Romance: Unlikely Love Boxed Set - A Billionaire Romance Series (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Billionaire Romance, Unlikely Love Book 4)

by Nancy Adams

  Had I done it again? Had I started a relationship with a person who couldn’t be trusted? Ezra obviously wasn’t interested in my money (what was left of it), but how did he know Scott? What had Ezra meant when he said if it weren’t for Scott he could have ended up in a gutter? My mind raced with the idea of what it could all mean. Was Ezra actually some sort of criminal? Is that how he had made so much money? Oh God, was I dating another Philip?

  I programmed my address into the GPS and stayed silent in the car as Ezra drove us back. Ezra didn’t seem to notice, and eventually I drifted off to sleep. I had a million questions running around in my head, but I didn’t know how to ask any of them. I wanted honest answers, and I figured if Ezra had already withheld information from me, he probably wouldn’t be above lying to me. I would get my answers. They just wouldn’t be through Ezra, I thought to myself before drifting off. I was just afraid that once I got answers, I wouldn’t like them very much.

  That evening, instead of staying over at my place as he had done the previous night, he said something about having to get back to his hotel to take care of some business. I didn’t pry. I figured he was lying, and a heaviness settled across my shoulders.

  Trying to keep my voice indifferent, I said, “Why can’t you just do it here? I have internet and a little study area.”

  He didn’t answer immediately, he just kissed me hard on my forehead and said, “It’s sweet of you to offer, but I don’t want to keep you up.”

  “Do you want me to drop you off at your hotel at least?”

  “No. I’ll just walk. I need some fresh air anyway,” he responded. I lived in a condo downtown, and the hotel Ezra had booked was less than ten minutes away walking distance.

  “Ok,” I said softly.

  As soon as he was gone, I picked up the phone and called my mom.

  “Hi, dear. What are you doing calling so late?”

  “Hi Mom. Sorry for calling late. I was wondering if you could get me Cyril’s number.” Cyril was our family’s lawyer.

  “Cyril? Are you in some sort of trouble? Tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with that man of yours that you want us to meet.”

  I had completely forgotten that I had scheduled dinner with Mom and Dad so that they could meet Ezra. I dodged her question saying, “I have to go, but text me that number. We’ll talk later. I promise. How’s Daddy?”

  “Cranky. A typical curmudgeon.”

  I laughed stiffly. We quickly said our goodbyes and I hung up, wondering what exactly was the truth that Ezra was keeping from me.

  When I woke up the next day, I checked my email. I was anticipating a response from Cyril, since I had fired off an email to him last night. I had asked him to run a background check on Ezra and was hoping to hear from Cyril sooner rather than later. I couldn’t continue to pretend nothing was going on when I felt exactly the opposite. Distractedly, I clicked on my sent folder and opened it to be sure I had sent the email to Cyril’s right address.

  I wondered what I would do when I actually found out the truth. And in my mind, the truth probably wasn’t too far from the situation with Philip.

  The doorbell rang, startling me, and I jumped up to answer it. I was surprised to see Ezra standing there.

  “Hey there,” he said, wrapping his arms around me when I opened the door. I smiled tightly and tried to keep my face impassive.

  “Sorry for leaving abruptly last night,” he said, touching my lower lip and then kissing me softly before continuing, “I had to take care of some business.”

  I turned my eyes away from him and knew I needed some space to keep my emotions from bubbling to the surface.

  “It’s no problem,” I mumbled. “Let me go get changed, maybe we can go get some food for brunch.”

  “No. There’s no need for you to cook. We’ll eat out or pick up something to go and bring it back here.”

  “You have a deal.”

  I walked away, not really thinking, just trying to put space in between us. I changed and brushed my hair back and found Ezra sitting on my couch with his hands tightly folded as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  He looked at me with cold eyes and said, “If you didn’t trust me, if you had reservations about me, about us, you should have just said something. You didn’t have to sneak and pry.”

