A Bride for the Billionaire Bad Boy (The Romero Brothers, Book 2)

by Richards, Shadonna

  Look over incident report from Mom’s fall and speak to in-charge nurse at the time of incident

  Read over research study that will help Mom then give consent if agree with terms

  Pay the overdue invoice from the nursing home

  Settle collection notice for Mom’s old cell phone service; have disconnected since not in use

  Buy Mom a pay-as-you-go phone at the grocery store for emergencies

  Buy something edible to put in empty fridge

  Go to the department store and pick out Lucy’s baby shower gift…

  The eighth item on her scribbled note brought a giddy feeling inside Maxine’s whole being. She was so happy for Lucy and Antonio having a baby but an added benefit was attached to that. The invitation she’d received said the July baby shower would be a barbecue at the Romero Estate along with a Jack and Jill shower. Which meant Yay! Guys and gals would be there. She was sure Lucas would attend, too.

  What was with her? Was she that desperate to catch a glimpse of him again? Yes.

  He’d pretty much avoided seeing her during the past few weeks, which completely irked Maxine. She’d hoped he would have at least stopped by to say "hi" again or see how she’s doing since the detective showed up.

  But then again, she guessed, he was probably handling things from the background. After all, the tech guy from his company was super sweet and respectful to her, as if she was Lucas’s number one preferred customer or something.

  Maxine was going to go crazy if she didn’t see Lucas again. She needed to feel his lips on hers. Even if he only brushed his lips on her hand. The feeling he left her with still made her tingle inside. What a soft kiss that was.

  As she walked across the parking lot towards the entrance of the nursing home, a smile touched her lips. She was about to visit her mother but she wished her mother knew her and she prayed things could be normal, like bringing home a hot guy like Lucas to introduce to her mother as her future son-in-law. Yeah, she wished. If only!

  Maxine knocked on the door of her mother’s room before entering. “Hey, beautiful princess, how are you feeling today?” Maxine asked as she entered with a smile and a Tim Horton’s bag of fresh pastries. Her mother loved pastries from Tim’s for as long as Maxine could remember. Especially the Maple Pecan Danish. Mmm. Delicious. She even had it warmed up for her in the pantry before heading to the room.

  “Hey, welcome to my castle,” Dora beamed as she welcomed her adopted daughter. She opened her arms and made gestures to show off her surroundings. “I have a table set for you over there. Would you like my servants to get you something to eat, my dear?”

  Maxine’s heart hiccupped but a warm feeling settled in her soul because she was hopeful for her mother. She was used to her mother’s behavior.

  “No, thank you, Mom. I’m fine right here beside you.” Maxine smiled warmly as she sat beside her mother at the bedside. When she’d first noticed her mother’s symptoms, Maxine didn’t know what to do. She played along at first but was told by the doctor that it was best to gently redirect to reality if at all possible. Her mother was always fixated on being a princess and having all the love in the world. Who could blame her? She’d been through so much heartache in her life, she deserved some fantasy. Maxine wished she could give her mother everything right now.

  Her mother’s hair hadn’t been washed yet and that crushed her spirit. She didn’t even know if her mother was bathed yet. Staffing was incredibly short at the nursing home. Maxine desperately wished she could hire a personal nurse to be with her mother twenty-four-seven when she was not there. Maxine took off her cardigan and placed it over the chair back.

  “Here, Mom, I brought you your favorite. Pecan Danish.”

  “Oh, joy!” Dora clasped her hands together. “I don’t know who you are but thank you so much.”

  Maxine’s eyes stung with hot tears. Even though she’d called her “Mom” a few times since entering the room, Dora had forgotten. Her mom had seen better days. She wasn’t always pleasantly confused. There were some days when she was more lucid.

  The trouble with her mom’s dementia diagnosis was that it was nonspecific. Some people with dementia could get confused and be unable to remember names or places while others were impaired in their daily living routines. But it was the change in personality and her mom’s social behavior that made Maxine seek help initially.

