The Billionaire's Secret (8 page)

“Lizette,” Jon replied, “Ma made a good
point earlier—how else will we get to know each other if we don’t
ask questions?” He smiled playfully and asked, “Husband, children,
or boyfriend?”

“I am not playing Truth or Dare with you,
Jon.”

“Now that could be interesting, but maybe
best left for another time and place.” Jon smiled at Lizette and
then gave Ma a wink.

He almost felt bad watching Lizette as she
hung her head in defeat, but he was enjoying the game. When Lizette
didn’t answer his question, Ma cheerfully did so for her. “No
husband or boyfriend at the moment, but things are starting to look
promising.”

“Siblings?” Jon asked, without taking his
eyes off Lizette.

“No,” she answered.

“Hobbies? Interests?” Jon probed.

“Reading,” Lizette said.

“Lizette, there is so much more to you than
that,” Ma interrupted. Turning to Jon, she added, “She just doesn’t
like to boast about herself, that’s all. You already know she is
very involved in the community, but you might not know she’s also
an advocate for small businesses. She helps fight takeovers from
those big corporate giants, as she calls them, so they won’t
destroy every last bit of history in this town. You should see this
sweet girl when they try to intimidate us little guys. You know who
I mean—those companies that seem to have more money than God. Oh, I
could tell you stories all night.”

Jon looked at Lizette, whose face was
glowing red with embarrassment. “That’s enough for tonight, Ma.”
She quickly got up and started clearing the dirty dishes from the
table.

“Leave that, sweetie, I’ll do it later.”

“Ma, you know the rules. You cook and I do
the dishes,” Lizette stated.

“Tonight is different—you brought a
date.”

Lizette ignored her comment, grabbed an
apron out of a drawer near the sink, and slipped it over her head.
This had been their routine each Saturday night for the past five
years, since she returned home from college. Just because Jon was
here was no reason to break tradition.

Jon rose from his place and took his plate
to the sink. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “Where do you want
me to start?”

Lizette opened her mouth to protest. Jon
took his finger and laid it across her lips. Their eyes met and
whatever she was about to say was lost in his gentle touch.

“I can see you two can handle this without
me, so I’ll go get those grandkids of mine washed and ready for
bed. When I return, we can sit and have some coffee and pie.” With
that, Ma scooted out of the kitchen, leaving them alone.

Lizette blushed and turned away. He had seen
the flame, the yearning in her eyes when he touched her, and
wondered where it could have led if they’d been somewhere more
private.

Lizette had looked like she was going to
refuse his offer of help, but instead she turned toward the mound
of dishes and said, “I’ll wash, you dry.”

She opened the drawer again and pulled out
another apron. She turned to Jon, raised her arms, and slipped the
apron around his neck. Then she leaned closer and wrapped her arms
around him so she could tie it behind him. Her breasts were pressed
up against him, and he felt the blood rushing to his manhood. What
game was she playing? He bent slightly to kiss her. He had to taste
those lips that had been driving him crazy since last night. His
mouth met hers, gently at first, then more and more hungrily. His
tongue teased her lips open. Just as she started to give in, he
trailed his kisses down to her jaw, then back to her lips. She was
left defenseless as his hot mouth claimed hers once again, this
time with more intensity. His need to have her was growing beyond
anything he had felt before. This wasn’t the time or the place to
explore this further. Forcing himself to gain control, he began to
lower the heat that had built between them.

Once he had stopped, Lizette pulled away
from him slowly. She hid her eyes from him, but her hard nipples
pressing against her own apron said she was feeling their
connection too.

Yet she turned to the sink as though nothing
had transpired between them. She began washing, rinsing, and
passing the dishes to him without uttering one word. The only
indication of their encounter was the unsteadiness of her
hands.

Jon broke the silence by talking on a safe
topic, asking more about Ma and the boys. The conversation soon
flowed easily between them. By the time Ma returned, they were both
laughing at a story Lizette told when Bobby was younger.

“Well, you two seem to be getting along just
fine without me. You finish up while I get that coffee and pie I
promised.”

Jon and Lizette exchanged a sideways glance
before returning to the task at hand. It was true, they worked well
together, and before they knew it the dishes were all put away.

