The Billionaire's Secret (Betting on You Series: Book One)

by Jeannette Winters

  He looked at his watch and saw it was 1:30. It was too late to stop her now. He knew exactly where she’d gone—home. When she got there, she’d find him waiting for her, and this time he’d make sure he made his feelings clear. He’d be there for her, for him, for their future, because he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  Picking up the phone, he called Matt. “Change of plans. Have the jet ready for takeoff in forty-five minutes. I want the shortest route back to Rhode Island. I will be in touch on the plane, regarding further details. You can cancel the reservation for tonight and compensate them for any inconvenience. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jon had traveled light, so he was able to quickly throw his things in his bag. Then he headed for the airport. There were many things he enjoyed about traveling via private jet—one was the lack of long layovers as the planes fueled up. He confirmed Lizette’s flight was scheduled to be back in the States tomorrow night around nine p.m. He should arrive by four p.m. if all went well. Though he was tempted to meet her when her plane landed and tell her exactly how he felt, he knew there were a few things he needed to address beforehand. The first thing he needed to do when he landed was see her parents, whom he had not met, and formally ask for her hand in marriage. While traveling he could make all the other arrangements he needed for one hell of a welcome home.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Jon arrived at the Burkes’ home close to four p.m. There was plenty of time to talk to them before Lizette’s plane landed.

  He normally wasn’t a nervous man. In fact, he usually made the people around him nervous. It wasn’t the people he was going to see who were making him nervous; it was what he was going to say to them, the truth about the last few weeks. These were things he should have said to Lizette, but that would have to come later.

  Getting out of the car, he went to the porch and knocked on the door. If Mr. Burke decided to punch his lights out, who could blame him? If he had a daughter, he’d probably want to do the same thing.

  A woman in her early fifties answered the door. “May I help you?”

  Clearing his throat he said, “I am looking for Mr. and Mrs. Burke, the parents of Lizette Burke.”

  “I’m Pattie Burke, her mother.”

  “I was hoping I could have a moment of your time.”

  She looked him over and said, “Won’t you come in?”

  Here goes nothing, he thought as he entered. A man who looked to be in his late fifties joined them in the foyer.

  “You must be Mr. Burke.”

  “Yes, I am Greg, her father. We’ve been expecting you. It’s about time you made your way here. Let’s go in the sitting room; I think we have a lot to talk about, young man.”

  “Yes, sir, I believe we do.” Greg gestured for him to follow Pattie.

  Greg turned to his wife and said, “Maybe you can give us men a few minutes alone?”

  She looked at Jon and then turned to her husband. “Not on your life. She is my daughter too,” she said firmly.

  It looked like he was going to have to give the Burkes the long version of what had happened with their daughter. Mothers never accepted the short version. “Well, it appears you both know who I am.”

  “We do. We just want to know what you did to Lizette to make her run off like that,” her mother said.

  “I’m here to tell you everything and answer any questions you may have, as long as they’re not too personal, which I’m hoping you understand.”

  “Let’s start with an easy one first,” her father said. “Why are you here now?”

  “Because I love your daughter and wish to marry her,” he stated.

  Pattie reached her hand out to her husband, who gave it a supportive pat. Jon could tell that wasn’t what they’d expected to hear. Lizette’s father said, “By the news on the television and local newspapers, you two are already engaged. But by my daughter’s actions, you are not. Which is it, Mr. Vinchi?”

  “We are not,” he admitted regretfully. “I would like to explain the details of how this all came about.”

  “Please do, Mr. Vinchi,” her mother said.

  “Please call me Jon.” They nodded and he began to tell the entire story, from how he met Lizette at the charity event four weeks ago to how he’d manipulated the details of his sponsorship of Another Chance to bring her to New York.

  “Oh, my, we thought she wasn’t happy about going because she was nervous about living in such a large city,” her mother said. “I even encouraged her to go!”

  “Jon, I hope this gets better because right now it sounds a lot like you took advantage of my daughter,” her father stated sternly. “I’m sure you see how this would not sit lightly with us.”

  “Sir, I know how it looks. It wasn’t my intention to hurt her. I had feelings for her even then. My mistake was in not expressing them to her.”

  “Can you please explain why my daughter thought you were engaged?” Greg asked. “Why the world believes you are engaged? If your engagement wasn’t real, why didn’t you correct the press at that time? And why didn’t Lizette know it wasn’t true?”

  “Yes, sir, I can.” Jon told them how Lizette had passed out in his office and what had transpired once she reached the hospital. “I know it looks bad. Yes, I lied, but only because I was desperate to get in that hospital room and see for myself she was okay. They wouldn’t share any information with me, and all I knew was how she looked when they transported her by ambulance.” He paused because the memory of her lying on the floor of his office, unconscious and unresponsive, still shook him. “I couldn’t even think straight. All I knew was I couldn’t lose her. I had to do something.”

  Her mother sat quietly, watching him for a moment, before asking, “Does Lizette know everything now?”

