Restless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series, #4)

by Mallory Crowe

  Once again, the Alex that she used to know.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, still not moving as those skeptical dark-cobalt eyes bore into her. As though if he looked long enough, he could learn everything he needed to know.

  Now or never, she told herself once again. “I’m here because I have a proposal for you.”

  “What kind of proposal?”

  And this was going to be the kicker that would either get her thrown out on her ass or be her salvation. “A marriage proposal.”

  9 Years Ago

  Alex heard the squeaking brakes of the moving trucks and knew his day was going to go downhill from here. He could get up to help unload, but he didn’t see the point. Walter had hired enough people to get the job done as efficiently as possible and the freeloaders would be gone just as fast as they came.

  Three things in life were certain. Death, taxes, and Walter never being able to hold onto a marriage. Alex assumed that once Walter got a vasectomy, he wouldn’t have to worry about any more kids showing up, but now Walter had to go and fall under the spell of a single mom.

  Alex had been furious when he found out Walter was going through another marriage, but it was half understandable once he’d met Nadia. Not for her personality—which was as fake as her tits—but for her looks. Walter had been with half the women in New York already, so it was going to have to take something special to get him to turn his head. And Nadia was exactly that person. Her Eastern European pale-blue eyes and natural hair that somehow looked bleached: she was utterly unique, and the second Walter had laid eyes on her, he’d claimed her for his own.

  And now that he had her, the countdown was on until he’d get sick of her.

  Alex stayed in the library and turned his focus to the online course he was taking over the summer. After taking a year off from school, he was trying to catch up and get his undergraduate degree. With Logan in prison, there was a big gap he needed to fill at the office, and he needed to get himself ready. He put on his headphones and got to work. After another hour, he took out an earbud but didn’t hear the movers bumbling around in the house. It was probably too early for them to be done, so he guessed it was break time.

  He stood and stretched. There was still a lot of studying to do, but he’d focus better if he got in a break and a snack. The French doors that led to the backyard had a view of the infinity pool and the ocean beyond. Except it wasn’t the view he was accustomed to. Because now his eyes were drawn to the skinny blonde walking toward the water.

  Ashley. She was like a mini version of her mother. Shorter, skinnier, and quieter. When Nadia and Walter were around, the sound of Nadia’s laughter would practically shake the walls. Which was especially annoying because Walter wasn’t even slightly funny on a good day.

  Except for a few failed attempts at small talk, Alex had barely talked to his new stepsister. He’d definitely never heard her laugh, especially on their parents’ wedding day. A fact that actually pushed her up in his opinion. She wasn’t off celebrating the big whale her mother had bagged like he’d expected. Though after what he’d said to her at the ceremony, he’d avoided her like the plague.

  Ashley wore pink shorts that stopped barely below her ass and a light-blue tank top with skinny little straps. Her pale, almost white hair was pulled back in a messy bun. He wondered whether she’d bought the plain clothes especially for moving day.

  She looked out over the water, but Alex couldn’t see her face. He wondered whether she was smiling at her success. Looking over the land that was hers now.

  But when she turned to look over her shoulder, he didn’t see any joy on her face. Just a pensive seriousness that didn’t seem natural for a fifteen-year-old. Sure, when he had been that young, he’d spent his fair share of time overlooking the water views. But Ashley was a hot teenager. She should be living it up.

  Then he realized she wasn’t just looking at the house. She’d noticed him and was walking past the pool and patio, straight toward him. Had she realized he was staring? Tough shit. She was a stranger in his territory. He was allowed to stare.

  He fell out of the caveman state of mind as she approached and he opened the back door. Ashley’s lips curved up but didn’t quite make a smile. Considering what he’d said to her the last time they’d talked, that was understandable.

  “I guess we’re roommates now,” she said tentatively.

  Interesting choice of words. Not family or siblings, but roommates. Simply two people inhabiting the same space. Pretty accurate.

  “Walter showed you your room?” he asked, not really sure how to have a conversation with someone he trusted so little but still had to live with.

  “Yeah. It’s really nice.”

  More silence spread between them. Alex was used to not caring about the quiet moments. If he was talking with someone he didn’t want to talk to, he would just leave. But he was staying here for the summer and so was Ashley, so leaving wasn’t really an option.

  “I didn’t know there was a pool.”

  “It’s a good pool.”

  “Very nice. I didn’t know people did that. Have the ocean and a pool. Like, just one is awesome enough, but to have both...”

  Alex frowned. She really was uncomfortable around him. “The ocean tends to be cold. Especially up here.”

  “Good point. I bet there are a lot of pools around here then.”

  Alex nodded, and once again there was an awkward silence. He should say something nice. Something to make her feel welcome and at home.

  But this wasn’t her home and he didn’t see any reason to get her hopes up.

  “I wanted to say thanks,” she finally said, and the real reason for her visit started to become clear.

  “Thanks for what?”

  “For not telling Walter about the—I mean the—I didn’t know,” she finally finished.