  “What?” I said, stopping and staring at him, not understanding what he was talking about.

  He laughed humorlessly and shook his head as he stood up. “Your lawyer. You had him check me out.”

  “What?” I said again, shaking my head. This couldn’t be happening. How did he know?

  “At least you’re not going to try to deny it, huh? You really shouldn’t keep your email open, especially if you plan to use your connections to have me investigated.”

  I swallowed hard and squared my shoulders. “You haven’t been exactly forthcoming about anything. You disappear with some lame excuse and some random man from a past you haven’t discussed with me pops up. It’s like you were trying to hide something. What did you expect me to do?”

  “How about ask? You could have just asked me?” he said ,walking away to stare down at the email.

  “Anyway, I hope you get what you asked for. I hope you found your answers. Even if it was at the expense of my privacy.”

  “Privacy!” I said feeling outraged as tears formed in my eyes. “You’re the one who read my email!”

  “Maybe I was wrong for doing that, but you left your email to your lawyer right here in front of me. Open. If I hadn’t sat down I wouldn’t have known. It’s not like I was deliberately looking through your email.”

  “Yeah right, for all I know you were looking for information about me and just came across that email.”

  “And why would I do that, Marie? What would be my motive?”

  “How would I know?” I said, finally shouting as the tears fell down my cheeks. “Because you’re dishonest and after the money you think I have?”

  “Money? Why in the world would I be interested in your money?”

  “Oh please, you labeled me a rich girl from the start—”

  “Yeah, I teased you about it, but it’s a stretch for you to think all of this—us—was just because of money. What kind of man do you think I am?”

  “A man with secrets. And a man with secrets can’t be trusted.”

  He shook his head sadly and looked away from me. “I thought we were building something together. The foundation of something good…”

  I cut him off. “More like something built on secrecy.”

  He placed his hands on his hips and looked out my window. He stood like that for almost a full minute, not saying a word. I wrapped my arms around myself, as if protecting myself from the hurt I’d caused both of us. But I pointed my chin up, not wanting to believe I hadn’t done the right thing.

  “So that’s it then?” he said, turning back around towards me.

  I nodded. “For the record, I haven’t received a report back from him about you. But it doesn’t matter now. I can’t be in a relationship with someone who’s hiding things from me.”

  “I’m not hiding anything,” he said bitterly.

  “No. You’re just lying by omission…which is still a lie.”

  He didn’t respond, he just stared at me, and then his shoulders sank and he sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

  “Maybe you’re right…” And then he turned around and walked away from me. He didn’t pause as he picked up his jacket and walked out my door, closing it softly behind him.

  I stood there for a few moments, willing the hurt I felt to go away. It wasn’t as if I were in love with him, I told myself as a sob tore from my throat before I could stop it. But if that were true, then why did it hurt so much to know Ezra had walked not just out of my door, but also out of my life.

  “What happened?” Sarah said as she walked into my condo, a concerned look on her face as I sat down at the island in the kitchen and shoved another
piece of chocolate in my mouth. I had found the box of chocolate in the bottom of my closet. I had forgotten it was there. It had been a Valentine’s Day gift from Philip, but because I had been dieting for the wedding, I hadn’t eaten it.

  I thought how unfitting it was that I had found solace in the chocolate Philip had bought me. I figured chocolate would make me feel better about myself for breaking up with Ezra. At least, I thought we had broken up. I wasn’t too sure. After all, it wasn’t as if we had been officially together. Or maybe we had. I told myself to stop thinking of it since it didn’t really matter. Whatever we had, it was over.

  I didn’t answer her question. Instead I said, “Where’s Libby?”

  “She went to visit with her grandma,” Sarah said, sitting down and looking at me closely.

  “Oh yeah, it’s the weekend. I forgot.” Libby made a point of having lunch with her grandmother every weekend.

  ‘“So what’s the emergency? What did you do?”

  “What did I do?” I asked incredulously. “What makes you think this is my fault?”

