Waking Up with a Billionaire (The Overnight Billionaires Book 3) (19 page)

“Mr. Cameron baked this himself,” the housekeeper said as she set it in front of Chloe.

Davis sent Chloe a bright smile. “I know it’s not your birthday, but I figured I had some catching up to do.”

Seeing the love and tears of joy in Chloe’s eyes as she looked at her father, Grayson found that all the arguments he’d planned for why she needed to come home with him fizzled out. For now the best place for her was with her family.

So after eating a slice of cake, he made his excuses. “I should be getting back to San Francisco.” He pushed back his chair, and was surprised when Chloe pushed back hers and spoke.

“I agree. It’s time we went home.”

There was no way to describe the relief he felt, and he couldn’t help slipping an arm around her waist and brushing a kiss over her lips right there in front of her entire family. Neither Davis nor Bob looked surprised or argued. It was Cain who got to his feet.

“Oh no. You’re not leaving yet. Gavin is on his way home and will be ticked if you aren’t—”

“That’s enough, Cain,” Davis cut him off. “I’m sure Gavin will understand.” He rose from his chair and came around the table to give Chloe a long hug. “But I hope you’ll be back soon.”

She hugged him close. “Very soon. I promise.” She pulled back and smiled. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Selena.” He grinned. “Sorry, but I’m much too old to start calling you a different name.” After Chloe had hugged her grandfather and Cain, he walked them to the door and shook Grayson’s hand. “Take good care of my girl.”

“I will, sir.”

Once outside, Grayson took Chloe’s hand and headed for his car, but when they were halfway there she stopped and pulled him in the opposite direction. Through the dark they walked around her grandfather’s house to the rows of vineyards that grew behind. While the other grapevines looked trimmed and manicured, these five rows grew wild and untouched.

“These are the first vines that my grandmother grew,” she said as she walked between them, her hand reaching out to brush the turning leaves, which gleamed in the moonlight. “Even after the vineyard started making money, she tended these first vines herself. And after her death, Granddad refused to let anyone touch them.”

“He must’ve loved her very much.”

She nodded. “He did.” She stopped at the end of the row and plucked a withered grape from the vine. She didn’t eat it. She just held it in her palm and studied it. “I was so convinced that I was doing the right thing by leaving. But if I hadn’t jumped to conclusions, I could’ve saved everyone so much heartache.”

She dropped the raisin and turned to stare at the miles and miles of vineyards. She didn’t cry, but the dejected slope of her shoulders spoke of her pain much more clearly than tears ever could. Having spent years dealing with his mother’s death and his own doubts about his father’s love, he understood her hurt. Understood that there was nothing he could say or do to fix the years with her family she’d lost.

So instead he moved behind her and encircled her waist with his arms. They stood like that until night and the cold settled around them.

Then he took her hand, and they went home.

A
re you going to sleep the day away, Chloe Cameron?”

The name had her eyes opening to the sunlight that shone through the window. She rolled to her back to find Grayson standing at the foot of the bed in a gray suit, with a sappy grin on his face. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, the sheet slipping down to reveal her nightshirt. The word
Romeo’s
glittered in the bright morning sun.

Grayson’s gaze lowered, and his smile grew. “Did I tell you how much I like your sleeping apparel?”

She arched a brow. “Only about a hundred times. You are an extremely possessive man.”

He shrugged. “All Beaumonts are.” He walked around and sat down on the bed. “And I’d like to possess you again, but unfortunately, I have to go to work. We’ve got to get the catalog out ASAP.”

“Go to work.” She straightened his tie. “I think you’ve done enough possessing.” After getting home late from Napa on Saturday night, they had spent all day Sunday in bed—and not sleeping.

“I’ll never get enough.” He kissed her before he got to his feet. “So what are you going to do on your first morning free from captivity?”

“I haven’t really thought about it. I guess I need to find a new job. And I probably should move back to my apartment—”

Grayson cut her off. “No.”

It was funny how one word could make her so giddy. “No? And why not?”

She was hoping for some kind of declaration. She should’ve known better. Grayson wasn’t the type to express his emotions through words. Which explained the outrageous lie.

“Bugs?” He shook his head. “A horrible infestation. Which means that you’ll have to live with me until Nash can get those creepy, hairy spiders under control.”

She bit back a grin. “Well, I guess I don’t have any other choice. I hate spiders. But I’m not going to live here without contributing something. I’ll go to the grocery store and make dinner.”

“Perfect.” Grayson gave her another quick kiss before he headed for the door. “I’ll see you tonight.”

When he was gone, Chloe didn’t waste any time showering and getting dressed. She had been cooped up in the house for too long. She couldn’t wait to get outside in the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. It felt like a new city. Or maybe she just felt like a new person. A person who was no longer hiding from the past. It was funny, but as she made her way to the grocery store, people treated her like a new person.

