The Independent One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance

by Cami Checketts

  “Has being wealthy been an adjustment for you two?” She blushed as she realized how her question sounded. Like she thought Cal was going to propose tomorrow or something.

  “It’s definitely something to get used to.” Maryn filled a roll with chicken salad. “I think so many people want to be wealthy, but it’s not something I aspired to.”

  Alyssa shrugged. “I grew up with money so that part isn’t an adjustment. The hardest part for me was learning to trust a man.”

  “I can relate to that.” Haley set her plate on the table. Huge windows overlooked the cliff and ocean beyond. She could see the stairs that led down to the beach. Hopefully Taz wasn’t being too crazy for Tuck. Her friends followed her with their own full plates. They were all quiet for a minute as Maryn got them each a water bottle from the fridge then offered a quick blessing on the food.

  Haley took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich. “This is delicious. Thank you.”

  “For sure.” Maryn didn’t pick up her food, but studied Haley. “You and Alyssa both went through horrible things with men that I honestly can’t even understand.” She squeezed Haley’s hand. “But there really are good guys out there.”

  “Thanks.” Haley drank from the water bottle. She didn’t want to ask out right, but she needed to know how many women Cal had flocking to him. With as good-looking, fun, and now she was finding out, wealthy, as he was, women probably pounded down his door. The thought of other women turned her stomach. “I guess the money isn’t a huge deal, I can understand why Cal wouldn’t want to brag about how wealthy he is, but I don’t want a guy who’s a player, you know?”

  Maryn’s lips turned down, she exchanged a glance with Alyssa.

  “What? You two need to stop it with the not-so-subtle look crap. You’re scaring me.”

  Maryn bit at her lip then finally admitted, “He’s a great guy, sweetie, he just has a… reputation.”

  “Reputation for what?” No, no, no. She crumbled a piece of croissant between her fingers.

  “Dating… a lot.”

  Haley’s heart plummeted. Of course he dated a lot, he was extremely desirable and had the money to do whatever he wanted, but there was more that Maryn wasn’t telling her and she had to ask, even though she didn’t know if she could handle it. “Does he live up to his reputation?”

  They exchanged another look and finally Alyssa said, “I don’t really know. I’m not into the single scene or anything.”

  Haley pinned Maryn with a stare. “You know, though, don’t you?”

  Maryn’s sandwich was in her hand. She set it down and sighed. “He’s not trying to be a player, but try to understand, sweetie. He’s wealthy, handsome, fun to be around.”

  Haley nodded. She’d listed those same qualities in her own mind time and time again, but she hated the way Maryn was justifying Cal being a player, like he was just built that way and it wasn’t his fault.

  “Women chase him and Johnson is just naturally kind of a… flirt.”

  Haley’s stomach was in such knots she couldn’t think about eating. Maryn and Alyssa were both watching her as if she needed to give some kind of response. What could she say? She was a mom. She didn’t have time for a flirtatious player who didn’t care enough about her to be totally honest. But to live without Cal? The very thought hurt.

  Taz burst through the patio door, Tucker on his heels. He raced to Haley and threw himself into her arms. “Tuck has the coolest beach! We chased crabs and we found a cave and played pirates.” He grinned at Tuck. “Tuck’s my best friend.”

  Tucker smiled. “I’m your best friend and my wife’s your girlfriend. We are lucky.”

  Haley was again reminded of Cal and the way he’d said used the word lucky a couple of times with her. It had always made her feel so good. She wanted to cry.

  Taz nodded. “For sure!” He jumped off Haley and hurried to Maryn’s side. “Hi, girlfriend. You gots my corn doggies ready?”

  “Coming right up.”

  Taz took Maryn’s hand and they walked back around the island and opened the freezer.

  Alyssa squeezed Haley’s hand. “We’ll talk later.”

  Haley forced a smile and ate part of a chip. It was already one o’clock. By the time they finished lunch she could plead that she had to drive back to get on the ferry. She had no desire to talk about Cal and the way her heart was splintering.

  Trying to forget about Cal didn’t work very well when Tucker turned to her during lunch and said, “Maryn just whispered to me that you met Johnson.”

