The Neighbor's Secret (A Secret Billionaire Romance #1)

by Kimberley Montpetit

  Restless, Allie rummaged for her second set of car keys, realizing that there was only one person who had a spare key to this old Victorian relic. Ethan Smith.

  “I’m going out for a few minutes,” Allie called through Marla’s door. “Be back soon.”

  “Already asleep!” Marla called. “Be safe.”

  Allie revved the engine and tore out of the driveway with the gift basket on the seat next to her.

  Chapter 23

  Fairy lights—white Christmas lights—sparkled around the ramshackle Victorian that was the Heartbeat Inn as Allie hurried up the steps of the wrap-around porch.

  Would she catch him already in bed for the night? If so, she’d leave the basket at the front desk with a note. But boy, she really wanted to see him in person and give him an earful.

  “Miles Benjamin Ethan,” she said fiercely as she strode to the doors. “I’m about to give you a tongue lashing.”

  The B&B was lovely. She hadn’t seen inside the place in ages. Not since the Christmas Open House when she was about to graduate high school. The charming old hotel had been decorated to the nines, garland and trees and lights and pinecones everywhere, the scent of cinnamon wafting the beautiful old halls.

  After passing the blue reading room, Allie had to wait at the front desk until someone appeared. After all, it was going on eleven o’clock now. Any sane person in Heartland was home getting their rest so as to be ready to greet the first tourist bus in the morning.

  * * *

  “I need to deliver this basket to Ethan Smith,” Allie told Mrs. Simmons when she came around the corner. “And he has some keys I need.”

  The woman pursed her lips, lifting her eyes to the ceiling as if that would tell her whether or not Ethan was sound asleep or not.

  “Room 204. Upstairs, second door on the left. Mind you, you can only stay a few minutes. And be quiet. I have a full house right now.”

  “Of course,” Allie whispered. “Thanks.”

  She tiptoed upstairs, smelling the chocolate wafting up her nose from her mother’s freshly baked brownies.

  She gave a light rap on the appointed door, but there was no answer. While she waited, her eyes roved up and down the hallway, lit only with dim lights. She knocked one last time in case Ethan had been in the shower, but there was still no answer.

  She hated to give up. She wanted her key, and she didn’t want to leave her mother’s gift in the hallway for someone to take.

  Darting a glance around, Allie stealthily tried the door. She sucked in a breath when she realized that it was unlocked. Dare she push her way inside? The situation reminded her of when Ethan barged into her bathroom thinking the house was empty—and found a naked woman in the tub.

  Allie’s face burned with the memory, but every once in awhile, she had thoughts of sharing a Jacuzzi tub with Ethan.

  Pushing at the door, Allie was inside two seconds later. At first, she wondered if she had the wrong room, but no, there was a suitcase of Ethan’s things. She recognized his watch on the bedside table, a jacket lying on the bedspread, and a baseball cap she’d seen him wear while taking photos around town.

  After flicking on the overhead light, she set the basket down on the table and let out a gasp. “Oh, oh, oh!” she cried softly, sinking to the edge of the bed.

  All around the bedroom suite walls were rows and rows of pictures. Photographs, some framed, some mounted, some not.

  Allie rose and went closer, touching the corners lightly, her jaw dropping.

  Every single photograph had been taken here in Heartland Cove; the bridge, the homes, the Victorian’s, the roads, the trees, the tourist area, gift shop, Fry Truck, lawns, river—and the people. Not just tourists, but photos of the Heartland Cove residents. He’d captured them unaware, smiling, thoughtful, happy, sad. Every emotion portrayed poignantly in startling clarity. The pictures were emotional and heartfelt and gorgeous.

  As Allie studied them it became apparent that one particular thread ran through them all—the powerful love Ethan had for the town and people of Heartland Cove, and it rendered her speechless.

  Her throat closed up and Allie wanted to weep at their beauty.

  A sudden creak at the door made her whirl around.

