Page 28 of In the Heir (Westerly Billionaire 1)
If he could have, Brett would have gone back in time to stop her father from overdosing on heroin. The investigator he’d hired to track down her father had returned with the news that he’d died six months ago. Brett had considered that good news when he’d heard it, but now he wished he could give her the chance to face him. She may not realize it, but she was stronger than most people.
What he really wished, though, was that he could have saved her from him entirely. She should never have known a moment of pain or fear. It tore at him that she had. He wanted to swear then that no one would ever hurt her again. But I don’t have to look past my own family to see how little I actually know when it comes to protecting anyone.
I do understand regret, though.
And how to flog myself with the list of what I could have done differently.
His hand tightened on hers. He hadn’t expected to have as much in common with Alisha as he did. He saw her pain through the lens of his own and, for that reason, knew what she needed to hear. “You did what you had to do to survive. Forgive the child you were. She was an innocent in a situation she did nothing to create.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. He wiped it away gently. “I try to tell myself that, but it’s the believing that’s the hard part.”
He didn’t allow her to hide behind the dry joke. “Believe it. I’ve never met anyone more loyal or brave than you. Everything you went through made you into the beautiful woman I can’t stop following around like some smitten teenager.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. He’d never been big on compliments or gushing about how he felt, but he sensed that Alisha’s self-esteem needed bolstering. If being more open than he would normally be could help her see herself in a better light, then he would tell her everything he liked about her as often as she wanted to hear it.
“I am pretty fucking wonderful,” she joked as she regained her composure.
She’d made a joke to ease the tension of the moment. “You got that right.”
Their meals arrived, and as Alisha spoke with the waiter, Brett soaked in the deeper beauty of the woman sitting across from him. She could have let her childhood harden her, but she was stronger than that. The more he got to know her, the more he knew he’d never again meet a woman like her. The man who one day won her heart would never have to worry where her loyalties lay. She deserved someone who believed in forever, too.
Not someone like me.
A better man would have walked away from her then, but Brett wanted the next two days with her. Even if all they were was friends.
Victor’s voice rang in his head, “When you marry, Brett, only do so with a woman you also consider your friend.”
“I don’t believe in marriage,” Brett thought, not realizing he’d announced it aloud until he heard Alisha’s response.
“I don’t either,” she said after a pause. “It didn’t work out for my parents or yours. Most don’t last. That’s why I agreed to marry Spencer. It’s nothing more than a piece of paper nowadays. It’s easier to get out of a marriage than it is a mortgage.”
“Exactly,” Brett said, but he didn’t like how easily she agreed with him. He frowned. “You surprise me, though. I picture you pining for a house in the suburbs with kids and a dog.”
Her eyes narrowed. “First, I do have a house in the suburbs, and I want children. There is nothing wrong with that or the dog the kids will enjoy growing up with. I just don’t need a man to make any of that possible.”
His eyebrows shot up.
She added, “Besides the obvious contribution, but that can be done in a lab. It might even be better that way. I hate the idea of a man coming in and out of my child’s life.”
“Have you considered choosing one who’d stay?”
“This from a man who doesn’t believe in marriage, either?”
She had a point, but he liked the idea of her finding the right man and having the complete family package.
No. On second thought, he hated that idea because it meant imagining her with another guy.
He pushed his half-finished steak aside and stood. “Let’s get out of here. I need some air.”
She gathered her purse and stood. “Sure.” She studied his face, looking uncertain. “Don’t feel like you have to ask me to go with you.”
“Oh, you’re coming with me.”
She blinked in surprise, and her mouth opened as if to say she wasn’t, but then it closed without saying a word.
You don’t have to say it; I know I sound like an ass.
He cleared his throat and told himself to get a grip. I’m thirty-two. I’ve dated more women than I can remember the names of. I’ll survive not sleeping with you.
She looked up at him with those big blue eyes, and he groaned. Maybe.
He offered her his arm, and only because the truth of what he was thinking would have confirmed what a dick he was, he said, “You haven’t told me about your job. Kindergarten. I don’t know how you do it. I doubt I could get one five-year-old to do anything. I read an article about how academic the lower grades are now. That must be a challenge.”
“It is,” she said with enough wonder in her voice that he would have felt worse if her hand on his arm didn’t feel so damn good.
