The Billionaire's Secrets

by Meadow Taylor

  And so it was going on eight before he and Chloe were finally alone together. He stoked the fire in his office and brought out a bottle of good wine. “I thought we could talk here. It’s cosier. Some of the rooms in this house are great to look at but hardly inviting to sit in.”

  Chloe had seen the “drawing room” and agreed. One felt too small in there, too dwarfed by the grand furnishings and massive paintings. She preferred Gaelan’s office with its comfortable furniture and Gaelan’s nature photographs over the mantle. She sat on the couch across from the fireplace, her feet curled up beneath her.

  Gaelan stood with his back to the fire, its crackling warmth a nice contrast to the water streaming down outside the windows. One of the windows was slightly ajar, letting in a cool breeze and the smell and sound of rain. He held his glass of wine, his eyes thoughtful.

  “You already know most of the story,” he began. "Some of what Bowen told you is true. As the eldest son, I inherited Widow's Cliff. As far as the rest of the estate went, it was divided equally between us. It was a modest fortune by today’s standards, but I put mine to work. With a bit of luck, it turned into a large fortune. Bowen, on the other hand, squandered his. He went to New York to study acting and just kept spending until it was all gone.” Gaelan did not elaborate on what, but he suspected that cocaine was one of Bowen’s many expensive tastes.

  “In the meantime, he had met Colleen. She was beautiful and ambitious, and while I do believe she loved him in her own way, she was definitely not happy when the well ran dry. So Bowen had the idea to introduce her to me. It was all an elaborate scheme on their part. I didn't know until several months after we were married that they even knew each other. I know Bowen told you I kept her prisoner here, but I didn’t. She was hardly ever in Newfoundland. She said she was going to auditions, but mostly she was seeing Bowen.” Gaelan almost shuddered as he recalled the humiliating discovery. He took a sip of wine to give him courage.

  “After I confronted Colleen, she didn’t even bother pretending her interest in me was anything other than mercenary. I decided to cut my losses and throw her out. No amount of money was worth living with such a farce of a marriage. I was about to propose a divorce settlement that I felt she wouldn’t be able to refuse when she announced she was pregnant." Keeping his voice flat and emotionless, he tried not to show his bitterness. He really had been happy when Colleen told him she was expecting a child. He had even hoped they might start again and have a real marriage. But it was a short-lived hope.

  “So I held off on suggesting divorce,” he continued. “Colleen didn’t seem to be in a rush anyway. Now that she had the goose that laid the golden egg, I don’t think she really cared for the idea of a divorce. And as I said, she was ambitious. I think being the wife of billionaire businessman Gaelan Byrne was much more appealing than being the wife of penniless, failed actor Bowen Byrne. And given that I was on to their scheme, she knew she would never get half my fortune as she and Bowen had originally planned on.”

  He took another deep breath and locked his eyes on Chloe's. “Anyway, Sophia was born, and for her sake, I tried to negotiate some sort of truce between us. But it was no good. Within weeks of Sophia’s birth, Colleen went back to acting, and it was Windy and myself who were left with Sophia. I don’t think Colleen had one speck of maternal instinct in her.” There was a crack of thunder, and both Gaelan's and Chloe’s attentions were momentarily diverted as a flash of lightning lit the windowpanes. The rain came down with a new strength of purpose, and Gaelan had to raise his voice a bit to be heard over the sound.

  “When Colleen didn’t show up to Sophia’s second birthday party, I decided enough was enough. But the very last straw wasn’t until a friend sent me a clipping from a tabloid that showed her at a party with none other than Bowen. The caption read something like Wife of billionaire Gaelan Byrne, Colleen is seen here with her actor brother-in-law, Bowen Byrne, at a Beverly Hill’s party. Colleen likes to keep things all in the family. Anyway, that was what she was doing on her child’s birthday. When she did finally make an appearance here, I told her I wanted a divorce and Sophia.” He paused and took a breath. He was coming to the hardest part of the story. The part he hoped Chloe could forgive him for.

  “But then she died.” Chloe said gently.

  “Not quite. I paid her a very handsome sum in exchange for a divorce and sole custody of Sophia. But before she could sign the papers, the accident happened...”

  “Bowen thinks you had something to do with her death.”

  “I didn’t,” Gaelan said firmly. "But there is something Bowen doesn’t know. Near the end, Colleen told me something. I hope it will help explain why I haven’t been a very good father.” He turned his back to Chloe and resting his elbows on the mantle buried his face in his hands. “Every time she calls me Daddy, I feel like I’m living a lie.” It was so hard to just come out and say it. Except for Marcus, he hadn’t told anyone, and here he was telling Chloe, the person whose opinion of him mattered more than anyone else’s. How would she feel when she learned he was keeping a secret that had such a profound effect on Sophia’s life?