Ma had set the table for dessert. She poured
the coffee and cut slices of the warm apple pie, each with a scoop
of vanilla ice cream on top. Even though Jon and Lizette were still
full, they knew they could not resist having a piece of her
pie.

The three of them sat and chatted for more
than two hours, talking about the children, the local happenings,
and Ma’s memories of the “good ol’ days,” as she called them. They
were startled when the clock chimed eleven. “Ma, we better get
going,” Lizette said. “Sorry to have kept you up so late.”

“No, sweetie, I could not have enjoyed
myself anymore than I did tonight. We will have to do this again
soon.”

As they walked to the door, Lizette said, “I
will see you again next Saturday. Call me if you need anything
before then.” She gave Ma a kiss on the cheek.

Jon reached out to shake Ma’s hand, but she
wasn’t having any of that. She pulled him into her arms and gave
him a hug. Without hesitation this time, Jon gave her a kiss on the
cheek too. “Thank you for opening your home to me. I haven’t had a
home-cooked meal for a very long time. Lizette was right—you are a
wonderful cook. It truly was a pleasure meeting you and the
boys.”

Ma grinned from ear to ear and said, “That
is so kind. When will I be seeing you again? Next Saturday,
maybe?”

Oh, Ma was persistent. Jon did not want to
commit to anything. This day was supposed to be a onetime deal. One
event, one date, then back to business. Yet somehow without
thinking he said, “We’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Ma smiled, hugged Jon goodbye, and whispered
a private message in his ear. He could tell Lizette was trying to
catch what she said but couldn’t.

“I will, I promise,” was his response.

The two walked to her car. When they were
alone, Lizette asked, “What did Ma whisper to you when we were
leaving?”

“She was just saying goodbye.” He could tell
from the expression on her face she wasn’t buying his answer. Why
should she? He was lying. It wasn’t something he normally felt the
need to do, but Ma’s message had been more of a warning, and was
not meant to be shared. Lizette shook her head and started the car.
He enjoyed watching her as she tried ignoring him. It seemed the
more she tried the more she twitched that cute little nose of hers.
The car ride was going to be different from the earlier ones. He
couldn’t handle another ride in silence. He now knew a topic she
was comfortable with: Ma and the boys. “So tell me, is that a usual
Saturday night at Ma’s?” he asked. His plan worked. They chatted
all the way back to her house about Ma and the boys and sometimes
even shared their own childhood memories. They were actually
enjoying themselves. Even laughing at times. It felt good. Really
good.

Lizette pulled into her driveway. The car
was barely in park and she appeared ready to jump out when Jon
asked, “Did you enjoy yourself this evening?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Isn’t this when you ask if I enjoyed myself
too?”

“Did you enjoy yourself this evening?”

“Yes, I did.” Jon stroked her hand with his.
Quickly Lizette pulled her hand away and got out of the car. He
exited right after her and asked, “What are you afraid of, Lizette?
Why do you pull away from me when you know you’re enjoying yourself
as much as I am?”

“You give yourself too much credit, Mr.
Vinchi.”

“Ah, back to Mr. Vinchi. Okay, Lizette, so
you’re saying you don’t find me attractive? That you didn’t enjoy
that kiss in Ma’s kitchen? That your blood wasn’t as hot as mine?
Because your body seemed to be saying you were.”

“That was just a physical reaction. I don’t
even like you, Mr. Vinchi.”

“Oh. Don’t like me? A bit harsh, don’t you
think? I mean, what could I have done in twenty-four hours for you
to have already formed such a negative opinion about me?”

“You know exactly what you did.”

By now Lizette had made it to her front
porch and was fumbling with her keys. Yep, she was upset. About
what, he did not know, but he was about to find out. “Lizette, we
need to talk.”

“No, we don’t. Goodbye, Mr. Vinchi.”

Jon grabbed her hand to stop her from
continuing. “The name is Jon. What are you afraid of, Lizette?”

He could feel Lizette’s hand tremble in his
before she pulled hers away. “Jon, I am not afraid of anything and
definitely not afraid of you. We have nothing to talk about. You
fulfilled your
business
obligation today. Now we don’t have
to see each other again. You can go back to your big office in the
big city with your fancy suits and corporate friends and laugh
about what you did on the Date of Your Dreams.”