The young man working at the newspaper stand did a double take and gave her a free morning paper. The businesswoman she passed on the street spoke as if she knew her. “You’re as beautiful as the picture.” And the cashier at the grocery store who rang up her groceries couldn’t stop looking at her. “I know you from somewhere,” she said. “I just can’t think of where. What’s your name?”

“Chloe,” she said with pride. “Chloe Cameron.”

The woman only shook her head. “Nope, the name’s not familiar. Maybe it’s because you look like Audrey Hepburn.”

“Thank you.” Chloe gave her a bright smile as she collected her bags and headed out the door.

The bags were heavy. Obviously she’d bought more than she should have. Especially when she was on foot, and when she had only a couple hundred dollars to last her until she got a job. Her father had wanted to give her money before she left Napa, but she had refused. She wanted to make her own success, not live off her father. Which had her thinking about Eden’s idea. Why couldn’t Chloe start a flower nursery? It would take getting investors, but she already had one in Eden. And there were those acres of her father’s land that were too rocky for grapevines. They would be perfect for greenhouses.

After another block she decided to part with some more of her money and take the bus. She sat down on a bench next to a teenage girl. At first the girl didn’t acknowledge her. She was more interested in texting on her cell phone. But after a few moments, she glanced up, and her mouth dropped open.

“OMG! I didn’t realize supermodels take the bus. I thought you took limos and private jets.”

Chloe glanced behind her. When she didn’t see anyone, she turned back around. “Sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone else.”

The girl looked confused for only a second before she leaned closer. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t want the paparazzi showing up and going all ballistic on you.”

Obviously the girl had some mental issues. No doubt she was living on the streets like Chloe had. Which made Chloe instantly sympathetic. “Look,” she said, “I know it’s hard to take handouts.” She pulled out her wallet. “But here’s a few dollars—”

The bus pulled up to the curb, cutting off her words. Not because of the squeal of brakes as much as the huge picture on the side. A picture of Chloe in a black bra and panties with paint streaked across her cleavage and a pouting smile on her lips. While she stared at the side of the bus in complete horror, the girl held up her phone and took a picture.

“Sorry,” she said as she got up. “But my friends aren’t going to believe that I met a French Kiss model.” She hurried onto the bus.

Chloe sat there stunned for a few seconds before unmitigated anger set in. Noticing a street person sitting next to a building, she set all three grocery bags next to him and headed for French Kiss. When she arrived in the lobby, she was still pissed off, and if the blonde behind the receptionist’s desk had been as rude as she’d been the other day, Chloe would’ve clocked her. But the blonde wasn’t rude. At least not overly rude.

“No need to check in,” she said. “I think everyone knows who you are.”

Chloe only rolled her eyes as she headed to the elevator. The old security guy hopped off his stool and pushed the button. “I knew you were somebody special the moment I saw you,” he said with a wink.

Once she got to the executive floor, she headed straight for Grayson’s office. When he wasn’t there, she moved down the hallway, peeking into every office along the way.

“Looking for someone?”

She glanced behind her to see a woman walking toward her with a tray of coffee cups. The same woman who had shown up when she and Grayson were being arrested. She took a closer look at Chloe and smiled.

“So I finally get to meet our new top model. I’m Kelly Melvin, Deacon Beaumont’s executive assistant. Although I seem to be the assistant to all the Beaumonts.” She shook her head, and her Hello Kitty earrings swayed. “I really need to ask for a raise. So who are you looking for?”

“Grayson?”

“He’s in the photo studio, which is on the seventh floor.”

“Thank you.” Chloe turned and headed back to the elevators.

“You’re welcome,” Kelly called after her. “And when you’re through yelling at Grayson for whatever he did to make you so angry, come back and I’ll show you around. You’re going to like working at French Kiss. The Beaumonts can be exasperating, but they’re honest and fair employers.”

Honest. Ha! That’s what Chloe had thought, but she’d been completely wrong. Grayson had lied through his teeth.

The seventh floor had a lot of rooms, but it didn’t take her long to find the one with Grayson in it. His voice greeted her ears as soon as she opened the door.

“Now stop it, Nat. I’m not going to kiss you.”

Chloe hadn’t thought she could get any madder. She’d been wrong. She felt livid when she stepped in the room to discover Grayson being mauled by a supermodel in skimpy pink lingerie.

“But Gar-a-son. Why won’t you kiss me again? You can’t tell me that you didn’t like it.”

Chloe walked in. “Oh, I’m sure he liked it. But his praise for your kisses will have to wait. Right now, Gar-a-son is going to get his butt chewed out.” She grabbed Natalia’s arm and hauled her to the door. Then, before the skinny model could do more than sputter in Russian, Chloe slammed the door in her face. When she turned, Grayson was grinning.

