Healing the Billionaire

by Boyd, Eliza

  “Rachel,” Jared started, but his sister threw her hands into the air.

  “I’ve stayed out of this for the last seven years, Jared. I haven’t wanted to because I thought it was ridiculous that you two couldn’t work things out in the first place.” Rachel’s hands fell to the table, and she stared her brother square in the eyes. “But you’re both adults who need to make your own choices. And Hailey’s been making adult choices on her own ever since you two split up. Either ask her or leave it alone, because I don’t want to get in the middle of it.”

  Jared’s eyes flashed wide as he watched his sister squirm in her seat at the table. “Okay. I didn’t know.”

  “No, you didn’t,” she stressed. “You gave in when she told you she couldn’t be with you anymore and left me to pick up the pieces. You have no idea what she’s been going through, and you spent a week with her but still don’t know.” Rachel steadied her shaking hands by gripping her mug tighter. Then she took a calming breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be this upset, but she called me yesterday to update me on how”—she twirled a finger around in the air—“this whole situation is going and it’s not okay. She’s hurting, Jared. I shouldn’t tell you that, but it’s true. She’s in pain and she’s upset.”

  His eyes went even wider this time as he sat up straighter. “Because of me?”

  “Because of a lot of things.” She blew on her coffee, though it seemed like more of a nervous tic instead of an actually productive action. “The reason she wouldn’t take those pills? It didn’t pan out for her and she’s taking it really hard. And because of everything that happened with you has been piled on top of it…” Shrugging, she finished with, “She’s just not feeling like herself right now. And it breaks my heart to have part of the answer sitting across from me without being able to do anything about it. So I’m done. There you go.” His sister stood up and picked her mug up. “Do whatever you want with that. If it’ll make you two grumps happy…” As she left the room, she trailed off and shook her head.

  Just before she disappeared around the corner, he rushed out of the room. “Rachel!” he called after her.

  She stopped and turned around to face him, sipping her coffee and raising an eyebrow over the rim of her mug. “What? I said too much, and if she finds out, she’ll be—oof!”

  Jared wrapped his sister up into a big hug, careful not to spill her coffee. “Thank you. I know you didn’t want to do that, so thank you.”

  “I didn’t tell you what’s really going on,” she said. “You still don’t know what the pill thing is about.”

  “I know,” he told her, letting her go. “That’s fine. You told me all I need to know. I can hear the rest from her.”

  That made Rachel perk up. “Does that mean you’re going to Maine?”

  A slow smile spread over Jared’s face as he said, “It means I’m going home.”

  * * *

  Seven hours later, Jared’s plane touched down at Portland International Jetport in Maine. He’d never been more grateful that he’d made the obscene amount of money he’d made in the last several years. It meant he could get to Hailey that much faster whenever he wanted to—like right then.

  His only concern was that she wouldn’t want to see him.

  The way Rachel had spoken of her had made it sound like Hailey was in a really bad way. He wasn’t sure that his presence would make that any better, but if there was even the slightest chance that it would, he’d take that shot.

  Even though it’d come at his expense.

  He hadn’t been back home since he’d walked out of their house all those years ago. The feelings swirling around his body made him realize just how long ago that was, and he wondered how Hailey had endured this whole time while living in their home. Part of him wondered how his parents were too, but that could wait. Hailey—like she should have back then—came first.

  Rachel had been right. He hadn’t fought that hard. He’d simply given Hailey what she’d wanted, and she’d been so adamant about a divorce. She’d been adamant about not wanting kids, either, and that had been the sticking point for Jared. He’d felt the need to have children—lots of them—if only to prove to himself that he’d never be like his own father. He’d wanted to raise a tiny brood of happy, grateful children who worked hard because they wanted to impress themselves, not anyone else. With Hailey being so steadfastly opposed, he’d given in to her request to split. She’d wanted him to work less, but he hadn’t been able to. And he’d wanted her to have a family with him, but she hadn’t.

  Now? Now, he didn’t even care. He’d work less. He’d forget about having a family. The only thing that felt important to him was her. She’d been right within his grasp and he’d let his job get in the way yet again—but he wouldn’t make that same mistake a third time. He’d learned, and he’d show her that.

  If she’d let him.

  First things first. He had to go see her. He had to find out if she’d listen to his side of the story. If she wouldn’t do that, then he’d have an answer. But he’d try again. And again. And again. He wouldn’t give up on them this time.

  When his driver pulled up to the house, his heart flip-flopped in his chest. It’d been years since he’d been there, but the place looked so much the same that it felt like he’d never left. On a second glance, he realized the front porch could use some paint and one of the bulbs needed to be changed, but that didn’t matter. This house screamed home to him.

  They’d bought this house when he’d landed his first deal. A twenty-thousand-dollar contract had given him enough to put a down payment on a decent starter home, so they’d moved out of their rundown apartment and made this place theirs. He remembered hanging their wedding photos on the walls, smiling at Hailey as she’d wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed up onto her toes to kiss his cheek as he did it. Absently, he wondered if those photos were still there, but his heart sank when he realized they probably weren’t. And he couldn’t blame her for taking them down.

