Once Upon a Billionaire: Blue Collar Billionaires, Book 1

by Jessica Lemmon

  Her eyes flame with anger. She stands and slams down her glass. “And what do I need, Nate? Eight-course meals? A selection of designer clothes? Expensive shoes? Sex?”

  “Aside from the great sex, that’s all stuff.” I stand too, plunging my hands in my pockets to broadcast that no matter how much her dander goes up I’m maintaining a level head. “I’m offering you more than stuff. I want you here. I’m in no hurry for you to leave.”

  She blinks at me but stays silent.

  “Have you thought about managing Grand Marin and quitting the bureau?”

  “No,” she huffs.

  “No, you haven’t thought about it, or no, you don’t want the job?”

  “I’m trying not to think about it.”

  Exactly my point. She’s ignoring her own life to hyper-focus on her brother’s. I lean close. “Why not?”

  “The other shoe always drops. Always.” Her voice is small. I hate when her voice is small. She’s stronger than this.

  “It dropped, Vivian. Both of them. You threw them at me on my job site and then I put the broken one in the dumpster along with its mate. Remember?”

  I didn’t plan on admitting this so soon, but here goes nothing.

  “I’m falling for you.”

  Her mouth opens softly. I cup her jaw. I need what I’m saying to penetrate her stubborn mind.

  “I didn’t expect to fall for you. I knew you were a challenge and great in bed. I didn’t put expectations on what we had. I’m busy. I have a ton of my own baggage to sort through. You don’t want a guy like me in your life. You’ve proven that time and again. You’re cagey and jumpy and uncertain.”

  “A-and you’re falling for me?” She lets out an exasperated laugh and I fall more.

  “Guess so.”

  “That’s not very smart.” Her smile is shaky, but it’s there. I scared her. Understandable. I scared myself.

  “I’m not always smart. Case in point.”

  She bites her bottom lip.

  “Who did you call out there?”

  After a beat, she tells me. “Marnie.”

  I wait for her to explain.

  “She’s a friend who knew me back when.”

  “Back when you were Vivian Steele.”

  “Yeah.” She pulls in a deep breath. “I called her to vent. I needed someone to agree with me.”

  “And did she?”

  “Yes. She did.” Vivian elevates her chin in a regal tilt. That’s my girl.

  “Good. We all need friends who take our sides.”

  I sit and pat the sofa in invitation for her to join me. She literally looks over her shoulder like she’s gauging the distance from couch to front door, before sitting primly on the edge of a cushion.

  “So, now what do we do?” she asks her hands.

  “Finish our drinks. Go to bed. Talk about when we’re introducing your father to Lake Michigan.”

  Her laugh seems to surprise her. “You’re crazy.”

  “Like a fox,” I mutter.

  She looks tired, but not like she’s beat. Like she’s finally able to relax. Like she’s trying on the idea of my falling for her and it’s a more comfortable fit than she expected.

  “I have nothing to lose,” I tell her. As lies go, it’s a whopper. My heart is thundering, and it’s suddenly hard for me to breathe.

  “Everyone has something to lose.”

  She called me on it. We’re not as different as she’d like to believe. My real family was as neglectful as hers, but in a different way. I had too little, she had too much. She believes wealth saved me, but that’s not entirely true. I was saved by hope. William and Lainey Owen gave me hope and purpose, and that was why I left the familiar walls of the juvenile delinquent center.

  It’s hope that made Viv’s brother, Walt, accept the job I offered him tonight. It’s hope, and a hefty dash of Steele family stubbornness, that made him announce his plans to marry Dee. His grumbling about the hard lines I drew was a deflection. He wanted to say yes to me so badly he couldn’t sit still. Like his sister, Walt fears hope too.

  “You’re right to be wary. Life isn’t without risks.” I slide her hair from her cheek. She’s watching me with wide eyes and yeah, there’s a glimmer of hope bursting through.

  “And I’m a risk?” she asks.

  “The biggest one I’ve ever taken.”

