Billionaire's Second Chance

by Claire Adams

  All I knew was that Austin told me to dress up. He knew how I felt about him going over the top for things like this, but I wasn’t sure that he would listen. He’d been a bit too excited all week about this.

  I took a deep breath as I walked into the living room. Kim was watching something on television as she sipped a pop. I stumbled into the room on the high heels, and her eyes lit up. “Holy shit. He is going to die when he sees you.”

  “I don’t think that’s the point,” I said.

  She giggled and gestured for me to spin around. I rolled my eyes but humored her.

  “Where are we going for me to look this fancy?” I asked. “The nicest restaurant in town is the steakhouse, and most everyone wears jeans there. I can’t imagine needing a dress like this.”

  She shrugged with a wide smile on her face. “I am certain that Austin has something up his sleeve,” she assured me.

  “That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” I replied as I went to look out the window. There had been a very light snowfall overnight, so the roads were great, and I’d be okay in my nice black coat. The sun was bright in the sky, making it truly a beautiful sight. I smiled. If Austin tried too much harder with me, I’d fall for him hopelessly and want to give in to anything that he wanted. I needed to have some leverage to hold onto. I thought about drinking some of the wine that was in the fridge. “What time is it?” I asked.

  Kim glanced at her phone. “Five minutes to three. Didn’t he say he’d be here soon?”

  I nodded and looked down at my dress again. Should I change? Was this too much?

  I saw a vehicle that looked like an SUV with several feet added to it pull up in front of the house. “What in the ever-loving hell is that?”

  Kim jumped up and ran to the window to look out. “Oh, my God. That’s one of those fancy limos. I’ve seen them in pictures before, but where would he be able to get one of those for tonight?” She buzzed with excitement.

  I felt my stomach bottom out with a sickening twist inside of my body. “It’s Austin,” I said.

  She reached for my hand and nodded. “It’s Austin.”

  We both watched as he stepped out of the back, dressed to the nines in a black suit.

  “Lord help me,” I murmured as butterflies started moving inside of me.

  “You’ll need a lot more than that. This will be the talk of the town!” Kim moved to get my small purse with only the necessities in it. Kim also grabbed my jacket for me.

  I sighed as I walked to the door and opened it with a shy smile.

  “Good god, Rebecca,” Austin said. “You look beautiful.” Kim smiled at him. “Hi, Kim.”

  He stepped inside and helped me into my jacket. Then he offered his arm to walk me out to the car. I told Kim goodbye, knowing that she’d be headed home soon so I’d have some alone time with Austin after the date if needed.

  “Is this necessary?” I asked him, nodding towards the limousine. I paused at the door, giving him a dubious look. The driver stepped out to open the door for me.

  “It’s just a limo. Live a little, Rebecca.” Austin slipped his hand down to mine, squeezing it as he kissed my hair. “We won’t even leave town if you don’t want to.”

  I stared at him for a moment as he took me in with a slow, hungry gaze and then glanced at the driver. “Fine,” I muttered as I slipped inside of the car, looking around in shock. It had leather seats all around the back, with a colorful stereo system, and even a bar.

  “Nice, isn’t it?” Austin asked as he moved in beside me with a hopeful smile. “Wealth has its perks, Rebecca. You need to enjoy them.” He moved over to the bar and poured something into two glasses before sitting beside me. “Wine?”

  “I suppose that neither of us are driving.” I certainly needed the wine to even myself out, so I accepted the glass he offered and stared into his eyes for a moment. He picked something up, and I smiled as I heard the song that we considered “our song” playing over the speakers. It was one we danced to in high school. “You’re pulling out all the stops, aren’t you?” I asked him again as I lifted the glass to my lips. The wine was sharp as I tasted it, and I knew that it was an expensive bottle even with my limited knowledge.

  This was Austin, after all.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Austin teased me with a smile as he lifted his glass. “A toast to you, Rebecca. To us.”

  I clinked my glass against his, and we both drank the wine this time. I snuggled close to him, unable to stay away as I looked out of the windows. I noticed that we headed away from town, but there was nothing out in this direction that made sense with the way we were dressed. “Where are we going?” I asked him as I looked at him, taking in how handsome he was. “There’s nothing out this way.”

  “There’s something,” he said vaguely.

  The car braked and took a left turn. I gazed over at the little airport that some of the local guys used that was all but shut down. It only opened when needed, and today it looked as empty as ever, apart from a plane parked on the runway.

  “The airport?” I asked.

  He chuckled beside me. “I promised that I wouldn’t drive you out of town. I said nothing about flying.” Austin kissed my hair. The car slowed beside the small jet.

  I looked at him, and he kissed my lips. “Only you, Austin Harris. Only you.” I closed my eyes to lose myself in his kiss. “I can’t just fly away out of town. I have a job, you know?”

  “We’re not going far,” he assured me as he grinned widely. “I have a restaurant in Dallas that I’m going to take you to. We’ll come home after.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “What kind of food is it? I can’t believe that you own a restaurant!”

  “I invest in a lot of different things. I know how to keep my money working for me. This particular place is a French restaurant. I loved everything that I ate while I was there, so I bought it. I want you to try it, too.”

