by Ward, Penny
Grayson is standing there with a big smile on his face and four roses wrapped in newspaper in his hands.
I start laughing. “So you were serious?”
“Indeed I was,” he says as he hands the roses to me.
I take them from him and hand them to Rose so she can put them in a vase. “So where are we going?”
He smiles. “I was going to let you decide that.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really. Now are you ready to go? You look beautiful, by the way.”
“Yes, I’m ready and thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I say as I look him over.
He has on a pair of black jeans that fit him nicely with a white t-shirt.
I can tell being relaxed and under the radar is new to him but I really appreciate his efforts.
I wave goodbye to Rose and walk outside behind Grayson. I see him walk up to a black standard car, which must be at least ten years old.
“Where’d you get this car from? This doesn’t look like something you’d usually drive,” I say in shock.
“Because you said you wanted a regular guy, and none of my cars said regular guy, I bought one that did,” he says as he opens the door for me.
I get in and wait for him to get into the car himself. “So you’re telling me you went and bought a regular car just to impress me?”
He nods his head. “Yes, I did. It’s strange – who would have thought that my sports cars aren’t as much of a chick magnet as a standard family car? I’ve been playing this game wrong all along.”
We laugh out loud together.
“You’re something else, do you know that?”
“I’ve been told that a time or two. So where do you want to go?”
“Cook Up.”
A confused expression crosses his face. “You want to go to a cook up? I don’t even know what that is.”
I look at him and start laughing. “Are you serious? No, it’s a burger place. It’s nothing fancy but I love their food. It’s famous around here.”
“Now that you mention it, I have seen a sign for that place.”
“I love their food. Plus it’s not expensive like all of the other places. We can even split the bill.”
He nods his head and drives in the direction of the restaurant.
We ride in silence, enjoying each other’s company until he pulls up at the restaurant.
The restaurant is packed as usual but I don’t mind it at all and Grayson doesn’t seem to mind either.
“Welcome to Cook Up, may I take your order?” a teenager asks when we get to the front of the line.
Grayson studies the menu but I already know what I want.
“I’ll have a chili cheese hot dog with fries, a sweet tea, and a strawberry fancy milkshake.”
She types it in and looks at Grayson. “What will it be for you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same thing,” Grayson states, unsure of what to get.
“Okay, and your total tonight will be $15.25.”
I happily split the bill with him.
We step to the side to wait for our order to be called and after we collect our food, we take a seat at one of the tables in the middle. I take a bite of my hot dog and my eyes roll into the back of my head. Yum.
“I take it you’re enjoying your food,” he says with a smirk.
I nod my head. “Yes, aren’t you?”
“Actually… yes. It’s better than I thought it would be,” he says as he takes another bite.
“What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know, just regular fast food, I guess, but they make their stuff fresh and with the real stuff.”
I laugh. “You’re crazy.”
“So why do they call they’re milkshakes fancy?”
“Not sure but they are really good. You almost always have to eat them with a spoon. It’s why I always drink mine after I eat my food. Give it a chance to melt down a little.”
He takes a sip of the milkshake and a slow smile spreads across his face. “It is good.”
I take a sip of mine and nod my head. “Best milkshakes in the area.”
“So how’d you stumble upon this place?”
“I know all of the places to eat when on a budget. Doesn’t just have to be Mickey D’s dollar menu.”
He laughs. “With all the money your Mom married into, I’m surprised you just didn’t ask her to help you out.”
“I have a hard time asking for help. I like to do things on my own.”
“Is that why you were working at the strip club?”
I nod my head.
“I wanted to make my own money. I know stripping is looked down upon and some strippers really give the rest of us bad reps, but it paid the bills and I have plenty of those.”
“I like that about you.”
“Like what?”
“That you can handle yourself. That you want to be independent. Most women I know are looking for someone to take care of them or don’t have a single original thought in their minds.”
“I don’t know what kind of women you’ve been talking to, but remind me not to hang out with them.”
He laughs. “You won’t have to worry about that. So what do you want to do now?”
I take another sip of my milkshake. “How about we walk along the pier?”
He smiles, “I haven’t done that since I was a little kid.”
“Well, let’s get out of here and live a little.”
He laughs again and grabs his milkshake off the table.
I grab mine, too, and place our trash in the trashcan as we walk out of the door. He drives the short distance to the pier and we get out of the car. The air is so much fresher here. Grayson holds my hand and we walk slowly along the water’s edge.
“This is nice,” he says as his he looks out to the water.
The moon is sitting high, reflecting beautifully off the still water. It was a sight to behold.
“Yeah, it is beautiful,” I say.
“I never really done anything like this on a date before. Then again, I never really dated.”
In the quiet moments between us, my thoughts race a thousand miles an hour.
“You seem like a different person tonight,” I blurt out.