Chapter Sixteen
A few minutes later, Alisha and Brett were standing in front of his room’s door, which just so happened to be right next to hers. She put a hand on one hip and arched an eyebrow at him.
He grinned and shrugged a shoulder. “I was optimistic.”
There it was, that unrepentant, boyish charm Alisha couldn’t resist. “Apparently. Is that all it takes with most women? A connecting door?”
Still smiling, he crossed his arms in front of himself and leaned against the wall. “Usually much less. I’ve never had to work this hard to be with anyone.”
Alisha inhaled sharply. “Well, you can stop working at it because we’ve already agreed nothing is going to happen.”
He straightened and opened the door to his suite. “Which is why it’s perfectly safe for you to come in and see the view from the balcony. It’s spectacular.”
“I’m sure it is.” Even though she trusted him, going inside would test her resolve as well.
“Afraid?”
“No.”
“Worried you won’t be able to keep your hands off me?”
She made a sarcastic sound in her throat. “Hardly.”
He stepped through the door and held it wide open. “Then come see the view.”
“I’m right next door. I have the same view.”
“Really?”
The way he asked piqued her curiosity. She peered inside. “Holy shit. This is what a suite looks like?” She stepped past him and craned her neck to see the second floor. The room was easily eight times the size of hers with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides and a large balcony with a hot tub.
“I was pleasantly surprised myself.”
After gazing out the window, Alisha spotted a baby grand piano in a corner of the large living room area and moved toward it. A butler appeared, temporarily occupying Brett’s attention. Alisha ran her hand over the top of the piano, then pressed a few keys. It was nicely tuned.
Brett’s voice at her side made her jump. “Do you play?” he asked.
“We all do. Your mother played when she was young. It was important to her that we all learned as well. She paid for my lessons because my mother couldn’t afford them. She always made sure to include me.” A sad thought occurred to her that prompted a question before she had time to reconsider asking, “Do you play?”
“No,” he said abruptly.
“I’m—”
“Don’t say it. My mother’s choices are hers to apologize for.”
Alisha tried to think of something to say that would make it better, but fell silent when she failed.
He sighed. “She might have asked me to take them. I don’t remember. If she did, I’m sure I declined the offer. I didn’t want any part of the new
family she’d made for herself.”
There was a longing in his voice that she understood all too well. Even though she loved Stephanie and her children, when things had fallen apart, they’d pulled together—without her. It hurt, and she saw that same pain reflected in Brett’s eyes. More than anything, she wanted to give him a bridge to them. “Would you like to hear your mother’s favorite song?”
Their eyes met and held for a long moment. “Yes.”
That’s all it took for her heart to beat wildly and her body to quiver with desire she refused to give in to. The air sizzled. She was aware of every inch of him so near, every breath he took. He was as focused on her. It was dangerously intoxicating.
Alisha gave herself an inner shake and took a step back. She quickly sat at the piano and began to play the melody she’d heard Brett’s mother return to again and again over the years. The ragtime tune was exactly the distraction she was looking for. “It’s called ‘Blame It on the Blues.’ Stephanie said it was her father’s favorite. When her mother met him, he was playing in bars for extra money. That stopped when they got married, but he still wanted to smoke a cigar and have a whiskey while he played. Her mother hated that, but she hated the idea of him going off to a bar to play even more, so she’d open the windows and let him. I never met him, but there’s a photo of him at your mother’s house, and I can imagine him so clearly whenever I play the song.”
“I’ve seen photos of him.” Brett sat down on the bench beside Alisha. “He did love a cigar and a whiskey.”
The warm expression in Brett’s eyes had Alisha momentarily fumbling to remember the notes. I can’t think about how much I want those lips on mine or on any other part of me they’d like to wander to.
I shouldn’t even be here.
I should have said no and gone straight to my room.
But we’re not doing anything wrong.
I’m simply savoring the little time I’ll have with him. I can do that without taking this anywhere I’ll regret.
I won’t forget about everyone back home.
Alisha transitioned to a more modern beat. “Spencer always preferred contemporary artists.” She flowed from one song into another as she spoke. “Rachelle loves holiday music. Nicolette is a huge Mozart fan because she loves numbers and puzzles.”
“What about you?” he asked huskily.
His simple question was thick with intimate meaning, but she refused to acknowledge it. She was tempted to turn her head toward him, but if she did, she knew he’d kiss her.
