The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance (9 page)

The pizza arrived and Alyssa didn’t have to give him a response. She wondered if this was a dream opportunity or just another business proposition from a wealthy man who thought he could buy anything he wanted, including her. A shiver of terror went down her spine as she couldn’t quite forget the men her father used to push on her. Men like Joel, Tyler, Hugh and others who she’d successfully removed from her memory. Men who assumed she would want them because they were wealthy or because her father tried to sell her to the highest bidder. She was a free woman now and definitely not for sale, but maybe Beckham could convince her to be his photographer. With that smile, he just might.

Alyssa escaped to the pool area. She couldn’t handle one more leering look from her father’s “friends.” Especially Hugh. He made her skin crawl with his shirt unbuttoned to his belly button, exposing nasty dark hair and more gold chains than any self-respecting man should ever wear. She giggled at herself. No man should wear gold chains.

She sobered quickly and shook her head. Teach her to ever believe her dad’s stories. He’d begged her to come to dinner tonight, claiming her mom missed her so much she was making herself ill. What a crock. She’d barely seen her mother before this group of disgusting men had descended on the house. What was her dad promising them? He was such a slime ball.

Arms snaked around her stomach. Alyssa squeaked and dropped her drink. The glass shattered, spraying her legs with shards of crystal, ice, and water.

“I knew you’d find a way to get me alone,” a voice said in her ear as too-soft lips nuzzled her neck. “I’ve seen you eyeing me all night.”

“Let me go,” Alyssa demanded, straining against his grip.

He whirled her to face him, but didn’t loosen his hold. It was Hugh. Oh, no. He was grinning at her like she was the prime rib. Gross.

“Don’t worry, love, I won’t hurt you. Just want a little taste of this… beauty.” He leaned closer. His breath reeked. Alcohol and fish. He must love oysters. She was going to be sick.

Alyssa was able to free her hand and smack him hard across the face. “Get away from me!”

Hugh grabbed both of her arms and squeezed. “That’s no way to treat a prospective buyer.”

“What?” she managed, gasping from the fear of what he would do and the pain in her biceps.

“Don’t play stupid. It doesn’t fit you.” His hot, foul breath brushed her cheek as he leaned in.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but my father is going to be livid if you don’t release me.” She strained against his grip but it was like iron. Sadly, she knew her threat was empty. Her father had made it clear years ago how she was supposed to behave around his friends.

“Your father. Ha!” Hugh chuckled heartily. “Your beloved father is the one who put you up for sale. My buddies and I came here tonight to preview our beautiful piece of livestock. I think it’s worth a lot.” He tried to pull her close.

Alyssa spit in his face. His eyes hardened and he released one of her arms and grabbed the collar of her blouse. One rip and it shredded in his hands. “Now that’s more like it.” He grunted and grabbed her breast.

Raising her right knee, she felt her bones impact his disgusting softness and almost recoiled but instead used every ounce of leg strength to make him hurt.

Hugh gasped and his grip weakened.

Alyssa tore herself away.

“I will buy you,” Hugh groaned out.

Alyssa sprang awake in her bed.

She looked around, trying to get her bearings. She was in Hawaii. Hugh and her dad were nowhere around. She fell against the pillows, her tears hot against her cheeks, hoping she’d never have to face the nightmare or her father again.

Alyssa’s phone rang as she was re-packing her camera. Beck had asked if he could take them to lunch and Granny was still sleeping even though it was late morning. Alyssa had been relieved to have time to shake off the recurring dream in the bright sunshine. The nightmare didn’t come as often anymore, but it always played almost verbatim. The attempted rape was horrid, but the worst part was knowing how twisted her father’s mind was. He’d always told her he would “take care of her” she just hadn’t fully comprehended he meant to do it by selling her to one of his friends and thinking that they’d all be one happy family. No, thank you.

She’d enjoyed her walk around the neighborhood with her camera this morning, searching for new shots. Luckily, the boys were up to their Ripstiking antics and she’d gotten some fabulous shots of them teaching the younger children in the neighborhood.

“Hello,” she said when the phone trumpeted again, she really needed to change that.

“How’s the reclusive Richie?” Maryn smacked her lips like she was kissing the phone.

“He’s a good guy,” Alyssa admitted. She walked onto her balcony and looked at the lush trees in the bed and breakfast’s yard. It would be hard to leave a place where papaya grew on the trees. It seemed absurd to not be thrilled with the opportunity to take a world-wide trip with a man as kind, wealthy, and good-looking as Beck, but because of past trauma with men she had a lot of reservations about committing, especially after a repeat of Hugh’s attack in her sleep. Added to that was the worry of how to tell Beck about the pictures she’d taken of him and his sister.

“Is that all?” Maryn prodded.

“So far he’s been nothing but the perfect gentleman,” Alyssa admitted. Beck seemed like everything her teenage self used to fantasize about, but she was all grown up now and reality was often very different than pipe dreams.

“Any lip action or proposals?”

“No lip action.” Alyssa paused. What did Maryn know? Had she been privy to what Beck was planning and not clued her in? “Did you know he was going to ask me to be his photographer?”