  Her smile quirks to one side and a second later she’s on top of me. I wasn’t ready for her, so she succeeds at knocking me to my back. The wind is stolen from my lungs when she closes her lips over mine. I slip my tongue into her mouth and she accepts it greedily. For long minutes, she’s kissing the life out of me, writhing over top of me. I don’t mind her changing the subject to a language we both understand. Sex is our primary form of communication, after all.

  My hands roam over her back, her ass, her legs, and then travel up her skirt. I don’t know if she’s in a hurry to make me forget my proclamation, or if she feels the same way I do but wants to show instead of tell.

  Me? I don’t care why she’s attacking me, only that she is. It’s better than her icing me out.

  If you thumb back through my timeline, you’ll notice I spent most of my thirty-six years not understanding a hell of a lot about love. My mother’s depiction of love was to take what she could for herself. Even her subservience to my father was about her getting rather than giving. She needs to be needed, and in my family that’s as dangerous as a loaded gun to the temple.

  As Vivian moves her lips over mine, I wonder if I have the same tendency to need to be needed. Do I love her because I need her to love me? Am I as misguided as my mother?

  No.

  The answer comes swiftly enough that I trust it. Vivian doesn’t come with any guarantees, which I’ve known from the start. She may never love me in return. Not the most pleasant realization, but that also feels true.

  For right now she’s here. With me. Accepting my hands as they pull off her clothing. Accepting my cock as I slide deep and settle into her luscious body. As long as she’s here; as long as she wants me, I have nothing to complain about. She doesn’t have to make a grand announcement. It’s enough to have her in my house, her warm, breathy pants heating my neck while I drive her into the arm of the sofa.

  All good things are simple. That’s what I’m saying.

  Humans tend to complicate life, but life isn’t complicated. Maybe, I think as I maneuver my hand between her legs, if she stays around long enough, I can help her understand that.

  If. Big if.

  But hell, why not try?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Vivian

  On a chartered yacht in Lake Michigan, Walt and I are in the process of tossing our father’s ashes overboard.

  Dee came along for the trip, but for this private moment Nate pulled her to the side to teach her how to drive the yacht. He knew Walt and I needed a moment.

  My brother and I watch as a cloud of ashes hits the water, the individual granules settling for a split second before sinking below the surface.

  “He must have started out wanting to build a business for the right reasons,” he says, his eyes on the water. “Don’t you think?”

  “I like to think so.”

  “No man makes a goal to become a criminal and rip off the people who love and trust him. That’s insanity. Dad wasn’t insane.”

  “No, he wasn’t. He had an ego the size of this planet, though. Earth couldn’t hold him, I guess.” My attempt at a joke falls flat as tears pool in my eyes. I didn’t expect them, though I suppose I should have. My brother wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes. More tears come.

  “You don’t have to be strong, V,” he whispers. “A rug was pulled out from under you, and I have been a pain in your ass.”

  “Ya think?” I ask, my voice watery. I feel him smile as he squeezes me against his side.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been a selfish dick. I’m taking things seriously now—taking my life seriously. Thanks to you int
roducing me to Nate, I have a job. That was huge.”

  I sniffle. His gratitude means a lot to me.

  “Strength comes naturally to you. The rest of us have to work at it.”

  “It doesn’t come naturally,” I argue. I practiced for years and years, and the habit somehow became part of my new personality.

  “It’s okay to be emotional. That’s where real strength lies.” Walt releases me and smiles, his own eyes welling.

  I swipe my cheeks. “I told Nate I should look into therapy again, but maybe I’ll go to a twelve-step instead.”

  “Spend the money on therapy. Addiction isn’t worth it,” my brother says with a self-deprecating wink. We turn and stare down at the water in silence.

  Nate and Dee leave the helm and peer over the side of the yacht a few minutes later. They’re still standing apart from Walt and me.

