The Matchmaker's Billionaire (Billionaire Bachelor Mountain Cove Book 2)

by Maria Hoagland

  Annalise’s expression went from a mixture of confused and surprised to acquiescence. She nodded with the understanding that she was to take notes, make decisions, and let him know if there was anything else he needed to do, because he wasn’t coming back.

  Once outside the boardroom, Grant opened the text. Hi, Grant. This is Hattie Smith. When you have a moment, could you call me?

  That Hattie was contacting him directly surprised Grant. How had she even gotten his private number? He was more than careful with it. He didn’t have time to mess with most things—which was why he’d hired Annalise in the first place. Which meant it must be personal rather than professional. His heart kicked into overdrive. Was something wrong with Emily? Tucking himself into an out-of-the-way alcove, he hit the call back button and waited, his foot tapping with anxiety.

  “Hello?” Hattie actually sounded surprised, like she had no idea why he was calling.

  “Hattie? Is Emily okay?” His heart beat so loudly in his ears, he almost couldn’t discern her answer.

  “Emily? Oh, she’s fine. She wanted me to ask if you’d be willing to be the keynote at our Books in Bloom event in May.”

  His thoughts jolted to a stop and then spun the opposite way. He was dizzy trying to keep up. “Books in Bloom?” What was she talking about?

  “It’s an annual literary event in Eureka Springs held in conjunction with the local writing community’s big author retreat. Anyway, it’s kind of a big deal and the first event Emily has let me be in charge of, and I need a speaker—a good one who will bring in people, someone who—” As she spoke, her words got higher and faster, probably because she hadn’t taken a breath in the last thirty seconds.

  Keynote a month away? It was short notice, but it wouldn’t be that hard if he was going to be in town. Annalise would kill him for making plans without consulting her, his agent would think him a fool for agreeing to something so insignificant, and his PR person would laugh at the futility, saying he was wasting his time. Would he even want to if Emily was going to be there? “I think I can do that.”

  “What?” She stopped talking immediately, and he could tell he’d shocked her. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much!”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll text you Annalise’s number so you can work out the details with her.” That was assuming the date on his calendar was free, but he didn’t want to dampen Hattie’s excitement. They would know soon enough if there was a conflict.

  His thumb was halfway to hanging up when Hattie spoke again. “What did you think when you heard about Finn and Jaden?”

  That had his full attention. “I haven’t heard.” He wasn’t one to want to gossip, but this felt important.

  “They’ve been dating for months! I can’t believe they kept it from all of us. I mean, even Emily had no idea.” Hattie sounded like a kid who just found out she was going to Magic Lamp Parks. Some friend she was. Emily had to be heartbroken.

  “Thanks for telling me.” He kept his tone even, especially since he wasn’t quite sure how to feel yet, other than concern for Emily. Less than a week ago, Finn’s flirting had convinced Grant that he had feelings for Emily. How did Jaden put up with that? “Thanks again for the invitation. I’ll send you that number now.”

  He almost forgot to send it. He disconnected the call and dropped into one of the waiting room chairs. How had Emily taken the news?

  He sent Annalise a text to push for a quick wrap-up to the meeting. He needed her to make arrangements for the two of them to get back to Eureka Springs as soon as possible.

  19

  If I have to go through this—Emily pawed through the mess on her desk, frustrated she couldn’t find her favorite pen—one more time . . .

  She picked through the papers and sticky notes, shoving each writing implement into her “One cannot have too large a party” mug on her desk, and still didn’t find it. She wasn’t exactly complaining about the pen or the state of her usually ordered desk. She wasn’t even frustrated with anything specific at work, and yet somehow, for some reason, she was dangerously close to blowing her top.

  It had nothing to do with the sunny Hattie singing the same ridiculous song over and over to herself for the last half hour. Emily wanted to be happy for her friend, that she’d fallen in love with an amazing man, but it took all of her energy to hide the pain inside. When Hattie said she talked to Grant on the phone yesterday and that he’d agreed to keynote Books in Bloom, Emily had forced a smile, grateful she didn’t have to say anything. She couldn’t take it much longer, but she had to. She had to make peace with the situation if she wanted to keep her job and her friends.

