Redeeming The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 5) (25 page)

Addie didn’t move or say a word as she watched him but her mouth curved downward, her frown from before back in place.

“Before you, I didn’t think love was in the cards for me. I knew it existed, but I’d never experienced it. Now, I can’t imagine my life without you.” He pulled out the diamond and platinum ring he’d hidden under a flower petal. “Addison Raimono, will you marry me?” He slipped the ring onto her left hand.

Addie’s eyes looked at the ring, then back up at him, but rather than smile or cry out with joy she pressed her lips together and swallowed.

“Addie, this is where you’re supposed to say yes.” He tried to joke, but a sinking sensation set into his stomach.

“Trent, I love you and there’s nothing I’d like more than to marry you.” She said the words he wanted but her tone made his stomach sink further. “But I need to ask you something before I accept this ring.”

“Ask me anything.” He had no secrets to hide from her.

“Do you promise to answer honestly?”

Trent nodded, prepared for a question about his past.

Addie took a deep breath. “The other night I did some work in your office. The printer ran out of paper so I looked for more. I found something strange in your desk.”

He kept only work related stuff in there. “Okay, what?”

Without answering, she left the table and came back from his office with something in her hand. “These.” She placed several binders and a folder on the table near his dessert. “What are they?”

He’d forgotten about the binders from Marty. After the meeting when Marty gave them to him, he’d tossed them in his desk and not looked at them again. What he should’ve done was put them through the paper shredder. He stared at them, willing an answer to come that wouldn’t make him look like a complete ass.

“I read them all. I know I shouldn’t have, but I did. Why did you need all that information about me and those other women?”

He stared at the materials. His mind a blank slate.

“At first I thought maybe these women were people you dated before me. That maybe you checked out all your girlfriends, afraid they were after your money or something.” He heard the catch in her voice. When he looked up he saw the suspicion on her face. “But they all have a July date on them, including mine.”

Complete honesty was his only option now. “You know that I have a less than stellar reputation.” He’d have to start at the beginning.

Addie nodded, clasping her hands in front of her.

“My campaign advisor was concerned it would hurt my chances at election. His solution—find a wife long before the election.” Just talking about the plan made him feel like a jerk. “He had connections with some high-profile families who would be interested in a marriage of convenience. These three women come from those families.”

“That’s insane but whatever. That explains those binders. But what about my information, and shouldn’t you be here right now with one of those women instead of me?” she asked glaring at him.

“I agreed with his marriage of convenience proposal since everyone involved would be on the same page.” Did he have to tell her everything? Could he just tell her he’d changed his mind after meeting her? If he did that he could use her previous assumptions about her file.

“Trent, are you going to answer me?” she asked when he remained silent too long.

No, she needed the whole truth. Any lies might come back and haunt him later. “After that picture showed up in the paper, Marty checked into you and you reminded him of my cousin Callie and Jake’s wife, Charlie. America loves both of them. He decided that you were the perfect woman for me.” Trent avoided Marty’s exact words that day.

“And you agreed?”

“Yes and no. I tried to convince him otherwise at first. When he wouldn’t budge I told him I would consider it but made no promises.”

Addie’s eyes became glossy. “Why?”

“Those other women knew what they were getting into with me. They understood we’d only date and marry because I needed a wife, not because I loved them. You wouldn’t have known any of that.”

“So you never would’ve asked me on that first date if Chloe hadn’t sent in that picture and caught Marty’s attention.” She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I don’t—”

“Be honest for once, Trent. Would you have asked me out?” she asked in a harsh raw voice.

He hung his head, unable to meet her eyes. “No. I would’ve picked one of those women and after you finished decorating my office, we probably never would’ve seen each other again.” He didn’t want to see her reaction, but he had to make things right so he looked up.

She’d clenched her jaw tight and tears streamed down her cheeks. “So all of this,” she gestured around with her hand. “Our time together and this proposal are part of a plan to fix your reputation.” Her voice broke but she didn’t look away.

Her words and reaction chilled him to the bone. A tense silence enveloped the room as he searched for the right words. When he settled on his words, he reached for her hand, but she pulled it away crossing her arms over her chest.

“When I first asked you out, it was because of Marty’s plan.” Cold sweat trickled down his back as he started. “But almost right away, I forgot all about it. When we were together, it was because I wanted to be with you, not because I needed a wife.” Addie’s expression remained the same. “The day I told you I love you, I meant it. Addie, I love you and want to marry you because of you, not Marty or some half-ass plan.” Panic rose inside him.

“No. When I said I love you, I meant it. You’ve just been using me for your own goals,” she said, bitterness lacing her every word.

Afraid of where the conversation was headed, he stood and walked around the table. Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her toward him. “That’s not true. Every word I’ve said, I have meant. Addie, I love you.”

She sniffled and wiped another tear away. “I don’t know if I can believe you.” She slipped the ring off her finger. “I know I cannot accept this.” The ring hit the table as his heart hit the floor. “I do love you, Trent, but I need to go.”

“Don’t leave like this.” Tears gathered in his eyes, and he gripped her shoulders tighter.

“Please, let me go.”

Other than physically keeping her there by force, he couldn’t think of any way to make her stay. “Not until you promise to think things through. Consider giving me another chance.” He’d envisioned this night so much differently. Right now they should be wrapped up in each other’s arms, talking about wedding dates.

Addie took hold of his wrists and pulled at them. “I can’t make any promises.” She stood when he released her shoulders. “I’ll get my stuff some other time.” She went toward the door without looking at him again.

He couldn’t move his feet; they were cemented in place. “Where are you going?”