  We spent the first four hours of the day apartment hunting. Walt and Dee asked if we could come along and offer our opinions. It was a peace offering I accepted. I went through about a million emotions while touring those dwellings with my brother and the woman who might someday be his wife. It was strange. I’m trying not to micromanage him but it’s difficult. All I can see when I look at the two of them is the potential mistakes they might make. No matter what Nate said about shoes already having dropped, I know there are always more shoes. Which makes it hard to stay comfortable for long.

  Nate navigates Dee to the other side of the boat and points out a building. He starts describing its history, buying me more time with my brother. He always seems to know what I need.

  “Things with Owen seem to be progressing,” Walt says. “You haven’t been home much lately.”

  “I’m giving you space.” Guilt stabs me. “Do you need something? Groceries?”

  “I need you to take some of the money you’ve been saving for me and pay yourself for my loafing on your couch,” he says.

  “Excuse me?” I wiggle my pinky in my ear for effect. “Did I just hear you offer me money?”

  “Don’t rub it in.” The wind kicks his longish hair around his head. “Dee told me I should have offered.”

  Wow. One point for Dee.

  “Don’t look so surprised. She’s a good person.”

  I quirk my mouth in consideration. To be fair, I never believed she wasn’t a good person. I just worried she could be an anchor around my drowning brother’s neck.

  “I might’ve judged her too harshly,” I admit.

  “Yeah, well, in the back of my mind I thought you were dating Owen because he’s rich.”

  I gasp.

  “I don’t think that any longer,” he continues. “I didn’t live in rehab my entire life, sis. I remember when you dated. None of those trust-fund douchebags were like Nate.” Walt turns his head to check on Nate and Dee before addressing me again. “Nothing like him.”

  “I’m nothing like I used to be, so that makes sense.”

  This brings forth a big laugh from my brother.

  “What?”

  “You are exactly the same as you used to be. Driven. Talented. Playing it safe.”

  “Excuse me?” I prop my hands on my hips, prepared to defend my former life. “How was being the vice president of marketing and data analysis at Dad’s firm ‘playing it safe’?”

  Walt gives me a bland blink as if it should be obvious.

  Should it?

  “You should be running your own company. Instead you’re at some dinky city bureau working for a guy you don’t like.”

  I huff, mainly because Nate said something similar while we sat at Grand Marin looking up at that beautiful office.

  “That’s easy to say from the outside—” I start deflecting.

  “I wasn’t always on the outside. You could be a billionaire on your own. I’m the one who needs corralling.”

  “Is that what Dee’s doing?” I incline my chin in her direction. She might well be his first attempt at caring for someone other than himself.

  “I’m in love with her. That’s all I know.”

  God. Is it in the water?

  “How do you know? That you love her?” Before he becomes defensive, I add, “I’m not patronizing you. I mean, really, how do you know when you’re in romantic love with someone?” I whisper the last part to avoid Nate overhearing.

  “Well…” Walt squints at the sun, bright overhead thanks to a cloudless sky. I don’t know if he’s thinking of a way to explain, or if he’s unaccustomed to having to explain. Maybe he’s trying to find an appropriate way to explain it to me.

  Finally his dark brown eyes return to mine. “At some point, you have to decide to let yourself feel again. I blocked out the hurt by using, but the problem is you block out the good too.” He sighs. “There was so much hurt at home, V. Mom was unhappy. Way before we found out what Dad was doing.”

  “I know.” I worry I’m doomed to repeat her misery.

  “You’re not like her,” he says, reading my mind. “If you open up again, you can have the good.”

  “There’s more hurt than good in the world, little brother.”

  “That’s one way to look at it.” He casts Dee a glance. His expression is earnest. Loving. The sickly sheen is gone and he’s put on a good ten pounds since he’s been in Ohio. Sobriety suits him.

  “There’s more than one way to look at it?” I ask quietly.

  “Many more ways than one,” he answers with a soft smile.

  Dee must feel him watching her. She blows him a kiss. My heart pinches with what might be envy. Worry is there too, but at least another emotion has joined it.

  I look past her to Nate and try to decide if he looks like a man in love. Or a man, as he put it, who is “falling” for me. Seems he built in some safeguards after all. He didn’t use the L-word.

