“Wonderful!” JoNelle clapped. “We have a bid from Eliza Crowe for one hundred thousand dollars for Derek Mitchell.” She paused and scanned the crowd, where several people clapped appreciatively toward Eliza as if she had won him already.
With a jolt, Derek realized that no one was bidding against her. His breath hitched as he watched JoNelle in slow motion, gavel in hand, step back to the stand where she would finalize the sale.
“One million dollars for bachelor number twelve,” a clear voice shouted from the back of the ballroom.
The sea of glittering ball gowns and expensive tuxedos parted to reveal the woman in purple holding up her bidding paddle. The number was 117, printed in black on her white card. Derek shook his head as the rush of voices reached him.
“Did I hear that correctly?” JoNelle asked as she stepped forward.
The beautiful blonde with cascading purple, white, and gold flowers trailing from her mask held her paddle up higher. “Yes, one million dollars for Derek Mitchell!”
Applause erupted all over the room as the gavel fell. Derek stared at the woman, her stance, the way she held the paddle high above her head. It was all familiar, and his gut twisted as a dozen theories swirled in his head.
But none of those theories were as powerful as the words he heard next.
“And the highest bidder is number one-seventeen, Kauai’s newest billionaire. She has worked for several years with Jordan Burke Enterprises, and recently the company exploded on the international market, making her worth just over a billion dollars. Congratulations to the beautiful and generous Lexi Burke.”
28
Lexi’s face flamed underneath the mask, and her insides writhed in agony as she watched the shock slide over Derek’s face. As the crowd moved to congratulate her, she lost sight of Derek and dropped her paddle to the ground. They weren’t supposed to know it was her. She hadn’t put her name on anything, but somehow they knew. She thought back to the check-in that night and the knowing look the man had given her when he’d handed her the bidding number—“Burke Enterprises, huh? Guess you’re going to make a splash tonight.”
Lexi had been speechless. The fact that he even knew about her business was confusing, but now it made sense. All of the applications had to be vouched for so that people could actually afford to pay cash for the bachelors they bid on. They had done their homework, but because it was a masquerade ball, she thought there might be anonymity involved in the actual bidding.
By the time Lexi made her way to the front of the room, the last bachelor had been sold for a healthy sum of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars. She should’ve been smiling because she had just helped to change the world and Derek’s life in the same night, but she kept seeing his face when they announced her name. The shock and betrayal cut to Lexi’s core. On her way to the masquerade ball, she’d convinced herself that it wouldn’t be so bad if Derek found out that she was rich, but JoNelle had announced that Lexi was Kauai’s newest billionaire. Lexi would just have to explain to Derek that she really wasn’t a billionaire. Burke Enterprises must have increased in value.
“Oh, there you are, Lexi dear.” JoNelle came up beside her. “That was impressive. We’d like to get some pictures, if you don’t mind. Your costume is absolutely divine, by the way.”
She motioned for Lexi to follow her onto the stage, where a group of men in sport coats and tuxedos stood. The group shifted, and there was Derek in his striking gray sport coat and hair spiked in all the right places. His new camera sat next to him, the supple leather strap hanging off the table. He didn’t look at Lexi.
“Okay, Derek, work your magic,” JoNelle said.
He nodded and adjusted the camera over his neck. Then he climbed off the stage and focused on Lexi. She turned to JoNelle with a questioning look.
“Oh, Derek had a fantastic idea. He thought it would be great to have us take a picture of him taking a picture of you.”
Lexi forced a smile. “Yes, that’s nice.” She saw another photographer to the side of Derek with his camera aimed on the two of them. Lexi tilted her head toward Derek, but she didn’t smile. Her lips could be described as a demure pout, and if someone looked too close, they might see her bottom lip trembling slightly. She held the pose until the photographer grabbed the shots he wanted.
“Let’s have a few of you together now,” JoNelle said.
