The Billionaire's Favorite: A Homesburg Romance

by Elle Chance

  Josh was smooth, obviously very familiar with Cory, and probably the first flirt I’d been in contact with for the last year at least. He had the boyish charm of the troublemaker from teen movies. He’d had no trouble talking to anyone who’d walked by tonight.

  My attraction should have been vaguely repulsive. Taking in his pushed up shirt sleeves and dark eyes, it had completely charmed me. I made a face at myself in the bathroom mirror as I finished taking off my makeup. The grey-eyed girl in the reflection was apparently still a fool, despite my mother’s best attempts to teach me better.

  Because it hadn’t been a turnoff to hear that he was good with women. Instead of dismissing him, my mutinous brain turned that idea over. Because if I’d get stuck in this town for a couple months, why not have fun with a local? And better yet, a local who doesn’t know who I am.

  Altogether, a team of three of us would stay here. I was grateful I’d had people who worked for me willing to move out of the city for my father’s care. It helped that it was only two hours back to New York City from here.

  I sighed and tried to shake off the travel and the day. It had been nice coming in to town during the opening event for the Lodge. And walking around unnoticed had been heavenly. I didn’t realize the weight of the cameras in New York City. The Board of Directors for the Foundation breathing down my neck. And paparazzi waiting for me to do something interesting that didn’t involve a press release and a boardroom.

  My mother would call this a “little getaway in the Catskills.” She’d loved whisking us away for the weekend to spas, hiding out from the world. Part of me wondered if my father had come to the middle of nowhere out of respect for my mother. Then again, he got married twice since she died when I was ten, so maybe not.

  Whatever the case, I dreaded seeing my father tomorrow. If I was alone, he’d expect me to explain exactly what my brothers had done with his company this week.

  What I wanted was to just skip ahead to when I could see Josh again. Have a glass of wine. Hear weird little stories about this town.

  Which was, patently, ridiculous. I didn’t even know why a bartender would hang around the Lodge. It wasn’t a big surprise when we saw Cory in the Lodge the next evening, after seeing my father. And so what if I kept my eyes peeled for Josh then too?

  Cory had been there in the morning when we left too, to fix up some doors . It was a pleasant surprise to see Josh on the other side of the one they’d taken outside. I felt a pleasant thrill at the sight of Josh’s lean body, his bright smile.

  “Enjoying your Saturday?” Cory called out when he saw us coming up the walk.

  “We are,” Josh said. More to himself than to any of us. He stopped sandpapering the door. “Nothing like refinishing doors in the chilly September air to relax you.”

  “We’re definitely taking advantage of the outdoors,” Patty lied cheerfully. “Have any suggestions of things for us to do while we’re here?”

  Cory nodded. “Oh, there’s plenty. Apple picking a little way out of town. We have the Farmer’s Market down by the river tomorrow. And there’s live music at the tavern tonight.”

  “And there’s literally a barn raising Sunday,” Josh added. “Everyone in town will love you if you bring strong enough drinks. That’s the way to everybody’s heart, I think.”

  Cory rolled his eyes at Josh. “Josh has been in New York City for so long he forgets his humble roots.”

  And for the first time, I saw the family resemblance as Josh and Cory smiled at and teased each other.

  But my heart gave an uncomfortable jolt at that. Definitely a bad idea on the fake name then. Maybe Josh was the type to avoid the news in the city. I could only hope. And yet, his appeal last night was suddenly making more sense to me. It was a surprise to learn he lived in the city with me, but didn’t it make sense that a guy living in the city would jibe with me so well?

  Maybe he was exactly who I needed to get to know in Homesburg to make the time pass more quickly while we were here.

  And with that in mind, Josh gave me a slow, warm smile and checked me out from head to toe. I blushed, like a teenage girl. Which must have been why I went temporarily insane and asked him my next question.

  “Is that bar tending offer still on the table? It doesn’t look like you’re being much help with the door.”

  Josh gave Cory a pleading look. Cory rolled his eyes and said, “Go on then. But be ready to put the door back on its hinges soon.”

