Billionaire Novelist's Fiery Debutante

by Nic Saint

  Josh, judging from the silly grin on his face, was having a ball. “You were such a pretty little girl! If I’d only known you then, we could have been married by now.”

  A tremor went through Chloe at these words. Though she knew it was partly the alcohol talking, she still exchanged a quick glance with her mother.

  “Be careful with the M word, Josh,” she heard her mother say. “It freaks her out.”

  “The M word?” replied Josh, confused. “Oh, you mean marriage?” He turned to her, a puzzled look on his handsome face. “The thought of getting hitched up freaks you out?”

  “Big time,” she admitted, lowering her head and refusing to meet his gaze.

  “I think it’s because she saw my marriage fail. Her dad and I divorced when Chloe was in her teens. And then Mark fell ill and passed away three years ago. I never remarried, and Chloe swore she’d never marry either, didn’t you, honey?”

  Chloe merely gave a curt nod and nursed her drink. Not really a topic she cared to discuss at this point. Though Mom appeared real eager, and so did Josh.

  “She doesn’t believe in marriage. Says it’s just a lot of hooey. If two people love each other, why should they get married? They don’t need society’s consent.” She gave Josh a wink. “Those are her words, mind you. Not mine.”

  “You still believe in marriage, Grace?”

  “Oh, you damn skippy I do! I think marriage is the most wonderful institution on earth. If not for marriage, we’d all be ships lost at sea, doomed to sail the waters of life without ever dropping our anchor and making a home.”

  “Mom,” groaned Chloe. “I’m sure Josh doesn’t want to hear your theories about the virtues of marriage.”

  “I’m sure he does. Now don’t you listen to her, young man. When you see something you like, you grab it, you hear me? And no matter how strongly she protests, you hang on tight!”

  She clenched her fist in demonstration, and Josh’s mouth quirked up in amusement.

  “It’s the only way you’ll ever nail her down, you know?”

  “Is that so?”

  “Just so.”

  Josh’s eyes flickered. “Thanks for the words of wisdom, Grace. I’ll be sure to take it under advisement.”

  In spite of herself, Chloe felt her cheeks flush.

  God, that’s just what she needed. Her mother putting all kinds of ideas into Josh’s head.

  She gulped down the last of her drink and blinked against the bitter taste. When she looked up, Josh was still studying her.

  Oh, dear. He wanted her. She could tell. He wanted her bad.

  And if she was absolutely honest with herself, she wanted him too.

  CHAPTER 30

  Josh couldn’t keep his eyes off Chloe. She was so different from her mom, and yet so similar. The differences were of a physical nature—Grace Thomson was skinnier than her daughter, her face prematurely aged. And yet they shared a similar sense of humor and obvious zest for life.

  He loved being in their company, probably more than Chloe had enjoyed being in his mother’s company. He’d heard an eyewitness account of the events from one of the waiters who’d described the scene as reminiscent of the great westerns of old: High Noon and Bad Day At Black Rock. Oh, boy. He could just imagine what would happen if Grace met Deirdre. Would there be a case of spontaneous combustion the moment they drifted into each other’s ken?

  He had a good idea there might.

  “Chloe tells me you’ll be leaving us soon?”

  “That’s right. I’ve sold the house and will be moving back to Pleasant Springs next week.”

  He darted a quick glance over to Chloe, who at that moment conveniently looked away.

  “Such a pity. I would have loved to pick your brains on anything and everything Frankie Knox and Jacqueline Spark.”

  “Pick away. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

  “How is it that those two never seem to get hitched up?”

  Josh laughed. “You’re the second person to ask me that today. Mike asked me the same question this afternoon.”

  “Great minds think alike, I guess.”

  “They do. And I’ll give you the same answer I gave the guys. At Chloe’s instigation, I’ve decided to have Frankie and Jacqueline exchange their first kiss at the end of the next book.”

  Grace clasped her hands together, and her face lit up with obvious glee. “That’s wonderful! I’ve been waiting for this moment for the longest time!”