  The driver opened the door on Austin’s side of the car, and he pulled me out into the cool air. I looked at the plane. It was safe to assume that it was Austin’s private jet and he kept it in good shape. I felt a shiver of excitement rush through me, even though I was not the biggest fan of Austin’s wealth and how he chose to use it.

  I’d never been on a date like this and, more than likely, never would again. I might as well enjoy it. Austin led me to the plane straight away and up a small set of stairs to enter a surprisingly spacious cabin. “Oh, my God. This is beautiful,” I said in awe as I paused to look around.

  “It makes all of my travel more enjoyable,” Austin agreed as he walked over to a set of four seats. He worked fast to adjust them, surprising me with a bed as he turned back to me with a wicked smile. “I can even sleep on long flights if I need to.”

  “How long is this flight?” I asked him in a shaky voice, knowing what he was suggesting.

  “About an hour or so. We won’t have time to sleep, but I’m guessing that we can find something else to do in that time.” He grinned suggestively. “Have you ever had sex on a plane?”

  “What do you think?” I asked breathlessly as I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Where’s the pilot?”

  “He leaves me alone during the flight when requested. He’ll announce the landing, but otherwise, we’re all on our own.” Austin raised his eyebrow before I kissed him, overwhelmed by everything I felt in this moment. Austin pulled me against him, deepening the kiss as I moaned into his mouth. This man was everything to me right now and for always, even if I didn’t know what our future might be.

  Austin lowered us to the bed and slipped his jacket off as he knelt over me.

  “You’re amazing,” I whispered.

  He grinned and unbuttoned his shirt. I jumped when the plane moved. The scenery outside rushed past us. We lifted off the ground, and I saw only the light layer of clouds.

  Austin laughed and slipped off his pants. He moved to kiss me and assured me that everything was go
ing as expected. Then he kissed me again. I allowed his tongue to sweep against mine as he lifted himself to slide my dress up.

  This was something. I’d barely ever been on a plane, much less had sex with someone while flying. If someone had told me that I’d be here with Austin years ago, I would have laughed at them.

  He found my lace underwear and slid them down. I shivered. His fingers found my wet folds and teased my clit. His mouth moved to my neck, sucking gently. He drew my skin between his teeth.

  “Austin,” I whimpered.

  “I can’t destroy this dress before dinner,” he said. “So what is the best way to remove it?”

  I laughed nervously. “There’s a zipper in the back.”

  Austin made his way to his feet and offered me his hand so I could do the same. He turned me gently toward the windows. I watched as we flew through the clouds. He lowered the zipper and slipped the dress down my body.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” Austin told me as he slipped his fingers down my body gently before taking my hips to turn me around. Austin quickly unclasped my bra and dropped it on the dress before kissing me again.

  We dropped back to the bed, and he kissed my mouth until it tingled. Austin moved his mouth down my body and attacked my neck and chest with hot kisses before drawing a nipple into his mouth. His hands were between my legs the entire time; cupping me, fingering me, and finally sliding his fingers inside of me as he bit gently at my nipple. I was a mess of nerves. He brought me to the edge a few times before covering my pussy with his mouth.

  That was what I needed, and I cried out his name before I remembered where we were. He suckled at me and drank me in. I moaned and jerked against him.

  Once I was calm, Austin rose and slipped off his briefs. He kissed his way up my legs before sliding inside of me slowly, filling me with his thick cock. I let out a guttural moan and wrapped my weak legs around him. He moved again, pushing all the way inside of me.

  I gained my strength back, and we rocked together until he cried out my name and came inside of me. Austin dropped beside me and pulled me close to him. I breathed the scent of us in.

  I hadn’t even eaten yet, and this was already a perfect night.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Austin

  I sat at the table on my laptop, pleased with the updated internet service in my parents’ house. I looked at Preston’s pictures from his unexpected vacation and noticed how often the cowboy hat was on his head. It seemed to suit him, and I thought deeper about that. We’d been to Dallas when I bought the restaurant, and he’d seen the bigger city, but he wasn’t quite as struck with it as he was North Reed.

  What was it about North Reed?

  I didn’t even feel the same way about Texas as I did this town. I’d avoided it for years after leaving, and I don’t think my parents even knew about the restaurant. I hadn’t told them I bought it, and if they’d read about my purchase, the matter had never come up in any conversations. Going to Dallas was much like going to Chicago for me, if I tried to not think about North Reed when I was here.

  I always made it a different world in my mind.

  Something clicked in my head, and I sighed. Perhaps Rebecca wasn’t the only reason I avoided North Reed. If it changed Preston in a matter of days, why wouldn’t it change me as well? This was a different life than the one I’d grown accustomed to in New York, and the differences were obvious right now.

  Everyone was closer here. They all cared about each other. If I went to the hospital in New York for any reason, the police chief would not be at my door. He would probably only read about me in the papers and wouldn’t care about my well-being with all the things going on in the city. Hell, I couldn’t picture the man in my head, and we’d met at a few social functions in the past. I met everyone that was high up on the ladder of business and the social world, but nobody really knew me there.