She continued walking, answering him as she went. “My house or I guess Chloe’s house.”

He watched in silence as the door opened and closed, sending a single teardrop down his cheek.

She made it into her car before the dam broke and tears poured down her face. How could it have all been fake? She’d been confident that his feelings matched her own. And what kind of a person manipulated another like he had?

Addie dropped her head against the steering wheel, sobs racking her entire body. She’d been sure that he was the one despite the differences between them. Never in her wildest imagination had she expected their relationship was a ruse, a plan to fix his reputation.

For quite a while she gave her emotions free reign. Then when her head began to pound she sat up. Ignoring the burning in her eyes, she took several deep gulps of air and wiped the tears with the sleeve of her sweater. Confident she’d make it home in one piece, she started the car and headed for Chloe’s.

When Chloe opened the door, she took one look at her cousin and hugged her. Neither remembered that just days earlier they’d argued. Instead, Chloe led her into the kitchen, dropped a full container of mint chocolate chip ice cream in front of her and waited.

Addie’s first instinct was to tell her cousin everything, but she held back. How much should she share? She loved Chloe much like a sister. However, now she wondered if she could trust her with the whole truth. She’d didn’t fear she’d leak the story the way she had the picture. Chloe wasn’t cruel, but what if she said something to a friend? Who knew what her friends would do with the information?

“Do you want to talk?” Chloe asked, well into her own ice cream container. “If not, that is okay.”

The cold ice cream soothed her achy throat brought on by all her sobbing. “We had a big fight. Do you mind if I stay here for awhile?”

Chloe gave her a hug. “Of course. Technically, this is still your house,” she reminded her. “And if you need me later, I’m here.”

Addie nodded, then dug in for more ice cream.

***

The metal frame of the futon dug into her back causing even more discomfort when she woke the next morning. Even though her cousin had offered her the use of her old bedroom, Addie declined and slept on the futon she’d left in the spare bedroom. She’d always intended to replace it with a proper bed. Since until recently she’d never had any guests the entire two years she lived here, she never had.

This morning, as the metal bars poked into her back, she wished she’d invested in that extra bed. Rubbing at her temples she closed her eyes again, the sunlight making her headache worse. The last time she’d had a headache this bad was the one time she’d tried giving up all caffeinated beverages. She’d lasted only two days before she grabbed a jumbo iced tea from a nearby fast food restaurant.

Addie groaned as her stomach rolled, and for a moment she feared the ice cream from the night before would make a repeat performance.
That’s what I get for eating a whole container of ice cream.
She swallowed down the bile rising in her throat.
Never again.

A soft knock sounded on the door, followed by Chloe’s voice. “I’m leaving for work. I left some bacon and waffles on the counter for you. Will you be here when I get home?”

“I will,” Addie answered. “Possibly in the very same spot if this headache doesn’t go away.”

The door opened and Chloe poked her head inside. “There is some extra strength Excedrin in the bathroom. See you later.”

Addie waited until she could lift her head without the pounding making her dizzy. Still in the pj’s she’d borrowed from Chloe, she went downstairs. Perhaps a coffee would send the drummer in her head on his way.

The combined smell of bacon and waffles hit her head-on when she entered the kitchen. Her stomach, still upset from the previous night’s overindulgence, flipped sending Addie on a mad dash to the bathroom, which she made it to just in time.

Once confident her stomach held nothing else, she splashed cold water on her face. Vomiting was the least pleasant physical response in the world and something she rarely did. Patting her face dry, she looked into the mirror. While her tan from the summer had faded, she usually had more color than she did now. Making her appearance even worse were the purple smudges under her bloodshot eyes. Man, was it a good thing today was Saturday. She looked like hell. Had she looked this bad last night, too? If so, no wonder Chloe appeared worried when she opened the door.

There’s nothing you can do about it now.
Addie turned off the light. Besides, she had other problems, all of them with the name Trent attached to them. How could he treat her this way? Sure, she’d read that he was a carefree playboy, but she’d never heard him called cruel. The way he’d manipulated their relationship bordered on cruelty in her mind. And if what he said was true and he did love her, how could she ever know for sure? Could she ever hear him say those words and not wonder if he had his reputation and political career in mind?

Addie skipped the bacon and waffles and made herself a hot cup of herbal tea. As much as she wanted a nice big hot coffee, she knew her stomach would never handle it. Addie washed some headache medicine down with her tea. Man, she hoped Trent had as crummy of a night as she had. When she walked out, she’d noticed the distraught expression on his face. “He was probably upset his plan backfired,” she muttered to herself as she grabbed her toast from the toaster.

Something soft and fuzzy rubbed against her leg and Addie slammed her knee into the table when she jerked it away. “Ouch.” Glancing under the table she spotted Hugh, her cousin’s black cat. A stray rescued from a local animal shelter, Hugh’s entire body was black except for one small patch of white around the eye. Not your typical cat, at least in terms of the ones she met before, Hugh loved human companionship much the way a dog did. “I forgot you were here.” She scratched the cat behind the ears. Hugh purred, then licked her hand before curling up into a ball on her feet.

Both Addie and the cat stayed in the kitchen. Addie sipping her tea and thinking about Trent, while Hugh kept her bare feet warm. “This isn’t solving anything, Hugh.” While she couldn’t solve her problems with Trent, she could solve one of her other problems, her lack of clothes. All of her stuff remained at his place. While at some point she’d have to get it, she wasn’t up for that today. Thankfully, she had a credit card and a nearby mall. After depositing her half-eaten dry toast in the trash, she headed upstairs.