He sighs, “I’m still the same person.”
“But you seemed like such a pig when we first met?”
“I guess that’s my defense. That’s my way of dealing with people because all the people around me just want money. Most people at family functions are leeches trying to suck every cent out of the family. I just expected that you were another one of those.”
I nod, “That’s deep.”
“I spend a lot of time by myself so I have a lot of time to think.”
“You spend a lot of time by yourself?” I question.
“It can be quite lonely having a lot of money,” he sighs.
“I just thought you were born arrogant,” I giggle.
“Arrogance is the shield I hide behind. I long for someone to want me for me but it seemed to never happen until I met you. I guess that’s why I came off as being a jerk.”
“That’s understandable. With all that you’re worth, I’m sure people are fake around you all the time.”
“You have no idea. So tell me something about you.”
“I’m very self-conscious and I don’t think I’m as beautiful as all of the women who are around me.”
I’m talking without thinking again.
I should have said something confident and impressive… but no – I have to blurt out all my insecurities on the first date.
“Really? I would never guess with the job you held.”
“Got to hide behind the makeup. No one could see the real me.”
He nods his head and pulls me closer. I inhale his scent and get lost in it. He was showing me everything I wanted in a guy and I hope that he wouldn’t ever hurt me.
“You know, I could hold you like this forever.”
“I could let you hold me like this forever.”
He looks at me in my eyes and starts to passionately kiss me.
Oh…
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. My heart starts racing and my hold body starts tingling with passion.
Every time he touches me, I feel myself losing a little more piece of me to him but right now, I don’t even care.
I am going to live in the moment and enjoy this.
Grayson breaks off the kiss and my body starts to feel cold.
“Now I definitely could get used to that,” he says with a wink.
“I know, but we’re taking this slow. I don’t want to get hurt,” I say as I look him in his eyes.
“We’ll take it as slow as you want to go. We have the rest of our lives.”
“Now I definitely like the sound of that,” I say as I kiss him, looking forward to what our future holds together.
Epilogue
One year later…
“Rose! Can you help me move my boxes?” I yell down the hallway.
She walks into the room with a small pout on her face. “I can’t believe you’re moving out. I’m going to miss you.”
“I know, but it’s time for me to take things to the next level with Grayson plus… we’re about to be expecting something and it will work best if we’re together.”
A confused expression crosses her face. “What are you expecting?”
“You’ll find out soon but I haven’t even told him yet.”
“I don’t like you being so secretive.”
“I know, but it will all be worth it.”
“I’m going to miss you so much,” Rose pouts again.
“But you’ll be so busy with this new club, that you won’t have time for me anyway.”
“Thank you,” Rose smiles.
“I’ve told you that you don’t have to thank me,” I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes again.
“But I want to. Thank you for lending me the money to start my own club. It means the world to me to do this. That has always been my dream.”
“It’s my pleasure to help my best friend.”
We embrace in another tight hug. We have hugged so much lately.
The doorbell rings and I rush to go answer it.
Grayson is standing there with a big smile on his face. “I can’t believe we’re actually moving in together.”
I kiss him on the cheek. “I know, right? I’m really excited. Plus… I have some news for you.”
“What is it?”
“Hold on. Rose! Come in here! I’m about to spill the news.”
Rose comes into the living room. “Okay, so spill it already. I don’t like to be kept out of the loop.”
I laugh. “Well, you two will be pleased to know that I am pregnant!”
“Wow, really?” exclaims Rose.
“Are you sure?” asks Grayson as he swoops me up into a hug.
“Yes, I’m sure. I took the test last week and then the doctor confirmed it for me. We’re having a baby!”
“Oh, my gosh! I’m so happy for you two.”
“Wow, baby! I don’t even know what to say. I love you.” Grayson’s mouth almost drops to the floor.
“I love you, too, baby,” I say as I kiss him passionately.
“Oh, gosh, get a room!” exclaims Rose.
“Oh yes, we will,” I smile.
The End
Romance:
The Billionaire’s Pleasure
Penny Ward
Chapter 1
I love returning to the countryside.
I love the relaxed vibes, the lack of hustle and the endless possibilities. Every paddock is full of dreamy long green grass, beautifully kept horses and endless wonder. I haven’t returned to the countryside for many years but I love it when I am here. I can feel my entire body relax as I breathe in the clean country air. As soon as I fill my lungs with a deep breath, all my stresses and pains are forgotten.
Not so long ago, my life was magnificent.
I had graduated with honors in law from a good university, landed my dream job, and was dating my perfect man. My life was perfectly mapped out and planned, and it was all going to design. Over the next ten years, I was going to marry my boyfriend in a large, joyous wedding, then we would buy a house in the suburbs and have two children – a boy and a girl. I would then return to work after spending five years at home with the children, and work my way up the corporate ladder.
