The Billionaire's Secret (24 page)

She couldn’t argue with that. She hadn’t
slept much since the night she spent with Jon in Tokyo. “You’re
right. I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner anyway. I can grab my
luggage then. Good night, and drive home safely.”

“I will,” he said as she got out of the car
and made her way to the porch.

There may have only been five steps leading
to her porch, but after sitting for as many hours as she had, it
felt like a hundred. Once she reached the front door, she stopped
and thought,
it’s good to be home
. It was going to be
different from here on out, but she was where she belonged.

Fishing through her purse for her keys, she
was glad she had forgotten to turn off her porch light when she
left. It was wasting electricity—something she never did—but at the
moment it was coming in very handy. And a quick glance at the rest
of the house confirmed it was the only light she had left on.
Finally she found her keys and opened the front door. As soon as
she stepped inside she dropped her purse on the table next to the
door. Each step took more effort than the last.
Just a few more
to the couch,
she thought. She might not get off it for the
next twelve hours.

She entered the living room and flipped the
switch, illuminating the dark room. She gasped at what greeted her.
The entire room was filled with dozens of red roses, and there in
the middle of them stood Jon.

Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was he
really here, in her home? “Jon?”

“Hello, Lizette.” He didn’t move, nor did
she.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in
my house?”

“Your parents have a spare key.”

“My parents?” What did her parents have to
do with him intruding in her house?

“Yes, your parents. Your father was kind
enough to drop me off here after you called him for a ride from the
airport.”

Her head was spinning. He had been with her
parents? None of this made sense. “Jon, I don’t understand what’s
going on here. Why were you with my parents? And what on earth made
them willing to give you my spare keys? I hope you didn’t bully
them,” she said accusingly. “They are good people, Jon.”

“Yes, they are. I had some things I needed
to discuss with them before I saw you. There were some things I
wanted to clear up.”

“You shouldn’t have involved them in our
business.”

“Can we please stop talking about your
parents for one minute? I’m not here to talk about them. I’m here
to talk about us.”

“Us? I didn’t know there was an us,” she
said with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Well, I deserve that. I’m sorry I led you
to believe there wasn’t an us. That wasn’t my intention. I’m here
to rectify my mistake.” Jon walked over to where she stood, reached
into his pants pocket, and pulled out a small box. Then, slowly, he
bent on one knee, looked her in the eyes, and asked, “Lizette
Burke, will you marry me?”

Her heart almost stopped. Jon was here,
proposing to her. She wanted to scream, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and then
kiss him endlessly. But she didn’t. There was still one thing he
hadn’t said. She paused and stared into his eyes, looking for the
confirmation. Waiting to hear the one thing he had yet to say. It
may have only been seconds but felt like hours standing there in
front of him.

“Lizette, I know I should have told you this
before. I love you, and I know you love me, so I ask again, will
you marry me?”

Finally, the words her heart yearned to
hear.

A smile came across her face as she reached
her left hand out to him and half sobbed her response. “Yes, Jon.
Yes, I will marry you.”

He slipped the five-carat diamond onto her
finger, rose from his knee, and drew her to him, kissing her
tenderly. “I promise I will make you the happiest woman who ever
lived, Lizette.”

She returned his kisses and said, “You
already have.”

Jon wrapped his arms around her and swung
her in the air, almost knocking over the roses that filled the
room. As he placed her back on her feet, he stroked her cheek, then
tipped her head back to meet his gaze again. “I love you
Lizette.”

Tears poured down her cheeks as the words
brought her more joy than anything else ever had. “I love you too,
Jon.”

He pulled her tight in his arms and held her
as though he would never let her go. As he stepped back and
loosened his hold on her, he said, “I’m sure you’re exhausted—we
both had a long flight. Why don’t we get you to bed so you can get
some sleep?”

She smiled at him and said, “I half agree
with you. Let’s go to bed. We can always sleep late tomorrow.”