  She was glad she did when she did. Her mother’s behavior was becoming out of control at home and after neighbors found her climbing the tree outside their apartment building in the middle of the night things had turned for the worse. She was taken in to the local hospital.

  Still, Dora had good days and Maxine was well aware that dementia was treatable but the one shred of hope she held on to was that it was also reversible.

  “Maxine, good to see you today.” Dr. Branson walked into the room with a chart in his hand.

  “Oh, hi there.” Maxine spun her head around after wiping the teardrop off her cheek.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Oh, I’m good thanks. Just tired.”

  “She’s such a sweetie, you know,” Dora chimed with her mouth full of pastry. “She is a good servant. Look what she prepared for me in the kitchen. I should give her a raise.”

  Dr. Branson smiled at Dora. “Well, Dora, I think you’re very lucky to have Maxine here. I don’t think she’s a servant, though. She’s a wonderful daughter.”

  “Oh?” Dora looked surprised at first. She looked at Maxine, then back to Dr. Branson, then shrugged and finished eating her Danish pastry, licking her fingers.

  “Dora, I’m just going to speak with your daughter for a moment. Is that okay?”

  “Yes, please don’t mind me. I’m off to visit my friend soon.”

  Dr. Branson nodded and guided Maxine outside to the hallway. “How long has she been like this? All night?” Maxine asked concerned. “I thought she was getting better with the new medication.”

  “Oh, she is, Maxine. It’s just that at times, your mother would regress to an earlier stage but we’re monitoring the situation very closely.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Listen, I don’t mean to pry, but how are you doing?”

  “Oh, I’m…okay. I just had a moment there when she didn’t know me again.” Maxine felt a lump in her throat. Her mother had days when she would acknowledge her as her daughter but unfortunately today wasn’t one of them.

  “I know it can be hard. I just noticed you looked deep in thought there. For the past few weeks you’d been on cloud nine.”

  “On cloud nine?”

  Was it that obvious? That I had Lucas on my mind, fantasizing about him the whole time? Oh, how embarrassing. I must have looked like a complete idiot. And Lucas doesn’t even know I exist! He’s probably thinking about some other woman every waking minute.

  “Well, maybe I should clarify what I mean by cloud nine,” he said adjusting his specs. “It’s like someone in love,” he joked to her. “Not that it’s any of my business, of course. I just want to see all my patients and my patient’s families happy. Especially when we see you in here almost every day without fail. As I’ve said before, it’s wonderful what you’re doing but you need to give yourself a break. You don’t want to burn yourself out. Then what good will that do for your mother?”

  “You’re right, Dr. Branson. I just…” really need to get a life, I suppose.

  Maxine spent the next half hour discussing her mother’s care with Dr. Branson before going back to spend the rest of the time with her mother. The visit turned out to be more rewarding as her mother came around at times. She then asked for some assistance in finding towels and a new gown so that she could bathe and dress her mom. She also washed her mother’s hair and brushed it as if she were a princess getting ready for a royal visit. Maxine was satisfied when she’d left her mother.

  When she got back to the car in the parking lot, she wiped the sweat from her brow. The sun was getting hotter but Maxi
ne was also tired. She still had a few more stops to make before heading home.

  To the department store.

  Maxine picked out a beautiful gift set and a lovely bedding set for Lucy and the baby. She then went to a specialty store in the plaza adjacent to the mall where she had the gifts personalized with a message to the baby from Maxine, the baby’s future godmother. It was difficult to pick out a perfect gift for someone who actually had money but she thought every mother would appreciate sentimental gifts.

  Later, she pulled up in the garage of her apartment building with a few shopping bags in her hands. When she got out of the elevator on the eleventh floor, she fished for her keys in her bag and yanked them out. When she reached her door, her mouth fell open. She dropped her bags on the floor by her feet, her keys frozen between her fingers. She didn’t need a key to get into her apartment. The door was wide open! Her home had been broken into and trashed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “What?” Lucas fumed. He felt a surge of heat fire through his blood. If anyone laid a finger on Maxine, he would make sure they would live to regret it.