  “What is it?” Chloe said, knowing something was terribly wrong. She got up from the couch, went over to him, and stroked his hair. “You can tell me, Gaelan. I’ll understand, I promise.”

  He turned around and looked at her. Her eyes were full of love for him, but still, he wondered if love was going to be enough.

  “Sophia is not my child. She’s Bowen’s.”

  Chapter 7

  Chloe stepped back, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Sophia is Bowen’s child?” she repeated. “It can’t be true.”

  “I’m afraid it is,” he said, and Chloe could hear the anguish in his voice. She longed to put her arms around him and comfort him. But first she needed to think. She thought back to her first night at Widow’s Cliff.

  “Is that why you don’t like Sophia calling you Daddy?”

  “Every time she calls me that, I feel like I’m making her tell a lie.”

  “Then Sophia doesn’t know Bowen is her father.”

  He shook his head. “How can I tell her? Suppose she wanted to meet her ‘real’ father. I can’t let that happen. Bowen can never find out Sophia is his daughter!” Gaelan held Chloe’s arms in a firm grip. “You do understand why, don’t you?”

  Chloe nodded. “I think so,” she said weakly. She tried to think of what she knew about Bowen. Bowen had wasted his inheritance. He then tricked Gaelan into marrying Colleen for his money while continuing to have an affair with her. She thought back to her own encounter with Bowen. He had lied about the relationship with Colleen, accusing Gaelan of having stolen Colleen from him. He then insinuated that Gaelan had a role in her death. He vandalised the Jeep, played the hero by offering her and Sophia a ride home, then fled the scene of the accident. It did not add up to a very flattering picture, but did it still justify keeping the truth from him? “Are you sure he doesn’t have the right to know?” she asked uncertainly.

  “If Bowen knew Sophia was his, he would immediately go for custody. I’m sure he’d see it as a way to get more money from me. If he got custody, I could never forgive myself. Bowen is a man who seeks out wealthy women for sex. In other words, he's a gigolo. What sort of an example is that for the child? What kind of things would she learn other than sex is sold to the highest bidder?”

  Gaelan was right, but Chloe didn’t need much convincing. It was horrifying to think of Sophia growing up under Bowen's influence. Still... “But even if Bowen knew, surely no court would give him custody,” she said incredulously.

  Gaelan dropped her arms, but his eyes never left hers. He was pleading with her to understand. “I can’t take that chance,” he said. “I’ve gone over and over this, and every time I come to the same conclusion. The risk is too great.”

  Chloe saw the result of that terrible struggle in his eyes. To think only a short while ago, she had thought Gaelan didn’t care about Sophia. “You lo
ve her very much, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

  “As much as if she was my own daughter,” he replied. “I know I don’t show it very well, but it isn’t because I don’t love her...” Following closely on a rumble of thunder, lightning filled the dimly lit room with a momentary flash of brilliance. “It's just I'm so angry about the whole mess, I think I take it out on her.”

  “But since the car accident...,” Chloe began. She had seen for herself how much Gaelan had changed toward Sophia. As near as his actions came to causing a tragedy, maybe Bowen had inadvertently done something right for once.

  “The car accident made me realise more than ever just how precious she is to me. It's time for me to stop dwelling on the past and move on. But it wasn’t just the accident that made me come to that conclusion.” He smiled at Chloe, and his eyes that moments ago were so full of anguish were now brimming with love. “It was you too. I need you in my life, Chloe. Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life. I knew I couldn’t ask you to be there for me without telling you the truth about Sophia.”

  Chloe nodded, her mind and heart in turmoil, trying to absorb everything he was saying to her. He was not asking her to be Sophia’s teacher or even just a lover - he was asking her to stay forever. But first he was sharing with her the secret of Sophia’s birth. She knew Gaelan had not trusted anyone with this before - it was far too important. But he was trusting her, and she knew it was an important demonstration of his love.

  Chloe took a deep breath. She would trust him on this, just as she knew she would trust him on everything else to come. “I think you’re doing the right thing,” she said at last. “While Bowen may be Sophia’s biological father, you are her true father. Because you love her and want the best for her. But...” And there was a but for Chloe. Nobody could live with a lie forever. And one day Sophia would have to know. “She has to know one day. I don’t care about Bowen. I think you’re right, he doesn’t deserve to know. But one day, you will have to find some way of telling her. Sophia has a right to know who her biological father is.”

  Gaelan nodded. “I wish I’ve always had someone in my life as wise as you, Chloe Winters,” he said gently. “I’m sure my life wouldn’t be the mess it is today.”

  He brushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen over her forehead, and she felt herself shiver under his touch. She longed for him to take her in his arms and make love to her, and she knew she would not have to wait much longer.