  Ahh. She’s grateful he didn’t tell Walter that his new bride had a bit too much fun while celebrating her last night of freedom. Specifically, too much fun with two different male strippers. Though they went above and beyond the normal stripper duties once Nadia had gotten them alone.

  “Walter wouldn’t want to know. No point in telling him.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the mid-fifties man wasn’t going to be able to satisfy his new young bride who practically oozed sex. He’d figure it out when he wanted to.

  “I still appreciate it. I know you don’t like us.”

  It was true, but when she said it out loud, it suddenly made him feel like a shittier person. “You don’t like me either,” he pointed out in a weak, juvenile excuse.

  Ashley shrugged, not disagreeing as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her breasts were smaller than her mother’s but they still pressed together and up with the movement. Alex forced himself to keep his eyes on her face. He didn’t need to be checking out the jailbait. She might look eighteen, but he knew better. Walter had had a vasectomy so he couldn’t be tricked into paying more child support, but Alex still planned on keeping his boys active a lot longer. Which meant stay the hell away from gold diggers.

  “I guess our opinion doesn’t matter,” she said.

  “Ashley!” called Nadia from the other side of the east wing, where the study was located.

  “I better go,” she said. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

  Alex didn’t say anything as she left, and he really wished his eyes hadn’t immediately gone to her ass in those short shorts. It was going to be a long summer.

  Present Day

  “You want me to what?” said Alex, not sure whether he was more surprised at what Ashley had said or the fact that she was here, in front of him.

  “I know it might be confusing, but if you hear me out, I’m sure we can figure out an agreement that will work for both of us.”

  “It’s not confusing. It’s insane.” Even though she was soaking wet and practically shivering with the cold, Ashley still held her head high as she spoke. As though she had ever
y right to ask a Farrell to marry her. Well, she did have a right to ask. But she looked as if she were a hundred percent sure he was going to say yes.

  “It’s not insane. I’d be the perfect wife. Give me the reasons you haven’t settled down yet and I’ll make sure I’m everything you want.”

  Alex was actually stunned speechless. In some part of his mind, he’d known he’d see Ashley again. After Nadia had left Walter, he’d always somehow managed to find out what happened to Walter’s fourth wife. Then her death had set off a round of gossip that even reached his circles.

  But he’d never expected he’d see Ashley like this. In his home, soaking wet, and speaking crazy things.

  “Have you been drinking? I can get a car to take you home.”

  She let out a bitter laugh and shook her head, running a hand through her wet hair. Even wet it was a bright yellow, a sign that it was that same ethereal color. Not that he expected her hair to change color. But every time he saw it, he was shocked that anyone could look like that naturally.

  “I don’t want to go home. I want to make a deal with you. So tell it to me straight, Alex. What do I need to do to get a ring from you?”

  Holy shit, she was serious. And from the clear way she was talking, he was becoming more and more convinced that she wasn’t drunk or under the influence of pills. “Ashley,” he said softly, “I haven’t seen you in years. What makes you think I’d want to marry you?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, as though picking her words carefully. “Because I know that you’ve always wanted me. And if you say yes, you can have me whatever way you want me. Whenever you want me. And all I need in return is one little ring.”

  Ashley didn’t know what reaction she thought Alex would have to her sudden proposal, but when he turned and walked out of the room, she was at a loss. Did that mean no? Was it his strange way of kicking her out of the house?

  Well, she’d be damned if she was letting him get off that easy. “Alex, get back here.”

  She followed him, but her boots slipped on the hardwood and she had to pause to catch her balance. To keep her from splitting her head open and as a defiant way of letting him know she wasn’t going anywhere, she took off her shoes.

  By then he was gone, but she followed the trail of lights and found him in the kitchen. The place hadn’t changed in nine years. It was in such good condition that she was betting the counters or cabinets had been redone in the same beachy style they’d been in before. The cabinets and counters were all white, but the big, oversized island in the center was all beautiful wood. She was sure Alex could tell her exactly what kind of tree it came from, but Ashley had never been that concerned with the fine details of the house. She’d always known she’d be leaving soon enough.

  But not now. Now she was staying forever. Alex would agree to marry her, damn it, and this was going to be her home.

  Alex was bending into the large refrigerator. As pretty as the kitchen was, it wasn’t made for the owners of the house to cook. It was made for caterers to come in and throw oversized parties in the backyard overlooking the ocean, where the guests would pretend that the normal gusts of wind off the Atlantic were charming and not about to blow every perfectly placed lock of hair awry.

  Alex banged the bottle of beer against the white counter under the cabinets and the metal cap clattered onto the marble. Apparently this was a conversation he needed alcohol to get through. She couldn’t fault him for that.

  He took a deep drink of the beer before he set it on the island and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t get it. Do you need money?”

  Oh! She knew he was going to ask her this and she already had an answer. “That’s the best part! I don’t need anything! I have my own money. I’m the only person you can marry who will never ask for a dime. I’ll use my own inheritance.”

