Heart of the Billionaire Read online

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “The three of you were exactly the same. None of you had a care in the world. You galloped around the planet partying, drinking, and dating countless women. Now one friend is married and has a daughter. And the other friend is still hopping around the world, dating the next flavor of the month. Do you see the difference I’m trying to point out? What’s your opinion of them?”

  “Nick is married now, and Charlie isn’t.”

  She took a step closer. “Dig a little deeper. Charlie doesn’t know what he wants in life. He’s breezing through life without a purpose.”

  “And you don’t want me to be like him?”

  “Yes. Can’t you see? Nick has a purpose in life. Charlie doesn’t.”

  “Maybe I don’t have any idea what my purpose is yet. I’ve been walking through the wasteland of not-knowing for years. Maybe I have been feeling lost.”

  “Walk into the destiny that’s waiting for you. Embrace your true purpose in life. Don’t you want to feel alive?”

  “Of course, Granny. I’m driving myself crazy trying to figure out what my purpose in life is.”

  “It’s not all the crazy stunts you and Nick get caught up in.”

  “Well, if I pull crazy stunts, it’s only because I learned from the best.”

  She laughed.

  “I’ve let you live your life, hoping you’ll grow up,” she said. “I let you have your fun. And you’ve had more than your fair share. But it’s time to grow up, James. To have a purpose. And I only say this because I love you so much.”

  He walked over and gave her a hug. “I know you love me. And I love you too. I’m sorry if I disappoint you.”

  “You’re not a disappointment. I am so proud of you. And it’s okay not to have everything figured out. It’s hard to find a specific path in life.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What is it you want in life? Tell me the first word that comes to mind.”

  “I want a normal life. I want to get off the roller-coaster I’m riding.” He looked at me and smiled. “I want to pursue a relationship with Della. I want to live in the same place longer than a month. I want to be happy like Nick. Maybe get married in a few years, have some kids, get a house. Set down some roots.”

  “You are growing up.”

  “I don’t want to be like Charlie anymore. I feel like I want more. If I had to choose, then I would pick Nick’s life over Charlie’s. Because for the first time in my life, I want stability. And when I see Charlie, I know that’s not the life I want anymore. I guess...you really made me see that.”

  “These are good signs. To lead a purposeful life, you have to follow your passions. And you know your passion is your father’s company. We both know you could take the company to the next level.”

  “I could. Meanwhile, I’d spend countless hours at the office to achieve my goal. And that wouldn’t help my budding relationship now, would it?”

  “It’s all about balance. I’m telling you that you can have it all, a beautiful family, a thriving business, and a well-balanced life.”

  “You’re saying I can have the best of both worlds?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Not only am I confused right now about what I want, but I’m still missing Dad desperately.”

  She came over and hugged him. “Me too.”

  “How am I supposed to get over him?”

  She pondered, then a tear streamed down her face. “You can’t. None of us can.”

  He hugged her tighter. “I swear I’m dying.”

  “Your father would want you to be happy. Especially with a new woman in your life that you’re serious about. Do you have any idea how happy that would’ve made him? You have to go on living. For him. He’s watching from above. And I know he wouldn’t want to see you down here moping around this beautiful island. He would want to see you jumping from the cliffs and swimming in the sea. And it’s okay. You’re allowed to do that when you’re on vacation.”

  They both laughed.

  “He would want you to be as adventurous as he was when he was your age,” she continued. “Because you’re exactly like him.”

  Granny went on to give him all kinds of advice, and I really think James needed that.

  I watched Granny wipe the tears from her eyes. “How about we look at some old photo albums? Reminisce a little? I believe I have a few albums here.”

  “I would love that,” James whispered.

  “And James. I’m so sorry I gave you that sleeping potion. I promise to never cross the line like that again. I just knew if you came here to think, you might see things different.”

  “You knew I couldn’t run from you here. You wanted to separate the general from his army.”

  “I’m so sorry. If you want to call your army, and tell them you’re down in enemy territory, you can.”

  “You are forgiven, Granny. And I would never consider you the enemy, not in a million years.”

  I decided to leave and give them some space. They were both so emotional and upset by the loss of somebody so wonderful in their lives. I knew it left a huge hole.

  I went back to the beach and explained everything to the others, then relaxed on the white sand. I knew James needed his crazy granny. And I knew how much she truly loved him.

  Chapter 19

  THE NEXT MORNING, JAMES couldn’t have been any different from the man he was the day before. From the second I opened my eyes, he seemed determined to make every tropical dream on my bucket list come miraculously true.

  “Out of bed, Princess!”

  I opened my eyes to see him sweeping toward me with a silver tea service. Upon it was an assortment of Caribbean fruits, along with something that smelled like delicious piña coladas, complete with little umbrellas in the slices of pineapple wedged against the top.

  “We’ve got a busy day ahead of us,” he declared, kissing me on the forehead while pulling me to a sitting position.

  I blinked slowly, trying to get my bearings as he bustled around the room.