“Before you chew my butt out, I want you to know that nothing happened. Natalia and I were in the middle of a photo shoot.”

“And we all know how innocent your photo shoots are, Grayson.” She moved toward him. “To think that I believed that virgin story.”

“Calm down, Chloe. Nothing happened. I promise you.”

“Just like you promised me that you’d delete all the pictures you took of me?”

Grayson looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“The photos you took of me in your bedroom. The ones you were supposed to delete but didn’t.”

A light dawned in his eyes. “Is that what has you so upset? You’re mad because I didn’t delete the pictures?”

“Not as mad as I am at you for putting them on every bus in the city!”

Grayson’s eyes widened. “What? I didn’t put them anywhere but on my laptop.”

“Don’t you dare lie to me.” She slugged him in the arm. “Who else would do something like that?”

“I would.”

She whirled around to see Grayson’s brother standing in the doorway. She had seen Deacon only in photos. And no photo could capture the magnetic presence of the man. He wasn’t any bigger than Grayson, but he seemed to fill the room. If Chloe hadn’t been so angry, she might’ve been intimidated.

“Deacon Beaumont,” he said as he held out a hand. When she refused to take it, he let it drop. “And you must be the elusive Chloe. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

“Wait a minute.” Grayson sent his brother a hard look. “What did you do, Deacon?”

“I did what I thought you and Samuel wanted me to do. I used Chloe’s pictures for our new advertising campaign.”

“You what?” Grayson yelled. Since she had never heard him raise his voice before, it made her jump. It also made her realize that Grayson hadn’t betrayed her. He was still the honest, honorable man she’d thought he was. Just that quickly her anger left. Although she was still annoyed with his brother.

“You didn’t even ask my permission,” she said. “You could get sued for that, you know.”

“But I believe Grayson did? And you gave it by signing your name on the dotted line.”

“I never signed anything but the release for the picture you used on the cover of the summer catalog.”

“You should learn to read the fine print,” Deacon said. “That contract covered any photographs that were taken by a French Kiss photographer within the year. While Miles is our main photographer, Grayson sometimes fills in. And it’s only been a little over six months since you signed. So that means that we still have control over all photographs that have been, or will be, taken in the next few months. Of course, we will pay you the designated fee for each photo we use.” He held out his hand again. “Welcome to the French Kiss family, Miss McAlister.”

Chloe stared at his hand, and then at Grayson. Grayson didn’t seem to be as surprised and angry as he’d been before. In fact he looked a little too pleased.

“Oh no,” she said. “I am not going to end up being sucked into modeling like Madison. I don’t want to be a model. I want to go to college and take horticulture so I can start my own flower nursery.”

Grayson took her hands and turned her to face him. “I think that’s a great idea. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do a little modeling on the side. You don’t have to have a schedule like Madison’s. In fact, you don’t have to do any more photo shoots if you don’t want to. All you have to do is let us use the ones I already took.”

“I don’t concur, Gray,” Deacon said. “From the buzz on social media, Chloe’s pictures have caused quite a stir. I’d like more photographs, a few appearances, and the fashion show.”

Chloe shook her head. “I’m not doing the fashion show. Being in front of big crowds is not my thing. But I’ll let you use my pictures, especially since there’s not much I can do about it.” She looked at Deacon. “And I’ll expect my money today since my butt is already plastered all over city buses.”

“I think everyone should get paid for their butt being on a bus.” A smile broke over Deacon’s face, and it completely changed the intimidating businessman to a charismatic Beaumont. “Now I’ll leave you two to get back to whatever I interrupted. Although I think you need to deal with Natalia, Grayson. She seems to be sobbing in the hallway.” He walked out and closed the door behind him.

“Wow,” Chloe said. “No wonder Madison reveres the guy. He knows how to take charge.” Grayson spun her around and kissed her until she was breathless. When he finally pulled back, she asked, “What was that for?”

“I just don’t want you thinking that my brother is the only one who knows how to take charge.” He brushed back her bangs. “So are you still mad at me?”

“I should be. You told me you were going to delete the pictures.”

“But how could I delete something so beautiful?”

Okay, so the guy knew exactly what to say to defuse her anger. And the hot, wet, deep kiss he gave her didn’t hurt either.

“Oh, Gar-a-son!”

They pulled apart to find Natalia standing in the doorway. She stared at them with weepy eyes for only a second before she turned on a heel and left.

“I should probably go after her. We need more pictures for the catalog, and if you’re not going to do another photo shoot—”

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll do it.” She pointed a finger at him. “But there is no way in hell that I’m prancing down a fashion show runway.”