  “Another glass of wine?” he asked.

  She nodded, and he refreshed their glasses from the bottle on the mantle.

  Really, in the grand scheme of things, his revelation about Sophia was not earth-shattering. It could have been worse. It could have been something that would make their relationship impossible. Chloe couldn’t think what that could be - she couldn’t imagine anything so terrible that could keep her from loving this wonderful man.

  She took the glass from Gaelan, her fingers brushing his. “Here’s to new beginnings,” he said, touching his glass to hers. He went over to the sound system. “Something to go with the sound of the rain,” he said, explaining his choice of music. “May I have this dance?”

  “I don’t know, I’ll have to check my dance card,” she said, setting down her glass once again on the mantle and slipping into his waiting arms. They fit together so beautifully. She rested her head against his chest, following the beat of his heart as much as the beat of the music as they moved slowly together. She thought back to her first night at Widow’s Cliff and how she had decided she would risk everything to spend one night in his arms. It was so much better this way. To know this was not the end but the beginning. The first night of many. The beginning of a long happy life with the man she loved. For she loved him - she knew that now.

  “How is it, Chloe, that you have kept your life so simple?” he asked, his lips against her hair.

  “My life has had its own complications,” she said.

  "Like what?"

  "Like the mess with Shawn and my job."

  "Yes, but if it wasn't for that, I would never have met you."

  "And if it wasn't for Colleen, I wouldn't be here now."

  "You know," he said, laughing. "It all seems worth it." He grew suddenly serious again. "But let's not talk about the past anymore. We have a future to live, and right now I just want to make love to you.”

  Chloe leaned against him, unsure for a moment whether her legs would be able to support her. She felt him hard against her and a moist readiness between her thighs.

  He took her face in his hands, and his mouth found hers in a long, demanding kiss. She felt herself melt into him, opening her mouth to receive his searching tongue. She responded hungrily, tangling her fingers in his thick dark hair, pulling him closer against her. There was another crack of thunder, and again lightning filled the room with its electricity, firing their kisses to new intensity.

  His hands caressed her first gently, then with rising passion as he discovered the curve of her hips. He pressed her against him with a moan. “How did I survive all these years without you?” he whispered against her mouth.

  Overwhelmed with desire, she could not respond with words and instead renewed their kisses with an increased urgency. His hands found the zipper at the back of her dress, and as he lowered it sensuously, she felt his fingers leave a trail of heat down her back.

  He paused, the zipper now halfway undone. “You’re sure you’re ready for this?” he asked seriously.

  “Yes,” she responded. “Don’t stop now.”

  “Then I won’t,” he said huskily, kissing her deeply.

  “I want to tell you something,” she said breathlessly, breaking off the kiss.

  He looked deep into her eyes in response, and Chloe felt as if he could see into the centre of her soul.

  “I love you,” she whispered, every bit of her being in those words.

  “I’ve been longing to hear you say that.” He softly kissed both her eyelids. “I love you too.” His voice was dusky and full of passion but also gentleness. He kissed her again with renewed urgency as the rain came down even harder.

  * * *

  They lay close together, entwined in each other's arms, their heads close together. He planted light kisses on her eyelids and traced the curve of her still burning mouth with the tip of his finger. “That was beautiful,” he whispered. “Better than I ever imagined. Where did you learn to make love like that?”

  “From you,” she said, kissing the tip of his finger. She had never made love like that before. Didn’t even imagine such heights of pleasure were even possible.

  “Hmm,” he said. “You know all the right things to say.” There was another rumble of thunder, this time a little more distant, and the roar of the rain had lessened. “I would get our wine, but that would mean not being inside you anymore, and I don’t think I could bear that.”

  “Neither could I. I think we’ll have to stay like this forever.”

  “I think you’re right,” he said, and she felt him stir lazily inside her as he kissed her again. “Except it might make getting married a little difficult.”

  She broke off his kiss suddenly and looked into his eyes.

  He laughed softly. “You didn’t think I was just asking you to live with me?”

  She hadn’t really thought about it. “I don’t know...” she said uncertainly. All she had known was that he had asked her to be with him forever. That had been enough.

  “Will you marry me?” he asked. He was not being playful now. His voice was serious. And in his eyes, Chloe could see how much he wanted her to say yes.

  She felt close to tears now. Could this truly be happening to her? Surely if she pinched herself, she would find it had all been a dream. She would wake up alone on her cousin’s couch in Boston, the sound of the rain and the ocean nothing but the sound of the street-cleaning machine that had invaded her sleep so often in the past.

  “I know we haven’t known each other very long,”
he said reassuringly. “If you like, we can have the wedding in the fall. Although I would prefer May.”