by Claire Adams
“How long?”
“You could easily take a year, and it wouldn’t hurt business. In fact, it would help our credibility.”
“Good point. Guess I’m used to rushing and making sure everything is perfect.”
“We don’t have to worry anymore,” I said.
“I can’t believe it. You’re relaxed.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I stiffened up and gave him a quick smile.
“All right.” He got up. “I’m gonna get back to work. The techs get anxious if I’m gone too long. They don’t like being unsupervised. It encourages independent thought.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to whip them into shape.” There was enough paperwork to last me a year, so I gave Angela a proposition. She could have one designer outfit a month and a steady lunch budget if she agreed to share part of the paperwork burden on a regular basis. At first, she was furious and accused me of trying to bribe her into giving up her personal life. Then, when I agreed to weekly hair and nail appointments, she softened. The woman was finicky and transactional, but she was effective, and I knew how to work her.
Halfway through the day, she came into my office and sat down. “Yes?” I put down my pen.
“Why are you doing all of this? You could easily hire an entire department to delegate this work.”
“But I have to look it over.”
“Have them send you the finer points, or you could do like most people in your position and train them what to look for.”
I leaned back and thought about it for a moment. I knew that I had options, but I’d always preferred to do things myself because I wanted them done right, but now that the company was expanding and the boys were getting older, I was going to need to free up some time. “Can you do me a favor?” I asked.
“No.”
“I need somebody to help set the department up. Could you be the project manager?” I went on, anticipating her response. “Your new position would include a significant raise in pay.”
“Do I have to keep doing my old job?”
“No, you’ll be training your replacement.”
“Thank you!” She rushed around the desk, hugged me, and ran out.
I went through as many papers as I could and told myself that it was the best I could do. I was eager to get home, so I stopped at exactly five and grabbed my things. Angela glared at me when I left, but I knew that she didn’t mind.
Back at home, Mona was in the living room kneeling on the ground with the boys when I walked in. “Archer,” she called out. “Come here.”
I sat down next to them on the floor, and Andrew crawled over to me and rested his head on my lap. Mona was quick. She had her camera waiting and snapped a picture. “Got it.”
“I don’t think he’s ever done that before.”
“See? They know their daddy.”
“I guess they do.” I rested my hand on his back, and his eyes started to droop. My phone started ringing, and I nearly jumped up, thinking they would both start shrieking, but they didn’t. They just looked at me.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey.” It was Zoe. “I’m just getting off work.”
“Report to the house immediately,” I demanded.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Mona,” I said when she hung up. “I’ll take it from here. Send me that picture, will you?”
“Okay, but they still haven’t eaten.”
“I’ve got it. Just take some time to yourself.”
“I’ve got a date tonight,” she said. “Yup, it’s that bartender.”
“Don’t screw it up,” I said with a somber look on my face.
She laughed and started gathering her things while I took the boys upstairs to feed them. It didn’t take long for me to hear a knock at the door. I put them in their cribs and walked downstairs to answer.
Zoe was sweating and tired, but she looked invigorated. “Look.” She came in and pulled out her phone to show me a picture of a pastry. It was round with candied blueberries and raspberries sitting on a bed of cream cheese at the center.
“Did you bring me some?”
“They sold out.” She came in and followed me into the living room where we sat down on the couch together. “Chloe and I spent the whole day giving out samples in front of the store. We sold nearly a hundred.”
“Oh my God.”
“It’s called berry bliss, and it’s divine.”
“Yeah?” I scooted closer and wrapped my arm around her neck. “This happened.” I showed her the picture of Andrew resting his head on my lap.
“Oh,” she gasped and covered her mouth. “That is so adorable.”
“His brother was staring at me the whole time.”
“You’ve been so worried about whether or not they’d get attached to you. This is wonderful.”
“It’s because of you.” I reached in and pressed my lips to hers. “I love you, Zoe.”
“I love you, too.” She took my hand and squeezed it.
Epilogue
Zoe
I stood up and stretched with a yawn. The clock on my nightstand said that it was seven in the morning. Chloe was busy training the crew at the new store, and the downtown location was well staffed, so it didn’t matter what time I got up. Still, I had things to do today. I took a quick shower and shuffled through my closet to look for something to wear and settled on a simple, white sundress. It was comfortable and elegant, and I loved the way the fabric swished over my legs when I walked.
I put a pot of oatmeal on to boil, then walked back upstairs to knock on the door to the boy’s room where I heard little feet scampering across the carpet. “Boys.” The sound got louder, and the tapping sounds quickened. They were running away.
I cracked the door open and caught the sound of incoherent whispers passing between them. So far as we could tell, their twin language was simple, but every time they used it, they were up to something.
“What are you two doing?” There was a flash of black hair and baby blue pajamas flying through the air, and they jumped onto their beds.