  The driver handed Jared his suitcase. “Want me to stay while you see if they’re home?”

  Jared shook his head. The light on upstairs gave him enough hope, but even if she wasn’t there, he wasn’t leaving until he found her. He didn’t care if it took all night, all week, or all month. He was staying until they talked.

  He handed the driver a bill from his wallet as a tip and then rolled his suitcase up to Hailey’s front door. But before he could knock, the door opened. The sweet smell of sugar enveloped him as it wafted out to his nose. Then his stomach tied itself into knots as he anticipated seeing Hailey again, except that’s not who was on the other side.

  “Aunt Shirley?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the older woman.

  “Were you expecting someone else?” She smirked at him.

  He stuttered out a few sounds before she waved a dismissive hand.

  “I’m kidding. Of course you were.” She stepped out onto the porch and held her arms open to him. “Hi, Jared. It’s good to see you again.”

  He took a step forward and embraced the woman. She’d always been his biggest supporter when it’d come to his relationship with Hailey, but in the end, she hadn’t sided with him. He wouldn’t have expected her to, but he hadn’t expected such a warm welcome, either. He suspected she knew more than he did, so he tried to take this as a good sign.

  “Hi,” he said as he let her go. “I’m here for Hailey. Is she home?”

  Aunt Shirley’s expression fell. “Well, no,” she told him. “She’s not.”

  “Do you know where I can find her?” he asked, hopeful.

  She dipped her head and looked up at him over the rims of her glasses. “She’s where she normally goes on this day every year.”

  It took Jared a moment to remember what the day was, but when it hit him, he knew exactly where he could find Hailey. “Thank you!” Darting forward, he pecked the older woman on her cheek. Then he dashed down the porch, leaving his suitcase behind. “I’ll be ba
ck for that.”

  “Oh, Jared?” Hailey’s aunt called after him when he was almost to the sidewalk.

  He stopped in his tracks and faced her.

  Her lips curved up as she said, “Happy birthday.”

  Jared smiled back before taking off again, hoping it’d be the happiest birthday he’d had in a long time.

  21

  With a slice of red velvet cake in her hand, Hailey entered the lighthouse at Fort Williams Park. If she couldn’t be with Jared on his birthday—again—and she couldn’t seem to get pregnant on her own, she’d stuff her face with cake in her favorite spot.

  She almost hadn’t even made the cake. Since she’d returned from Oregon, she hadn’t baked once. With too many conflicting emotions running through her, it was the last thing she’d wanted to do. Her business would suffer, but so be it. She simply wanted to grieve the loss of something she hadn’t even had in the first place.

  The crushing blow she’d felt when Dr. Campbell had told her that the egg retrieval hadn’t been successful had outweighed the happiness of successfully landing the Fontell Foods contract. After talking with her aunt about it some more, she’d realized that having a family meant more to her than succeeding with her business. She wanted more from life than money and working hard at baking a ton of cupcakes every day.

  In the end, she realized she wanted Jared.

  She was so worried she’d been wrong about her assumptions. But she couldn’t bring herself to call him to find out. Not on his birthday. She wanted him to enjoy that without her intruding. It could wait for another day. Though that meant another day would go by without having any answers.

  Instead of heading up to the top of the lighthouse, she shuffled down the dock and then sat at the edge, her legs dangling just above the ocean. Waves splashed against the wood, but the droplets didn’t reach her. Her pants were safe from getting wet, but tears threatened to put her face in danger of that.

  Hailey took a deep breath of the salty sea air, hoping to feel at home again. At peace. But something was different now that she was back from Rachel’s. She thought maybe she’d left a piece of her heart with Jared again, but she didn’t think she’d had more to give. She hadn’t gotten it back from giving it away the first time. Truthfully, she didn’t want it back, either. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do about that, though for now, she’d eat cake and worry about it later.

  She dug into her piece of red velvet, the cream cheese icing smooth across the top. She’d made it vegan ever since she’d created CumberCakes. To her, it was even better, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Jared would like it.

  That’s when a tap on her shoulder shocked her out of her thoughts. Then she experienced a different kind of shock when she turned around and saw who it was.

  “Can I join you?” Jared asked, looming above her.

  A gust of wind blew her hair around as she set her plate on her lap and nodded absently. Her heart thundered in her chest when she couldn’t take her eyes off of her ex-husband. He was there. In the flesh, as if she’d summoned him by thought alone.

  “Yeah, of course,” she said.

  He took a seat next to her, kicking his legs as they swung at the edge of the dock. Setting his hands in his lap, he opened his mouth to speak, but something caught his attention. “Is that…” His voice trailed off as his eyebrow quirked.

  “Red velvet cake with—”

  “Cream cheese icing,” he finished for her, a surprised smile spreading across his face. “Coincidence?” he asked, raising his brow.

  She let out a tiny chuckle. “Someone told me that things aren’t coincidence. There’s a reason things happen.” The last word got caught in her throat as she thought about everything that’d happened in the last week.

  Was there really a reason for everything? She couldn’t imagine what some of those reasons were when the things happening to her were unfortunate and difficult. Why would she have to go through those things? Sighing, she wiped at her eye.

