promise to
hear me out completely before you go off on me.” He paused, waiting
for her response.

“Okay, Jon, I promise. Now tell me because
you’re scaring me.”

“We were together when you fainted.”

“I know that, they told me at the
hospital.”

“Well, when they took you to the hospital
they wouldn’t give me any news about you. I was going crazy with
worry.”

“I’m sorry. It was a rough day for both of
us. One I’m sure we won’t forget for some time.”

“Yes, well, that’s not all. You see, I
wanted—no, I needed—to know what was going on, and they wouldn’t
tell me. They said they couldn’t because of HIPAA laws. You have no
idea what I was going through. The last time I’d seen you, you were
you going in and out of consciousness. I needed to see for myself
that you were okay.”

“That’s what love does to people, Jon. Why
are you so surprised by your reaction? I would have been the same
exact way if it had been you in the ER.”

“Well, that’s when I told them you were my
fiancée.”

“Okay. So it wasn’t announced the way we
wanted. That happens, Jon. So we didn’t get to share the news with
family and friends first. Things could be much worse. It really
doesn’t change how we feel about each other.”

“Why are you being so damn understanding?
You’re not making this any easier on me,” he said, frustration
evident in his voice.

“Jon, I don’t understand why this is making
you so angry.”

“Please just listen to me. What I’m trying
to tell you is I told them you are my fiancée. But that’s not the
truth. We are not engaged.”

What?
“What do you mean, we’re not
engaged? You mean at all? Not that we never announced it, but we’re
really not engaged?” she demanded.

“Yes, not at all. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, my God, Jon. Why did you let me believe
we were engaged? You should have told me right away. Why am I
staying here with you, then?” Before he could answer, she
remembered she’d just told her parents. “Oh, God, no, what have you
done? I just told my parents, the reporters know, everyone knows,
and it’s all a
lie
,” she said in a pitch he had not heard
before but had very much expected.

He stood there and nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry,
Lizette. I never meant for it to go this far. I just wanted to make
sure you were okay at the hospital and then . . . well, things got
out of control, and I didn’t want to tell you until you had fully
recovered.”

“Oh, great, just let me keep believing a
lie. And what did you think my reaction was going to be when you
finally decided to tell me? Did you think we would just kiss and
make up?”

“No.”

“I need to know right now if there is
anything else you haven’t told me.”

“Yes, we don’t live together. You have an
apartment not far from here, but the doctor said you couldn’t be
alone, so I had your things brought here so I could take care of
you.”

“You what? Without asking me? You just went
to my apartment and moved my stuff? Who does something like
that?”

“Lizette, you have to understand, I did this
because . . . well, because I was worried about you.” He reached
out for her, but she pulled away.

“I have one more question.” She looked him
in the eye and asked, “Are we even lovers, or was this all pretend
too?”

“What we shared these last few days wasn’t
pretend.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Jon, if
you really cared, you would have told me the truth. Or is lying
something that comes easily to you? Actually, don’t answer that.
Right now, all I want to do is go back to my home—in Rhode Island.
And if you care about me at all, you won’t try to stop me.” With
that, she walked past him into the bedroom and packed her things.
Anger was only one of the emotions she was battling. Sadness and
heartbreak swept through her as she left the penthouse that only
minutes before she’d believed they shared as a loving couple.
Lizette stood at the elevator door, which finally opened. Glancing
back one last time at the penthouse door, she turned and entered
the elevator. As she made the journey to the ground floor,
heaviness filled her chest. Jon had respected her request; he
hadn’t tried to stop her. There was nothing left to do but go home
to Rhode Island.

Her parents met her at the airport and
brought her home. They asked her what had happened, but she
couldn’t bring herself to tell them. How could she say the
engagement had been a lie? No, she needed time to heal from the
knowledge herself before she discussed it with anyone else.
Instead, she told her parents she needed to get things done at
Another Chance right now. “Everything is fine, Mom, I’m just
tired.” She could tell her mother didn’t believe a word of it, but
one thing she loved about her parents was they respected her enough
to make her own choices—some good, some questionable, but at least
they were hers.

Even though the concussion had passed and
she was by cleared by the doctor to sleep, it didn’t come easily.
She tossed and turned for hours until finally her body gave in. She
fell into a restless sleep, haunted by the sweet memories of what
she and Jon had shared during the past forty-eight hours. Her
heart’s desire battled with her mind, which told her being with him
again was risky and could only lead to disappointment and further
heartbreak.

When she woke on Wednesday morning, she
could hardly drag herself from the bed to the shower. The hot water
beat down on her muscles, aching not from exertion but from stress.
Tears began to flow, slowly at first, then uncontrollably as
memories of the past two weeks, recently a blank, now began to
return. The truth of why she was in New York, the truth of how Jon
had used his sponsorship to make her relocate, and the truth of
their relationship—or lack of it—all came flooding back. She could
have dealt with that, but instead it was clouded by the lie of
their engagement, and the genuinely loving and passionate time they
had shared together. She had believed all was perfect in the world;
she was marrying the man of her dreams, the man she loved. Oh, God,
she loved him! Even though he didn’t return her feelings, she loved
him. There was a part of her that wished he hadn’t told her the
truth, wished her memory hadn’t returned, wished the clock could be
turned back to what had been the happiest time of her life. Now it
was gone, and she wasn’t sure what was left. The detailed,
mapped-out plan she had made for her life was now derailed.