  “Sure thing.” Josh sent me a quick grin that warmed me. “I’ll just need a bit to clean up and then I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  “Thanks for sparing your brother, Cory,” I said with a sweet smile.

  Cory shrugged in that mountain man’s way of his. “Well, I have to make up for not having full-time help somehow.”

  I wanted to ask Cory more about Josh’s past with the ladies, but I followed Patty as she huffed up the stairs.

  “Oh, come on, Patty, can’t you use a drink?” I asked her in the lobby.

  She shook her bangs away from her face and sighed. “That’s beside the point. I wanted to get ahead on the work for the Foundation this week.”

  I took in the still empty lobby and thought about the day seeing my father. “Let’s take tomorrow off and just relax. I need some time after today.”

  Patty scowled again and took in my face. She was one of the few people I trusted to not only be looking for signs of weakness in me. My face was clear and open because as absurd as it was, I wanted to take a day off. It was already Saturday afternoon, and Homesburg was sleepy enough I could imagine myself unwinding here. It was a feeling that usually escaped me back in the city. I wanted to sink into it and soak it all up.

  “Fine.” Patty sighed. “There’s a full season of a new show that I want to check out, anyway. And you’re right, take some time to decompress.” She gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze and headed upstairs, deflated at the prospect of not working.

  My security, Rocco, never really pried with me, which I was extra grateful for now. “I’ll be here, holler if you need me.” And with that, he folded himself into a velvety chair in the lobby and pulled out a thick fantasy novel. Despite his eating bullets for breakfast appearance, Rocco lived for high fantasy. It always tickled me to see him ripping through thick paperback novels in days. And I felt less bad about dragging him all over to work for me.

  This time, I could have kissed Rocco for giving me a bit of time with Josh without me having to ask for it. But I wanted to kiss Josh. I wanted a distraction. I wanted him smelling like fresh wood and taking his shirt off in the bar. To be transported from my life as Sofie Barlow, and all the expectations of my family name.

  But I’d settle for a well-made drink.

  So I made my way over to the empty bar.

  There was something utterly enchanting about an empty public space that I’d always loved. My father had been forever renting theaters and ice skating rinks out wholesale for us when I was a child. It led to a weird loneliness and comfort for me at the Homesburg Lodge being mostly empty. And luckily, I wasn’t worried about ghosts.

  Josh came out of the back room of the bar with a flourish. He’d taken off the scuffed Carhartt coat and had on just a comfortable-looking henley underneath. There was something hot about having seen him working with his hands. I didn’t know many other New Yorkers that could refinish a door in a day. He smelled like pine.

  “What’ll be your pleasure?” Josh leaned against the bar, pushing his henley’s sleeves up to reveal strong arms. His shirt was still faintly speckled with sawdust at the bottom. It was all very distracting.

  I took off my Fendi coat and thought about what I wanted. “Let’s do Kentucky mules. Bourbon and ginger ale sounds perfect right now.”

  “Excellent idea. Although I don’t think we have the copper mugs. But it’ll look just as good in a glass, trust me.”

  Josh spent a couple minutes hunting up some mint and simple syrup for our drinks. It was great to watc
h him put them together with his easy, practiced motions.

  “So, did you have a good day, Cleo? Get to explore Homesburg?” Josh stirred the syrup, mint, and liquor together.

  I wasn’t ready to tell him what really brought me here. “We saw Sullivan Valley. It was a great view.”

  I figured that was the right answer. Close to where my father was, obscure enough that hopefully he wouldn’t ask for more details. Josh’s smile lit up hearing that. “I’ve always liked the valley. Our high school used to take us to do science experiments in the woods there. Man, it’s been forever since I thought about that.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked.

  Josh nodded his head toward a fireplace in the bar. “This way, ma’am. No reason to sit on an uncomfortable stool all night.”

  He set our drinks onto a coffee table and fiddled with the fireplace, that turned out to be electric. “This was the best part of the renovations.” Josh perched onto a couch near the fireplace. “It’s cozy.” He gestured for me to sit across from him.