  Haley glared at her friend, who shrugged innocently. “Yeah. He’s been very nice to us.”

  Tucker grinned. “He’s a great guy. Did Maryn tell you about the first time she met him?”

  “No.”

  Tucker chuckled. “He and our friend, Braxton had this bet going whenever someone came to our Island Park house. Johnson tried to convince the visitor he was a paid guard and Braxton pretended he was my butler.” Tucker shook his head, grinning. “Maryn fell for all of it. It was days before she relaxed around Johnson. Called him a guard dog.”

  “Dude.” Maryn shook her head. “A tough guy with weapons strapped to his body and pointing a gun at me. He was terrifying. Except for the dimples.”

  They all laughed. “You can’t not like those dimples,” Haley said then immediately blushed when they all smiled. Haley couldn’t imagine Cal covered with weapons. He probably would be intimidating, powerful, and ooh, was this room hot enough?

  Alyssa and Maryn exchanged a glance. Taz was happily slopping his mini corn dogs in ketchup. Tucker leaned back and folded his massive arms over his chest. “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing.” Maryn winked at him.

  “Haley’s the girl you two wanted to set Johnson up with this week?” Tucker’s voice was low, almost threatening.

  Maryn splayed her hands innocently. “Well, duh, they’d be perfect.”

  Haley’s mouth dropped open, but before she could say anything, Tucker pointed at his wife and Alyssa. “You two better stop playing matchmaker. You know Johnson hates that.” His eyes widened as he glanced at Haley. “Not that he wouldn’t want to get matched with you. He just has to dodge these two all the time, especially my beautiful wife.”

  Maryn kicked him. “Ouch.” Tuck rubbed his leg and looked at her. “What?”

  “It’s okay.” Haley wanted to crawl under the table. Did Tucker think she wasn’t good enough for his friend? She wiped the ketchup off Taz’s face to avoid looking at anyone.

  Taz beamed up at her. “These are yummy.”

  Maryn jumped up and hurried to the fridge. She returned with a Hog Wash drink. “I forgot. I got this for you, Taz.”

  Taz gave her a hug. “Thank you. I love these!”

  The conversation shifted and Haley forced herself to stay in it. Tucker didn’t think Cal would want to get setup with her. Because she wasn’t a super model or because she was a mom? She shoved a big bite of potato salad into her mouth and blinked quickly as tears stung the corner of her eyes. Her escape to be with her friends wasn’t turning out like she’d hoped. Instead of taking a break from Cal, she was even more miserable thinking about him.

  Cal slept uneasily, glancing at the clock every hour or more. The bed smelled like Haley, a mix of vanilla and lavender and he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d felt in his arms. He must’ve finally crashed around five a.m. The clock said eight-forty when he awoke. Jumping out of bed, he realized he didn’t feel any more settled this morning. He wasn’t certain where he stood with Haley and it bothered him much more than it should. Luckily he had a great excuse to go see her—she was staying in his room and he hadn’t packed toiletries or clothes.

  Hurrying down the hall, he knocked on the door and waited. He listened but couldn’t hear anything. Were they still asleep? He checked his phone. It was eight-fifty. He knocked louder then called out, “Haley?”

  Counting to ten, he knocked one more time before using his key
card. If she was in there she’d have the deadbolt on, so he wasn’t really intruding on her privacy. The door flashed green and he pressed it open. He walked quickly through the rooms. There was no sign of Haley or Taz. He knew their suitcases were still in the suite he’d slept in last night, but all signs of them were gone from his room. Where could they be?

  The only explanation was the ghost. It was obviously some demented person, but how could he have gotten to Haley and Taz in here? Cal didn’t take the time to shower or change but ran out the door, down the hall, and all the way down the stairs to the security room. Sid was on duty. Cal hurried through the door without knocking. “I need to look at the film in the east hallway of floor four. Starting right now and back until… until I find what I need to see.”

  “Yes, sir. Would you like my chair?”

