The Billionaire's Secret (7 page)

Lizette received a quick hug from Ma, who
asked, “So, are you going to introduce me to your friend, or are
you planning on keeping him all to yourself?” She gave Lizette a
friendly jab with her elbow and scolded her for the delay.

“Of course. Mrs. Medeiros, this is Mr.
Jonathan Vinchi, of Vinchi Medical Engineering. Mr. Vinchi, this is
Mrs. Medeiros.”

Ma gave Lizette a look over her shoulder and
then said to Jon, “You call me Mrs. Medeiros and you won’t be
getting any dessert, young man. Any friend of Lizette’s is a friend
of mine, and my friends call me Ma.”

“We’re not exactly friends, Ma.”

“Really? Now that is music to my old ears.
It’s about time, Lizette. I was getting worried I was going to have
to play matchmaker for you, but it looks like I can cross you off
my list.” She winked at Lizette and said, “You can fill me in on
all the little romantic details later.”

“That’s not what I meant, Ma.”

Lizette saw a smile cross Jon’s face as Ma
reached out and gave him the same hug she had received earlier. Ma
gave Jon’s biceps a playful squeeze and then said over her
shoulder, “Don’t know where you found him, Lizette, but maybe he
has an uncle for me.” She laughed.

“My friends call me Jon and sorry, but no
available uncles at the moment.”

She watched as Ma soaked up every bit of
Jon’s charm. It was going to be a long night, she thought.

“Lizette, why don’t you show Jon where the
two of you can freshen up after all that hard work, while me and
the boys get everything set on the table.”

There was no arguing with Ma. “Follow me,”
Lizette said as she brushed passed him and led the way to the
bathroom on the first floor.

Lizette had been coming here since she was a
child. She had no siblings, so when she’d come here she’d followed
Ma’s teenage daughter around like she was her big sister. It was a
home away from home.
Good times,
she thought.

Opening the linen closet, she pulled out
fresh towels and almost threw them at Jon. “Your towels, Mr.
Vinchi. Is there anything else you need?”

“There is something I need,” he answered in
his deep husky voice.

“And what is that?”

Jon leaned in close to her and said, “I need
you to stop calling me Mr. Vinchi. My name is Jon. Or have you
forgotten since last night?” She glared at him. “You had no issue
with my name then. What changed? Why the cold shoulder today,
Lizette?”

What changed?
Everything
.
Lizette stepped back
. Well, almost everything,
she thought
as her body betrayed her. Even though she was angry with him,
despised him, she could feel the rush of heat, standing so close to
him. It was no longer as simple as not trusting him. That she could
have dealt with. Now she had to face the fact that she could no
longer trust herself around him. She had to break away before she
gave in to desire and leaned in and kissed him. She said, “Fine . .
. Jon it is.” Then she turned and ran up the stairs to the safe
haven of the upstairs bathroom and closed the door.

The splash of cool water on her face was
refreshing and provided her time to pull herself together. Looking
in the mirror, she inwardly groaned.
Get over it, Lizette, you
can’t stand the man, remember?
That was easier said than done.
She could not explain how or why, but deep inside she knew it was
true; she was happy he was here with her. That knowledge was going
to make tonight much harder to get through.

***

Jon was grateful for the chance to clean up
after the day’s trash detail. He would have preferred a long hot
shower and clean clothes, but a quick freshening up would have to
do for now. Oh, how Lizette seemed to be enjoying this game. Let
her enjoy it now, because the night was young, and her words were
not matching what he read in her eyes. Yes, today was proving to be
interesting.

As he approached the kitchen, he heard
Lizette talking to Ma.

“Don’t worry, Ma, there is nothing wrong
with my eyes,” Lizette was saying. “I can see he’s a handsome
man.”

“Handsome? If that man doesn’t make your
blood run hot, I’d better check your pulse, Lizette. If only I were
forty years younger . . .” Ma responded. Then he could only hear
laughter.

He entered the kitchen and met Lizette’s
eyes; the sparkle he remembered from last night was back. Jon
smiled and said, “Ladies, I hope I’m not interrupting?”