  “Because you went from besotted to crazy angry woman in record time.”

  “Maybe he gave me something to be angry about,” I said, putting my head in my hands and then confessing, “Sarah, I messed up. So badly.”

  “I’m sure whatever happened, it can be fixed.”

  I shook my head sadly. “Not this time. I don’t think so.”

  She patted the couch in a gesture for me to join her. Reluctantly, I did, fighting back the tears that had been threatening to spill since I found out the truth about Ezra and instantly felt like a fool.

  “Start at the beginning…” she urged me when I plunked down listlessly next to her.

  And I did. And when I was done, she said, “Wow. So you both jumped to conclusions.”

  I shrugged. “Looks like it. I was just so scared that he was like Philip that I automatically assumed the worst. But in the month I’ve known Ezra, it’s clear he’s nothing like Philip.”

  “So why did you insist on snooping?”

  “Because I just didn’t know if I could trust him. I didn’t want another incident where a guy got the best of me. I cared about Ezra too much to let that happen.”

  “So it was more of a preemptive strike than you trying to protect yourself.”

  I shrugged sadly and said, “I guess. So what should I do?”

  “Find a way to get him to talk to you. Tell him you’re sorry.”

  “But I wasn’t the only one who did something wrong. He kept things from me too.”

  “With good reason, it sounds like…”

  “Hmmm,” I grunted, but I knew she was right. “So what’s your idea to fix it?”

  Sarah shrugged. “You know, well, you could just call him.”

  “And say what?” I whined. “Please forgive me for being a paranoid crazy person, but my ex-husband was a con artist and I wanted to be sure you weren’t one too? Is that what I should say?” It sounded crazy to my ears, and I realized maybe I had reacted a little irrationally.

  “Um…maybe a version of that.”

  I nodded. I supposed I could try.

  Chapter Ten

  Unfortunately, just calling Ezra didn’t work out exactly as planned. He didn’t take any of my calls. He didn’t return my emails. I figured he had gone back to Texas and just hadn’t bothered to say goodbye. Not that I blamed him, I thought, trying not to become bitter as I looked out the window of the plane.

  I was on my way back to Texas and about to land. I didn’t really have a plan besides renting a car and making my way back to the resort. So pretty much I didn’t have a plan at all. I was doing something impulsive again involving a man, but this time, I felt the man in the scenario was well worth it.

  I hadn’t bothered to tell Gail or anyone that I was coming. Not that it would have mattered, since they didn’t exactly use cellphones there. I didn’t know what would happen if I didn’t meet up with Ezra when I arrived. I could bunk on Gail’s floor, or maybe I could live in the rental car until he showed up.

  I was nervous as I stepped out of the plane and headed to the car rental booth. By the time I was in the car, I was even more nervous. I didn’t bother looking in the mirror. I knew my eye was twitching. I sighed to myself, but hey, at least I was alone and no one else was around to witness my eye’s nervous jig.

  I put on a Gloria Gaynor song and tried to relax. I had over an hour to prepare what I would say to Ezra in my head. And so, focusing on that, I didn’t think much of anything else.

  Feeling anxious as I ascended the driveway, I pulled up in front of the main house and got out of the car, scanning the area around me for signs of Ezra. I saw the nudists playing volleyball, but I didn’t see Gail with them. I wondered where she was and why she wasn’t with her buddies.

  It was then that I heard the ruckus coming from the side of the main house. I knew there was a patio back there, and I was pretty sure the voices were those of Ezra and Gail. She seemed to be giving him an earful and I hesitated, not knowing if I should interrupt or sit and wait and pretend I hadn’t heard anything.

  The decision was made for me though when Tony and Mark spotted me from the window and both got up to greet me. Others soon showed up, and I was being hugged and chatted with from all sides. I couldn’t help but smile as the residents greeted me. I felt as if they were more than acquaintances that I had met on vacation. Seeing them again was like seeing old friends.

  “I knew you couldn’t stay away from us,” Mark said, smiling widely.

