One Night With the Billionaire (Men of the Zodiac) (12 page)

She had.

Or so he had thought.

Regret what? Setting him up for you to steal his fortune? Not a chance.

He replayed the words in his head over and over until he was blind to everything but the pain. He was never meant to hear them, of that he was sure. He’d only gone back to the cabana when he realized he’d left out the documents. He hadn’t wanted her to find them—hadn’t wanted them to change anything between them while he figured things out. And he hadn’t intended on overhearing her conversation with who he assumed was her father. He just hadn’t expected the answers to come so damn readily. And when they did, he could do nothing but backpedal, slipping away before he was seen.

Away from Zoe.

Why would she say she’d set him up if she hadn’t? She’d seemed genuinely shocked about the contract. It didn’t add up.

He’d risked everything because what they had been so right. Even then, even knowing she might have played his ass like a violin, no amount of logic could mount an argument to convince his heart. There was no way the chemistry between them hadn’t been real. It was impossible to think she’d simply endured while he made love to her. Fucking would have been an easy enough sell, but not the tenderness with which she’d loved him back.

Love
.

Biggest bunch of bullshit to ever meet a shovel.

But he didn’t feel as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest because the sex was over. And he hadn’t gone into their affair without full awareness that it could cost him everything. He’d assumed they’d have a fling and go their separate ways, her father none the wiser. And, God help him, if Zoe had decided she wanted him more than her old life, he’d have dealt with her father and the fallout with a smile on his face because that woman would be his.

But he got neither.

It was over, and he hadn’t gotten a vote. And now, just when he realized how badly he wanted more, it was too late. The real world had infiltrated their little bubble, and things had gotten messy. Fast.

He was still standing there, dumbstruck, when she turned and saw him. For a long while, no one said anything. But he knew, just by looking at her, that Zoe wouldn’t use him, that it was his antipathy toward relationships talking. He broke the silence.

“I just heard you say something about not regretting that you set me up for someone to steal my fortune. I know you didn’t do that—not the way it sounds—so what were you talking about?”

Her mouth opened, then closed. And opened again. “Screw you, Ryder.”

“Just tell me the truth.”

“The truth is I just told off my father for what he’d done. And now I have to go crawling back because he’s right. Because he had a point when he said I need to make my decisions and move on despite what happened at home, not
because
of what happened here.”

Ryder frowned. Not because he disagreed, but because he didn’t. He’d want the same thing for Zoe. “He’s right.”

She stared at him for a moment before she spoke. “Then I guess that’s that. Can you have someone…ready the plane?”

He sighed. “Stay for the gala. It’ll be good press for you. You’ll have time to prepare your answers and deflect any you want to avoid.” When her forehead furrowed, he elaborated. “A lot of big name politicians will be here, but no reporters. Or, rather, just one. Chloe Lochlan.”

Her eyes lit, then narrowed. “Knox Hamilton’s wife?
Senator
Knox Hamilton? The reporter who outed his father as a crook?”

“That’s the one. You can trust her, and you can spin it however you like.”

Zoe didn’t appear any less dubious. “Does she know she’s coming here to work?”

“She’s a reporter,” he said wryly. “They’re not prone to turning down good stories.”

“I guess,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “Okay, make the arrangements. I’ve got to face it sooner or later. I’ll have to go back and…start over.”

“You’ll be fine.” God, he sounded like an idiot.
You’ll be fine?
He wanted her to be
his
. But he also wanted her to be happy, and that happiness existed in her career as an attorney. She’d already said she wanted to go home. She wouldn’t have to ask twice.

He looked for a long time. Memorizing her and the way she looked in his place. Probably no need of that, though, because he wasn’t sure he’d ever forget.

Then he simply turned his back on her and left, walking along the shore until he couldn’t see her. Unfortunately, that put him closer to the resort, but that felt like the easier option. He needed to get involved with something. He needed to
do
something.

Easier said than done.

He lost himself to the solitude, but not for long before he heard someone approach.