Derek climbed back on stage, leaving his camera hanging from his neck. He stood next to Lexi and when his fingers brushed hers, it was like a flash of heat.
“Derek, I couldn’t let Eliza win that bid,” Lexi whispered.
“Later.” He smiled for the camera until JoNelle announced that they could leave.
Derek offered his arm to Lexi as they walked off the stage, but she could feel the anger radiating off him like the tiki torches outside the building. He moved stiffly, and with each step Lexi felt like she was walking toward a boiling volcano. They exited the ballroom and stood in a semi-darkened hallway that led to the kitchen.
“One million dollars?” Derek said as soon as the door clicked shut behind them.
“I didn’t know how much they were willing to spend. I wanted to put a stop to it quickly.” Lexi grabbed his arm. “Derek, I’m sorry, but Eliza had something planned and I didn’t want to risk you getting hurt.”
Derek shrugged his arm from under her. “You vouched for me?” Derek spat. “This camera? How much did you have to shell out to get that little deal done?”
Lexi stepped back. The venom in his voice burned through her. He wasn’t listening and he’d already jumped to the topic of his new job. She’d been right to be worried. “I didn’t pay anything—”
“Oh, that’s right, I’m sure you didn’t. But Burke Enterprises did.” Derek raked his fingers through the spiked part of his hair. “A billionaire? You never gave me a clue. I thought you were like me!”
“I am like you.” Lexi ripped her mask off. It tangled with her curls, and she winced. “I’ve worked hard my entire life for every dollar and it paid off. Why does that make me a bad person?”
“You lied to me.”
“No, I never lied, but I couldn’t tell you everything when you were so busy bagging on anyone you thought had ten dollars more than you.”
He rocked back on his heels. “Is that how you see me? Poor little Derek who can’t make it on his own?”
Lexi rubbed a hand across her forehead. “No, that’s how you see yourself. You’re always comparing yourself to someone you think has more than you when you have everything right here. You have the life people would pay millions for.” Lexi blew out a breath. “You’ve always had everything, but you’re too busy going to your own pity party to see it.”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t expect you to, but you should at least try. Derek, don’t you know me? I am not my money.”
“But a billion dollars?” He looked down at the camera hanging from his neck and scowled. If he tried to give the camera back, Lexi would snap.
She had to get him to understand. “Derek, listen. I didn’t even know I was worth that much until they announced it tonight. Jordan told me he was going to sell some of our factories in China. He must have made quite the profit. And they could be combining my total worth with all of Burke enterprises, so maybe I’m not a billionaire after all.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Derek clenched his fist. “You’re just as bad as every rich snob who’s kicked me along the way. Maybe worse—at least I knew who was kicking me then.”
Lexi gasped and shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”
“Well, you can vouch for someone else, because I’m through with this charade.” Derek turned and stomped down the hall.
His footsteps pounded out a cadence that matched the blood pumping through Lexi’s temples. An instant headache seared behind her eyes, and she slumped back against the wall, covering her face. Derek was a volcano, spewing lava everywhere. Even if Lexi fle
d Kauai, she’d still be covered in ash, her skin burned and raw, just like her heart.
* * *
Derek slammed his car into gear, cursing at the rusty piece of junk as the engine sputtered and groaned to life. A new car to Lexi would be like pocket change. He punched the dash and cried out when a jolting pain shot through his wrist. He wanted to feel the pain—a physical pain instead of the emotional turmoil boiling his insides.
How could he be so stupid? He’d ignored all the signs: Lexi lived in Princeville, she’d quit her job, she didn’t have another job, and she spent her days painting on the beach. Without closing his eyes, Derek could conjure her up like some ethereal ghost. A flash of her golden hair, her soft mouth with that curve in her upper lip, the way she kissed him until a fire roared inside strong enough it might never go out. All that was left now were the burning embers of betrayal.
29
Somehow Lexi made it home and crawled into bed. She’d thought about calling Jordan to vent her sorrow, but she didn’t dare. He would just insist that she come home to Chicago.
