The Billionaire's Secrets (8 page)

She couldn't believe she had reacted the way she had. Yes, she found him at
tractive. Who wouldn't? He was
tall, dark, and handsome
incarnate. But he was also arrogant and patronizing. For heaven's sake, he was downright cruel to her. The list of reasons for her to hate him was pretty long for only knowing him a few hours. First, he
didn’t
pick her up at the airport. She was sure she had the date right.  Then he almost
ran
over her with
his
car and
didn’t
offer to drive
her the
rest of the way to the house. Then he
told
her she
wa
s fired.

At one point she
was sure he
knew the
boarding
academy
had fired her.
Why aren’t you teaching at a school?
he’d
asked. And she’d lied to him. She didn’t apply for this job because she wanted a change; she’d applied because she’d been forced by circumstances. It didn’t mean she didn’t want the job or that she couldn’t do it, but in the back of her head she knew he had a right to know. She sensed he knew she was covering something up, and maybe that was enough to hurt her case. Not that it mattered anymore
. S
he’d quit, and this time tomorrow she’d be knocking on her parents' door
on Cape Cod
, asking if she could sleep
in the guest room
.

However, even if he had learned she’d been let go from the
academy
, he had no right to speak to her the way he had. But then what could she expect from someone who could treat his own child with such coldness? In her years as a teacher she had seen parents who were not necessarily good parents, but never had she known someone who had seemed to downright dislike his own child. He didn’t even bother to hide it. Imagine telling her to call him
Gaelan
instead of Daddy!

And yet after all that, she found herself in his arms kissing him like she'd never kissed anyone before. She’d never kissed Shawn that way - not even when she’d thought she loved him. It was just never that way. Actually, looking back, it was har
d to remember why they ever got
together in the first place. They both loved the outdoors, white water rafting, and camping, but the moment they went indoors, they had nothing in common. Well, they both taught, but Shawn treated it as a job whereas for Chloe it was a calling.
And Shawn hadn’t even wanted children. How was it she hadn’t figured that out earlier?

And as for sex, well, she sure didn’t remember getting this excited. Just thinking about
Gaelan’s
kisses sent blood coursing through her veins. She had only known him for a few hours
,
and yet she knew he would torment her dreams. She only had to close her eyes to see his dark eyes. Eyes so cold one moment and so full of heat and passion the next. It would be the heat and passion she would remember - the mere memory of which would make her stop breathing and cause her heart to skip a beat. A new longing had taken root in the very centre of her being - and she had this awful feeling it was there to stay for a very long time.

She sighed, got up from the couch, and walked around the room, trying to dispel the image of
Gaelan
Byrne and his haunting eyes. Maybe she should go look for him, throw herself on his mercy,
beg
him to let her stay,
plead with
him to kiss her again and again and again...

But she knew she wouldn’t. She had more pride than that, not to mention a strong sense of reality. Even if she begged to stay, could she live with him outside the bedr
oom? Could she bear to see
him be cruel to his daughter? Could she stand it if he were cruel to her?
Which was the way it would be.
Gaelan
had already proved he had few feelings to spare.
Sexual maybe, but not emotional.

How had he been with his wife? Was he passionate with her? Did he love her so much that when she died something died inside him too? Did he love his daughter then too but
now
could not bear how she reminded him of his wife? She would never know the answers, because in a few hours she would be gone. She would never see him again.

There was a cautious knock on her door. Chloe stopped her pacing so suddenly she had to grab the back of a chair to keep from falling. Her heart pounded in her chest
,
and her voice caught in her throat. He had come to look for her! Had he been pacing around his room too, unable to get her out of his mind? She tried to call out - she wanted to tell him to come in. Pride and common sense be damned! She wanted him and she wanted him now - she didn’t care if she regretted it the rest of her life. She couldn’t leave here without again feeling his mouth on hers. She longed to tangle her fingers in his thick hair. She wanted to undress him, pull him down onto the bed with her,
feel
his
body beside her
...