  Tony gathered me in a big hug. “I told you she’d be back.” He said this to no one in particular, but everyone seemed to nod in agreement.

  “The hippie lifestyle was just too much to resist. Or was it the Texas Southern hospitality that got you? Not only is everything bigger in Texas, but everything’s better too. Including the people,” Tony said with a laugh.

  “I really did miss you guys,” I said self-consciously. I hadn’t expected such a warm greeting.

  “Let her go. Stop suffocating her; it’s my turn for a hug,” Gail said, suddenly appearing next to Tony and playfully shoving him to the side. I was relieved to see she was wearing clothes. She embraced me and I looked past her shoulder to see if Ezra was with her. He wasn’t. He was walking in the opposite direction of the crowd. Apparently, he didn’t want to see me.

  My heart hurt at the realization, but I determinedly kept a smile on my face while I greeted Gail.

  “It’s so good to see you.” I couldn’t help but glance past her again and watch as Ezra looked back briefly, but didn’t actually acknowledge me. The crowd slowly dispersed, and suddenly it was just me and Gail on the front porch.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and I knew immediately what she was talking about. “He’s just hurt and being stubborn. Being thick-headed.” Gail narrowed her eyes in the direction he had disappeared.

  “So is that his plan? To ignore me the whole time I’m here?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I guess I deserve that.”

  She shrugged. “Both of you don’t have much use for common sense it seems.”

  “Thanks, Gail.”

  She laughed and tossed an arm around my shoulder. “Come on in. You can bunk with me.”

  I let her lead me into the main house, glancing behind me to see if maybe Ezra had reappeared.

  There was no sign of him, but Mark sat at the receptionist desk and smiled brightly at me. I told Gail that I would catch up with her soon, and as soon as she was gone, I turned to Mark and said softly, “Why didn’t you tell me about how your daughter died?”

  Mark suddenly lost his chipper demeanor and shook his head. “Because I don’t like to talk about her too much. It still hurts. Still makes me feel raw inside.”

  “I’m sorry and I understand.”

  Mark just grunted. “So how long do you plan to stay?”

  “As long as it takes me to convince Ezra to give me a second chance.” />
  He nodded and said, “Good plan.”

  * * *

  “Hi,” I said with a small smile. He didn’t return it. He didn’t even look at me, which was a pretty difficult feat since I had pretty much cornered him in his office and he couldn’t get out without at least looking at me.

  “Are you not even going to speak to me?”

  “You dumped me, remember?”

  Those weren’t the words I wanted to hear, but at least he was speaking to me. Sort of.

  “I’m sorry I asked my lawyer to investigate you. It was a violation of your privacy.”

  “Yep.”

  He tried to leave and I blocked him. “Please talk to me. Please. That’s all I’m asking for.”

  His jaw tightened, and I thought he was going to simply walk away from me, but instead he said, “Why didn’t you just ask me? Granted, at first I was hiding certain things, but that was because I didn’t think you would understand. I wasn’t hiding anything once we started getting to know each other; in fact, several times I was going to tell you the full story, but things kept coming up.” He finally met my eyes and I saw the pain there. “Jessie’s death hurt too much to randomly talk about.”

  I nodded. “I realize that now.”

  “So how much did your fancy lawyer find out?”

  “That you really are or were a handyman.”

  “Surprise, surprise.”

  “And that you’re a billionaire.”

  He laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. Bigger surprise, huh? You could have gotten that information from the internet. You didn’t even need your lawyer for that.”

  I heard the bitterness in his voice and decidedly ignored it. “You’re a pretty lucky guy. I never met a lotto winner before you. I honestly thought it was something no one ever won. Apparently luck runs in your genes. What are the chances of someone actually winning the lotto? Especially a jackpot that big. A hundred million dollars?”

  “There was nothing lucky about winning that money at all,” he said testily.

  “What are you talking about? Without that money, you wouldn’t have ever started this place and provided a service to those who need it.”