The Neighbor's Secret (A Secret Billionaire Romance #1)
Page 1
The Neighbor’s Secret
A Secret Billionaire Romance
Kimberley Montpetit
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Publisher
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Local Elections
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Dear Reader,
Also by Kimberley Montpetit
Coming Soon
About the Author
The Neighbor’s Secret
A Secret Billionaire Romance
by
Kimberley Montpetit
Copyright
This is a work of fiction based loosely on Hartland, NB, Canada. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
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The Neighbor’s Secret, A Secret Billionaire Romance
COPYRIGHT 2016 by Kimberley Montpetit
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Spellbound Books
Published in the United States of America
Chapter 1
The Neighbor’s Secret
A Secret Billionaire Romance
by
Kimberley Montpetit
* * *
It was the perfect day for a wedding.
After months of trying on wedding gowns, ordering invitations, and searching every bridal boutique in Toronto for the perfect shoes, Allie Strickland was ready to walk—maybe even run—down the aisle of the church and into Sean Carter’s waiting arms.
She’d licked stamps to post the more than one hundred announcements until her tongue was dry. She’d suffered through at least that many long-distance phone calls home with her mother back in New Brunswick that sometimes ended in arguments and tears.
If she didn’t stop weeping, her mama joked, their tiny town of Heartland Cove was going to flood over. But the calls and planning was over. Allie’s wedding day was finally here.
That morning she had taken her big fat, red marker and made and X on the calendar.
“Mrs. Sean Carter, here I come,” she whispered as she capped the pen and tossed it inside a packing box.
After five years of dating, she and Sean had gone through grad school together, first jobs, saving money, and now Sean was climbing the ladder to become a partner with Learner & Associates Law Firm.
Tonight she’d be with the man of her dreams forever. No more work interruptions. No more hurried lunches—or no lunches. No more agonizingly long street car rides to get to one another’s apartments. Lately, they’d just meet somewhere for a late dinner.
Tomorrow, new renters were moving into her apartment on Bloor. When she and Sean returned from their honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas, Allie would unpack all the boxes sitting inside Sean’s apartment waiting to officially move in.
From inside the hired car, street signs and green lights whizzed past, but with every passing intersection of shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings, Allie’s stomach jumped. She checked the time on her phone. The wedding began in ninety minutes and it would take at least half of that just to get through traffic.
She sent a text to Sean and then tried to stare out the window in an effort to settle her nerves. Despite staring blankly at the constant concrete and tightly packed buildings, Roger’s Stadium glinted in the lowering afternoon sun.
With her brother Jake at the wheel and the car full of her mother, sister, and best friend Marla on their way to the Episcopal Church, Allie’s brain went over her luggage in the trunk, packed for fun, sun, and the beach.
Three bikinis; red, black, and purple.
Slinky dresses for candlelit dinners.
Five pairs of shoes, including running clothes.
Lingerie and toiletries.
She couldn’t wait to get on that plane tomorrow morning and leave work and stress and family behind.
Seven perfect days with Sean. Finally, finally, finally.
“I don’t think Toronto has ever looked lovelier,” Allie sighed happily, pressing her nose against the glass like a schoolgirl.
Golden sun warmed her shoulders through the window. She was excited, anxious, and terrified all at once—and missing Sean. She hadn’t seen him in three days due to his working overtime so he’d have a few days off for their honeymoon.
“I promise we’ll have a longer honeymoon when I’m finished with this current trial,” he’d said last week. “A cruise of the Greek Islands in autumn.”
“You know all my dreams,” she’d told him, throwing her arms around his neck and feeling the beat of his heart against hers.
Pulling her arms down, Sean had given her a peck goodbye. “You know I have to be in the courtroom at seven a.m., Allie.”
She’d frowned, turning away to stare out the window of her apartment. It was a spectacular view of downtown and the lake. She’d been lucky to get this flat a year ago and hated to let it go, but Sean had a bigger place so she’d reluctantly given up her dream apartment.
“That case has taken over your life. Our lives,” she said, trying not to whine. “We haven’t been out in ages. We’ve hardly kissed in months.”
“But we’re getting married in a few days, Allie. Be a grown-up and get used to the hectic life of a criminal defense lawyer.”
She despised those moments when he treated her like a child. But all she could say was, “But I miss you. Don’t you miss me?”
As soon as she spoke the words, Allie chomped down on her tongue. Sentiments like those merely underscored his assessment of her as a petulant child.
“Your dress!” Mrs. Strickland suddenly shrieked from the front passenger seat, motioning to Jake that there was a red light before throwing a glare at her daughter in her wedding finery.
“These darn no left turn streets,” Jake muttered, braking so hard they all lunged forward. “Traffic is horrible. They’ve got the next two streets blocked off for a 10K run.”