Sunday morning, she rose early and drove to Ke’e Beach. She wasn’t looking for Derek. He wouldn’t be there this early. She was looking for solitude.
Lexi started hiking the trail down from the beach. The tears made it hard for her to avoid the tree roots that wound surreptitiously across the path. She stumbled and fell hard when she reached Hanakapi’ai Beach.
The burn on her knees and scuffed hands broke the remaining timbers in her dam; Lexi sat down right there and sobbed. She rubbed her eyes, wondering why the people she loved the most were taken from her. She loved Derek, and she thought her love would be enough for him to overcome his disdain for excessive wealth, but it wasn’t. She took a shaky breath and admitted to herself that this was different from her parents’ death. It was her fault for keeping the truth from Derek. She’d convinced herself that it was the only way, but seeing Derek’s face last night—the look of betrayal etched into his features—was proof that she’d been wrong.
Something furry rubbed along her calves. Lexi started and looked down to see Mango winding around her legs, his bushy tail flicking her ankles. “Oh, it’s you. Aloha, kitty.”
Lexi ran her hand along Mango’s back, and then impulsively picked the cat up and held him close. Mango purred and rubbed her neck with his head. “What am I going to do?” Lexi whispered. Her heart felt like one of Pika’s coconuts that had cracked open, and Derek was the one holding the machete.
A vision of the Na Pali coastline came to her mind. She remembered telling Derek that she couldn’t think of anything that would make her ever want to leave this place, but she would have to amend that statement because she’d never considered the pain of a broken heart. Kauai wasn’t a paradise without Derek.
Thinking of her broken heart led to thoughts of Shawn. He’d declared his love for her, but settled for just friends. Maybe he was right when he warned her that people with money have to live a different life even if they don’t want to. Shawn was a good man. He probably had a more accurate idea of Lexi’s worth than she did, but he’d never acted like he was interested in her for her money.
She wasn’t desperate for a relationship, but she was desperate to fix things with Derek. She clutched her phone. She dialed Gracie and Jordan, but neither answered. Where was the advice hotline for billionaires when she needed it?
She found Shawn’s picture in her contacts and stared at his face. He spent more money on the highlights in his hair than Derek probably did for his entire wardrobe. She pushed call.
“I don’t know what to do.” Her words tumbled over each other as she confided her deceit and greatest fears to Shawn.
“Do you love him?”
Lexi wiped the tears from her cheek. “Yes.”
“Then you have to find him and tell him. If he can’t see that you’re authentic, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
Lexi’s heart fractured in another jagged line with Shawn’s words. “I don’t know if he’ll listen.”
“On his own, away from the crowds. Maybe things will be different.”
“It might be too late.”
“If it is, then I’m here, Lex,” Shawn said. “Second best is better than nothing at all.”
“Oh, Shawn. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It hurts me to hear the tears in your voice. It hurts me when you’re unhappy. I still love you, Lexi. So go find this guy before I do. I’ll be waiting, and I might be praying that a large fish swallows him.”
Lexi chuckled. “I’ll try. But you deserve someone better than me—someone who can love you with their whole heart.”
“I’m a patient man,” Shawn said. “Good luck.”
Lexi ended the call and hugged the phone to her chest. The pain in her heart was more excruciating than any emotional pain she’d felt before. Her heart hurt, with a physical hurt that left her gasping for breath. She looked up at the skyline filled with the brooding mountains of the Na Pali coast, and she knew where she’d find Derek.
Her legs were shaky when she stood, but a surge of energy pushed her forward, and soon she was running up the trail and skidding past sharp rocks and branches toward Ke’e Beach. When she got there, she sprinted to her Jeep and drove the long, winding road around the island toward Waimea Canyon.
She passed the overlook where Derek had taken photographs of her before he’d lost his camera, before he’d been put up for auction. The clouds grew darker and heavier the farther she drove.