  “Almost everything.”

  “What doesn’t she know?” she asked.

  “That I love her,” he said.

  “Well, then I guess you’d better tell her, before it’s too late and you lose her for good,” she said.

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Well, she isn’t,” her mother said. “She left two weeks ago. We don’t even know where she went. All she said was she needed time. We don’t know when she’ll be back, either.”

  “She went to Japan to fulfill a childhood dream.”

  “Japan?” her father said. “All these years and she’s still chasing her dream of becoming a Japanese chef?”

  “Are you sure she’s there, Jon?” her mother asked.

  “Yes. I was with her a day and a half ago in Tokyo.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell her all this when you saw her?” she asked.

  I had every intention to, but then she fled. “It was a mistake I won’t make a second time. Her plane is scheduled to land in Boston tonight at nine. That is why I’m here.”

  “She doesn’t live here, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. I wanted to tell you the truth about everything myself.”

  “Thank you for that,” her father said.

  “And I also would like to ask your permission to marry your daughter.”

  Her mother gasped, then began to cry. She turned to her husband, awaiting his answer.

  “You have our permission, Jon, but the final decision will be Lizette’s.” He extended his hand to Jon, who happily took it.

  Pattie, on the other hand, got out of her seat and gave him a huge motherly hug. Her approval didn’t mean he was going to get the answer he wanted when he asked Lizette, but at least he now knew her family would support her decision if she said yes.

  “I only have one request. Please don’t tell her I’m in town. I want to surprise her when she gets home.”

  “Jon, I hope you know what you’re doing. Things don’t seem to have gone as you planned so far,” her father said.

  “I’m not holding anything back this time.”

  “Good. Now that that’s settled, why don’t you stay and have d
inner with us?” her mother said. “It’s still early, and she won’t make it home until at least ten or eleven, depending on traffic. And it will give us some time to get to know you better.”

  Jon graciously accepted the offer from the woman who he hoped would soon be his mother-in-law.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Lizette had been in such a hurry to make her flight she hadn’t realized she’d packed her laptop in her suitcase. Since she left Japan she had not checked her email once, and this would have been a good time to catch up on what was going on in the world, in her small world. It seemed she been so caught up in her own life she’d lost track of everything else. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d picked up a newspaper. But really, how much could have changed in the two weeks she was gone? Nothing really ever changed in Chepachet. It was a quiet, low-crime town. The last big piece of local news had been her involvement with Jon, and that must be old news and forgotten by now.

  It was amazing how long the flight home was. It had seemed so much shorter on the way to Japan. Maybe it had been her excitement at fulfilling her dream or encountering all the new sights and smells—whatever it had been, that flight flew by. Now, every time she looked at her watch, only five minutes had passed since the last time she’d checked. She’d intended to sleep most of the way home, but that didn’t happen either, as the flight seemed to be full of way too many unhappy toddlers who were also suffering from boredom. When one child stopped crying, another one picked up the slack. Oh, yes, this was the flight from hell. How could people do this all the time? It wasn’t only physically exhausting, it was emotionally and mentally draining as well.

  When she finally did fall asleep, she was haunted by thoughts of Jon and what their future could have been if only he loved her. When she awoke, the older woman next to her offered her a tissue. Lizette realized she’d been crying in her sleep. Her fellow passenger asked, “Are you all right, dear?”

  Totally embarrassed, Lizette answered, “Yes, thank you.”

  “It’s a long flight. If you need someone to talk to, I’m willing to listen.”

  Forcing a smile, she said, “I’m okay, really.” Did she look so bad that a total stranger was offering her a shoulder to cry on? What did she say in her sleep? It couldn’t have been any worse than the truth. She was running away from a man she loved because he didn’t love her in return. It sounded pretty lame when she said it to herself; she could only picture what the woman’s response would be.

  Why couldn’t she have found a way to enjoy the time she had with him? Even if he didn’t love her, there was something special between them. Many people never get to experience what she’d had with him—and it wasn’t just the sex, though that had been absolutely amazing. There was more to it. She remembered how they laughed together when they stayed up all night watching movies and playing cards. When you stripped away his money and power, there was a good man there. He was going to make some woman a wonderful husband someday.

  That thought alone caused another tear to roll down her cheek. She needed to find a way to distract herself from her own thoughts. She turned back to the older woman and began to ask her questions. Small talk could be the answer to this long flight.

  “Do you travel a lot?” she asked. For the next several hours, the woman told her about each trip she had taken during the last fifty years. This woman was well-traveled, and by the sound of it, she wasn’t going to stop her adventures anytime soon.

  Before Lizette knew it, the pilot was on the intercom stating they would be arriving at Logan Airport within thirty minutes. Almost home. Home. The word was bittersweet, yet it was still home.

  The plane landed, and as it taxied in she called her father. “Hi, Dad. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  “No, not at all. It’s good to hear your voice. We’ve missed you here.”