  “Hattie—” Emily waited for her co-worker to swing her office chair around until they were facing. “Did Kian send over the info for the Bike Fling Rally? Do you have a moment to go through those graphics?”

  “Oh yes, he sent it over last week. I’ve got some preliminaries for the ArtRageous parade I wanted to run by you as well.” She turned her screen so they could both look at the graphics. “I took last year’s images, updated the colors, and cleaned them up so they aren’t so busy. I didn’t want to put too much work into changing things unless you thought it needed it.”

  Emily ran a practiced eye over the images. “If you’ll move the text so it hangs over the cliff a little—” She paused as Hattie followed her direction. “There,” Emily said, and Hattie stopped the movement. “That looks great. Go with it—run it on all platforms.” She happily delegated the tedium of resizing each image for their social media accounts.

  Hattie nodded and clicked another tab. A text from her phone popped in at the top right of her computer screen, and although Emily wasn’t consciously being nosey, she saw it was from Grant. Hattie quickly dismissed the text and grabbed her phone, cheeks flaming.

  “Do you need to respond?” Why did envy have to hurt so much? Emily looked away.

  “I’m not sure. Let me see . . .”

  Emily waved her hand. “Of course.” She did her best to pretend she didn’t care.

  “Oh!” Hattie gasped with surprise and pulled the phone to her chest momentarily. “He must be back in town.”

  Emily hadn’t expected or wanted a running commentary, but she was getting one.

  “He wants to see me this afternoon.”

  Emily’s heart pinched, the pain so acute, she might be having a heart attack.

  “Can I go?” Hattie turned wide, questioning eyes at Emily—who, at that moment, did not want to be her supervisor.

  If she told Hattie no, she was being hard-nosed and jealous. If she gave Hattie permission to take the afternoon off, she would be miserable at the office, knowing the two of them were together.

  “You know what?” Emily slapped her palms on her thighs and stood. “We’re ahead this week, and it’s Friday. Let’s both take the rest of the day off. I’ve been promising Isabella’s girls I’d take them for ice cream sodas in Bentonville Square, and since it’s finally warm . . .”

  She didn’t have to tell Hattie twice. She was halfway through shutting down her computer already. “Thanks, Em. I’ll see you Monday?”

  Monday. A whole weekend without Hattie—or, more importantly, Grant, who was going to be with Hattie.

  “Have a good weekend.” Emily meant it, or tried to, but her stomach was in knots. This would get easier with practice, right?

  A couple hours later, Emily stared blankly into the water trickling into the big fountain while her nieces played on the grass in the square. As the girls chased each other around the trees, Emily’s mind wandered down paths it had no right to. If Grant took Hattie out to Thorncrown Chapel, what could she do about it? If they sparred or went shooting, she didn’t think Hattie could do better than Emily had, but it didn’t matter. Emily hadn’t won where it counted—Hattie was the one with Grant.

  She put her hand over her eyes, her thumb on one temple, her finger on the other, and squeezed. She ought to be playing with the girls, being the fun aunt, but depression dr
agged the life from her.

  “Headache?” a concerned voice asked softly just off to her right. She would recognize him anywhere.

  Her hand flew down and she braced herself for Hattie to be at his side. When she opened her eyes, only one person—one very handsome, oh so good-smelling man—stood in front of her. Alone. Her pulse sped up and her mouth went dry. “Grant?”

  “Babysitting?” His lip twitched with the hint of a smile, but the way he looked at her made her weak in the knees.

  “Yes,” she said automatically. “Well, not exactly.” Unable to look away from his eyes, her thoughts scrambled from Hattie, to him and the look he was giving her, to the banal conversation they were having. She was confused. “I, um, offered. I wanted to spend time with them.”

  “One of the many things I like about you.” He took a step closer, a spark in his eye and a curve to his lips.