  “That person was right, I think,” Jared told her, bumping her shoulder with his ever so slightly.

  Hailey smiled, though it was small and didn’t reach her eyes. Then she released a deep breath. “What are you doing here?”

  Inhaling deeply, he gazed out at the ocean. “I thought it was time to come home,” he told her. Then he switched his attention to her and she saw the truth shining in his eyes. “I messed up. But not in the way you think. If you would have let me explain, you’d know that.”

  She kicked her feet nervously, unsure of what to say to that. Then she handed the plate of cake to him. He took it, though reluctantly. In the end, however, he couldn’t help himself from taking a bite. His face melted into an expression of appreciation, and the moan he let escape his lips gave Hailey her answer.

  Obviously, he still liked the cake.

  “Did you do something different?” he asked, pointing his fork at it. “Either it’s been a while and I forgot how much I like this or you’ve changed the recipe.”

  “Both,” she said around a smile. “But I’m glad you like it still.”

  They both went silent as he enjoyed the cake. When he finished the last crumb, he put a hand over his stomach and hummed out his appreciation. Then he set the plate aside.

  “How’d you know I was here?” she asked him, watching the ocean spray rise as the water crashed against the pier.

  He shrugged. “Just a hunch,” he said. Then he turned his head toward her. “Or maybe I just hoped for it.”

  When the wind blew her hair across her face, she wrangled it with her fingers, tucking some behind her ears. “Well, your hope came true.”

  “Not all of it.” His whole body twisted to face her this time, one knee still hanging off the edge as the other bent to rest against the wood slats of the pier. “I have a few more birthday wishes I’d like to see come true if that’s okay with you.”

  Her pulse spiked as she wondered what those were. Even with the cool late-summer-night breeze coming off the ocean, her skin grew hot. “Jared…” she started, but she wasn’t sure what else to say.

  Luckily, he spoke instead. “Just hear me out, okay? I didn’t get to explain before, and I’d like the chance to now. As a birthday gift.” He dipped his head to get her to look at him, but she wouldn’t budge.

  “Besides the cake, you mean?” she uttered, raising one eyebrow.

  He chuckled at that. “Yeah, besides the cake. I guess I’m greedy today.”

  With her hands on her lap, she flared her elbows to her sides. “Seems to me like you have enough money to get whatever you want though. So I’m not sure what you’d want with me.”

  That must have shocked him into silence for several seconds. When he finally recovered, he said, “But that’s the thing, Hailes. All the money in the world can’t buy me the one thing I should have held on to all those years ago.”

  Her breath shuddered in her chest as she let those words wash over her. She’d wanted to hear him say something like that for so long that she couldn’t believe he really had.

  “I should have tried harder to fix us,” he continued, scooting closer to her. “I should have stopped asking you what I could do and taken action instead. I should have just been there for you instead of insisting on getting further and further in my business. But you know what?”

  Hailey had to mentally pick her jaw up off the ground to ask, “What?”

  “I’d do it all over again, Hailey.”

  In the next second, his skin brushed over hers as he tangled their fingers. His heat wrapped around her hand and spread up her arm, finding a home in her chest. And then his words sank in.

  “You’d what?” she asked, tugging away from his grip.

  But he held steady, sliding even closer to her on the pier. “I’d do it again. Because it’s led us here, to a place where you found out what you’re made of on your own. You never needed me to build a successful business or become the beautiful, creative, and stubborn woman you ar
e today,” he said, chuckling lightly.

  It made her laugh a little too, but a tear nearly slipped from her eye.

  Jared reached a hand toward her face to slip some of her wind-blown hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger there. “It’s what you needed—what we both needed to get here, so we could try again as better, different people.” With his thumb, he caressed her skin.

  She couldn’t help herself. She leaned against his touch, missing the way his skin felt against hers. Then reality seeped through the fantasy and she pulled away. “But there’s so much you don’t know. So many things we’d need to discuss before we even think about an us again.”

  He covered their hands with his newly free one. “Like what?” he said, sounding like none of it could be that big of a deal.

  But she knew that those things were. “Well, for starters, my cupcakes.”

  “What about them?”

  She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. “You can’t just swoop in and expect me to sell my company to you, Jared.” When she peeked at him, she caught the edge of the sunset in her peripheral. The colors glowed with hope, but she wasn’t sure she felt any.

  “That isn’t what I wanted to do,” he told her, his shoulders slumping forward. “If you would have given me time to explain, you’d know that.”

  Her aunt had said the same thing. She thought she had at the airport though. Jared was the one who’d chosen to be brief in his response.

  “Then explain now,” she replied on an exhale.

  He tried to hold a smile back, but he wasn’t very successful. “What I want is for us to work together. We could turn your cupcakes into meal kits for other people to make. That way, like you wanted, your job would be just to create new recipes and have fun in the kitchen. No more baking them all—unless you wanted to, of course. There would be room for both avenues if you want to take them.” Then he held his hands up, which included one of hers. “That’d be up to you though. No pressure. And if you don’t want to do any of it, we don’t have to.” Then, as if a thought had occurred to him, his expression turned serious. “I guess that depends on if you accepted the vendor contract in Oregon though.”