  Another drink. “Then I’ve got nothing. Or did you just wake up one day and decided you were desperate to fuck me? Because I gotta tell you, you don’t need a ring for that.”

  The blood rushed to her cheeks. “I know that. But if you want me, you need a ring.”

  “I don’t need you.”

  She knew that. But she was counting on the fact that there’d still be something between them. “I know things, Alex. I know how guys like you work. The parties you go to, the outings you deal with, the endless golf. I can handle it. You can be with any woman you want to be with and I’ll wine and dine all your coworkers and potential business associates. I’ll be the perfect trophy wife.”

  He scoffed and shook his head. “I need something stronger than beer for this.”

  “Give me one thing you don’t think I can do and I’ll give you a counter argument.”

  “Sex.”

  “I already said—”

  “You said I could sleep around, but I wouldn’t be okay with my wife screwing guys behind my back.”

  Ashley shrugged. “Fine.”

  “Fine?”

  “Did I stutter?”

  “No, I heard you. I don’t believe it, though.”

  Ashley took a breath and steeled herself. She’d prepared this part of the conversation too. “They make things to help with that. I don’t need a real live person.”

  Alex tilted his head and gave her a skeptical look. “I know you. You’re your mother’s daughter.”

  “I’m not as much like my mother as you think.”

  “You two could practically be twins. Except for the—”

  “The boob thing.”

  His eyes narrowed as he took another drink of beer. Ashley couldn’t deny that Nadia had gone overboard with the boob jobs, but she’d eaten up the attention. “So I look like her. You know I’m not her. Come on, Alex. I can make you happy.”

  He downed the rest of the beer in one deep gulp and banged the glass bottle onto the island. “Come here,” he ordered.

  Ashley debated staying put, but she was here to show him exactly how good she could be for him. Which, in this case, meant coming to him when he asked her to. She moved one bare foot at a time as she went around the island and stood a few feet from him.

  He shook his head. “You’re over there now. I said come here.” He pointed to the floor right in front of him.

  He was testing her. This was one big game to see how serious she was. Well, he had another think coming, because she was all in. She closed the distance between them until there was only a millimeter keeping his probably designer black t-shirt from getting wet from her still damp v-neck blouse. “I’m here. Does this mean you’ll marry me?”

  Alex was taller than her by a good six inches, and she had to bend her head to look up at him from this distance. His dark hair was still disheveled from bed, and she could see the day-old stubble on his chin. Funny, he hadn’t had that when she’d known him.

  In the soft light of the kitchen, his cobalt-blue eyes looked darker; the line between iris and pupil was blurred. He stared so intently down at her and she tried to stand her ground. She knew she didn’t look her best. She was a master at makeup, from the natural look to full on false eyelashes.

  She’d started the day with a full face of makeup, but through the rain and the tears, she might as well be wearing nothing. Her skin didn’t look flawless, and the circles under her eyes weren’t carefully hidden under layers of concealer.

  But she looked up at Alex as if she were the sexiest woman in the world and she knew she had something he wanted.

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she knew she had him at least thinking about it. “Come on, Alex,” she said softly. “I can solve all your problems.”

  He swallowed. “You want to marry me? To be partners and deal with all the shit I don’t want to?”

  “Yep. And I’ll be great at it.”

  “Prove it then.”

  Ashley pulled away slightly. “Prove it how?”

  Alex bent down and kissed her. The initial shock of it had her standing there like a deer in the headlights, and he didn’t help. It wasn’t the kind of kis
s where he grabbed her and took over. No. This was his test. To see what she’d do.

  If he wanted an audition, she would give him an audition. She pushed up on tiptoes to kiss him back. Grasping the back of his neck and letting her body fall against his, she kissed him for everything she was worth. He opened his mouth and she playfully nipped his bottom lip; that was all it took. Alex seemed to break. His hands fell to her hips and pulled her fully against his erection; he bent his head for better access. A small moan escaped her as he pushed her back against the island. Now that she was held in place against him, his hands were free to roam up her body.

  But before they reached her breasts, Ashley pulled herself away. She tried to catch her breath and wasn’t sure how much to compose herself. Most guys would like it if a girl was into them. Well, at least she didn’t have to fake it. Alex was just as alluring to her now as he had been all those years ago.

  “Come on, Alex,” she said again. “Just say yes. We can get married as quickly as you want. Then you can have me.” She could practically see him finding ways to tell her no, so she took his hand in hers and moved it lower and lower until it was pressed in the juncture of her thighs. “This isn’t a joke. This isn’t a whim. I’m all in, Alex. If you want to be in too, let me know.”

  Alex pulled his hand away as if she’d burned him and stepped away. “You can stay here for the night, but in the morning, I want you gone.” Then he turned and left her alone in the kitchen to realize that she had nowhere to go.

  “If I remember correctly, this was your old room,” said the butler. When she’d asked, he’d introduced himself as Mr. Jones. As a teenager, Ashley had stopped trying to remember the servants’ names. It was only a matter of time before they wouldn’t be working for Walter anymore. There wasn’t any point in getting attached.