  Ethan stood there, gazing at her with shock to see her in his hotel room. Allie was afraid he’d be horribly angry when he realized that she’d been looking at his photographs, but she couldn’t hide now.

  “Ethan,” Allie whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Uncertainty crossed his face. “What are you doing here? Are you upset? Do you still think I’m in cahoots with Mayor Jefferies? Allie, please believe me that I’m not—”

  Allie rushed at him, throwing her arms around his neck. “I believe you,” she said with a laugh that instantly turned back into tears.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. “Why are you crying? What’s happened?”

  “Oh, Ethan, these aren’t the pictures of someone who wants to ruin Heartland Cove. These are the pictures of someone who wants to preserve every corner, every person, and every tidbit of history. It all makes sense why you and Miss Ellie are building the Historical Center. You truly do love this place, don’t you?”

  “It sounds sappy, but I do.” His eyes caught sight of the basket on the table, sitting in the midst of a group of photos of his grandmother at her home in the garden, white hair sparkling, laughing up at the sky. “What’s this?”

  “It’s a gift from my parents.”

  “You came into town to give me a basket from your mother?”

  She nodded, adding sheepishly. “And I need a key for the house. I lost mine.”

  “Here, take mine. I’ll get a new copy made for you at the hardware store.” He lifted the card from its position on the loaf of homemade bread and read it. His eyes fastened to hers and he pressed his lips together. “Did you read this?”

  “I’m sorry. My parents left it at the house, not knowing where you were staying. It was there when I got home from the wedding with Marla.”

  “I see,” he said cautiously.

  “Oh, Ethan, you wonderful, incredible man,” Allie said quietly. “You rebuilt my parent’s business. That was the phone call today at the construction site. I was afraid you were still keeping secrets from me.”

  “I could see that in your face, and it worried me. But I will never keep secrets from you. But I don’t usually broadcast all my deeds.” He let out a small laugh.

  “You mean your generous, good, and thoughtful deeds?”

  “It’s not that much—” he began.

  “Ethan Smith, it means everything to my parents—and to me.”

  Allie stepped forward and Ethan’s arms encircled her as she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his shoulder. “Thank you. For everything.”

  He held her tight, without speaking, for several long moments. The world felt so right inside his arms, so perfect. She never wanted to be away from him again.

  Ethan cupped his hands around her face, staring into her eyes. “Allie Strickland, I know it’s too fast and too soon, but I love you. I want to be with you forever, but I’ll be patient. Even if it takes years, you’re worth the wait.”

  “You’re not worried that I’ll only want you for your money?”

  He lifted her up in his arms to whirl her about the room. “Not worried at all. You kissed me when you thought I was a lowly, scheming photographer. And now you’re always taunting me about being rich, as if money is evil, when I’m still very much poor.”

  “Money isn’t evil exactly,” Allie said, wrinkling her nose. It’s just that Sean was always talking about money and how rich we were going to be and I just did not care.”

  “Well, I also might have a secret conniving brother who steals it away from me. Just like out of that Sense and Sensibility movie.”

  “You know about Jane Austen?”

  “Of course. If you’re going to be my girl—my wife—I’d better know all the th
ings you love and can’t live without. Like Godiva chocolate imported from New York City.”

  Allie’s eyes widened. “Did you fly that in from New York?”

  He laughed at her shocked expression.

  Leaning in, Allie pressed her lips against his soft, warm, and perfect mouth, savoring the way he made her feel. She was about to explode with a thousand emotions she couldn’t even begin to name. “I’m not sure I can live without you any longer either, Mr. Ethan Smith. Or should I call you Benny?”

  “You can forget the Benny part—I always hated that as a kid—but the rest of what you just said . . . that’s what I call the best thing I’ve heard all day.”

  And then he kissed her, deeply and ardently, and Allie was sure she never wanted to stop.

  Chapter 24

  A few days later, Allie unpacked the box that held her wedding dress. The invitations, the engraved napkins, the favors tied with lace, and the box that now held her engagement ring to Sean Carter.