  He threw open the curtains and tossed our wet clothes from the night before into a basket, then delved into the closet. Soon, he emerged triumphant with an emerald-green bikini, along with sunglasses, a pair of sandals, and a sheer cover-up dress. “I am no fashionista, but will this do?” he asked.

  A grin widened on my face, and it grew ten times bigger when I took my first sip of the frosty drink. “So I take it today’s not the day we’ll make our daring escape?”

  Ignoring that remark, he continued going through the stash of new lingerie he’d found, examining it piece by piece. “Not today...and probably not tomorrow either,” he said as he ran his thumb across a satin corset. He glanced over his shoulder with a bright smile. “Drink up! We’re wasting daylight!”

  I didn’t need to be told twice. The drink was gone in five big gulps, and I shed my pajamas and donned the bikini a moment later. I probably could have been out the door a moment after that, if not for the fact that James insisted on catching me by the arm, all his elaborate plans vanishing in the blink of a bikini-dazed eye.

  “On second thought, I’m sure we have a little time.” His eyes dilated as they swept over me, lingering on every exposed inch of skin. “Perhaps you should hop back into bed, and the two of us can—”

  “James!”

  The door burst open the next second, and James Cross’s official cock-blockers burst in, this time sans scones. It was quite clear from the sunny look on her face that Abby had been similarly plied with a piña colada with one of those fancy umbrellas.

  “We’re killin’ daylight, boys and girls!” Nick said, inadvertently repeating what James already noted. “Are you two ready to go or what?”

  James’s hand lingered on my bare shoulders, and his face tightened with a look of mock concern. “Actually, Della’s not feeling all that well. Poor thing came down with a fever late last night. Give us an hour, and we’ll meet you out there.” His eyes betrayed
him and swept over me once more. “Maybe two.”

  “Oh no you don’t!” Nick grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him forcibly from the room. “This island is too damn beautiful for you to spend the whole day inside fucking your girlfriend. You can do that back in London, that city known for its rainy weather. They have coats named after their fog, for goodness sake. That’s the place to stay indoors for a fuck-fest, not here.”

  James flashed a helpless smile my way as he was swept out of the room, but he was almost immediately yanked to an abrupt stop when Nick paused suddenly at the edge of the hall. Moving at a glacial speed, he cautiously poked his head around the corner and peered both ways. When nothing happened, he ventured tentatively toward the front door, pushing James out in front of him like a shield.

  “This is about the corgis, isn’t it?”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t say their names. You’ll summon those demons sure as shit,” Nick hissed, his blue eyes darting nervously around the house. “I swear, those dogs are on crack or something. Not only that, but I’m sure your wicked Granny keeps a sweater with my scent on it and makes them sniff it every day, the vicious little beasts.”

  I cast Abby an incredulous look, and she shrugged casually and said, “Stranger things have happened, especially with that woman.”

  As if on cue, a door opened somewhere near the kitchen, and the air filled suddenly with the sound of a dozen scurrying paws. Nick cursed in ten different languages and leapt onto the couch, but James fell to his knees, laughing uncontrollably.

  “Well, good morning,” James cooed in that high-pitched voice I often noticed men slipping into when they spoke to babies or animals. Ignoring the look of furious betrayal from his friend, he kissed and cuddled the dogs as they scampered gleefully across his lap. “You’re not so bad, are you? No, you’re adorable, a lot like your Uncle Nick, just smelly and misunderstood.”

  “Just be thankful Nick doesn’t walk around naked, in nothing but a dog collar,” Abby teased, earning her a scorned look from her terrified husband on the sofa.

  Nick was about to come back with a scathing response when the clickety-clack sound of a cane smacking the floor made him lift his head.

  The three of us straightened instinctively as Granny swept into the room, but James continued playing with the dogs. “Early birds!” she commended, watching her grandson play with a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m assuming this means your connection in Antigua fell through? No escape today, right?”

  James flashed her a look, but it melted into a rueful grin as one of the canines leapt up and smacked a pink tongue across cheek. “There’s always tomorrow.”

  Granny’s lips twitched, but she betrayed no other emotion. Instead, she shrugged as if it couldn’t have mattered less in the world. She then made her way slowly down the hall, to the parlor. “Have fun today, children. Dinner’s at—”

  “Seven,” we echoed back in unison.

  This time, it was easy to see her smile as she swept briskly through the door. “That’s right! Seven. You’re all getting very good at this, dears.”

  THE REST OF THE DAY passed in somewhat of a blur, like a sun-soaked memory I knew I’d play back in my head time and time again. We started by piling onto a boat. We learned that Granny had been working behind the scenes, because, with a wry grin on his face, James informed us that there wasn’t enough fuel to carry us to any of the adjacent islands. That didn’t really matter, though, because he had a slightly different agenda for the day.

  I wasn’t sure how Charlie would feel hanging out with two couples. But I didn’t have to worry for long when he picked up one of the locals, a pretty brunette. She was really nice and I was glad Charlie had somebody to spend time with.

  We circled around the island a few times, blasting music and screaming in delight as the boys revved the engine to top speed. We finally came to an abrupt stop just a few hundred yards offshore, and it was at that point that Nick and James leapt overboard, landing in the clear, turquoise water with a loud splashing and crashing. Abby and I took one look at each other, then did the same, shrieking with laughter as we disappeared beneath the waves.