“Good heavens, boy, there you are.” Aggie and her staggered breaths. The woman could clean like no one’s business and never break a sweat, but she had no endurance whatsoever for sand.

He didn’t turn to greet her. Didn’t want her on his beach. Didn’t need her sympathy.

“You have about fifty employees fidgeting in the ballroom,” she said, her voice drawing closer. “Hector is threatening to take them up in that biplane and barrel roll, and I think that little one is about to wet his pants.”

He didn’t turn around. Didn’t look at her. “What are you doing out here?”

“It’s hard to get piss out of good leather,” she said of the communal furniture. “Soaks right in.”

“Not funny.”

“What burnt your biscuits? And why aren’t you in there? You’ve worked too hard and wanted this too long to miss it.”

He hesitated, but quickly decided there was no point. He crammed his hands in his pockets. Still with his back to Aggie, he said, “The day I graduated high school, Zoe’s father paid me to leave town. The catch? I was never to touch his daughter. The penalty for defying him was ten times the face value of the check or my entire net worth, whichever was greater.”

“I knew there was something to you and that girl,” Aggie threw back, seemingly unfazed by his confession. “Don’t know why you wasted your breath trying to tell me otherwise.”

He bit back a retort, primarily because there was nothing he could say. Aggie was right, and he was pretty sure she’d never been convinced otherwise. “There wasn’t anything then,” he said. “I never touched her. I wanted to, but you know how teenage boys are.”

She pinned him down with an accusatory glare. “Not too discriminating is how they are. But you’re not eighteen any more. And you love her, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t matter. Her father has that contract.” He fiddled with the contents of his pocket. The jangling invaded the soothing wash of the sea, irritating him, but he didn’t stop.

The older woman shook her head. “I’m not taking her father’s side on anything, but he was probably just trying to protect his daughter. You’ve told me a time or two about how you were close to going down the wrong path. You’re not now. He has no reason not to approve of the man you are now.”

“Approval isn’t the problem.” He looked down as Aggie put a hand on his arm, silencing the noise. With a sigh, he removed his hands from his pockets. “The problem is that, doting father or not, he’s an asshole. He’s a power-hungry piece of shit who puts his own agenda ahead of everything else, including his daughter’s right to make her own choices. And in DC, money equals power. If he thinks he can get his hands on any portion of my assets, he’ll pursue this contract.”

“So what is he going to do? Take you to court?” Aggie waved her arms around like she was shooing birds. “That’s nonsense.”

“Well, considering he’s reportedly one of the shrewdest attorneys on the east coast and he had me sign in front of a notary,” he said, the sarcasm thinly veiled, “he might well take me to court. I’ve already talked to my lawyers.”

“And what did they advise?”

He sighed. “Not to touch her.”

Aggie looked skyward, aggravation etched on her face. “Why’d you ask if you had no intention of listening?”

“Because I thought she was worth it. What is this—what is
any
of this—without someone to share it with?”

“So share it with her.”

He shook his head. “Did you not hear me? It’s not that easy. I’ll lose everything.”

“If you love her and let her go,” she said, “then you already have.”

His sharp look earned him one in return.

Aggie waved her hand again. The way she threw her arms around, she’d be right at home on a runway directing aircraft. “I don’t mean to get into business that isn’t mine,” she said, “but you think about it. You’ve kept that wall up for so long. There’s a reason she got through.” She poked him in the chest. Hard. “You’re the closest thing I have to a son, and if I thought for one minute this was wrong, I’d tell you. But I don’t. If you don’t believe me, find her and ask her right out. Find out how she feels about you. Don’t go throwing everything away because your head is too far up your ass to ask a question.”

He didn’t say anything. Just stood there.

Loving Zoe.

“You are one stubborn ass,” Aggie said. “Let me rephrase. According to what you just told me, you lost her, and you’re about to lose everything else you have. You look at me, Ryder Nash. What else do you have to lose? Don’t stand there and tell me you love her but not be willing to fight for her.”

He glared. “At no point did I say I loved her.”