  She called Marla to the backyard and together they fed every single item into a fifty gallon drum crackling with bright orange flames. Allie watched her old wedding paraphernalia go up in smoke and ashes. From this day forward Sean Carter didn’t exist.

  Except for the diamond engagement ring. That little item she hocked in the next town over. And the pawn shop owner said it wasn’t worth half what she’d thought it was worth.

  Allie should not have been surprised.

  * * *

  Two weeks later, Marla’s Magical Moments officially celebrated its grand opening with an Open House and an advertisement in the local papers.

  Almost two hundred people came to celebrate and eat cake and peruse the old Victorian house decorated with Marla’s photographs. Marla christened the beautiful hanging sign by breaking a bottle of champagne across it, and the crowd cheered.

  At the end of the party, when the house was filled with empty paper plates, empty bottles of wine, and a trash bin that was overflowing, Ethan made an announcement.

  “I have a final gift for the day.”

  “You didn’t have to get us a gift,” Allie said, clapping her hands. “But what is it?”

  Marla was half-asleep on the couch. “You open it, Allie. I don’t plan on moving for at least twenty-four hours.”

  Ethan handed over a white envelope. “I’m actually giving you something I can’t use any longer. And it’s really old. And needs repair.”

  “A card?” Allie cocked one eyebrow. “You’re talking in riddles.”

  “Everything you need to know is in the card,” Ethan said, feigning a yawn to make it look like nothing.

  Immediately suspicious, Allie slit the envelope, pulling out a cream-colored card engraved with gold calligraphy.

  Out loud she read, “I hereby gift the house in which you presently stand to Allie Strickland and Marla Perry for their own, to have and to hold forever, for as long as Marla’s Magical Moments survive.”

  “Very funny, Ethan. You can’t give us an entire house. We’d planned on paying rent beginning in September.”

  “It’s mine to give and you need a place of business, you two. I predict much success. And Marla can move into the upstairs master suite.”

  “You adorable man!” Allie said. She stared down at the card giving them the unimaginable gift of an entire house. “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly,” Ethan answered, trying not to grin.

  Marla hugged him. “You’re—you’re—amazing. I can’t accept a house from you.”

  “It’s a place of business, and I’m certainly not going to live here.”

  “Okaaaay.” Tears sprang to Marla’s eyes. “But I think you’re nuts to give away an entire house.”

  “Easier than trying to cut it in half.” Ethan’s tone was dead pan.

  Marla threw a pillow at him from across the room, then snatched up the gift card and pressed it to her chest.

  “But where will I live?” Allie asked, biting at her lips to keep the grinning, too.

  “With me in my house—the house we’re going to buy—or build—when we get married.”

  Allie fluttered her eyelashes at him, one hand on her hips. “And when will that be, pray tell?”

  “As soon as you say yes and pick a date. Preferably by Christmas because I can’t wait.”

  Allie leaned in and kissed him. “You’re just like a little kid. Are we getting sleds for Christmas, too?”

  “Now that you mention it, yes. But pretend to be surprised when you see them under the tree.”

  * * *

  After another round of celebrating, Marla rose from the couch and dragged herself to bed. The house quieted as streetlights flickered on one by one.

  Ethan took Allie by the arm, circling her waist with his hand. “Let’s go for a walk. There’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.”

  Arm in arm, they walked out the door of the house and along the evening streets of Heartland Cove. The town was still, holding its breath like a cat about to pounce a mouse under the sliver of new moon.

  New moons, new beginnings, Allie mused, her hand entwined with Ethan’s fingers.

  The passed dark houses, the river a black ribbon with only the lights of the bridge beckoning them forward, a stray dog snuffling in someone’s yard.

  “As long as it isn’t a moose,” Allie whispered, and Ethan stifled a snort of laughter.

  It was about a mile to the Heartland bridge—and despite the exterior lights to warn motorists, the interior was dark as Hades at midnight.