  “I thought—” She stopped talking, trying to figure out how he got here when he was supposed to be with Hattie. It would be a little too coincidental for him to show up, an hour away from Eureka Springs, in exactly the place she was. “Weren’t you with Hattie? Did she come?” She looked around for her.

  “I was. I—”

  Emily turned away quickly. She didn’t want to hear it. She never should have brought up Hattie. Luckily, Oli was up to mischief that she needed to stop. “Oli!” She rushed over and placed her hands gently on the girl’s shoulders. “We should probably keep branches out of the fountain. If it gets clogged with leaves, it won’t be as pretty.”

  Oli pulled the branch she’d been holding like a fishing rod out of the water, and then took off after Meg, chasing her with the extended branch. Meg, ran away, screaming in delight.

  Grant stepped to her side again. “I wanted to see if you’re okay.”

  The way he studied her face made her breath catch in her throat, and she took half a step back.

  “Give it time.” His voice was soft, as if she needed comforting.

  No doubt she did need to give it time, but hearing this hurt even worse coming from him. And yet he was so sweet to worry about her feelings.

  Grant put his hands in his pockets and then pulled them out again. “I still don’t get why they kept it from us. It wasn’t right.”

  Realization trickled in. He wasn’t talking about him and Hattie. “Oh.” The syllable was a sigh of relief. “You’re talking about Finn and Jaden.”

  “Mm-hmm.” His eyes never left hers, and she saw sadness there.

  That wasn’t even a concern. At least not to her. “I . . . should set the record straight there. I’m happy for them—” Grant gave her a skeptical look, and she hurried on to reassure him. “Honestly. I didn’t know they were attracted to each other—they hid that pretty well. I’m embarrassed to think about some of the things I said and did because I didn’t know, but—” She shook her head, her conscience clear. “I really am fine.”

  Grant’s brow furrowed, and she wanted to reach out to smooth it, but she had no right. “Finn has been a jerk—to you and to Jaden. I don’t get what she sees in him. He should be ashamed.”

  Emily bit her lip, thinking about that night in the escape room. She’d been a fool, flirting with Finn and cruel to everyone else because she’d been caught up in the moment with him. Yet, even in that moment, she hadn’t been all that attracted to him. It had been more that he made her feel attractive. “It’s my fault. I was flattered. The first day I met him, I might have been a teeny bit—” She weighed her words according to his expression and decided to substitute attracted for “—intrigued.” Grant still winced, though that made little sense. “I have examined my heart, and I can truly say this: he was using me, but he didn’t hurt me. I didn’t fall for it.”

  Grant shook his head, his jaw clenched. “Finn Weston is a fortunate man. He went around flirting with other women, and yet everyone—especially you and Jaden—forgave him.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

  Emily chuckled. “You sound like you envy him.”

  “I do.” Grant didn’t even try to deny it. “His secret is out.”

  Emily didn’t want to hear this. This was where he would tell her about his relationship with Hattie. The pain in her heart hurt so much, she could no longer stand there and take it—at least not looking straight at him. She started walking along the brick path, and he kept pace alongside her.

  She might as well let him tell her; she was going to have to hear it sometime. She braced herself and then asked the question he obviously wanted to answer no matter how reluctant she was to ask. “What is the secret you want to share?” Sadness seeped into her heart, but she slammed the door on it, keeping it in. She hoped her voice didn’t betray her when she continued. “I’m your friend; I’ll hear anything you want to say.”

  “I—” Placing a hand on her forearm, he stopped and turned to face her. “Is there any chance you would consider me?”

  Emily blinked, unable to breathe, let alone speak. After a moment, she caught up with the shock. “Me?” Her mouth was dry. “What about Hattie? I thought you two . . . This afternoon . . .”

  “This afternoon I arranged a meeting between her and Martin Merrick. He apologized for being so preoccupied, for not confiding in her that he was taking night classes and studying, but now that he passed the bar—”

  “Passed the bar?” she repeated, confused. What did this have to do with Grant being interested in her?