  The second we bobbed to the surface, Nick and James were waiting, splashing and attacking us without mercy. It was open war on the waterfront, and shameless gropes ensued beneath the rippling waves. We carried on like that for some time, diving and playing in the water, until we were too exhausted to continue and promptly collapsed on the deck of the boat with a bottle of rum.

  I’d never had such fun! These crystal-clear waters, coral gardens teeming with tropical fish, and turtles were seared into my memory forever.

  “It could be like this all the time, you know,” James whispered in my ear as I leaned against his bare chest, watching the waves with a lazy smile on my face. “If you want, just say the word, and our lives will be like this always.”

  I stared out at the ocean for a while longer, trying to imagine it. “But would you be happy with that?” I asked, twisting around to look into his face.

  His face lit up with a breathtaking smile, one made all the more beautiful by the sun halo behind him and the tiny drops of water that clung to his eyelashes. “Happier than you could ever know.”

  A mirrored smile warmed my face, but it faded as I looked at him and sank into deep thought. It was easy to forget, with my head in the coastal clouds, that there was an entire world out there. It was easy to forget reality when I was so lost in the dream. “Completely happy?” I pressed softly, searching his eyes. “Can you honestly tell me, James, that you don’t feel like there’s anything missing from your life?”

  His lips parted with an automatic reply, but it died on the tip of his tongue. Then his smile dimmed, too, as he gazed out over the water, before fading completely into a troubled frown. “I’m happy right now,” he finally replied.

  I leaned back into him and quietly sighed. “Yeah, me, too, but I want a happy that will last.”

  Chapter 20

  AFTER THE BOAT RIDE, we enjoyed a quick lunch, then headed out to do some snorkeling, another thing to check off my to-do list. Nick immediately protested. “But I really wanted to dive,” he said, but James twisted his arm, reminding him that it was my first time. When that didn’t work, he reminded him, even more pointedly, that twice in the last few days, Nick had interrupted two of what might have been intimate interludes. At that point, Nick graciously relented, and before long, the six of us were having an incredible time.

  Charlie and Sherry didn’t snorkel for long, and the next thing I knew, they were making out in the water. The future groom looked like marriage was the last thing on his mind. Too bad she couldn’t be his temporary wife, because they sure had the chemistry and couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

  “Look at him,” Nick said in a kidding tone. “He’s getting married in less than two months, and look how he’s acting. What a naughty boy.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, he should stay faithful to the wife he hasn’t even chosen yet.”

  “He can pick up a woman fast,” James said. “He shouldn’t have a problem.”

  “Honey,” I said. “It’s more than just picking up a woman. It’s marriage.”

  “Pretend marriage...for a huge sum of money. All he has to do is find his future ex-wife. And that shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

  Abby chuckled. “Oh! That can be his pickup line. Hello. You look exactly like my future ex-wife.”

  “I think it could work,” Nick said. “Marrying for money isn’t anything new. He could potentially find an old friend in financial trouble who would hop on the deal to get out of the rut they are stuck in. He can even bribe them with a vacation, shopping at Prada, and hot-stone massages.”

  “But what about love?”

  “It’s a business arrangement. They both benefit from the deal.”

  “Think they’ll sleep together?”

  “I assume so. Charlie can’t go without sex for a year.”

  “
But a girl would get so attached if she was intimate with him. Why did his dad force him to do this? It’s not fair.”

  “Maybe it’s payback for leaving home.”

  “But the poor woman had nothing to do with it. Why is she getting punished?”

  “We could debate this all day, and it’s not going to change a thing. I thought we were going to look for a starfish.”

  “Oh, I want to see one of those!” I said.

  “C’mon,” Abby said as she swam off.

  James stayed by my side every second. Perhaps he sensed that I was slightly terrified to be out in the open water by myself, or perhaps he simply liked holding my hand. Either way, it was nice to stick together, picking up shells, pointing at fish, and exploring the coral reef that circled the island, to our hearts’ content.

  By the time we finished, the sun was almost swallowed up by the sky, so we headed back to shore to get cleaned up for dinner. Nick and Abby went to Granny’s private study, the only room in the house that was connected to the internet. Meanwhile, James and I took a long shower, then enjoyed an even longer roll in the sheets, one that wouldn’t be interrupted by Nick and Abby since they were facetiming with their beautiful Arabella.

  It was like the man didn’t have an off switch. He was pure charisma. We’d spent the entire day swimming in the ocean, yet he was like an Energizer Bunny fresh off a nap. He literally just kept going and going and going! The rum we sipped on all day like a bunch of drunken pirates had absolutely no effect on him, and when I finally laid my head upon the pillow and demanded a nap, he jogged lightly from the room and informed me that he was going out for another swim.

  By the time we headed down for dinner that night, dressed in our island best, we were in high spirits. However, dinner, as it turned out, was nowhere to be found.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, glancing around the empty dining room. “Granny doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who is ever late.”