Aggie’s knowing smile cut through to the heart of him. “You didn’t have to. Now go give her a chance to tell you how she feels. Worst case, you march your behind right back over here and go back to staring at the sea, but at least then you’ll know.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. Again. He took in the calm, turquoise water and the clear blue sky and the white expanses of sand and architecture and wondered if there was another spot in the world like it. Or if there was any greater risk, or one more worth taking. “Outside of the kid who, as you said, is about to piss himself, is everything under control in there?”

“The resort is fine. Don’t you worry a minute about it.”

He nodded. “Call me if anything changes. I need to go.”

“Good. Find her and get this cleared up.”

He shook his head. “Not her.”

“Then who?”

“I’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m taking your advice. I’m going straight to the—” He paused. Almost laughed. But it fit. “I’m going straight to the horse’s ass.”

And for once it wasn’t him.

Chapter Sixteen

Z
oe didn’t see Ryder the rest of the day. She didn’t think much of it, considering he had only a couple of days before the resort opened, but when he didn’t come home that night, unease set in. Something had to be wrong…unless he was giving her more space. But why would he do that?

She thought of the agreement he had with her father, and fear jolted through her. Had her father gone after him? He said he wouldn’t if she came home and she clearly wasn’t there yet, but he had to give her time to catch a flight. She needed to find out when she’d touch down on the mainland and at what airport so she could arrange a flight home. Maybe having a boarding pass would buy time. She truly hoped he’d be a man of his word, but if he found out what Ryder was worth, he might decide the money was worth more than his daughter.

Her father might have friends in high places, but whether that reach extended to Ryder’s home state was another issue. With a start, she realized she didn’t even know which state that was. She’d be surprised if he hadn’t ditched Virginia altogether, but stranger things had happened.

Like showing up on his private island and falling in love with him.

She didn’t sleep that night. The next morning, she didn’t waste any time tracking down Aggie.

“He didn’t tell you?” the older woman asked.

Zoe stared, a sickness crawling through her gut. “Tell me what?”

“He’s gone. Thought the whole island could hear that tin can launch.”

“He’s
gone
?” Her jaw dropped. “But what about the resort? The grand opening?”

“Calm down, honey.” Aggie placed a reassuring hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “I didn’t say he was never coming back. He said he’d return tomorrow night. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you, but then again you never know what that man has up his sleeve.” Aggie punctuated the sentiment with a knowing wink, but it did nothing to settle Zoe’s churning stomach.

Had she given up everything for a man who was already gone?

“I need to talk to him. It’s important.”

Aggie shook her head with a quiet laugh. “I don’t doubt that.”

Zoe touched her arm. “What do you mean?”

Expression solemn, Aggie frowned. “You know it’s not my place. All I can tell you is he’ll be back tomorrow night.”

Frustration boiled dangerously close to Zoe’s limit, but she tamped it down. None of this was Aggie’s fault. “Can you at least tell me where he went?”

Aggie shrugged. “Something to do with a horse’s ass. Now get in here and help me get ready for this fancy gala of his. If I have to sample all this food by myself, I won’t fit through the door by the time the party starts.”

Zoe followed, numb. If Ryder’s definition of a horse’s ass was what she suspected, he was going to confront her father without a clue about how furious he was.

There was no way this could end well.

For any of them.

D
espite Aggie’s assurances, second thoughts assuaged Ryder at the speed of light. He’d thought Zoe too good to be true, his fortune too great, but he believed in what they had.

She was worth fighting for. Ryder had every intention of storming Edgar Davenport’s office and declaring his love for the man’s daughter, but that particular form of chivalry posed a problem: if Edgar refused to grant his approval, then what? Ryder wasn’t going to give up on Zoe no matter what the man said, which made the whole permissive gesture an empty one. Zoe was worth more than that.

He needed a Plan B, and it wasn’t until the plane touched down in DC that it came to him.

He spent the night watching the clock in a ritzy hotel. The next morning, after confirming with Edgar’s PA that he was in the office, Ryder rented a car and headed for the Davenport residence, more than a little relieved to find they had moved from the property located next to his former home. He wasn’t ready to go back there, but for Zoe, he would have.