Blushing, Lizette turned away and pretended
to adjust the silverware on the table. “Not at all. We were just
talking about the weather.”

Ma gave Jon a wink, indicating she knew very
well he had overheard their conversation. Then she called the boys
to the table. The kitchen filled with the six boys, who quickly
took their seats and sat quietly. Ma nodded to the youngest.

He smiled from ear to ear, looked at
everyone around the table, folded his hands, and said, “Thank you
for this food, thank you for my brothers, thank you for Ma, thank
you for Miss Lizette, and thank you for finding her a husband.
Amen.”

Jon, Lizette, and Ma all looked at each
other in stunned silence. Thankfully, Ma broke the tension by
saying, “What are you all waiting for? Dig in, let’s eat.”

Immediately, dishes were being passed from
one set of hands to another. The food seemed to be endless. There
were homemade biscuits, like Jon’s mother made when he was young,
several types of vegetables—some his mother had had to force him to
eat but now he found delicious—and the best fried chicken he had
ever tasted. Lizette was right, Ma could really cook.

Jon could not help but think it had been too
long since he and his mother had a chance to just sit and enjoy a
home-cooked meal. Maybe not since he graduated from college.
Wow, how had time flown by so fast?
Jon made sure to bring
his mother in at least once a month for a visit, and more around
the holidays, but they always went out to a restaurant. They didn’t
have much time together, and in the time they shared he didn’t want
her waiting on him. His relationship with food wasn’t any different
in his penthouse. It held only the bare essentials: coffee, juice,
fruit, and liquor. When he was there, it was only to sleep.

Jon couldn’t help but laugh as he watched
the boys practically inhale their food. Eventually they asked to be
excused. Ma nodded and said, “You boys stay in the yard where I can
keep an eye on you. It’s getting late. You come right in when the
streetlights come on, you hear me?”

“Yes, Ma,” the boys replied and, with their
bellies full, they ran out of the kitchen. The porch screen door
could be heard repeatedly opening and closing until finally the
last boy was out.

Once they were alone, Ma turned to Jon and
asked, “So, where are you originally from?”

“I grew up in Defiance, Ohio. Being here
reminds me of home.”

“Hope that’s a good thing.”

“Yes, Ma, it is,” Jon said.

“Any family?” Ma asked.

“Just my mother.”

“What about your father?” Ma inquired.

Wow, inquisition time,
he thought.
“My father passed away when I was ten.”

“I’m sorry,” Lizette said softly.

Jon looked at her and, seeing her sincerity,
said, “Thank you.” Then he turned back to Ma. “My mother had no
family, so she raised me by herself until I went to college, and I
have been on my own since.”

“A wife and children? Or girlfriend?”

“Ma, please,” pleaded Lizette.

“Have you asked these questions?” Lizette’s
silence was her answer. “Thought not. Well, how do you expect to
get to know this young man better if you don’t ask questions?” Ma
turned back to Jon and said, “She’s been shy since she was a little
girl, but once you get to know her better, you will see she has
more layers than an onion, and each one more interesting than the
last. But I will leave you to find that out for yourself.” She
chuckled and patted Lizette’s hand. “So Jon, where were we? Oh yes
. . . girlfriend?”

With a smile Jon answered, “No, Ma, no wife,
no children, and no girlfriend. I just turned thirty-four. I’m
single. I went to Boston University and MIT, and from there I
started my own business. Currently I reside in New York and spend
most of my time working.” Jon winked at Ma and said, “Did I miss
anything?”

“That’s a start.” They both laughed. Ma
looked back and forth between Lizette and Jon. “So, Jon, what would
you like to know about Lizette?”

That piqued his interest. There was a lot he
wanted to know. But many were things Ma couldn’t answer, things he
looked forward to finding out on his own.

“Ma, please, Mr. Vinchi is—” Lizette
started.

“My name is Jon, remember?”

Lizette turned to him, then back to Ma and
continued, “Jon does not want to hear all about me. He is here on
business. We just met and volunteered at the park cleanup today.
That’s it. We don’t know each other and won’t see each other again
after today.”

