The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance (21 page)

Beck felt the pressure of lips on his. “Alyssa,” he murmured, but then he realized the smell and feel was all wrong. The perfume was too strong and the lips were hard and demanding. He pushed the woman away with his right arm and forced his gritty lids to open. “Belle! What are you doing with your tongue in my mouth?” Gross. He needed mouthwash.

“Oh, poor baby.” She leaned down and he had to look at the monitors to avoid seeing everything that expensive surgery had blessed her with. “I came as soon as I heard. Can I get you anything?”

“No.” Beck shook his head and closed his eyes. “I’m just really tired.”

“Go ahead and rest. I told Anna I’d watch over you while she grabbed some food.”

Aw, crap. How was he going to get rid of her? He heard her settle into the chair by his bed and finally opened his eyes, focusing on her face as he already knew too well what her body looked like in the form-fitting outfits she always wore. “I really appreciate you coming, but I’m not very good company right now.”

“You’re always good company for me,” she said. Her eyes got that wicked gleam they used to get when she’d talk him into doing something neither of their parents wanted them to. Before she turned into such a brat, they used to be friends. “I’m sorry about that gold digger. Alyssa, was it?”

Beck swallowed. “She’s not a gold digger.”

Belle stroked his arm. “Beck. You’re too good. Always being so kind about everyone.” She pressed her firm chest against his arm. “I’m here for you, baby. We can be together again. You know I don’t have any agenda but wanting to be with you.”

Beck pulled his arm away. “It didn’t work for us five years ago and it’s not going to work now.” He’d always tried to keep a good relationship with Belle and her family, but he really wasn’t up for her games today. He wanted a real woman who cared about his causes and cared about people. He’d seen the way Belle treated anyone she thought was beneath her. The thought of taking her on a humanitarian trip almost made him laugh out loud. Taking Alyssa anywhere was like a dream come true. Belle didn’t hold a candle to Alyssa’s beauty, compassion, talent, or the desire Beck had for her. As soon as he got out of this hospital bed, he needed to find Alyssa. He knew those stories sensationalized the truth. It was time to get over his hurt feelings and find out what Alyssa was really about.

“Give us a chance again?” Belle begged, her bottom lip jutting out. The look was cute on his three-year old niece.

“No.” Beck said. He sat up, feeling stronger than he had since the accident. “You and I are not a couple and we never will be, but thanks for coming by.”

Belle’s mouth dropped open. She closed it, narrowed her eyes, and stood. “Don’t expect any more contributions from Daddy.”

“I hope your father doesn’t base his charity on what his spoiled daughter wants, but if that’s the way it’s going to be, I can live with that.”

Belle whirled and stomped from the room. Beck closed his eyes, relief pouring through him. He didn’t have to tread lightly around her anymore. He hoped he hadn’t just lost a major contributor as that wasn’t fair to the children, but the money he received from selling all of his motorcycles would fund most of those programs for a few years. If he had to, he’d sell some of his investment rentals, not build some of the commercial buildings they had scheduled, or pull some money out of stocks.

He took a sip of water and paged the nurse. “Do you have any gum?”

“Gum?” she asked.

“Breath mints? Mouth wash? I’ve got a nasty taste in my mouth I want to get rid of.” He wanted to be done with anything that reminded him of Belle and the fake relationship they used to have. Then maybe he could fall asleep and dream of Alyssa again.

“I’ll see what I can find.”

Beck relaxed against the stiff pillows and smiled. The sooner he got the taste of Belle off of him the better. Now if only he could have a taste of Alyssa. That would cure every ache and pain.

Alyssa only made it halfway across the parking lot. Her stupid foot wasn’t supporting her very well today. Anna caught her and latched onto her arm. Her blue eyes were filled with fire. “If you care about my brother, why are you running away?”

“Belle,” she managed to get out before sniffling like an idiot. She pressed the back of her hand to her nose and blinked quickly.

“In all the commotion I forgot about her. What was she doing?” Anna asked.

“In the hospital room kissing Beck.”

Anna shook her head and nodded to her husband as the group caught up with them. “Belle’s taking advantage of the situation as usual. She acted all nice, said she’d sit with Beck while I ran to get something to eat. That woman makes my skin crawl.”

“I know what I saw,” Alyssa insisted.

“A comatose man being kissed by a predator?” Anna asked. Her lip curled in derision. Alyssa hoped it was for Belle and not her.

“Beck was asleep when I left him,” Anna continued. “And I can promise you he has no interest in Belle. Our dads always tried to push them together, and Belle tried every trick she had, but Beck was never interested in Miss Fake and Tight.”

“Never?”

Anna shook her head, her eyes filling with compassion. “He tried to date her for Dad’s sake, but he knew she wasn’t the one for him, knew it years before he met you.”

“Do you think I am the…” Alyssa couldn’t finish the question.

“Even when I tried to talk poorly about you, Beck didn’t listen. You should see the look in his eyes when he talks about you.”

Alyssa couldn’t hide a smile.

“You should see how sappy they are together,” Granny inserted.

Alyssa was amazed Granny had stayed quiet this long. Oh, she loved her Granny Ellie.

Anna tugged on Alyssa’s arm. “How about you go see Beck and you two talk this out?”