  “Lucy got the call a few minutes ago,” Antonio said as he spoke to his cousin in the study.

  Since Lucy’s difficult pregnancy, Lucy and Antonio been spending more time at the estate than downtown, which made sense since their family doctor and trusted obstetrician was in Mayberry Hill and Lucy would eventually deliver at the local hospital. The Romeros had donated a wing to Mayberry General Hospital. It was private hospital with the latest state-of-the-art medical equipment.

  “So what happened?” Lucas demanded to know.

  “Well, the cops took the report and told Maxine to call someone close to her to spend the night. So she called Lucy.”

  “And?”

  “Lucy invited her to come stay with us, but Maxine told her she would prefer go to the nearest hotel. She only called Lucy to inform her in case Lucy tried to call her at home and didn’t get her.”

  “Is Maxine crazy?” Lucas thinned his lips in anger.

  “Lucas, don’t do anything foolish.”

  It was too late. Lucas didn’t know what got into him. But he was going to reach Maxine and make sure she was safe. He reached into this pocket for his smartphone and dialed one of his contacts.

  How the hell did that one slip by? He had people watch her office during the first two weeks since she’d received that note but things seemed under control then. He had someone watch her building to ensure she was safe, but again, he’d been given the green light and didn’t see the purpose in continuing his surveillance for her safety.

  Damn! Was he wrong? Lucas rarely took missteps. That was an oversight that would never happen again. He would see to that.

  “In which hotel is she staying?” Lucas asked pointedly. He was deeply agitated. He just didn’t know what came over him all of a sudden. Why did he have this reaction to Maxine? This was all too crazy for him right now but he didn’t have time to analyze his feelings for this woman, he just knew he had to act fast. She was in some kind of trouble and from judging her character over the past few months, she wasn’t the trouble-making type of girl.

  “Lucas, what are you going to do?”

  “That doesn’t answer my question, Antonio.”

  “I’m not telling you.”

  “She’s staying at the Fairmont Hotel.” Toni hobbled into the study with his cane.

  “Grandfather!” Antonio spat.

  “But Toni’s right, Lucas,” the senior Toni continued, acknowledging Antonio with a nod but not addressing him further. “Don’t do anything rash that would cause a scene, or Lord help us, a headline in the news.”

  “I won’t,” Lucas assured dryly.

  “That’s the same thing that got you in trouble at school, Lucas. Always standing up for anyone who was getting their butt kicked. Always fighting for the little guy and getting suspended.”

  Lucas growled. “This is not school, Antonio. Far different. Don’t even compare.”

  “But you don’t have all the facts. Shouldn’t you just leave it to the police? I know you’ve made an inquiry to a contact to likely interfere with the investigation, Lucas. Don’t go there.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, except to see if a friend in need could use a little help. I don’t back away when someone needs help.”

  “Oh, and I do?”

  “Boys, boys. Please! Let’s not argue over such nonsense,” Toni interjected.

  Lucas walked over to the counter by the door of the study and grabbed his keys off the top. “I’m heading into town, Gramps. My phone is charged so you can reach me if you need me.”

  Lucas thought he saw his grandfather grin but Antonio scowled. Lucas could see Antonio’s point but wasn’t really interfering. Yeah, it was his big cousin Antonio who had to help him out while in senior high when he would fight off bullies for his friends or stick up for someone who was being harassed by the authorities, only to get suspended in the process and take the rap for “stirring up trouble.”

  But as far as he was concerned, Maxine was practically family. She was a close friend of the family and they had business dealings together. Whoever attacked her, attacked him. He took what happened to her home personally. Very personally.

  “Thank you,” Maxine told the counter clerk as he handed her the key card for her room. She changed her mind about staying at the Fairmont Hotel. The clerk at the Fairmont could see her hesitation, and when she told him she was looking for something less expensive, he was kind enough to suggest the Hopeton Travel Lodge down the street. She just couldn’t afford the nightly fee at the Fairmont even though it would probably have been more secure. But what was she to do? She had no idea how long it would be before she could return home.