  Snuggling into Ethan’s shoulder, Allie laughed, feeling like she was a kid again, out late at night to meet friends for Kick the Can, or to stretch along the grass of the riverfront when they were teenagers and bored to death.

  “Here,” Ethan said when they reached the pavement of the road that led inside.

  “What are we doing?” Allie asked, following Ethan inside the bridge as he tugged her along.

  “You’ll see soon enough.”

  The only sound was the shushing noise of their shoes and the sound of the river running underneath the pilings when they moved forward cautiously.

  “I can’t even see it’s so dark in here,” Allie whispered. “What if a car comes?”

  “Nobody crosses the river at midnight. Don’t you know it’s the time for lovers?”

  “Is that what we are?” Allie said, leaning in to kiss the warm spot under his chin.

  “Not yet, my girl,” he said. “But hurry!”

  They kept walking, hanging on to each other, and then Ethan said, “This is it. Right here. We are now standing directly in the center of the bridge.”

  His voice echoed in the cavernous bridge, sounding just like they were in a tunnel.

  “How do you know for sure we’re in the middle?”

  Allie could have sworn that Ethan blushed at the question, despite the darkness.

  “I came earlier to scout it out and mark how many steps it was,” he admitted, tightening his grip on her hand as they walked.

  “You adorable man,” Allie said, touched at the attention to detail he’d taken to making tonight perfect.

  The smell of the river rose up around them, the gurgling of the St John’s with its grassy rushes along the banks.

  Deep blue sky dotted with brilliant stars illuminated the sky through the cavernous opening of the bridge.

  “I can hear the waterfall moving below us,” Allie said. “Fish jumping. It sounds magical.” She glanced behind her in the opposite direction —to that world far beyond their small town. “Are you sure we’re not going to get run over by a sudden, speeding truck filled with reckless teenagers?”

  Ethan laughed. “Positive. Because tonight my dream is coming true. I get to kiss Allie Strickland inside the Heartland Cove Bridge at midnight. I’ve been waiting a long time for this, you know. More than ten years.”

  “You’re a mighty patient man, Ethan Smith.”

  “I think my patience is about to be re
warded,” he murmured, taking her in his arms and pressing his lips against hers.

  Allie clasped her arms around his neck, her heart racing, her temperature rising. Ethan pulled her closer, his hand on the back of her head as they kissed and kissed and kissed in the evening of a long summer’s day.

  Absolutely nothing was better than kissing Ethan Smith at midnight on the Heartland Cove County Bridge.

  Chapter 25

  A week after returning from their honeymoon to Prince Edward Island, Allie and Ethan sat amidst the torn up walls and the new foundation of the Heartland County Historical Society’s site.

  Piles of fresh lumber gave off a sharp, pungent tang in the crisp afternoon. Snow drifts still piled under the woody pines, but an unexpected day of sunshine had melted the area around the house and the new roof kept the two newlyweds from completely freezing.

  Bundled in her coat, mittens, and hat, Allie gave a wave when she spotted a car sputtering up the drive.

  A minute later, Marla stepped out, slamming the door and carrying a large gift bag in her hand. “You two are insane! You’re going to lose your toes out here it’s so cold! You do realize that it’s January, right?”

  Allie jumped up to give her friend a hug. The signature scent of Marla was now film developing fluid and fresh cut paper. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

  “I just got the pictures developed from your wedding and couldn’t wait to show you. Plus, I have great news. I’m teaming up with Ava at Heartland Inn. She offers wedding package stays at the B&B, but we’re now teaming up to include Marla’s Magical Moments as part of the package to couples. Hopefully that will help both of our businesses.”

  “That’s fantastic, Marla!” Allie said, reaching out to embrace her. “I guess we’re both staying in Heartland Cove for awhile, eh?”

  Marla gave an amused snort. “Never saw it coming, but now all I need to do is import a devastatingly handsome billionaire and life will be perfect.”