Redeeming The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 5) (16 page)

“I’m with a friend. Don’t worry I’m fine.”

“Then why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”

“I was”—Addie paused, about to say asleep, then changed her mind—”didn’t hear it.” A tiny white lie like that never hurt anyone and as far as little lies went it wasn’t that bad. After all, she hadn’t heard the phone ring.

“Oh.”

“Is something wrong?” Addie asked before her cousin could question her exact whereabouts.

“There’s a picture of you and Trent outside Lucerne on the cover of
The
Star Report
. Did you know that?” Chloe asked, the worry in her voice now replaced by excitement. “And inside there is a two-page spread of pictures of the two of you together. You didn’t tell me you’ve been seeing him.”

She hadn’t meant to keep her relationship with Trent a secret from her cousin, but at the same time she hadn’t gone out of her way to tell her either. “I told you I was doing some projects for him.” She had shared at least that much.

“Please,” Chloe said, drawing out the word. “There’s a picture of you two together at WaterFire and his arms are around you. No client, not even Trent Sherbrooke, holds business associates like that. Now spill it.”

Addie ignored her cousin’s demand. “What other pictures are in there anyway?” She hadn’t seen the sedan again since the night she and Trent enjoyed dinner at Lucerne and hadn’t thought anymore about it. Had its owner been a photographer, and if so why hadn’t she seen the car since?

“There’s one of you exiting his office building and another of you two having coffee together. Then there is one of him heading inside your house. The article speculates on how you two met and the status of the relationship between you.”

The picture of her and Trent that first time in the bakery had made her uncomfortable, but at least it had been in a very public place. The idea that pictures had been taken outside her home and office angered her.

“So is any of it true? Have you “Caught the Eye of Billionaire Playboy Trent Sherbrooke” like the headline says?” Chloe asked, quoting the article’s headline.

What a stupid headline. Who came up with them anyway?
“I’ll tell you everything later. Promise.”

“Come on, Addie,” Chloe said, and Addie could imagine her cousin rolling her eyes. “This is me. I won’t say anything to anyone.”

More like sisters than just cousins, they’d always shared even the most personal information with each other. However, now wasn’t the time or place to share. “We’ve been”—Addie stopped and searched for the most appropriate word choice—”spending time together.”

“I can see that.”

“Good morning.” At Trent’s greeting, Addie spun around and watched him enter the room.

“Chloe, I’ll call you later tonight. I promise, okay,” she said as she stood.

“You’re with him now, aren’t you?” Chloe asked, and Addie heard the smile in her voice. “Call me as soon as you can. I want all the details.”

The line went dead before Addie said another word.

“Everything okay?” Trent wrapped his arms around her.

Leaning into his embrace, she encircled her arms around his waist, his bare skin warm against hers. “Chloe got worried when she stopped by my house and I wasn’t home.” Addie reached up and kissed his cheek, the facial hair that had grown in during the night rough against her lips.

Trent mimicked the kiss on her cheek, but then dropped an additional one on her lips. “I hope you told her you’ll be unavailable all weekend.” He moved his head and kissed her other cheek.

“Oh, am I?” She pulled back enough to look up at him.

“Yes, you are,” he answered, kissing her between each word.

“Well, if you insist, I guess I can hang around.” She tried to sound put out but the smile on her face ruined it.

He kissed her one last time before he moved to the coffeemaker on the counter and poured himself a mug. “Does your cousin always stop by like that?”

Her eyes fixated on his biceps as he raised the coffee to his mouth. Although well–defined, they’d didn’t bulge out in that disgusting manner most body builders strived for. She let her eyes linger there before meeting his eyes. “A fair amount, especially if she wants to talk, like this morning.” Should she mention the magazine or would he already know? Did he even care? The last published photo of them hadn’t bothered him.

“This is the best coffee I’ve ever had out of that machine. Usually it’s either as weak as dish water or strong enough to burn a hole in my stomach.”

“I read the instructions someone left in the drawer.”

Trent took another sip from his coffee. “I didn’t know those were here.”

Men. They were all the same when it came to directions. They all believed they were unnecessary. “Trent,” Addie began, dismissing the coffee machine from her thoughts, “did you know there’s a picture of us on the cover of
The Star Report Magazine
?”

In response he shrugged, then pulled out a kitchen chair and gestured for her to sit. “No, but who cares?”

She cared. He might be on magazine covers all the time, but she wasn’t. “Chloe said there is a whole set of pictures inside with an article.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. It’ll probably happen again, but after a while we’ll be old news.” He sat down next to her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Something between annoyance and anger descended on her. “Some of the pictures were taken outside my house.”

“Do you remember the sedan you saw around the neighborhood? Turned out he was a freelance photographer.” Trent covered her hand on the table with his.

He’d promised to look into it, but when she hadn’t seen the car around anymore she didn’t bother to ask. “I haven’t seen the car in a while.”

“My lawyer spoke with him. He explained that if he didn’t stop stalking you, that you were going to press charges.”

A part of her said she should be angry by his interference. The other was just relieved the photographer no longer hung around.

“I can’t promise there won’t be others at least for a little while, but they will go away. I should have warned you in the beginning, but it didn’t occur to me.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Please don’t let it change things between us.”

The worry on his face looked out of place. “It doesn’t, and I should have thought of it myself. I’ve been seeing pictures of you plastered on magazine covers forever.” Addie only considered her words after they left her mouth and Trent glanced away. “Do you think there’ll be a lot of other photographers?” His answer wouldn’t change anything, but she wanted to know what to expect.