  “I’ve missed you guys too.” She paused, then continued, “My plane just arrived at Logan, and I really don’t want to take the train so late. Would it be too much trouble if you picked me up?”

  “Lizette, you should know better. It’s no trouble at all. That’s what dads do.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

  “Love you, too. I will be there in about an hour.”

  It seemed like it took forever for her luggage to come through, but she was in no rush. It wasn’t like there was anyone waiting for her at home. When she finally retrieved her bags, she went to sit at by sign that said Arrivals. One thing about her father—he was always on time.

  She only had to wait five minutes before her father pulled up in his gray Ford Fusion. At least she was prepared for the topic on the way home. Each time she got in his car he tried talking her into ditching her car and getting what he considered to be a more dependable vehicle. She loved him for always trying to take care of her. Maybe someday she would surprise him and take him car shopping with her. Maybe next year. Then she remembered she’d emptied her savings for this trip.

  Slipping into the passenger’s seat, she leaned across and gave her father a kiss on the cheek before buckling her seat belt. “Dad, I really appreciate this.”

  “Sweetheart, I’m glad we’ll get a little alone time. It seems we haven’t had much of that lately.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll try harder to make time for you and Mom.” And she really meant it when she said it. Time had a way of slipping through her fingers, and before she knew it, it was gone.

  “That would be nice. Maybe you can bring that young man of yours with you?”

  “Dad, there’s something I need to tell you. I should have told you before I left, but I needed a bit of time alone first.”

  “You can tell me anything. It’s not like you only have a mother, you know. I am here for you too. No matter how old you get, you’re always going to be Daddy’s little girl,” he said, patting her hand while he drove.

  Yes, she was lucky. She had two parents who loved her unconditionally, and even though she’d let them down all those years ago, they never brought it up to her. They may have forgiven her, but she hadn’t forgiven herself. The loss of the store was her burden to bear. And now she had to tell him the truth about Jon and their relationship. Another disappointment for them. They’d been so excited when she’d told them about the engagement. Now she had to tell them it was off. Or should she tell them the truth—it was never on? She decided on the “keep it simple” tactic she used at the office. Less is more.

  “Jon and I are not together any longer. It’s over.” That was short and to the point. Her father wasn’t one to ever ask many questions; she was hopeful that would be the end of the discussion. “I just want to go home and start fresh tomorrow.”

  “Lizette, you know I never give advice. Maybe that’s a bad thing, but I always believed you would ask if you wanted it.”

  She interrupted, “Yes, and I appreciate that.”

  He held her hand and said, “Well, there’s a first time for everything. I need to speak to you about something I should have discussed with you a long time ago.”

  Oh, God, not a sex talk, please, not a sex talk, she thought. “Dad, I had a really long flight. Can we talk about it another time?” Hopefully never . . .

  “No, Lizette, this is the perfect time to talk. I want to talk about how you changed when you came home from college. You went away a girl full of life, full of dreams, and somehow you came back, driven in a way I cannot fully explain.”

  Oh, great, the second topic she didn’t want to discuss: her first major failure. This hour-long drive was starting to feel longer than the flight from Japan. “I know, Dad. I should have said this a long time ago. I’m sorry I let you down. Sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. All I can say is I was young and foolish. If I could go back and change things I would. I would come home every weekend from college. I would have been there to help you with the store, with the books. Instead, I was selfish and chose to spend time with my friends—friends who, at the end of the day, weren’t frie
nds at all.”

  Her father pulled over, put the car in park, and turned to look at her. “What are you talking about? What apology do you think you owe us?”

  “I should have been there, Dad. If I had been there you wouldn’t have needed to sell the store to that corporate giant. You would still own the pharmacy instead of having to work for the people who took it all away from you.”

  “You think I lost the store because you weren’t there?” he asked.

  Her voice only a whisper, she answered, “Yes.”

  Her father let out a long laugh that shook the car. “Oh, sweetheart, is that why you came home and wouldn’t leave again? Because you thought I lost the store? That somehow you were to solve all our problems?” She nodded and he continued, “Well, let me tell you something. Yes, you are a brilliant accountant, and no one can handle books like you do. But your mother and I spent all our time working in the store—morning, noon, and night, year after year. We were never able to take a vacation because we couldn’t leave the store unattended. All the responsibility fell on us. That was fine when you were young, as we enjoyed bringing you to work with us if we needed to. But when you left for college, your mother and I decided it was time for us to start living as well. Yes, we were not in the best financial shape, but we did not have to sell. It was a conscious decision. A decision both your mother and I made to better our lives.”

  Lizette could not believe what she was hearing. They didn’t lose the store? They’d decided to sell it?

  “The arrangement was almost as good as retirement. For the first time, your mother and I could enjoy days off together, enjoy a lazy Sunday if we wanted. And not spend all our time worrying about you or the store. We made sure part of the agreement was both your mother and I could continue to work there, and with great benefits, too.”

  “Dad, thanks for clearing that up for me. I guess I should have asked questions back then instead of assuming the worst.”