  Her stomach squeezed when she thought about her personal possessions being violated by some stranger. She almost felt violently ill as if she was going to throw up. Old photos of her mother when she was young and precious priceless family keepsakes were vandalized with spray paint and nail polish. Who would do such a thing? And why her?

  “Enjoy your stay, ma’am.” The clerk smiled at her.

  Maxine smiled weakly before turning to face the elevator. The ambiance at the motel was dim and soft. It was a travel lodge more than anything else. Still, it was better than staying alone in her ravaged apartment. Darn that security system in the building. It was virtually useless. Apparently someone else had their home broken into before and the security camera image came out too grainy to make any positive identification on the culprit who entered their building from the lobby. So much for that.

  Maxine turned around to look both directions before swiping her card in the door slot. She was beginning to feel more paranoid than ever.

  What had her life come to? This was not really one of those moments she wanted to have a reflection on where she was going in her life but she was forced to. When she got inside she slumped down in the chair and tossed her backpack to the floor. She held her head in her hands and let out a good cry.

  After a while of sobbing, she went to reach for the phone only to realize that it was two o’clock in the morning. Who could she call now? There was a passage she’d read somewhere in a book but she could not recall from where. She thought it could be from a later Hollywood screen legend. Was it Marlene Dietrich who once said: “It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”

  Maxine grinned and shook her head. She really wished she had such friends now.

  Later, Maxine ran a warm bath and dropped in some bath oils compliments of the travel lodge. She really needed to soak her troubles away. Sleeping was out of the question. She had just sent an email off to the office to let Betty know she would be in much later in the day. She had to itemize damage for the insurance company in the morning. Then a horrible thought struck her. Did she renew her renter’s insurance policy?

  Maxine slid down in the tub and tried to sink the worries of her day away. Her mother would tell her while growin
g up: “Worry don’t solve a thing. It only makes things look worse.” Maxine grinned. Those were the days, all right. Worrying about what happened would only give Maxine heartburn and elevated blood pressure. She would think about it tomorrow. Whatever was stressing her out.

  Right then she wanted to switch her thoughts to something more pleasurable. Like Lucas sexy-as-hell Romero. She remembered what he’d said about calling him if she ever needed him. She dreamed about acting on his offer but changed her mind. No way could she do that. He was probably just being polite and routine by giving her his business card. How many other women had he given out his business card to? What about that woman from the nightclub?

  She closed her mind to that thought. She thought instead of Lucas kissing her hand, only this time as Maxine closed her eyes luxuriating in the warm silky water, she envisioned Lucas kissing her nipple. She stroked her nipple under the water lightly imagining it was Lucas’s tongue and waves of pleasure pulsed through her body to her inner thighs.

  “Oh, Lucas,” she murmured. If only she could get a guy like that. A strong, handsome, powerful man who would move earth and heaven for the woman he loved.

  Oh, if only!

  After her bath, Maxine grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her. Then she grabbed her white towel-fabric robe compliments from the hotel. She pinned her dark hair up into a bun and went towards the bed feeling hot inside but was distracted when a knock befell the door.

  She glanced at the clock in the room.

  Who could be knocking on her door at this hour? Was it the concierge desk? Oh, God! Had her credit card been declined, too?

  Great! That was just the icing on the top of her cake of a disastrous day, wasn’t it?

  She looked through the peephole and her heart leaped in her chest. Maxine blinked thinking she was in a dream or hallucinating.

  Lucas Romero?

  What was he doing there?

  Lucy.

  It must have been Lucy who told him about her situation. But then she didn’t tell Lucy she’d changed her plans to come to the travel lodge. Perhaps Lucas went to the Fairmont and that clerk told him that Maxine was directed to check in at the lodge. Or maybe it was Lucas’s men. He wouldn’t do it himself. Not with him being locally famous.