“For a little while, yes. If it’d make you feel better I can hire a bodyguard to keep an eye on you. If someone gets too close or gives you a hard time they’d handle it.”

A bodyguard following her would be even worse than a photographer hanging around. “No, don’t do that. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? I want you to be safe.” His voice echoed the worry still on his face.

“Positive. Besides, my dad is a retired Marine and I have four older brothers, so trust me, I know how to take care of myself. They all made sure of that.”

Trent pulled her onto his lap. “If you change your mind, let me know.”

Addie agreed, assuming it would make him feel better. After all, he didn’t know she’d learned karate and boxing alongside her brothers or that she could shoot a gun better than most police officers. “How about we talk about something more pleasant? Like what we should do today.”

Any residual concern faded from Trent’s face and he gave her a look hot enough to boil water. “I have a few ideas.” He slipped his hand under her T-shirt, his fingers closing around her breast. Her entire body tingled from the intimate contact and she sighed as her eyes closed. He massaged her breast until its nipple was taut and then transferred his hand to her other breast. As he repeated the process, he kissed her neck until he reached her earlobe. “My shirt looks good on you, but it would look even better on the floor,” Trent said, his voice low but filled with desire. Before she could respond, his hand fell away and he reached for the hem of the T-shirt. In one fluid movement he pulled the shirt up and over her head, leaving her naked in his lap.

Of its own accord her body leaned toward him, eager for the feel of his skin against hers, but Trent dropped a hand on her shoulder stopping her. Without a single word his eyes dropped from her face to her breasts, and down across her torso before he repeated the caress and met her eyes again. “Much better,” he said, his words stoking the fire already growing inside her. His hand once again left her shoulder and took possession of her breast. Unable to look away, she watched as he dipped his head, taking her nipple in his mouth.

Addie’s eyes drifted closed, as his tongue teased her and sent a shudder of pleasure through her body. “I like your ideas,” she said in a voice she almost didn’t recognize.

Trent lifted his head and whispered, his breath warm against her skin, “I thought you might.” Without another word he took her opposite nipple into his mouth and repeated the treatment on the other side. As he sucked and caressed her breast, Addie slid her hand down his stomach, his abs contracting under her hand until she reached the waistband of his shorts. She paused for a heartbeat then let her hand dip inside and wrap around his erection. The moment she touched him, Trent groaned, making her more confident. With slow, even movements she stroked her hand up and down his hot flesh until his hand clamped down over hers. “Let’s go in the other room,” he said and she heard the urgency in his voice.

“Your ideas keep getting better and better,” she teased, a little breathless. Freeing her hand from under his, she stood and ignored the fact she was naked.

Rather than respond with words, Trent came to his feet, then in one motion grabbed her hand and headed for the stairs.

***

Trent stopped in front of the bookcase in the cozy living room. The top shelf held pictures of Addie and her family. The smallest was of just her and her parents at her college graduation judging by the family resemblance. The one next to it was a wedding picture. Dressed in a floor-length deep purple gown, Addie stood next to a bride and groom in a Marine uniform along with two other men also in uniform, who shared a family resemblance. The final picture featured Addie and the same men from the wedding picture as well as another man. In this picture, though, they were all dressed casually and joined by a couple he suspected were her grandparents. The rest of the shelves were filled with books on architecture and DVDs. Magazines about decorating and travel sat on the small coffee table along with a notebook and pen. Other than the magazines, the entire room remained neat with everything in its own place. He’d noticed the same thing about the small kitchen when he’d last stopped at Addie’s house. Unless she hid all of her clutter in her bedroom, Addie liked everything neat and well organized, much like him.

He’d never before considered how a girlfriend preferred her home. If they liked it cluttered with various trinkets and expensive toys that was their business, it didn’t affect him one way or the other. Now, however, standing in Addie’s living room while she showered and dressed, it pleased him to see she liked to keep her house much like he did. Not that he needed anything else to endear her to him. Already he found himself attracted to her and not just physically. Somehow in the short time they’d known each other, she’d become important to him in a way he’d never experienced before. When they weren’t together he missed her. During their phone conversations he shared the details of his day, something he’d never done with a woman before her. The women he’d dated in the past hadn’t cared how his meeting had gone or whether or not he had a good night’s sleep. They’d been more concerned with what hot, exotic vacation spot he planned to whisk them off to or what new piece of jewelry he’d purchased for them. Addie made no such demands on him. Instead, she asked him questions about himself, his likes and dislikes or how he felt at the moment. In return, he used their conversations to get to know more about her and not just the things he’d already learned from Marty’s file. Thanks to their conversations he knew she’d once dyed her hair bright pink and that when she was six she fell off her bike and knocked out her two front baby teeth.

Yup, he cared about Addie in a way he’d never thought possible. The fact should’ve thrilled him, considering Marty’s plan, and in a way it did. Now that he started this relationship with her, he could easily imagine marrying her. Yet, every time he thought of that a heavy dose of guilt punched him in the stomach. Even though his emotions were involved now, he’d started their relationship with his own personal gains in mind. If the tables were reversed he’d be furious if someone did the same to him and he learned the truth.

She’s not going to find out.
He reminded himself again. Besides, what he felt now was genuine, so regardless of why he started things, he cared about her now.

“You could have sat down,” Addie said as she entered the room, her wet hair pulled back in a ponytail, leaving a wet spot on her T-shirt.

Unfamiliar happiness took him by surprise, and he said a little thank you to fate for placing Addie in his path that day outside the bakery. “I was looking at your pictures.” He tilted his head toward the bookshelf. “I’m guessing those are your brothers.”