  Cal suddenly felt very stupid. He could actually watch this in his own office. Besides the fact, he was wearing a rumpled t-shirt and cargo shorts from yesterday and he hadn’t showered or shaved. He was acting completely unprofessional. Yet he was worried about a guest. A very important couple of guests. If something was amiss he’d need security on it immediately. He sat down and started scrolling back on the screen that Sid had clicked on for him. It didn’t take very long to show Haley and Taz walking out of his suite. She looked beautiful in a white silky tank top, that set off her olive skin and dark hair to perfection, and red knee-length shorts. Taz was bouncing along at her side. They were okay.

  Cal breathed a sigh of relief, but he wanted to know where they had gone. He clicked a couple of buttons and was soon viewing the lobby a few minutes after the time he’d sighted them in the hallway. They exited the elevator then walked through the lobby hand in hand and were out the front doors in a matter of minutes.

  Cal sat there for a few seconds. Maybe they’d gone to breakfast or for a walk. Haley had been dressed nice and she’d had her purse and her beach bag on her arm. He absently thanked Sid and walked through the hotel’s shops and out the front doors. The island wasn’t that big. He could find them if he checked everywhere. He glanced down at his clothes. He should shower and shave, but making sure that Haley was okay was a bigger priority.

  An hour later he had checked every restaurant, shop, and street on their island. He was about to go insane. Looking out across the water, he saw the morning ferry from the mainland approaching. Would Haley have left? She wouldn’t have ditched her luggage. She had to be coming back.

  Cal dragged his feet back to the hotel. It was past time he showered, ate some breakfast, and got some work done. He sighed. With Haley on the brain, he knew he wouldn’t accomplish much of anything today. This was the reason he shouldn’t date while he needed to focus on work. But how could he help himself with Haley?

  Some good news came early afternoon when Raul called and informed him they’d found the supposed ghost, Jacob Shriver.

  “You caught him?” Cal deflated into his chair. At least one worry was taken care of today.

  “The cameras caught him slipping a note under Tamara’s door and we were able to grab him. He’s in custody at the police station now.”

  “And he really thinks he’s a ghost?”

  “Yep. Total nut job.”

  “Thanks, Raul.”

  Raul grunted out an unintelligible response. Cal had noticed the man didn’t like praise. He set the phone down and glanced out the window. Haley was safe from the ghost. Now if he could just find her.

  When she got back to the hotel that night, Haley wasn’t certain what room to go to. She’d felt so safe in Cal’s room last night, but she wasn’t really ready to face him yet. She went to their room and let Taz watch a cartoon on the television in the master suite. Then she did something she knew she’d regret—Googled photos of Cal Johnson. Picture after picture came up with him and apparently a different flavor of woman every month. No, that was being too stingy, every week. It was like a punch to the gut. They were all gorgeous. She recognized some as actresses and super models. Haley couldn’t compete with women who had personal trainers and Botox at their beck and call. The worst part was how happy and handsome Cal looked in every photo. Was she deluding herself into believing it wasn’t the same happiness he had when he was with her and Taz?

  A knock came at her door. She glanced into the master suite, but Taz was completely distracted by his show. She stood on shaky legs and looked through the peephole. Cal. Her heart thumped harder. What should she do? Should she confront him? About what? The fact that women apparently fell at his feet or the fact that he hadn’t told her how wealthy he was. It wasn’t like she had a right to either piece of information.

  She squared her shoulders and swung the door open.

  Cal’s face lit up. “Haley. I’ve been looking all over.” He exhaled and shook his head before his jaw tightened. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? Where have you been?”

  “I went to visit some friends.” No need to get into the secrets those friends had revealed.

  “How could you just disappear without telling me? Do you know what I’ve been through today, how worried I’ve been? They caught the ghost and I wanted to tell you that you were safe and I wanted to…” Cal crossed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. Haley’s pulse jumped, but she had no desire to resist. His kiss stole her breath away and she forgot why she was so angry. For a few seconds. When he pulled back and glared at her, she remembered. “You can’t just leave me like that, Haley.”

  “Oh, I can’t?” She could fight just as well as he could. “So now you have some right to know what I’m doing every minute, when you’ve lied to me who knows how many times?”