  “All credit will go to your daughter. She’s the one who made me see the light.”

  “He was suffering from a major case of writer’s block. So I told him to dig a little deeper, and make the next book all about the characters. Make it personal for Jackie and Frankie?” She shrugged. “Just my two cents.”

  Grace eagerly agreed. “You know, she’s right? I’ve read every single Knox cover to cover several times over, and the only thing that irked me was that there was so little romance in the stories.”

  “There’ll be plenty of romance now.” He grimaced. “Though I still have to hear back from my editor. I hope he doesn’t slam this new direction I’m taking. Editors notoriously hate surprises. Especially when a series has been as long-standing and successful as this one.”

  “I think it’ll breathe new life into it. You’ll tap into a completely new audience with this one.”

  Josh clinked his glass to Chloe’s. “I hope so.”

  “What about you, honey? Didn’t you tell me Josh’s help gave you a fresh start as well?”

  “He sure did. I was completely stuck, but with a little help from the great Joshua Poole, I’m breaking new ground.”

  Josh leaned in. “Have you finished your first draft?”

  “Not yet. Still merrily pecking away. It’s much harder to write here. My production has pretty much ground to a halt.”

  “It’s that house, honey,” opined Grace. “You really need to find a more peaceful place to live. One with a little solitude. It will do wonders for your writing. Trust me.”

  “In Pleasant Springs things are pretty quiet. There’s a small cabin by the lake I used to work at. No one to disturb you. I mean, it’s not Eden Island—nothing is—but it’ll do in a pinch.”

  He could see a flush suffuse Chloe’s face, rising up her cheeks. He didn’t know whether it was from embarrassment or anger—he didn’t know her well enough to make that distinction yet.

  “Pleasant Springs, huh? You know, I’ve always wanted to retire to a nice little town on the edge of nowhere. A place where everybody knows your name?”

  “Mom. Everybody here knows your name.”

  “I know. I know. But still. The virtues of a small town have always drawn me in. Don’t you agree, honey?”

  “No, I don’t.” Chloe’s temper suddenly flared up. “For one thing, the place could be filled with annoying busybody nosy parkers who can’t stop interfering in other people’s lives. At least in the city you can live your life undisturbed by well-wishers and other infernal creeps.”

  Josh, taken aback by this sudden outburst, felt defensive. “I can assure you that there’re no such people in Pleasant Springs.” Then he thought of one of his former neighbors and reconsidered. “Well, perhaps one or two.”

  “There’s plenty of nosy parkers where I live, honey—I live just around the corner from Chloe’s, Josh. To take an instance, Candace just can’t stop commenting on my balcony flower arrangement. If she told me once that I shouldn’t mix gardenia with wisteria, she’s told me a million times. That woman is death in installments.”

  Josh shot her a look of concern. “I don’t think it’s the small town people you object to, is it? It’s the idea of moving in with me.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes, as Grace let out a tiny squeal. Oops. She hadn’t told her mother yet. His bad.

  “Move in with you? Did you really—did you—have you—”

  “Mom, it’s not happening, so chill, all right?”

  “But, honey!”

&
nbsp; “But honey nothing. It’s just not happening, Josh. I mean, look at us. I barely know you. You barely know me. It’s simply insane.”

  “It’s not insane to me.”

  “Look, if you wouldn’t be moving, we could have gotten to know each other, like normal people do? And then, perhaps, down the road, if things worked out, we could have discussed the possibility of living together at some point. But now? We’ve only known each other a week. Barely. And if you think I’m going to live with you in Pleasant Springs, a place I’ve never been, filled with people I’ve never met?” she shook her head adamantly. “Forget about it.”

  He could tell she’d made up her mind, and there was no chance in hell he was dissuading her. Still, he couldn’t help but give it a shot.

  “Why do we need to do things like other people? I like you. You like me. Why don’t we take a leap of faith and see how it turns out?”