Jon scooped her up in his arms and followed
her directions to her bedroom. There he stood and slowly undressed
her, then himself.

“It has been a long flight, Jon, and I could
use some assistance washing my back. Care to join me in the
shower?”

“Oh, my sweet Lizette, that is an offer I’ll
never refuse,” he said, giving her bottom a light tap before she
scooted ahead of him.

They made love until the sun was ready to
rise for another day. It was a magical night neither of them would
forget, but eventually they were overcome by exhaustion and slept,
holding each other close.

Later that afternoon they woke to the
buzzing of his cell phone. “Is it all set?” was all he said when he
answered. “Thanks. I should be back in the office in a couple of
days. Let me know if anything comes up that needs my
attention.”

“Everything okay?” she asked.

Rolling over to kiss her awake, he answered,
“It’s all set. Matt handled it.”

“I know you have a business to run in New
York and I work here—well, not really, since you relocated me a few
weeks back,” she teased him. “What I’m trying to say is, we never
talked about living arrangements.”

“You don’t like the penthouse?” he
asked.

Shaking her head, she admitted, “No. It’s
beautiful, and probably has one of the best views in the city, but
it’s not me. I’m not a big-city girl—well, not full-time, anyway. I
always dreamt of raising a family in a house, not a penthouse. You
know, with a yard, a swing set, maybe a dog?”

He raised himself onto one elbow so he could
see her better. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid
eyes on. Most women would have loved to live in the heart of New
York City, spending their days shopping, but not Lizette. She was
rooted here, driven by something much more substantial, and that
was one of the reasons he loved her.

“I know this will be hard for you to
believe, but I didn’t grow up in a big city either. We didn’t have
a swing set in our yard, but there was a park down the street. My
early years were wonderful, filled with bike rides, playing ball
with my father, and my mother doing her best to raise me with
manners.”

“I think she did a wonderful job.”

“Some people might disagree with you. But
you know the saying—love is blind.” He laughed.

“It sounds like you had a childhood very
much like my own.”

He thought back to how everything had seemed
perfect when they were all together before his father had passed.
It was the kind of childhood everyone should have, and what he
wanted to give to his own children. “I want that for our kids as
well. I’m sure it’s obvious to you that your home is . . . well,
too small. I thought for sure one of us was going to fall out of
that shower last night. I think we need to find a place together,
something that works for us both. What do you say?”

Hugging him tightly, she said, “It sounds
wonderful.”

“Don’t get too excited, we still need to
negotiate on the dog.” He laughed.

“We’ll see about that. I always wanted a
puppy growing up, but my parents were too busy with the store. I
promised myself when I had my own family, my children would have
the pleasure of playing with their own dog.”

“It’s not the playing with the dog that
concerns me, it’s what they leave behind.” He laughed again. “Oh,
speaking of your parents, they mentioned last night they’re
expecting us for dinner tonight. Even though I’m totally enjoying
spending the day in bed with you, I already promised we would be
there at six.”

She turned and looked at the clock. “It’s
only one in the afternoon. What’s your rush?”

“Oh, trust me, I have no intention of
rushing anything this afternoon. However, I don’t want to be late
for dinner with my soon-to-be in-laws.”

Just the sound of the word
in-laws
brought a smile to her face. She quickly jumped from the bed and
said, “Oh, I’ve got things to do. I promised my father I would
bring brownies for dessert.” Without looking back, she grabbed her
robe and headed to the kitchen.

Jon lay on the bed, enjoying the sound of
clanking pots and pans as she rushed around the kitchen baking.
Picking up his cell phone, he dialed Matt. “We are on for six.”

The brownies were perfect. It was funny how
such a simple thing made her father so happy. She took extra care
to plate them, as she knew this was going to be a special dinner.
She knew Jon and her parents had met, but this was the first time
she and Jon would sit down together with them as a truly engaged
couple. Looking at her ring, she thought,
Mom is going to hit
the floor when she sees this.