Her Jeep groaned as the incline rose, and she pressed the gas pedal down. The sign for the Pu’u o Kila Lookout came into view, and Lexi wrenched the steering wheel to the right, skidding to a stop in the empty parking lot. Empty except for a certain rust-colored Subaru driven by the man she loved.
A fine mist hung heavy in the air. She put on a rain jacket, her heart tightening with fear and laced with hope. If she could just tell Derek that he meant more to her than anything else in the world. His love for the island made her feel at home, and she never wanted to leave. If he would listen for one minute, then maybe he could forgive her deceit.
Lexi hopped out of the Jeep and scanned the area for Derek; then she hurried up the trailhead, stopping at the overlook that had taken her breath away the first time she’d seen it. She sent up a silent prayer for help to find Derek and that his heart might be softened before she caught up with him.
A quiet peace filled her as she looked at the canvas in the Creator’s hand with colors she’d never imagined before. Greens with a vibrant golden lining and blues muted by the gray skies above. The panorama before her spoke to her soul, filling her senses with a reverence for the gifts that God had given her on this island—a chance to find herself and to learn what was most important.
Lexi’s throat clenched and her eyes filled with tears. Derek was the most important thing to her in that moment. She turned from the vista and walked forward along the red trail, searching for him.
The mist turned to rain that fell softly at first, and then harder. Red mud squelched around Lexi’s tennis shoes. She reached a point in the trail where it curved around large boulders and traveled down a steep hill. Water trickled along the rocks, and Lexi looked up at the sky, wondering how long the rain would last. She recalled the waterfalls from Derek’s photography and how he’d explained that they sprouted with every rainstorm.
She put one foot in front of the other, holding on to the rocks as she climbed down the slope. The rock she’d just placed her foot against rolled. It happened faster than the rain falling from the sky, yet Lexi saw it in slow motion: the trail collapsed and muddy water rained down on her as she fell. She slammed into a boulder and cried out, the air pushed from her lungs with such force that she was left with searing pain, gasping for air. She moaned and heaved, trying to stop her lungs from convulsing. When she finally sucked in a breath, her head tingled. She lifted her fingertips to her scalp and recognized the warm thickness of blood.
Lexi ke
pt still, breathing slowly, trying to decide what to do next. Her foot was cold, and when she wiggled her toes she realized that her leg was hanging halfway off a rock ledge. With one hand, she felt for the edge of the drop-off, gripping the rock. The rock sat like a pedestal in the ravine with one side against the muddy mountainside, and Lexi was in the center of it. The cliff rose up sharply away from the trail, and the boulder was just far enough from the outer rim she’d been standing on that it would take a giant leap to reach safety. She closed her eyes and prayed for help to the God who had created the incredible vista, the raindrops, the red mud, and Derek.
30
The rain pelted Derek’s face, but he lifted his chin, letting the warm moisture roll down his cheeks and drip from his beard. It was past time to turn back, and he’d gone farther than safety recommended in this storm. He’d replayed his conversation with Lexi last night—every angry word. It contrasted painfully with every encounter he’d had with her before last night. The Lexi he knew in his heart was not the shadow her money created in his mind. The peace of the Na Pali coastline had given him a chance to open his eyes and see that his judgment against Lexi and anyone with wealth was wrong. He’d let his own insecurities blind him to the beautiful gifts God had given him on the island—not only in the raw nature surrounding him, but in Lexi. He clenched his jaw until it trembled. What if it was too late to fix things?
He scraped his boots on the rocks and flipped his hood up. This part of the trail was always tricky, and for a moment he considered waiting until the rain stopped, but then he heard a cry. It was too loud to be a bird, and birds were silent in the rain. It had to be human, and strangely, he thought it might be Lexi. His heart ricocheted in his chest, and panic flared through his veins.
Hawaiian Masquerade (Destination Billionaire Romance) Page 14