  I couldn’t count the amount of times neighbors called to check on Dad or brought food over to help Mom out. They even went to the trouble of making sure it was healthy for all of us to eat, including Dad. The kindness of this town had stunned me once again, and I wondered how happy I was back in New York.

  Fuck. Why did I keep thinking about this?

  I heard the door open and glanced up to see Mom walking in with a bag. She’d been enjoying sneaking away to the stores while I was here, and today she had something from the bakery.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  She gave me a warm smile. “Is Dad sleeping?” she asked.

  “Yeah. He’s been down for about an hour now. I’ve been looking at Preston’s vacation pictures.” I watched as she unloaded some fresh bread and muffins on the counter.

  “Is he having a good time?” Mom came over to me, giving me a curious look. “Is it okay for me to look at them? They’re not indecent, are they?”

  “Preston is a proper chap, and he’d never show anyone pictures like that.” I turned the screen.

  She looked through the slide show and raised a hand to her mouth. “He's still wearing that hat in Singapore?” she asked with a laugh.

  “He seems to have taken a piece of North Reed along with him,” I agreed.

  She kept looking through the pictures. “Who is that pretty girl who keeps showing up at his side? Will she be coming back with him?”

  I rolled my eyes. Though he was a proper chap as I liked to tease him about, he knew how to work the women.

  “Probably not,” I said. “She’s a local there, more than likely. We’ll see when he comes back to New York in a couple of weeks.” Shit. Preston would be coming back to New York, and I didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do.

  “If you’re there,” Mom echoed my thoughts as she glanced at the last picture. “Would he move here with you?”

  That hadn’t even occurred to me, but I could imagine it. “I don’t know.” It was all I could think of for an answer because I honestly didn’t know. That was too far away in the future, even if it was just a matter of days from now. I needed to decide soon.

  We both heard Dad coming down the hall, and Mom hurried forward to give him a soft kiss. I could swear they were more in love than ever. I shook my head as I turned to look back at my computer. The loss of the deal flashed through my head, along with the alternate ending of keeping it and gaining millions, if not billions of dollars. I’d be back in New York partying with my friends and talking about all the good that could come from that money instead of sitting here in North Reed, pondering my future.

  Which was a better option?

  I greeted Dad, and he followed Mom out back to sit down and enjoy some tea. I closed the computer and stretched. My phone rang in the kitchen. I stood and answered it as I pulled the container of muffins towards me, not bothering to look at the screen first. “Austin Harris,” I said, putting on my business tone before listening to the voice on the other line.

  “Hello, Austin,” Mia cooed.

  I rolled my eyes. What the fuck did she want now?

  “Mia,” I said in a low voice, finally getting the muffin that I wanted out. My appetite faded at the sound of her voice, but I could get through this. She was miles away from me, and I’d handled worse things than her.

  “How was your Christmas?” she asked.

  I played the day back through my mind. I wasn’t sure if news of my father had gotten out, since I told my staff to keep it to themselves.

  “It was very good. Did you go see your sister in Connecticut?” I walked out to the front porch and sat down.

  “No. She didn’t want to come into the city with the new twins, and I had a party to attend. It was at this new club in Manhattan, and everyone was there.”

  I raised an eyebrow. She chose a party in the city over spending time with the new babies in her family? I wouldn’t trade my Christmas for that now, but I had forced my parents to come to be with me for the past several years. We didn’t do the clubs, but what was the real difference? I had gone out after they went to sleep to the same
places that Mia just described.

  I was no better than her in some ways.

  “That sounds…great,” I said, unable to offer much more than that. “Your parents were gone?”

  “A European cruise.”

  They still lived in their original home where she was from, but I expected that they would want to see their grandchildren for the holidays. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. The saying made me think of my Grandpa and Dad. Suddenly, life in New York seemed so empty. I set the muffin on the table and ran a hand through my hair.

  “I missed you this year, Austin. When are you coming home to me?”

  “We broke up, Mia. We broke up mutually months ago. Why are you calling me?” I kept my voice calm and stared at the front yard. It was set so far back from the street that it felt like my own little paradise at this moment, far away from New York.

  “You don’t miss me just a little bit?” she asked. “We had some good times together, Austin. All the nights out that ended in your bed or mine haunt my dreams. It hurts my feelings that you don’t feel the same way.” She poured as much seduction as she could into the words, but it didn’t affect me the way it used to. “I know that I meant more to you than you’re letting on.”

  “Is that so?” I asked.

  “I also know that you’re not in the Bahamas, Austin,” Mia tried to whisper.

  My eyes widened. “How?” Whoever let that information slide would be fired immediately.

  “You know that your colleagues hang out in the same places that I do. I’m Mia Laht, Austin. It doesn’t take much for me to find out anything, and when the guy is drunk, it is that much easier. I’ll bet you’d love to find out who it was.”

  “Give up on this, Mia, and leave me alone,” I growled before I ended the call, holding my phone tightly in my hand. I was tempted to throw it into the snow in my anger toward Mia, but it takes two to tango. I was the male version of her not that long ago, flaunting myself and my wealth for everyone to see.