“Okay,” she whispered. She didn’t know if she was brave enough to go back into that hospital room, but she and Beck at least deserved a chance to work through it. The walk back to the hospital and wait for the elevator were the longest she could remember. The entire group kept nudging and smiling. She would’ve faltered without the support. Finally, she was standing outside his door then a push from behind propelled her through it. Granny or Anna, she wasn’t sure.

Beck sat up on the bed. His eyes widened. “Alyssa.” He swallowed and then whispered, “You came.”

Alyssa wanted to rush to his side and put a kiss on each of his bruises, but the somber look on his face held her in place. “Oh, Beck. I’m so sorry you got hurt.”

He gave her a ghost of a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

“Will you?”

He inhaled and then released the breath slowly. “Someday.”

The slight catch in his voice prompted her to take a tentative step forward. “What if… what if I won’t be fine?”

He studied her face. “Did you get hurt?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“How?” His brow furrowed and for just an instant he was that guy again, the guy who protected her from the druggie, kissed her until she forgot the world, and would right her every wrong.

“When you wouldn’t believe me that I would never have betrayed you with those pictures and that article. It hurt me, right here.” She placed a hand on her heart.

Beck closed his eyes for half a second. When he opened them she thought she saw a glimmer of hope. “Are you telling me I can trust you?”

“Just like I can trust that you weren’t kissing Belle willingly.”

Beck’s eyes filled with disgust. “You can. I got rid of her.”

“I had nothing to do with that article, Beck.” She paused and amended, “Well, I did take those pictures years ago when I was in an awful spot and really needed some money. I didn’t know how they were going to twist them to hurt you. And Maryn did ask me to secure one date with you when you came to Hawaii, but she promised our names and pictures wouldn’t be in it. I didn’t want to do it, but I figured I’d get the date to help Maryn and that would be that, but then I fell for you.” She squeezed her hands together, unable to meet his gaze. “And the Billionaire Bride Pact is true, but I never wanted to fulfill it. They called me the dark side of the pact.”

Beck chuckled and she finally allowed herself to look at him. “The dark side of the pact?”

“Wait until you meet my friends.”

He smirked at her and then said, “It’s okay about the article, Alyssa.”

“I need you to know I would never hurt you on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Because.” She bit at her lip and found herself unable to hold his gaze. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Beck.”

“Alyssa, please look at me.”

She looked up and saw his blue eyes were brighter than normal. “Even if you had stalked me for years and written that entire article, I would forgive you, because… I love you too.”

A whimper escaped from her throat. He lifted his un-casted arm and she rushed to his side, sinking onto the hospital bed. Beck pulled her against his chest. “Oh, Alyssa, I missed you.”

She glanced up at him. “There’s so much I need to tell you, to explain.”

“Later,” his voice had gone low and husky. His head lowered toward hers and Alyssa didn’t mind waiting to explain.

Beck squatted behind a potted plant at the exclusive Newport Beach restaurant, 21 Oceanfront. “My thighs are killing me,” he muttered.

“Hush,” Granny said, not appearing to be struggling at all, maybe because she was so small to begin with and didn’t have as far to squat. It was hard to imagine that she was really sick and dying. “He can’t see us until the perfect moment.”

“We could find an easier spot to hide.”

“Are you trying to take all the fun out of an old lady’s final few days?”

Beck wasn’t sure what was fun about squatting for over ten minutes, but he didn’t want to upset Granny right now. That she was willing to go along with his plan to teach her “punk son” a lesson was crazy to him. Beck’s parents would never have sided with someone against him, but he also wasn’t a crook who would prostitute his own daughter.

A smile lit his lips as he thought of Alyssa. After this was over, he was going to take her to dinner and enjoy every kiss she let him steal. After his arm was fully healed and he had clearance from his doctor to leave the country, he and Alyssa could start planning trips to help Jordan’s Buds.

“There he is.” Granny clamped onto his right arm, her nails digging into his skin. “You ready?”

“Yep.” Beck started to rise, but Granny pulled him back down.

“Wait until he’s seated and staring at his menu.”

Gary sat at a corner table with a twenty-something blonde. He trailed his fingers up her side then copped a discreet squeeze of her breast before lifting his menu. Beck took that as his cue and stood. Granny shakily rose and Beck knew she’d been lying that the squat hadn’t affected her. He held onto her elbow and escorted her around the pot and toward Alyssa’s dad.

The blonde spotted them first. She winked at Beck. Her eyes traveled up and down his frame. “Hello,” she said breathlessly

“We aren’t here to be seduced by a floozy,” Granny shot out.

Gary’s head jerked up. “Mother.” He stood and reached out a hand to her.

Ellie gave him an imperious glare. “We aren’t here to reconnect either. Beck, do it.”

Gary lowered his hand and looked warily at Beck. “Beckham, good to see you again.”

“Wish I could say the same,” Beck countered.

Gary’s eyebrows drew together but he didn’t comment. He did remain standing. His eyes wavering between Granny and Beck.

“I could have you arrested for blackmail,” Beck said, “but your mother cares enough about you to keep you out of jail.”

“You have no proof.”

“Oh, but I do. Several men, in fact, have come forward to admit to your blackmail and shady business dealings. Maryn is pretty unreal at research and she’s got a fabulous new job with The Rising Star.”

Gary’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of Maryn and the top magazine in the nation.

“An article will be running tomorrow about the different blackmail techniques you’ve employed. You won’t be getting much business after tomorrow and there’s another thing that will be printed in that article.”