  Instead, I sat next to him. I was feeling bold, and if his expression was anything to judge by, it had been the right choice. “It is very comfortable over here.” I smiled as I took my drink.

  Josh’s eyes were warm as he took me in next to him, aware that I wasn’t just talking about the decor. I was in deep trouble with this man already.

  JOSH

  I WAS DEFINITELY being hit on by Sofie Barlow. Which usually would have been a delight.

  I hadn’t intended on getting with her, as beautiful as she was. I wanted something better than a fleeting hookup. I wanted to why she was in my hometown.

  But Sofie was distracting me with her long legs, her pretty eyes focused on me solely.

  “It is a nice view.” I shifted nervously. I was torn between letting her pin me to the couch with her eyes, and maybe more. Or running away with my tail tucked between my legs. For all her delicacy, Sofie’s interest felt ferocious. “Cory’s worked hard on updating as much as he could.”

  “He’s done a good job.” Sofie glancing once more around the room before settling her gaze back on me.

  I figured it was her big payment that had helped push him to get better furniture for out here, and it made a difference.

  “So I’ll be in town for a little while. What do you recommend doing?” Sofie asked innocently as she kept sipping on her drink.

  I tried to quell my body’s excitement at that last word. I didn’t want to just be her evening drinking buddy at the Lodge. “The tricky thing about Homesburg is that it’s really a delightful place, but you need a guide for it.”

  Sofie’s eyes crinkled in amusement at that. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah, you gotta be a local to understand the delightful parts of town. We have a little historical district, a few landmarks even. But you have to know exactly which street they’re on to experience them.”

  Sofie nodded thoughtfully at me, a sly smile at the corner of her mouth again. “And is there a tourism board?”

  I screwed up my face in fake concentration. Even tapped my chin for effect. “No, nothing like that. No formal tours at all, really. You’d probably be best off asking a local to show you around.”

  “And do you have anyone in mind? Cute friends from high school, maybe?”

  That sent annoyance through me, which made Sofie giggle to see. “I can assure you, I’m the best-looking man you’ll find.”

  “Mmm, that’s a shame.” Those grey eyes had heated to silver by the fireplace even with the light still streaming in through the windows. They drifted from mine to my mouth and it was becoming almost impossible to just stay seated next to her. “But do you know the town?”

  It was my turn to take a sip of my drink to get a breather. I’d chosen a slightly sweet bourbon and used less syrup, and it was strong and delightful. “I know Homesburg like the back of my hand. And my senior project in high school was on a few interesting pieces of local history.”

  “Sounds like you’re the perfect man for me to talk to then. Are you free tomorrow?”

  Tomorrow, as in the day I’d intended to return to the city and get back to my life. When I was live-tweeting a basketball game for work in the evening. And when I should wander around town with a billionaire and instead get back to my regular life.

  “I can definitely meet with you tomorrow,” I said instead.

  “Excellent. Can we meet at noon?” And with that, Sofie drained her drink and stood up. “I’ll be here.”

  She set the glass down on the table in front of us. I didn’t have a phone number for her and we got spotty service in town for her, anyway. I watched Sofie go back to the bar to collect her coat and waved back at her when she turned around to see me.

  I still had half my drink left, so I drained it quickly and then went to clean up the bar. For anyone else, these chores would have been an outrage. Two drinks and I have to clean? Really? But for Sofie, I found that I didn’t mind getting lured into a drink and then tour guiding tomorrow.

  And crazily, I emailed my boss to let her know I’d be back home for a week, apologizing for the last minute notice. Our job was doable pretty much anywhere, and people were forever working while “on vacation” for the company already.

  Though now I had to do a little research on the town after I got done helping Cory with the door outside. This weekend had turned into a bigger deal than I’d intended it to be.

  I couldn’t wait to see what a week being in town with Sofie Barlow would mean for me.