“Nothing,” they said in time with one another.
“Come on.” I stood in between their beds. “It’s time for breakfast.”
“No.” Andrew crossed his arms over his chest.
Abel turned to him and said something to him in their language. Andrew sighed dramatically. “Fine.” He jumped down, and Abel followed us both out into the kitchen, where I set them up with bowls of oatmeal and a pair of danishes in the dining room.
“You shouldn’t spoil them like that.” Archer walked in holding a cup of coffee and kissed me on the cheek, then bit into a Danish. He was holding another in the other hand.
“I’m merely following your example.” I sat down to get started on my coffee. “Besides, the only reason Abel tells his brother to come for breakfast is because he knows he’ll get a sweet.”
Abel looked up at me with his mouth full and his eyes wide. Andrew laughed and said something in their language. Abel glared at him and fired back in what sounded like a string of expletives. Andrew turned back to his food.
“You’re not doing anything today, are you?” Archer asked.
“No, why?”
“Because I wanted to see if you’d like to spend the day with me and the boys,” he whispered. “I thought we could try to teach them to swim.”
“They’re going to love it,” I whispered back. Andrew was staring at his spoon filled with oatmeal dripping onto the table. Then, as I watched in horror, he pulled it back, and the steaming hot sludge slammed into the wall across from him. “Andrew…”
“Daba daba!” Abel pointed at him. “No.”
Andrew’s eyes went wide, he smiled, and he grabbed another spoonful to try again.
“What do we do?” I asked Archer.
He grabbed my spoon and flicked a wad of oatmeal at the boy. It hit the spoon he was holding, and he dropped it. His face scrunched up, he went
red, and his mouth opened. Archer met my eyes, and I ran up to pick him up. It was too late. He was already screaming, so I carried him into the kitchen and patted him on the back. “Come on. It’s okay.”
He stopped after a moment, and Archer came in, holding Abel’s hand. Abel was looking at his brother with concern. “Boys.” He looked from Andrew to Abel. “Go back up to your rooms, okay?”
I set Andrew down, and he ran off with Abel. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing.” He set his coffee down and wrapped his arms around me to give me a kiss.
“Something’s wrong.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He walked back into the living room shaking his hips.
I followed him into the room. “What is going on, Archer?”
He sat down on the couch. “Nothing,” he said. “Sit down.” He patted the seat next to him.
“Why?” I crossed my arms over my chest and refused.
“Daddy! Daddy!” The twins rushed downstairs.
He turned back fast. “What?”
Andrew whispered something to his brother.
“No,” Abel said and shook his head wildly.
“You tell him,” Andrew said.
“Daba!” Abel stamped his foot.
“Ugh.” Andrew stepped up. “We can’t find it.”
“Find what?” I asked.
“Wait here,” Archer shot up off the couch, swept the boys into his arms and disappeared upstairs. I was not going to wait, not for one second. He was up to something, and I was going to find out exactly what it is.
I followed them upstairs and walked into the nursery, then burst into tears. “Oh, my God.”
“Zoe.” Archer was on one knee, holding a ring, and the boys were staring up at me.
“Be our new mommy!” they both yelled.
I had to stop to take a second to grab my bearings. Archer watched me closely and never once looked away.
“Come on.” Abel ran over and tugged on my dress.
“Of course,” I said.
Archer stood up and rushed over to kiss me while the boys jumped up and down with excitement. Life was never going to be the same. It was going to be better than I ever imagined it to be.
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BILLIONAIRE’S BEST WOMAN
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Parker
My eyes sprung open, and my bedroom was still dark. The habit of waking up at the crack of dawn for so many years was hard to shake. I rolled over and checked the clock. Yup, just as I suspected. Five in the morning. My stomach growled. Rachel and I’M had an early dinner last night before watching a movie. Whenever she slept over, she insisted on getting close to ten hours of sleep. I averaged five to six per night on a regular basis. When she went to bed, I always worked for several hours afterward since it wasn’t in my blood to lie down before ten o’clock.
The sound of Rachel’s steady breathing filled the space between us. I spooned her and inhaled her scent. Her perfume lingered in her hair, and I took another breath of her. I slipped my hand under the covers. Maybe I could convince her to wake up for a few minutes so we could get tired out again before sleeping in another hour or so.
My hand trailed up her smooth leg. I didn’t want to startle her, but I wanted her to be awake before I did anything else. She stirred and I moved my hand around the front of her before four sharp claws dug into my hand.
“Ow!” I said and pulled away from her manicured nails.
She rolled over and pushed me away from her. I backed up a few inches before she spoke.
“Parker, just because I stayed here last night does not mean I’m going to change my mind.”
I groaned and leaned closer to her for a kiss.
She pressed her soft hand against my mouth. “Don’t think kissing me will change my mind, either. And besides, you have morning breath. Gross.”