  Grant grimaced. “Yes. He hadn’t wanted to say anything, in case he didn’t pass. That and he wanted to surprise her. But when I left them, they were holding hands under the table and couldn’t get rid of me quick enough.” He laughed. “Emily.” He got serious again. “I wish I could have said something earlier, but I’ve learned from this experience, and I’m saying something now.”

  He blew out a breath, and she worried he was about to hyperventilate.

  “I know I’m an author, but I don’t know romance. Ask my editor. I should be able to come up with beautiful speeches to tell you how I feel, but I can’t. Not without typing them out and deleting half of what I say—”

  They both chuckled.

  “Maybe if I felt less, it would be easier to tell you how I feel.” His eyes held hers, melting her insides into a gooey mess. She reached for both of his hands and intertwined their fingers as he continued to speak. “You’ve always been the one for me. I just—”

  Yes, he had too much to say. She wanted action.

  She leaned forward slowly, taking in every detail about him. The warmth of his body when she placed her palm on his chest. The smell of his aftershave. His breath halting when her intention became clear to him and his words stopped.

  He placed a hand at her hip and pulled her closer. His eyes were so full of acceptance and love, she never wanted to look away, but her lips ached to touch his. He leaned in, closing the gap between them. When their lips met, soft at first, she had to open her eyes to make sure he was there, but then she felt him sigh into it, deepening the kiss.

  The kiss extended, sweet and fulfilling and everything she’d dreamed of from her knight in shining armor. Aware that her nieces could be watching, she pulled back reluctantly, though she put a hand to his jawline and ran a thumb over his lip before tipping her forehead to his.

  “What I am trying to say is that I love you, Emily, and I really hope you stop matching me up with anyone else.” He was serious until she started giggling—a giggle that turned into a full, happy, satisfying laugh.

  “I’ll send Annalise my final assessment.” She quirked her eyebrow at him. “And an invoice.”

  “And she’ll send you back a check and an invitation to the escape mansion launch.” His eyes sparkled like stars in an indigo sky. “If you’ll be my date.”

  “Looking forward to it.” Emily pressed her lips together to keep from smiling too big, but held on to one of his hands.

  “Aunt Emily!” Meg jogged over. “You said we could go over to the dog biscuit store. Can we go no
w?”

  Oli ran up and tugged on Grant’s free hand. “Come with us, Aunt Emmy’s friend. Do you like dogs? I like dogs. Sometimes they let us pet the dogs there. Or make cookies for them.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fun.” Grant’s voice was so sincere, so comfortable, Emily had to look up to gauge his expression. He was in—nieces and all. He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ve never been to a dog biscuit store before, but it sounds like good book research to me.”

  Emily tipped her head to one side, making sure her skepticism was clear. “Book research on dog biscuits? For a spy thriller?”

  “You never know,” he said. And for some reason, she believed him.

  20

  Seven months later:

  Fall had come to northwest Arkansas, the humid heat of the summer finally dying down. The trees were glorious in all their color. The air had just enough of a chill to warrant a jacket, but having Grant at her side kept Emily warm inside. The past seven months together had been the best happily ever after she could have imagined. The escape room mansion in London blew her mind, and she was proud to stand at Grantham Robbins’s side in every social media and tabloid photo. The next Cruise Donnelly film was scheduled to release after Christmas, and she and Grant had plenty with their individual work schedules to keep them busy.

  “I can’t believe you’re dragging me to another Jane Austen movie,” Grant complained. “Seriously, how many of them are there?!” He literally dragged his feet, tugging on her hand in his as they walked toward Eureka Springs’s tiny vintage theater.

  “Someone could ask the same question about Cruise Donnelly movies.” Emily reached over to tickle him in the ribs. “I promised Hattie and Martin we’d go with them.” She gave him her best pout, but he wasn’t actually whining for real. It was more the kind where guys felt they had to. Like it was their duty to complain about watching rom-coms. “I’ll let you choose the place for dinner afterward.”