My life had no risk or excitement and that was how I preferred it.
But all that changed two months ago.
My dream boyfriend, Joel, was having an affair with his blonde, bouncy, bimbo secretary. It explained all those late nights at work and all those weekend trips away. The relationship was happening behind my back for six months before I found out.
Prick.
My dream job turned into the career from hell. I am in the office at seven o’clock in the morning and leave at eleven o’clock at night. My boss is a sexist pig who touches my perky butt at every opportunity.
Bastard.
And then I found out that my mother is getting remarried.
Sigh…
It’s a sad state of affairs when your mother has a better love life than you. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother and I want the best for her, it’s just… I wish my life were going as well as hers.
My mother, Laura, has had a lot of ups and downs in her life and deserves to find love. She put up with my drunken father for too many years before gaining the courage to kick him out. I hear from him occasionally and I think he is currently living in Europe, acting like a drunk.
I spent the first half of my childhood in the countryside where my father worked as a farmer. My father would come home from a hard days work on the land, drink too much and then yell, and occasionally hit, my mother. She’s a country girl at heart but one day she had enough. He tried to hit her but she fought back, striking him with a frying pan. I was only eight years old but I remember clapping when he fell to the floor.
That night, Mom was frantic. She grabbed two suitcases and loaded us onto a bus heading to New York.
I loved it.
Through my innocent eyes, it was a city full of endless opportunity. I loved the change of pace and the fast action of the big city. Things are always going at full pace in New York and sometime, I struggle to keep up.
But the city makes me feel alive.
Mom was single for the next twenty years as she struggled to find her way. She was always a country girl and she never found the right type of man in the city. Mom met Timothy, a ranch owner from the country, on an Internet dating service. I warned her against using any services but Timothy turned out to be pure gold.
He was the perfect match for her.
They communicated online for months before they gained the courage to meet. He made the trip to New York and met Mom in a busy bar. She said she had never seen a man more uncomfortable in the city but she was smitten by his handsome looks.
She happily packed up her things and moved back to the countryside six months later. Twelve months after that, they are preparing for their wedding.
They have planned to have the ceremony in the backyard of their ranch with views out to snow-capped mountains. The ranch is in a remarkable and stunning location, with a large homestead as the centerpiece. Timothy has two hundred horses that he runs from the estate, and is the major employer of the people from the nearby local town, Cider Springs.
Mom says that she already knows most of the community by their first name. The whole town has embraced her with open arms and she has never felt more at home and comfortable.
I met Timothy once before when I flew out for their engagement party. Timothy’s first wife passed away over thirty years ago, which left him to raise his only son alone. My Mom tells me that he worked very hard to teach good values to his son.
This marriage also means I have a new instant family, not that I want one.
&n
bsp; When I came out to the engagement party, I didn’t get to meet the son, Jackson Steele. He was too busy with work, apparently. Who is too busy that they can’t even make it to their own father’s engagement party?
As I exit my car after driving up to the long driveway of the ranch, a familiar figure comes running out the front door of the homestead.
“Rachel!”
Joanne, my much-loved younger cousin, greets me with enthusiasm. Our mothers are sisters and we went through a lot together. Neither of us had siblings, so we looked to each other a lot for support during our childhoods. There’s two years difference between us but that never mattered.
We are as close as one could hope.
“It’s so good to see you,” the tears well up in my eyes as I embrace Joanne in a tight hug.
“You’re looking well,” she comments.
That’s not true.
I know I look tired. And I look tired because I haven’t eaten or slept much lately.
“So do you,” I reply. That is the truth.
Joanne is now twenty-six years old and she has blossomed into a beautiful woman. Her long blonde hair drapes elegantly over her shoulders and she moves with a sexy rhythm.
“How’s that man of yours?” I ask.
“He’s well. He couldn’t make out to the wedding because of his work, but he is looking forward to meeting you. I’ve told him all about you and he really wants to meet you. We should be able to come over to your apartment next month for dinner. You can meet him then.”
“I would love to meet the man who tamed you!”
She laughs, “He hasn’t tamed me. I’m still a wild one!”
She growls like a tiger and we laugh joyfully together.
It feels so nice to laugh again.
“And you? How are you holding up?”
Joanne should know better than to ask that question. She knows my life has fallen apart. She knows that all my best-laid plans have been messed up. I shrug my shoulders to her and she embraces me in a hug again.
“Where are you staying?” I ask Joanne.
“I’m staying with my mother in one of the local’s houses. They’ve been kind enough to put us up for a few nights. Apparently the only hotel in town booked out very quickly when the wedding was announced. It sounds like the town has doubled in size for this weekend. There are even people camping at one of the farms. I don’t think towns like this are built for a large influx of people. Where are you staying?”