I rolled over onto my stomach and dug my head into the pillow. “Will anything change your mind?”
“You know what will make me sleep with you?” she purred. “A ring.” Her voice was close to my ear. I could easily turn and kiss her, but I didn’t want to piss her off that early in the morning. I’d already woken her up.
When we had first started dating, and she’d told me she was a virgin, I hadn’t believed her. It was almost impossible to imagine my twenty-five-year-old blonde bombshell of a girlfriend had never been with anyone that way. She was the image of most men’s fantasy, but she insisted that we wait until we were engaged before we even attempted sex. And as much as it frustrated me to sleep next to her when she stayed over—especially when she wore skimpy lingerie showing off her rockin’ body—I admired her for her persistence in keeping her values when society pressured women to do otherwise at every turn.
I rolled over and sat up. “I’m starving; let’s get something to eat.”
Rachel sighed heavily. “I don’t want to go anywhere today.” She rolled over and wrapped my blankets around her body. “I just want to lie in bed.”
“Well, I’m going,” I said, hoping she would change her mind.
She didn’t move from under the covers.
I flipped the dimmer switch to the lowest setting so I could see what I was doing.
Rachel groaned from her cocoon.
“I’ll be done in a minute,” I said and headed into my closet.
In the year that Rachel and I had been together, her side of the closet had overflowed to partially envelop mine. She wasn’t a permanent fixture in my house, which was probably a good thing. I was not sure how long I’d be able to hold out if she warmed my bed every night. But I did allow her to move whatever she wanted into my place. I hoped in the near future she’d call it her home, too.
I grabbed my phone from the charging station I kept in the closet. I hated having my phone near me when I slept. The constant influx of emails I received interrupted my precious sleep. I checked the weather app and typed in my zip code. I smiled. It was going to be a comfortable seventy degrees today.
I grabbed a pair of shorts and a polo and threw those on before digging my feet into a pair of flip-flops and heading back into the bedroom.
“I’m going now,” I said to Rachel.
Her hand poked out from the under the blanket and she waved me away. “Thanks for letting me know, but I’m trying to sleep here.”
“Do you want me to bring back anything from the diner?”
“Sienna’s place?” Rachel muffled from the bed. “No thanks. I don’t need to clog my arteries.”
I ignored the dig at my best friend’s diner. The food was delicious, but not very healthy. And Rachel watched her weight like a hawk. In fact, I was sure their meal sizes were the same.
I went to the bed and bent over for a kiss. She quickly moved the covers over her face so I got a mouthful of fabric.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Turn off the light!” she said as I started for the door.
I flicked the lights off, and the room was shrouded in darkness once more. I loved those black-out curtains. It could be noon and you’d think it was the middle of the night when they were down. Rachel said it was one of the reason’s she liked staying the night with me. She was able to rest without hearing the other people in her neighborhood and be able to sleep all night—and most of the morni
ng—without being disturbed by the intrusion of the rising sun.
Even though it was still early, I knew Sienna and Tony would be at the diner. I drove through the empty streets in my Porsche 911 and gunned it down the roads with a lot of space between traffic lights. I never got to ride like that during the day. It was freeing and allowed me to let off a little steam. I always felt this way after Rachel turned me down. I couldn’t help myself. She was the perfect woman for me and I couldn’t touch her. Any guy would have gone crazy.
At least going to Sunny Daes, Sienna’s diner, would be a distraction. I’d teased her about the name for years, but she thought it was a funny pun about sunny side up eggs and sundaes. She made the best sundaes in Key Largo, so I couldn’t argue with her too much. Besides, once she got her mind set on something, it was hard to change.
The thought of having some coffee made me press the gas a little harder. I had been wide awake when I was with Rachel, but with her turning me down yet again, my alertness had started to wear off.
Sunny Daes was in a prime spot right off the highway. The exterior didn’t look like much, but it had withstood many hurricanes over the years. Sienna, Tony, and I painted outside every year before winter. She insisted that it remained clean-looking and white for as many months as possible. And she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
I pulled off the street and into the dirt lot of the diner. There weren’t any cars out front, but I knew Sienna and Tony were there. Tony usually came in on his motorcycle, and Sienna’s small beater car fit perfectly behind the building.
I didn’t bother using the front entrance as I knew it would be locked until six-thirty. I rounded the building and smiled. Both Sienna’s car and Tony’s Harley were there. I walked up the two cement steps leading to the kitchen and opened the screen door.
“It’s me!” I called. I didn’t want to startle either of them. Being six-two had its advantages, but Tony was much burlier than me, and Sienna was quick with a knife.
“In here!” Sienna called back.
The screen door bounced a few times on the door frame before closing. I tried to fix it for her in the past, but Sienna insisted we left it.