Jon was dressed and waiting for her in the
living room. Somehow that man always had a pressed suit and clean
shirt waiting for him. Someday she would need to learn the art of
being so prepared.

As she entered the room, clean and dressed,
he turned to greet her. A smile lit his face as he looked her over
from top to bottom. She gave a little spin and asked, “How do I
look?” She knew what he thought, but wanted to hear the answer
anyway.

Her light sundress flowed as she paraded in
front of him. “You look like an angel . . . my angel.” He kissed
her cheek. “And just in case you haven’t noticed, I love it when
you wear your hair down like that. It makes me think of how
beautiful it looks spread across the pillow when I make love to
you.”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,
Jon. We don’t want to be late.”

He laughed and said, “I have every intention
of finishing when we get home tonight.”

As they left the house, she noticed his car
wasn’t there. “Guess we’re taking my car,” she said. As she went to
pull out her keys, a stretch limo pulled up in front of her house.
Turning to Jon, she said, “Or not.”

He guided her to the limo. When they sat
down, her cell phone sounded. It was her father. “Hello, Dad, we
haven’t forgotten. We’re just leaving now.”

“Oh good, glad I caught you. You mother
burned dinner so we changed the plans. How about we meet at the
Main Coach Lodge? They have the best prime rib around. How does
that sound? Would that be okay for you two?”

She guessed her mother was nervous about
tonight, because she never burned dinner. “Whatever works for you
will work for us. We’ll see you there in about fifteen minutes.”
Turning to Jon, she said, “Sorry, but it looks like we’re eating
out, if that’s okay.”

“I don’t care as long as I’m with you.” He
kissed her forehead, and she gave the driver their new
destination.

They pulled up to the restaurant exactly
fifteen minutes later. “I hope my parents called ahead. This place
is packed tonight.”

“I’m sure your father took care of
everything.”

The limo dropped them off at the entrance.
Jon held the restaurant door open for her. She smiled and placed
one last kiss on his cheek before entering.

“What was that for?”

“Because you are wonderful and because I
love you.”

He smiled at her and they headed inside. She
had been here on several occasions for dinner as well as a few
weddings. It was a beautiful restaurant, and she was happy her
father had chosen this location.

They were met by the hostess, who informed
them their table was ready. They could go right in, and someone
would seat them. As she turned the corner to enter the dining area,
she realized the hostess had made a mistake and directed them to
someone’s private celebration. The room had been arranged so the
dance floor was exposed. The tables were decorated with beautiful
floral centerpieces and had people sitting around them. In the
middle of the room was a small, intimate table that must have been
set for the guest of honor. She stopped in her tracks and was about
to turn around and inform the hostess of her error when she noticed
her parents standing in the dining area, with another woman who
looked vaguely familiar. As she looked closer, she realized the
other woman must be Jon’s mother. Before she could say a word, the
crowded dining room started to clap and cheer at their arrival.
What was going on here? Scanning the room, she saw her friends,
including Ma and the boys, coworkers from Another Chance, and other
family members. She also noticed Jon’s friends who she had met at
the charity event—Drew, and Ross. Elaine was there, standing with
Jon’s friend Trent. There were many others she didn’t recognize and
could only assume Jon knew them.

She turned to Jon and noticed he didn’t seem
surprised. “Jon? What’s going on here? What is all this?”

Kissing her on the cheek, he said, “What a
woman like you deserves—an engagement party so we can celebrate
with the people who mean the most to us.”

“Are there any more secrets you are keeping
from me?”

“Everyone has a secret. But there is one
thing that is no secret, and that is how much I love you.”

She fought back the tears that threatened to
pour down her cheeks. “Mr. Jonathan Vinchi, I love you too.”

He kissed her again and said, “Now let’s go
and enjoy our party.”

Together, hand in hand, they entered the
room. It was the start of what promised to be a beautiful life
together.