Quickly, Allie hitched up the beaded satin wedding gown around her to prevent wrinkles on the back end.
“You simply can’t have wrinkles when you walk down the aisle,” her sister Erin said with a dose of sarcasm. “It would be, like, a crime or something.”
Mrs. Strickland gave her youngest daughter a second glare and then silently held out her palm when Erin snapped her gum.
Erin stuck her wad of chewing gum in her mother’s hand, smashing it down vehemently in revenge, and leaned back with a sulk.
“Thanks for the gum sacrifice,” Allie told her, nudging at her sister’s shoulder.
“Huh,” Erin grunted, sliding another pack of spearmint contraband from her handbag.
“Look at the blue sky and enjoy the fact
that there isn’t ten feet of snow on the ground.”
“You mean smog and obnoxiously tall concrete they call architecture.”
“That’s because you’re sixteen.”
“Girls!” their mother cried, leaning forward to check the name of the cross street.
Jake remained stoic, his mobile giving out directions in an English accent.
“Don’t fight on your wedding day.”
“It’s not my wedding day,” Erin said, making one of her famous faces, eyes wide, nostrils flaring.
“Obviously. But today is Allie’s most special day in her entire life. Be nice. Mind your manners. And please don’t put your chewed gum on the dinner plate at the reception this evening.”
“I’m not eight!” Erin protested with a huff. She crossed her arms over the deep maroon bridesmaid dress. Lower cut than Mrs. Strickland had wanted, but nobody had listened to her protests when the wedding planning rose to extreme levels of tension.
Marla Perry, Allie’s best friend since Kindergarten, reached over with a tissue. “You’ve got a smudge of frosting on your face, Allie.”
“Where?” Allie scrabbled inside the tiny white lace-covered wedding bag for a mirror, which, of course, only held two tissues and a lipstick for refreshing. Allie had a tendency to bite off her lip color. “How could you let me leave the house like that?”
“It’s just a tiny smidge,” Marla assured her. “Probably cream cheese from the cinnamon roll.”
“You just had to go and make cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the day I wanted to be my skinniest best self.”
“I knew you’d go all day without food if I didn’t give you something. And then we’d be picking you up off the floor in front of the minister when you fainted from starvation.”
“Not starvation. Sugar overload. I should have had a granola bar.”
“Granola bars are for birds, not real people,” Marla said, one eyebrow raised in a decidedly snarky position. “Fainting can be a means to an end. Sean will scoop you up from the cold floor and kiss you passionately.”
Marla had snagged the lead role in Romeo and Juliet in the high school drama production class and swore she’d leave their pathetic, tiny town of Heartland Cove and run away to New York City. She’d gotten as far as Toronto—which, for a Heartland Cove resident, that boasted a population of 899 was, nevertheless, a major feat. But her Fine Arts degree in photography was proving difficult to find a decent paying job.
She’d finally taken a position shooting kids school photos all over town with Life Touch, but was determined to open her own business.
The thought of having your own business made Allie jealous. Despite using her MBA to snag a good paying position, she was bored to tears with financial reports and office politics as the manager at a small branch of The Royal Bank.
“Mom. Chill,” Jake said at last. Miss British GPS voice told him to turn right, but when he did he hit another red light and jerked to a stop. All the women braced a hand on their seats, then adjusted dresses and jewelry.
“Warn us next time, Jake,” Mrs. Strickland said, the frown deepening between her eyes.
Allie did not miss the family dynamics living in Toronto, although she sometimes got nostalgic for Heartland Cove, the town where she’d been born, worked her teen summers at the Strickland Family Fry Truck, and had her first kiss on the Bridge of Heartland Cove with a boy who told her he’d love her forever—and then promptly moved to Newfoundland three weeks later. It might as well have been Timbuktu.
After a few sexy Facebook messages, he’d posted a picture of himself with a suntanned blond girl—and disappeared from her life forever.
In Heartland Cove he’d been her only possibility for a boyfriend until she’d met Sean her senior year as an undergrad in Business School.
Sean Carter was the complete opposite of the boy from tiny Heartland Cove High. Tall, slim and dark-haired with smoldering eyes and a crooked grin that melted her heart.
“I think butterflies have set up permanent housekeeping in my stomach,” Allie said now, the clock ticking down to the moment they both said, “I do”.
Sean was now on the verge of being offered the position of junior partner at Learner & Associates. He’d worked hard and received top marks in law school. Now the man lived and breathed law, briefs, and depositions. His mind was sharp, he practically memorized everything he read, and he was quickly becoming a talented and incisive criminal lawyer. Being in the courtroom gave him a thrill like he was riding the most daring and dangerous roller coaster.