Ma looked back and forth from Jon to
Lizette, shook her head and said, “If you say so, my dear.”

Unable to help himself, Jon said, after a
moment of awkward silence, “Ma, I would like to hear about Lizette.
What good stories do you have? You mentioned earlier she has been
shy since she was a little girl. How long have you two known each
other?”

Ma gave a quick look at Lizette but quickly
turned back to Jon and started telling him all about Lizette.
“Well, you see, when I turned forty my husband passed away suddenly
from a heart attack. Up until then, I’d been able to stay home and
raise my daughter, but then, in a blink of an eye, I became the
sole provider for the family. I didn’t have any real working
experience outside the house. Lizette’s parents owned a little
pharmacy and convenience store here in town. They were the only
people willing to hire me with the flexible hours I needed to be
home with my teenage daughter in the evenings and attend her
sporting events after school.” Ma paused for a moment, and Jon
could tell she was lost in her memories. He could see this had been
a special time for her and wanted to ask more, but he also saw
sadness in her eyes, so he didn’t pry.

Ma continued, “When I started, Lizette was
only seven. Every day after school she would come in with that
beautiful smile of hers. I would get her an ice cream soda and,
before you knew it, she was yakking nonstop about her day. Even
after all these years, all it takes is a bit of ice cream and she
comes right out of her shell.”

Jon looked at Lizette, who looked like she
was planning her escape. The thought of finally being alone with
her was tempting, yet he found he was enjoying hearing about her.
It only took three words to encourage Ma to continue. “Tell me
more,” he said.

“She loved school, especially math. Bet she
didn’t tell you she’s brilliant with numbers.” Jon shook his head.
“Well, she is and always has been. After she finished her homework,
she would help me count all the money in the cash drawer. You would
think she would have made mistakes at age seven, but not when it
came to numbers. By the time she was in high school, she was able
to handle the store’s bookkeeping. She was so talented at math we
weren’t surprised when she received a full scholarship to the
University of Connecticut and earned a BA and master’s degree in
accounting. Her parents were so proud.” Ma turned again to Lizette
and gave her hand a little supportive tap. “You see, she planned on
coming back to Chepachet someday to take over the family business.
But as you know, sometimes things don’t go as planned.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“Well, while she was away at college, hard
times hit around here and eventually her family sold the
business.”

Jon watched as Lizette’s sweet smile faded
and was replaced by a cold blank stare. It was obvious she harbored
some serious issues regarding her parents’ sale of the store. He
made a mental note to ask her about it later when they were
alone.

“Ever since Lizette graduated, she’s been
working as the accountant for the not-for-profit organization
called Another Chance located here. She said she wouldn’t ever
leave Chepachet again. She loves this town, and we love her. There
is something special about this young lady, and don’t you forget
it.”

Ma was right. Even though it had only been
twenty-four hours since he’d laid eyes on her, he could tell there
was something special about Lizette. She wasn’t like many women
he’d met, who had either wanted him because of his money, or had
been so fake he thought they were made of plastic. Lizette fell
into neither category. She was the type of woman a man could settle
down with, have children with. Something that didn’t fit in his
world, though it fit into the world he was sitting in right
now.

He thought of Ma’s house, an old Victorian
with a wraparound porch and a white picket fence. Rosebushes grew
on both sides of the porch, and there was a small flower garden he
was sure Ma had trouble keeping the boys out of. The ride through
town earlier in the day had revealed all types of houses, each with
their own character. Trees all around, children playing in the
yards: this was a town a person could call home. Jon looked out the
kitchen window and saw the sun was beginning to set. It never
really got dark in the city, but here it would soon be dark, quiet,
and peaceful. Yes, a place like this was where you were meant to
raise a family. But for him, it wasn’t time yet.

He thought about how he lived and worked
now, spending all his time in the office, only stopping long enough
to sleep. There was only one way to describe his love life—one of
convenience, with no actual love involved.

Lizette brought Jon back from his thoughts,
saying, “Ma, I think that is enough about me for tonight. I’m sure
Jon is tired of hearing about me.”