He was beginning to realize he’d do damn near anything for her.

Even fly to DC.

After a quick stop at the florist, he found the Loudoun County estate with little trouble. Ol’ Edgar had clearly upgraded, with his new place at least twice the size of the old one. No beer cans laying in the dirt next door, that was for sure.

Ryder steered the car along a winding, stamped concrete drive and parked in front of a columned porch with enough steps to rival the façade of the Supreme Court building. Edgar probably already saw himself there, a fact that might work in Ryder’s favor. If that contract saw the light of day, Davenport could kiss his chances of wearing that particular judicial robe good-bye. The assurance didn’t do as much for Ryder as he would have hoped. It didn’t stop his stomach from churning as he gathered a dozen champagne roses in his arms and left the car. The distance to the house grew with every step. He’d had precisely one run-in with Zoe’s mother. He was sixteen and had just gotten the car that had become the bane of Zoe’s existence. His father, predictably, had lost his shit. It had been Ryder’s own money, but apparently
nothing
was his—not when there were cigarettes, beer, and lottery tickets to be purchased. Ryder spent that cold night in a car that wouldn’t yet start, watching snowflakes blow by. He had only his jacket for warmth and too much pride to go in the house for anything more. Thirty minutes after the initial blowup faded, Zoe’s mother had showed up at the car window with a thermos of hot soup and a blanket. Stunned, he’d barely managed a thank you before she walked away. He hadn’t spoken to her since, but he never forgot her kindness.

Now, he hoped she hadn’t either.

He pressed the chime. Before the melody ended, Charlene Davenport opened the door and seemed to take him in all at once—the custom Italian suit, the two-hundred-dollar bouquet of roses, the hair he really needed to cut—and much to his relief, her expression didn’t morph into disgust but rather growing curiosity. Then she glanced past him to the Mustang he hadn’t been able to resist renting—not a classic like his old car had been, but close enough—and her eyes widened. “Ryder Nash, is that you?”

“Yes ma’am.” He held out the roses, which she accepted with some hesitance.

Her gaze still darting over his shoulder, she asked, “Are you here for Zoe?”

He nodded. “In a manner of speaking.”

“She doesn’t live here. She has an apartment inside the beltway.”

“She’s not there, either,” he said with a smile. “May I come in?”

“Oh, uh, yes of course.” She stepped back, allowing him to pass, then shut the door. He followed her at a distance to a gourmet kitchen gleaming with polished granite and steel. She studied him openly as she found a vase for the flowers and proceeded to arrange them and add water. Though the growing silence unnerved him, he didn’t say a word.

Finally, she spoke. “You look well.”

“As do you. I won’t waste your time, Mrs. Davenport. I need your help.”

She led him to the living room and sat on the edge of a sofa, her back ramrod straight. “I’m not sure what I could do for you. Edgar controls the finances—”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Davenport, it’s not money I need.”

“Oh?”

Ryder reached into his jacket pocket and extracted a brochure for his resort. He handed it over and waited as Zoe’s mother examined it.

After a couple of moments she looked up. “I’m afraid I’m not following you.”

“I understand your husband has a great deal of influence,” he said, leaving her to draw her own conclusion over the object of that influence. “There is an event tomorrow night at Latitude 13, and it’s an influential guest list. You and your husband have an all-expenses-paid invitation to attend. That includes first-class airfare to Florida, then a private flight to the island. Your all-inclusive stay has already been arranged. All I need you to do is get him on the plane.”

Her polite attention shifted to bewilderment as she glanced between him and the brochure.

He cleared his throat. “With your permission, I’ll finalize the arrangements.”

“I will need to consult my husband, of course.”

“I hope you’ll do more than consult, Mrs. Davenport. You’ll need to convince him.” He stood and handed her a card that held only his name and phone number. “You have one hour.”

Charlene stood and trailed after him to the door. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand. Why are you here? Do you work for this resort?”

“No ma’am. I own it.”