“His
photographer
? Heck, no. I meant proposals of marriage, you dork.”

“Oh.” Alyssa was relieved that her friend hadn’t been hiding anything.

“He asked you to photograph, what? His hotness? That wouldn’t be a bad job. You promised me pics two days ago and I’m still waiting. The photos I have in his file look like he’s pretty well-built.”

“He’s definitely well-built.” Alyssa smiled, remembering his reluctance to take his shirt off and loving that they shared insecurities about their imperfections. But unlike her foot, his chest was beautiful, even with the scars. “He wants me to travel with him and photograph children in underdeveloped countries to help raise awareness for their needs.”

“You’re going on a world-wide trip with
Beckham Taylor
?” Maryn squealed in delight. “Oh, yeah, I hooked my girl up. Oh, yeah, she’s going to marry a stinking billionaire.”

“Maryn,” Alyssa interrupted, trying hard not to laugh. “I didn’t agree to go. I’m the dark side of the billionaire bride pact, remember? All the other girls admitted I was least likely to ever fulfill the stupid pact.” Curse Erin for instigating the pact and Alyssa for ever agreeing. Well, she couldn’t quite curse Erin, her friend was amazing and too genuine to be cursed.

“What? I didn’t raise you to be a fool.”

“Now you sound like Granny.”

“Good. She’d agree with me.”

Alyssa hadn’t said anything to Granny yet. She would definitely agree with Maryn.

“Come on, sis. When an opportunity like this comes up, you jump on it, or him, as the case may be.”

Alyssa blushed at the image of her jumping into Beck’s arms. Oh, my. She fanned herself with her hand. The outside breeze wasn’t enough. “I’m just giving myself some time to think it all through. I told him I’d get back to him at the end of the week.”

“So you didn’t say no?”

“Not yet.”

“And he’s spending quality time with you all week to convince you to go?”

“Oh, I hope so.”

Maryn laughed. “That’s more like it.”

“Hey,” Alyssa interrupted Maryn’s chortling laughter. “Can you do some research for me?”

“On what?”

“Him.”

“Come on. At some point you have to learn to trust a man without delving into every speck of dirt he’s ever rolled in.”

“Please.” Alyssa picked at a hangnail and lowered her voice, “You know how it is for me.”

Maryn sighed. “Sorry, sis. I keep praying you’ll get past it all.”

“I had the nightmare again last night.”

“Oh. Sorry I wasn’t there.”

“Me too.” Maryn used to wake her from the nightmare when Alyssa cried out in her sleep. It was always a relief to not have to play the entire episode out and have somebody to talk to about it. “Maybe someday it’ll stop.” She thought of Beck and wondered if spending more time with him might stop the terrifying dream.

“I know you’ll do a great job of researching,” she said to Maryn, “and I really need to know what I’m getting into here. I want to be able to trust him.”

“Trust isn’t earned by a squeaky clean background.”

“It isn’t going to hurt though.”

Maryn sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it. Your main concern?”

“You know me. How has he treated the women in his life? Does he think being wealthy gives him the right to take anything he wants?”

“I’ll see what I can find but honestly, Alyssa, you need to do your own research. How does he make you feel? How does he treat Granny? The waitress? The little girl on the street? Trust yourself and maybe you can learn to trust a man.”

Alyssa soaked the words in. Maryn had been her best friend for long enough she only had her best interests at heart. “But-but… what if he finds out I took those pictures of him after his parents’ funeral?”

Maryn inhaled sharply. “Deal with that when you get there. It’s okay to allow yourself to have fun, to open up the possibility of having a relationship with a good guy. Don’t let your guilt or your dad’s manipulation ruin the rest of your life.” She paused as if waiting for Alyssa to respond. When Alyssa didn’t, she prompted. “Right?”

Alyssa gripped onto the railing with her left hand and the phone with her right. Was Beck a good guy? Was she willing to get to know him and find out? “Right,” Alyssa finally admitted.

“Love us,” Maryn said.

Alyssa laughed. Years ago, Alyssa had texted “love ya” to Maryn but it had auto-corrected to “love us”. Maryn loved to tease her about it, but it had become a sort of mantra for them and Alyssa truly did love them, their friendship, their closeness, she’d be lost without Maryn.

“Love us too.” Alyssa hung up the phone and closed her eyes, letting the gentle breeze caress her face. Could she trust a man? She pictured Beck’s blue eyes sparkling at her. Maybe.

Alyssa was excited to try out Pa’ia’s Fish Market for lunch. Jerry claimed they had the best fish tacos he’d ever eaten in his life, but she hadn’t stopped on her travels around the island to see if she agreed. Beck, Alyssa, and Granny drove the thirty minutes to the center of the island and found a parking lot a couple blocks behind the restaurant. Beck hurried around and opened Alyssa and Granny’s doors at the same time. Alyssa stepped out of the car and glimpsed a man, with hair so blond it was almost white, duck into a Lexus sport utility a few cars down. She frowned and shook her head. It couldn’t be, but it had looked so much like him.