“Why do you think I’m going to laugh at what
we did today? We worked to make the park a safe place for kids to
play. I don’t see anything to laugh at.”

“You mean you don’t mind that you spent the
afternoon picking up trash?” she asked sarcastically.

“I won’t lie, I would have preferred another
assignment, but I was there to help, no matter what the job. It’s
not the work at the park that has upset you. By your greeting this
morning, it would seem you were less than happy to be spending the
day with me. I suspect it wasn’t an accident that you omitted the
details of what we’d be doing when you spoke to Matt. So tell me,
Lizette, why the change from last night?”

“Last night was different. I was doing my
job,” she said.

“Lie to yourself if you want. You enjoyed
yourself last night, and you may not have planned to, but you
enjoyed being with me again today.”

“Oh, you have some nerve, talking to me
about lying, Mr. Vinchi. You wrote the book on it.” She opened her
front door, entered, turned, and said, “Goodbye, Mr. Vinchi.” Then
she slammed the door without another word.

The hot water beat against her back. One of
his hands caressed her breast while the other moved lower and
grasped her behind her knee. With ease he lifted her up, and she
instinctively opened for him. With one swift move, he slid his hot
shaft inside her. She clung to his shoulders as he cupped her
buttock with his hands, lifting and driving further into her with
each motion. She shuddered against the waves of her climax, which
were so strong she actually heard fireworks. As the waves subsided,
the sound of fireworks was replaced by the familiar buzzing of her
cell phone.

Not again,
she thought. Glancing at
the clock, she saw it was 8:00 a.m.
Really?
No one ever
calls her early on the weekends. What were the odds that both her
days started the same way? Was this the sign to start shutting her
phone off before bed?

Not wanting to open her eyes again, she
didn’t even bother to look at caller ID before picking up her
phone.
Better not be Jon or his assistant,
she thought as
she answered.

“Hello, Lizette. Sorry to call so
early.”

It was Ms. Manning. Lizette sat up and tried
to force herself awake. It must be important because Ms. Manning
never called her personal cell phone before. “No problem, Ms.
Manning. What can I do for you?”

“What can you do for me? No, Lizette, it’s
what you seem to be doing for Another Chance. I was watching the
news this morning and found out that you won the Date of Your
Dreams with one of the most eligible bachelors, billionaire
Jonathan Vinchi. I couldn’t believe it. Not only were you on the
local news, but I opened the newspaper and there you were again.
Pictures of the two of you at Friday’s charity event, and then more
pictures of you cleaning a local park and leaving together in your
car. This is amazing. Just think, if I hadn’t been so sick Friday
night, I would have been the lucky winner.”

What? No! No way! How could he?
“Ms.
Manning, I can explain—”

“The only thing you need to explain is why
you didn’t call me so I could have joined you at the park? I
thought we were lost, that there was no way to keep these doors
open much longer. I knew that within thirty days I was going to
have to lay off the staff, but now, with this new development, your
contact with Jonathan Vinchi, we have hope. Not just for us, but
think how the community will benefit.” She paused a moment and then
asked, “So how did it go? When you asked him for a donation?”

Oh, yeah, forgot about that
. “Ms.
Manning, Mr. Vinchi didn’t give me an answer.”

“Well, you better give him a call and strike
while the iron is hot. This opportunity won’t come up again.”

Great, no pressure.
“I don’t believe
I will be seeing Mr. Vinchi again, and I have no way of reaching
him.”
And I don’t want to.

“Don’t play coy with me, Lizette. I saw
those pictures, the way the two of you were looking at each other.
I know you don’t like people delving into your personal life, but
we need a sponsor like Vinchi Medical Engineering. Mixing business
with pleasure is never easy, and I myself avoid it too, but this
time it can’t be helped. No matter what you feel for Mr. Vinchi, I
need you to negotiate a donation for Another Chance. The office
will be notified that you’re taking time off for business. My admin
will be expecting your call for any assistance you need. The door
is open, Lizette—now you have to seal this deal. I am sure if you
put your mind to it, you will find a way to contact him—if he
doesn’t contact you first. I don’t care how you do it, just make it
happen.”