  Nate struts over, Dee skipping ahead of him. He looks as good in shorts and a sleeveless shirt as he does naked, which makes no sense. He just plain looks good. Maybe him looking good in spite of what he’s wearing, or that imperfect nose, is a sign I’m in love with him.

  Hmm.

  “Nate agrees the apartment on Palmetto is perfect.” Dee beams. “It’s my favorite one.”

  “I liked that one too,” I offer. Her smile turns gracious. Nate’s smile is proud.

  She bounces on the balls of her feet. “Do you think we should do it?”

  “We can definitely consider it,” Walt says.

  “I’m worried we’ll lose it if we don’t decide fast. It was the only open unit in the building.” She pouts.

  “The deposit—” Walt starts.

  “Is covered.” I wave a hand. “You might be new at this managing-your-own-money thing, but you have enough for deposit and first month’s rent, easily. And with your position at Nate’s site, you’re solid.”

  Gratitude lights up Walt’s face.

  “Even without the money you’re keeping for yourself?” he asks, taking advantage of our audience to convince me. Oh, but I’m the big sister here. I know what he’s doing.

  “We’ll see.”

  My brother acquiesces with a slight nod before turning to Nate. “Do you mind taking us back? Evidently we need to hustle over to Palmetto.”

  “Yes!” Dee bounces some more. “I’m more of a land lover anyway.”

  Walt hugs her close and corrects with, “Landlubber.”

  “What?” She wrinkles her nose and he kisses it.

  “Nothing.”

  Okay. That was cute.

  After Walt and Dee are on land, Nate takes us out onto the water again. I lose the cover-up and lounge on a bench on the deck of the yacht.

  “You done good today, kid,” my captain says as he refills my champagne flute. We snacked on a packed cooler of goodies we brought with us. Odessa put it together. Chickpea salad sandwiches and homemade dill dip and cucumbers. Dessert is chia-seed pudding with fresh raspberries, but I’m saving it for later.

  “What do you mean?” I sip my champagne.

  “With
Dee and Walt. Making sure he knew you weren’t going to fight him on the money. That’s a big step.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m still going to look in on him.”

  He hoists an eyebrow.

  “Occasionally.”

  Chuckling, he sits next to me on the cushioned bench. A few other boats are on the water, but far enough away that we have privacy. It’s peaceful.

  “Why don’t you own a boat?” I ask.

  “Too much hassle.”

  “I never owned one either,” I tell him. “I worked too much to take the time.”

  “That’s part of the reason I don’t have one.” He touches the gold embellishment on my bright pink bikini top. It’s shaped like a seashell and nestled in between my breasts. “I like this.”

  “Thanks.”

  His hand is wrapped around a beer bottle he rests on one wide thigh over his shorts.

  “I appreciate you bringing us out here,” I tell him. “It’s sad. Not an ideal date setup.”

  “It is sad.” His gaze returns to me. “You okay?”

  “I think I am okay.”

  “If not, I’m here.”

  That should be his motto. Instead of a snarky comeback I take another sip from my champagne flute. The breeze blows off the water and cools the sweat glistening on my skin. I need another layer of sunscreen, but right now I’m enjoying the heat. “Do you think Walt and Dee are good together?”

  “For now they seem to be.”

  I appreciate his honesty.

  “Do you?” he asks.

  “I worry.”

  “You wouldn’t be you unless you worried.” He takes a pull from his beer bottle. “Walt seems stable. I don’t know him well, though. What’s he like when he’s out of rehab?”

  “Twitchy,” I answer immediately. “He’s had one cigarette today which is crazy. Normally he’s a chain smoker. I’m not familiar with Dee’s patterns. She could do this all the time. Leave rehab, shack up with a guy, claim she’s in love with him.” I didn’t know this tirade was in me until I started talking. I guess being nice to her and looking for her ulterior motives can exist at the same time. “She could be using Walt for money or a place to stay. She could have stayed longer not because she’s in love with him but because it’s convenient.”