  “Because if it doesn’t? I’m the one who’ll have to move out and start afresh. I’m the one who’ll be picking up the pieces and figuring out where to go from there.” She shook her head. “You know what? I think it’s insanely selfish of you to even ask me this.” She rose to her feet. “I’m out of here.”

  “Honey!”

  “You stay, mother. I’m sure you and Josh will get along wonderfully.” She cocked her head. “You know what? Why don’t you ask her to move in with you. I’m sure she’ll jump at the chance.”

  And with that parting shot, she stalked off and left him and Grace staring after her, too stunned for speech.

  CHAPTER 31

  There was a chill in the air when Chloe returned home, and as she neared the house that she’d called her home for the past three years, she knew it wasn’t the wind that chilled her bones, but the fact that she’d just broken up with Josh, possibly the only man she’d ever really cared for.

  She’d wanted to clear her head and had decided against taking a cab. During the walk home the realization she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life had come home to her with sickening clarity.

  On the one hand, moving in with Josh had clearly been the wrong thing to do. In spite of having spent a week together in an island paradise, they barely knew each other. On the other… Judging from the state her heart was in, love had found its way into her soul sometime during the past few weeks, and leaving Josh behind felt like agony.

  Never to lay eyes on his lovely face again.

  Never to rest her head on his shoulders again.

  Never to gaze into those twin pools of amber and see his lips quirk up into an easy smile.

  As she strode along the road leading home, she thought about all this and more and thought her life was just one long stretch of bad decisions. First she’d wanted to become a singer. She’d made it to the top, only to turn around and run away as fast as her legs could carry her. Rolling Stone had called her the most talented one-hit wonder that had rocked the charts in decades, and yet she’d run away from it all, unable to cope.

  She’d gone all out to make it as a writer, refusing to capitalize on her fame by launching the book under a pen name, wanting to start over. Well, she had, and her debut novel had sunk like a stone. Perhaps she simply wasn’t cut out to be a writer after all. Not everybody could be Joshua Poole…

  Josh.

  He loved her. Or at least had felt the initial stirrings of infatuation—enough to invite her to share his home. And she had bluntly refused. Had actually taken his offer and thrown it in his face, adding insult to injury.

  Why? Why would she hurt the man she cared deeply for? Why would she willingly destroy the only real chance at happiness she’d had in… well, perhaps forever.

  Maybe she should follow her mother’s advice and consult a shrink. Perhaps they could shed some light on her erratic behavior, and help her restore a balance to her life that was sorely lacking.

  As it was, she’d blown her chance at love, as she’d blown her chances of success. As she slipped her key into the lock, and opened the door to the house she shared with the Five Riders of the Apocalypse, she decided to put the whole affair out of her mind. Her writing dream, like her singing dream, had gone poof. And her love life was in as big a shambles as the rest of her life.

  She would have to start over. Perhaps find a regular job—lead a regular life for once and forget all about being special—being different.

  As she passed the hallway mirror, she studied herself carefully. Her short blond hair was tousled from the wind, her makeup runny from crying, and her lipstick smeared from biting her lip. She looked a fine mess and all because of one guy.

  As she looked into her eyes, she softly whispered, “Chloe, honey, you can do better than this—you are better than this. Just pull yourself up by the bootstraps, honey, and get over yourself.”

  She smiled a watery smile and heaved a deep sigh. Then she dumped her pocketbook on the dresser, as ugly and dark as the other furniture in the house, and tiptoed upstairs, careful not to wake the boys. When she reached the third floor, where she had her room, she noticed Kiki’s door was open to a crack, and light flickered, slanted across the ceiling.

  Darting a quick look inside, she saw that the big guy was sitting at his desk, playing a video game on his computer. When she eased open the door, he looked up, his eyelids drooping. The moment he caught sight of her, his face creased into a wide smile.

  “Hey, honey. You home already?”

  “Sure. No point hanging around.”

  At the tone of her voice, he returned the console to the desk. “Something the matter?” Then he caught sight of her face, and he bit his lip. “Honey! You’ve been crying!”