  The next day was bright and beautiful. A fall day that’s implying just how pleasantly crisp the rest of the season will be. Sofie Barlow and I were dutifully pretending that her bodyguard wasn’t tailing us around town. He was a nice guy, but it was still weird.

  “How lucky there’s a walking tour,” Sofie said. We walked down the few blocks to hit Main Street. “How serious are you about touring?”

  “I can’t even do that walking backward thing without falling. But you should be getting excited about this first spot. It’s really the best, most historic part of town.” I was way overselling it, but that was half the point of going to a new place.

  I put my hand on Sofie’s back to direct her towards the end of Main Street. It finished when the Delaware River widened underneath the Homesburg bridge. Sofie’s smile at me as she hesitantly came to some crumbling stairs down the river was infinitely charming.

  “So, from my research yesterday, these stairs were first built when the town was first built. They’re part of the only remaining part of downtown.” I made my way down them carefully, not entirely trusting them with my weight. When I made it to the bottom, I turned and gave Sofie a magician’s half bow.

  Sofie was one step away from tapping her foot into a city girl cliche. She scrunched her pretty face in displeasure. “There’s no way I’m going down there.”

  “Luckily, there’s really no reason for the steps and you can just walk on the grass,” I said. I gestured to the slopes on either side.

  Sofie tapped her foot at me. “I’m not feeling charmed yet by the town.”

  I rolled my eyes at her and walked back up the steps to offer her my hand. “Come on, it’s gonna be fine. And there’s something cool down at the bottom.”

  Sofie hesitated before reaching out for my hand. I could see the SUV with Rocco looking for parking at the end of Main Street to follow. I was sure the tinted glass was holding back Rocco from coming down the street and yelling at me. But I ignored that, and just helped Sofie down the steps. We skidded the last couple, but she still turned to me happily when we were safe at the bottom.

  “I genuinely thought I might get hurt going down them.”

  “The key to a good tour is a little danger. Gets your heart racing.” I gave her hand a squeeze before letting go. “Okay, now for the intrigue.” I pulled my phone out to find an image of initials carved into an old tree. It took a minute of searching the trees before I found the right one. “Over here!”

  So
fie trotted over to me, having stopped with a melancholy look to look at the river churning past. “Initials?”

  “Initials carved back when the stairs were first built. According to the Sullivan County Historical Society, no one knows who JM & LA are.” I referred to the phone once more. “Some believe it was star-crossed lovers, one who left for the Civil War and never came back. Others think it may have been two kids who never got married.”

  Sofie squinted at the initials. “This is the greatest part of Homesburg?”

  I scoffed and tucked the phone away. “No, the greatest part is more the charm and the people. The home-grown feel. And the stairs, remember? But this is one of the oldest parts. And it’s the only mystery I could find.”

  Sofie reached out to trace her finger along the jagged Js. “I could see it being kids. They’re there, but it’s faint.”

  “Maybe it was deeper, and the wind and water have just worn it away,” I said. I was happy that Sofie was deigning to buy into a theory. “Or maybe someone carved it twenty years ago and claimed their grandfather had seen it.”

  Sofie gave me the goofy grin I remembered from her trying to pass off her fake name. “So you’re a fan of conspiracy theories and you believe in ghosts. I don’t know if I should trust your judgment at all.”

  “Hey, I never said I believed in ghosts. I just think the Lodge is definitely haunted,” I replied. “Trust me, intrigue can be helpful to spice up your hometown once in a while.”

  Sofie shrugged. “My street in New York City has plenty of history.”

  “Yeah, but how long have you spent contemplating it?” I asked her. I thought back to my apartment having had some famous musician. A cellist maybe? “The city has so much history it’s hard to linger on it. And besides, I think it’s time we make our mark on Homesburg.” With that, I pulled out the pocket knife I still carried from when I was a kid. It had cost my dad maybe twenty bucks back then and had gotten more beat up over the years.

  “We can’t carve near the famous tree.” Sofie got outraged on behalf of the worst mystery she’d ever seen. It was adorable.