  “Lied to you?” His brow furrowed and his arms dropped to his side. Dang. No, that was good. She could stay stronger if he wasn’t touching her.

  “We have some mutual friends. Tucker, Maryn, Beckham, Alyssa.” She watched for the telltale signs of lying, but his face lit up.

  “You know Tuck and Maryn?”

  “I’ve known Maryn and Alyssa since I was twelve.”

  “That’s great. Tuck is one of my best friends. It’s like this is fate.”

  “Fate doesn’t tell a guy to lie to the girl.” Haley folded her arms across her chest. “You’re not just a part-owner of this place. I can’t trust anything you say.”

  His eyes darkened to a navy blue, but he didn’t contradict her.

  “You’re just one of those rich guys who thinks it’s fun to see if a girl likes him for who he is before he reveals to the poor sap that he’s really a billionaire. Or maybe you’re just playing a part because you can and it’s only a vacation fling so who really cares, right?”

  Cal looked down. “It wasn’t like that Haley.”

  She gritted her teeth. “Tell me what it was like then.”

  He focused on her again. “When I first met you, you were so worried about paying for Taz to get medical help and you were embarrassed about winning your stay here. I didn’t want you to be intimidated by my wealth. I guess you’re right, I wanted you to get to know me and like me and I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “Why? So you could have pictures all over the tabloids with a woman who has a little boy? Does that make you look more compassionate and up your ratings on Twitter or Friend Zone?”

  Cal shook his head. “You Googled me.”

  “You bet I did.” She jabbed a finger at him. “You’re like the King Daddy of love ‘em and leave ‘em. Different girl every day. Is it hard keeping track of all of their names? Was it shocking to you when I didn’t want to sleep with you last night? How many women have there been?”

  He flinched. “I’m really not like that, Haley. If you know anything about the tabloids, you know they distort the truth to make money.”

  “You can’t fake all those pictures with different girls.”

  “I’ve been single a long time, Haley. Yes, I’ve dated women, but I promise you that I am not some womanizer and I will find a way to prove that to you.�
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  “How?” she demanded, folding her arms across her chest and trying not to soften at the hurt in his blue eyes.

  “By showing you I’m committed to you, even if it takes until we’re eighty.”

  She harrumphed though her traitorous heart leapt. “You’ve known me for less than a week. You’re only committed until you get a piece of my tush.”

  Fire flashed in Cal’s eyes. “You’re mad so I’ll let that one slide, but getting a piece of your tush is only part of the package I’m after.” He spun and stormed down the hall.

  Haley slammed the door as hard as she could, gritting her teeth so she didn’t scream. He was so infuriating. He had no right to try to pretend he wanted some lifelong commitment. How did he know that was the dream she’d harbored for years? Someone wonderful who would love her and Taz until they were eighty. But it wasn’t to be, especially with a playboy, billionaire like Cal Johnson. What a slimeball.

  Alyssa and Maryn could keep their hot, wealthy husbands. Haley was going to go home and find a nice, boring farm boy. The thought depressed her. She went into Taz’s room. “How about we eat popcorn and junk food for dinner and watch Blaze?”

  “Yes!” He jumped up and down on the bed. “Let’s Blaze!” Leaping off the bed, he dashed into the kitchen to start accumulating junk.

  Haley followed at a more leisurely pace, but at least her spirits picked up a little bit at the grin on her boy’s face.

  “Can Cal come watch with us?” Taz asked, his arms loaded with licorice, a Capri Sun, and an assortment of suckers.

  Haley’s heart sank again. “Not tonight, bud.” She ruffled his hair and tried to look past the disappointment in his face. Not any night, unfortunately. How was she going to tell her boy the fun times with Cal were over when she couldn’t even accept it herself?

  Taz miraculously fell asleep around nine, even with all the sugar from their impromptu party rushing through his veins. Haley carried him to his bedroom, tucked him in, and kissed his cheeks multiple times, savoring their softness. She adored her boy. He was going to be so disappointed when they packed up and went home in the morning. Cal had offered her the suite for as long as they wanted, but she couldn’t take his generosity anymore. It was time to get back to her family, her store, and especially to get away from Cal Johnson.