Sometimes, Allie worried that she wasn’t thrilling enough. The only time Sean got truly passionate was after he’d argued a heated and feisty trial.
Mrs. Strickland patted her hand. A little bit comforting. A little bit impatiently. And a little bit sadly.
“You alright Mom?”
Her mother gave a wan smile, and a tug of empathy rose in Allie’s chest. She’d never seen her mother wearing red lipstick. Any makeup really. The family fry truck wasn’t exactly conducive to glamour frying burgers and fries for the tourists that swarmed the town every day.
Heartland Cove’s main industries were potato and lavender farming, trucking—and buses that gorged tourists three times a day to gawk at the Heartland Cove bridge—the world’s longest covered bridge.
Mrs. Strickland brushed off any discomfort she was feeling. “I’m a fish out of water in the glamour of Toronto.”
“You look lovely, Mom.”
Her mother was wearing a maroon sheath trimmed in lace, black pumps, pantyhose, and a ton of hairspray in a traditional middle-aged pouf. A far cry from jeans and a splattered, greasy apron.
Her cell phone began to buzz, and she recognized the familiar ring of her fiancé. “It’s Sean!” she shrieked, patting at her dress and then peering along the floorboard of the car. “I can’t find my phone! Why’s he calling? I talked to him just before we left the apartment. What if he got in an accident?”
“Calm down,” Jake said, speeding through a light. He turned to give Allie a grin. “Probably a speeding ticket.”
“Be useful and help me find my phone, Erin!”
Her sister pressed her lips together and folded her arms across her chest, tapping one toe on the floor mat.
“Okay, sorry,” Allie quickly corrected. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m panicking.”
“Wedding day jitters,” Marla said soothingly, searching under the leather seats.
“I know, I know,” Allie said, lifting wads of satin as delicately as possible. She shook out the folds of her gown, but there was no sign of the phone. It was as if it had disappeared into another dimension.
“I wish you’d gotten married in Heartland Cove, sweetheart,” Mrs. Strickland said wistfully.
“Really, mother? You bring that up again when we’re almost to the church?”
“Wee—eell.” Her mother had the good sense to look guilty.
The ringing had stopped by now and Allie’s stomach clenched. Sean had trained her to never miss a phone call from anyone.
He always said that if they were going to excel at their careers, get every promotion they could and start their own law firm one day (Allie as office manager and head of PR), he did have a point. “Let no opportunity go to waste. Take them all.”
“Today is my—our wedding day,” she said with gritted teeth, wondering if she’d lost the phone out the window, which was ridiculous, but it couldn’t have vanished into thin air.
“Your phone is probably on the floor,” Erin said, still tapping her foot.
“Can you help me reach down and get it?”
Erin heaved another deep sigh and dug around the floor, swishing yards of satin and tulle out of her way.
“Careful of my dress!”
“I’m being careful. And . . . it’s not here.”
“Marla!” Allie said, panic now bringing tears to her eyes.
Marla wagged a finger. “Don’t you dare cry and mess up that makeup job.
Here, grab the seat back and lift your bum.” Marla ran her fingers along the leather seat under Allie’s wedding gown. “Aha!” She held up the cell phone between two fingers and plopped it into Allie’s lap.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Allie said, quickly checking her voicemail. Sean’s deep voice spoke into her ear. “Hey, Allie, I had to run by the office to pick up a new report for this case. Mr. Thompson said I have to read it tonight. The defendant was caught—well, never mind what he was doing. I can’t tell you that. But I will be at the church. Hitting green lights now, almost to the office.”
His voice abruptly stopped and Allie stared at the lifeless phone. It would have been nice to hear an “I love you”, but perhaps he’d found a parking space and run inside the office building.
“What’s up?” Marla asked.
“Nothing,” she lied. “Everything is fine.” Inside, she couldn’t help fuming. “He might be five minutes late,” she added, just to prepare her family.
She hated when they complained about Sean and his awful work schedule. She didn’t want to give them any more ammunition than necessary. Sean was there for all the important occasions. Right now was a critical time in his career and when they were able to be together in the same house it would be so much easier to support each other.
It was too bad that she couldn’t have been office manager for Sean’s firm but Mr. Learner insisted on a policy of no married employees so when the position came up Sean had told her not to bother applying.
“At least your flight isn’t until morning,” Erin said, kicking off her shoes and studying her legs under her dress. No doubt, Allie’s sister wanted to be at the lake water skiing.
“That’s not helpful,” Marla told Erin. “Sean will be there waiting for Allie with the minister. The chapel looks spectacular,” she told Allie reassuringly.
Despite her words, a sick feeling grew in Allie’s stomach.
Marla nudged at her and Allie jerked her chin up, thoughts scattering. In a low voice her friend said, “I know what you’re thinking.”