The door opened a crack
,
and she took a small step toward it, ready to sell her soul to the man behind it if only for one night of happiness.

“It’s me, Windy, are you still awake?”
It was the housekeeper.
Chloe felt her knees almost buckle under her. She found her voice, a small squeak, all she could manage.

The door opened all the
way
,
and Windy came in carrying a tray with a steaming mug and a bottle of brandy beside it. There was a small covered dish as well. “I heard you pacing in here and decided to bring something from the kitchen to calm you.” She placed the tray on a small table at the end of the couch. “It’s hot milk and honey. Add a dash of brandy
,
and I promise you’ll sleep like a baby.” Windy smiled at her, a comforting sympathetic smile like a mother might give a child. She was wearing a long quilted flannel housecoat in a large floral pattern of pink roses, and for a moment Chloe was reminded of her own mother.

She smiled back weakly and thanked Windy for the tray. “I think I’ll add more than a dash of brandy," she said as she poured a generous amount into the milk. She took a sip and agreed that it was indeed soothing.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Windy said gently. “But I have a feeling your interview with
Gaelan
didn't go so well.”

Afraid of letting her emotions show, Chloe went to the fire and stirred it with the poker. Even then it was hard to control her voice. “I’m leaving in the morning,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.

“I know,
Gaelan
told me. I told him he was making a mistake, but I’m afraid he doesn’t listen to me.”

“Does he listen to anyone?” Chloe asked bitterly, giving the fire a vicious poke.

“No, I’m afraid not. He's as stubborn as a mule on Sunday.”

Chloe replaced the fire screen and turned to face Windy. “Thank you for being so kind. I wish I could stay and help look after
Sophia
. I think you’re the only person she has.”

Windy shook her head sadly. “I know,” she said. “The poor little thing needs a mother. And a good one, not like
her own
mother was.”

Chloe was shocked. “Do you mean even her own mother didn’t love her?”

Windy looked a little nervous. “I don’t think Colleen loved anyone except herself,” she said in a bitter rush before catching herself. Chloe had the feeling that Windy regretted her words. No doubt she felt she had been indiscreet. “
It’s
bad luck to speak ill of the dead,” she continued with a finality that implied she would not answer any more questions on the subject.

“Thank you for the milk and brandy,” Chloe said, wishing that Windy would tell her more.

“There's some toast as well. I don’t know whether you had a chance to eat dinner tonight.”

Chloe reflected back over the day. “Except for your cookies, I don’t think I’ve eaten anything since noon.” She managed another weak smile. “I think that’s been the least of my worries. But thanks. I appreciate your thinking about me, and I’ll take the tray down to the kitchen when I’ve finished.”

Windy dismissed her offer with a wave of her hand. “Don’t bother. I’ll pick it up in the morning.” She opened the door and turned to Chloe one last time. “If it was up to
me, you wouldn’t be leaving tomorrow. I haven’t seen
Sophia
this happy for a long time - and I hate to think how she’ll take your departure. She’s going to be so disappointed.” She shrugged as if there was nothing that could be done. “Goodnight, Chloe.”

“Goodnight Windy, and thank you again.” The door closed behind the older woman, and Chloe knew it was final. If Windy couldn’t make
Gaelan
change his mind, then it was over. She lifted the cover off the toast. It looked like good homemade bread, but the thought of eating made Chloe feel nauseous, and she hurriedly replaced the lid. She went back to her pacing, sipping the warm milk and brandy, wondering when the mixture would begin to work its magic and make her sleepy.

She had been shocked by
Windy’s
disclosure. Colleen.
The name of
Gaelan’s
wife.
She had not imagined
Sophia
’s mother had also been unloving.
Poor child.
But Windy had seemed to imply that Colleen hadn’t loved
Gaelan
either. Was that why he was so bitter? He had married a woman who didn’t love him? She wondered how Colleen had died.
An illness?
An accident?
How had
Gaelan
felt when she died? She would never know the answers to these questions
,
especially since she didn’t know the answer to the most important question of all: Had he loved her?