  She nodded, the tears once again welling up. Holding onto the doorframe, she said in a teary voice, “I just broke up with him, Kiki.”

  “Who? Lee Child?”

  In spite of her predicament, she had to laugh. “Yes. He wanted me to move in with him.”

  “But that’s great!” Then Kiki’s face fell as the meaning of her words registered. “Though if it means you’re moving out of this house, it’s not so great.”

  “Don’t worry,” she sighed. “I told him to go to hell.”

  As Kiki gave her a look of confusion, the truth hit home. She’d just told the man she was in love with to take a hike. Stumbling into the room, she plunked down on Kiki’s bed and buried her face in the man’s One Dimension pillow. “Oh, Kiki!” she wailed. “I just did the most stupid thing possible!”

  As he eased his bulk down next to her, she felt the bed roll and shift. Then he placed a meaty paw on her back and patted it gently. “It’s all right, honey. We all do crazy shit sometimes. No need to beat yourself up about it.”

  She whirled around. “But I love him, Kiki! I really do!”

  Kiki frowned. “Then why did you tell him to take a hike?”

  She let out a desperate wail. “Because I’m a stupid cow, that’s why!”

  His face became stern. “I won’t tolerate that kind of talk, Chloe. You can’t talk trash about my very best friend in all the world, not even if it’s you who’s doing the talking.”

  She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, smearing more makeup across her face. She didn’t care. She could look like hell, and she didn’t care one bit.

  “I liked the guy,” said Kiki thoughtfully as he rubbed her hand. “Even though he’s not Lee Child, he looks like a fine writer. I might even read one of his books. I just hope Lee won’t mind.” Then he frowned. “Tell me again what happened?”

  Chloe, her eyes closed, told her friend the whole story, starting with her sojourn on Eden Island, and ending with the terrible scene she’d made, humiliating herself in front of both Josh and her own mother.

  “He hates me now. I just know he does. Deirdre told me how disappointed he’s been in women, over and over again. How they had all let him down. And how she feared I would do the same.”

  “And now you did,” stated Kiki matter-of-factly.

  “And now I did.”


  She was silent for a spell, the sobs racking her chest finally subsiding.

  “You could always give him a call,” Kiki suggested, still holding onto her hand. “Just tell him how you feel. I’m sure he will understand. I mean, it is a bit much to take in, don’t you think? First you meet the guy, then you have hot sex on the beach, and then suddenly he’s asking you to move in with him in some Podunk town in Montana? If some hot he-man Lee Child lookalike asked me to move to Pleasant Springs with him, I’d probably…” His eyes misted over at the thought. Then he shook his head. “Well, that’s neither here nor there.”

  Chloe stared up into her friend’s trusty face. “You would have said yes in a heartbeat, wouldn’t you?”

  Kiki shrugged. “And what if I did? We’re different, you and I. If a big, handsome, hunky piece of man ass writer God reached out and told me to share his life, his home, and his bed? I’d jump at the chance. But then I’m something of a man whore. You know that about me, right?”

  At these words, Chloe burst out into a wail of desperation again, and Kiki returned to patting her hand and speaking soft words of consolation.

  Yep, she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life.

  CHAPTER 32

  “I came very near to saying yes, you know that?”

  “Yes to what?”

  She gestured helplessly. “To everything. The house—the home—the everlasting love.”

  Kiki’s eyes went wide. “He offered all that?”

  Chloe grimaced. “Well, not in so many words, he didn’t.”

  “So how do you know?”

  “It was in his eyes.” She thought back to Josh’s soft amber eyes when he’d suggested she join him in Pleasant Springs. It had all been in his eyes, she knew. His invitation, right there.

  “I guess if he felt that way about you just now, he’ll still feel that way about you tomorrow, hon.” Kiki hitched up his broad shoulders. “Like I said. Just give the man a call. Tell him you’re sorry, and you changed your mind.”