Beauty and the Billionaire (A Once Upon a Billionaire Novel) Read online

  Hunter was in a black T-shirt and jeans, the crimson robe left behind, and he strode over, hands in his pockets. He stopped next to her in front of the oil painting, and Mira felt her breath catch in her lungs as her eyes skimmed over him. His shirt hugged him in all the right places, stretching across his chest and biceps. She wondered how she’d missed that detail until she reminded herself that she’d never been with him like this in daylight.

  Now that she could see…all of him…she couldn’t think straight as she stared at the frame. Their arms almost touched as he appraised her work and she licked her lips, her mouth going dry.

  “You’re doing a good job,” he said, his eyes on the frame. “It looks better already.”

  Mira smiled, her mind still on the fact that he was so close. “You’re just saying that.”

  “No, I’m not.” He met her eyes, his sincere. “Believe it or not, I do look at these portraits. And there’s a big difference between where you’ve cleaned and where you haven’t.” His finger pointed them out as he spoke.

  “Well, thank you. I’m erring on the side of caution, so I don’t ruin anything.”

  “You won’t ruin anything.” He smiled reassuringly, making Mira’s heart go all fluttery. Especially now that she could see into his eyes so clearly.

  “So,” Mira said, thinking she should direct attention back to him, “what are all these house secrets you were talking about?”

  “Well…” Hunter folded his arms, glancing up to the ceiling in thought. “Supposedly someone was murdered here in the early twentieth century.”

  “Really?” Mira raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

  “There’s no proof, of course, but it was always fun regaling visitors with the story…even if I made most of it up.” Hunter smiled, his eyes sparkling with mischief, reminding Mira of the photos she’d seen online.

  Mira glanced over her shoulder and realized they were alone. Somehow, everyone else had snuck out without her noticing. She took a breath, her pulse racing again.

  “If you’re ready for a break,” Hunter said, “I’m up for changing some lightbulbs.”

  Mira stared at him blankly for a second, assuming he was kidding. When he looked back at her in complete seriousness, she broke into a laugh. Maybe because she was nervous, or just tired. “Are you serious?”

  Hunter shrugged. “You were right. I’m not helpless and this is my house.”

  Mira’s grin faded as she realized he meant it.

  “You were right, Mira. Every word of it.”

  She flushed, not expecting this response at all. She thought he was done with her after that night, but now…. She examined him anew–from his short, styled hair to his clean-shaven face and newish looking clothes. And that didn’t include his behavior. “I shouldn’t have accused you of–”

  Hunter pressed a finger to her lips, leaving Mira clinging to her Q-tip for support. “You were right, and I won’t accept any argument.” After lingering another beat, he let his hand drop. “Penny tells me you have a laundry list of tasks somewhere. Lead the way.”

  Mira set aside the frame for the moment, and led Hunter to the storage room for supplies, snagging her master list of things that needed attention on the way. Penny had printed out Mira’s list and put it in their kitchen for anyone to see and attend to. A few things were already checked off, but it wasn’t much in comparison.

  Hunter looked over the list while Mira took a container and filled it with the lightbulbs they needed. She organized the list by category and then room with other essentials like the lamp and lightbulb type.

  “This is…thorough…” Hunter said, flipping through the stapled pages. And the list only contained things Mira could take care of. His eyes darkened and he pressed his lips together as he reviewed her list. He finally looked up, taking a breath. “Right. Let’s get to work.”

  Mira pointed across the room, the container nestled between her arm and hip. “We’ll need a ladder.” She happily carted the lightbulbs while Hunter hauled the ladder through the house. Hunter handled the grunt work, and she made him change the bulbs of the antique Tiffany lamps that were original to when the house was built. Mira had been terrified she’d break the glass shades.

  “Thank you for my car,” Mira said while he screwed out another burnt-out bulb. “Jimmy told me you took care of everything.” She’d been waiting for a good moment to say that, especially since he’d not only fixed the blown tire but replaced the other three and fixed the spot where the gate had scraped up the side of her car. She figured it would come out of her pay, but Jimmy assured her that wasn’t the case. “You didn’t have to do that, and I really appreciate it.”

  Hunter paused, turning the old bulb around in his hand. “I wanted to. And it was the least I could do since it was my fault your tire was destroyed in the first place.” Mira started to object, but he held up a hand to stop her. “It was my fault. We both know that.”

  She didn’t argue, and Hunter went quiet after that for a while. They moved on with their work, and once he finished another bulb change, he came down the ladder, facing her squarely. His mouth opened and shut a couple of times, but then he finally said, “I’d like to tell you what happened. Unless…unless you don’t want me to.”

  Mira tried to compute what he meant but realized he was talking about how he got his scars. “No…I’d like you to tell me. If you feel like it.” She didn’t want to seem eager. But she did sincerely want to understand how he got here.

  Hunter pursed his lips, nodding. “I do. Come on. We’ll come back to this later.” He stretched out his hand to her and Mira slowly slid her palm into his, her heart skipping a beat as he gripped it.

  He led her back to the burned-up part of the house and into the room where he’d caught her a few days ago. He dropped her hand, wandering over to the fireplace with his back turned to her. Mira folded her arms, her stomach knotting up, waiting for him to start.

  “This used to be the entertaining part of Rosefield,” he began, still facing away from her. “It was for smaller groups, and I used it sometimes myself. About seven years ago, after a weekend in New York, I brought a few close friends back here. We were just goofing off, hanging around in here before dinner. Well…everyone else headed down to dinner at some point, but I hung back to make a phone call. At least, that’s what I think I did…”

  Mira swallowed, wrapping her arms close to her body. Hunter let out a breath, turning to the side. “As soon as I was alone, two men who worked here attacked me. Apparently, they’d planned to kidnap me for ransom, but that’s not quite how things worked out…” He paused, and Mira kept quiet, letting him tell her at his own pace. His face tightened, his eyes on the floor. “I fought back, and during the struggle, one of them hit me on the head and I blacked out. Later, I learned that during the fight, some candles we’d lit got knocked over along with alcohol we’d been drinking. It’s an old house and it didn’t take much to light it up.”

  Hunter licked his lips. “One of my friends, Cedric, heard the commotion and came running. Between that and the fire, my attackers panicked and ran for it, leaving me there. Cedric and Jimmy got me out, but not before I got burned.” He turned toward her, his scars coming into full view.

  He paused, his eyes out of focus. “Once I was released from the hospital, I came here. It was secluded and quiet and we paid ridiculous amounts of money to keep the incident out of the public eye. I dismissed everyone except the people I trusted–Jimmy, Penny, and Courtland–and I just…” He shrugged, then glanced away like remembering something. “While they were trying to subdue me, my attackers called me a vain, selfish brat. And they were probably right. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this.” He smiled humorlessly. “Which you obviously know.”

  After waiting a little bit, Mira ventured, “What about your parents?”

  Hunter met her eyes again, like coming out of a dream. “They died in a small plane crash a few years before the accident. I wasn’t really that close to them, an
yway.”

  Mira nodded, getting that feeling. “And the attackers?”

  “Caught. They weren’t the brightest crayons in the box and had left a clear trail to follow.”

  At least that explained Hunter’s paranoia, and lack of employees despite the size of the mansion. And his fear and apprehension made so much more sense now. Hunter breathed deeply, then let it out. “I didn’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me…or to burden you with my issues. I just…I thought it was only fair that you know.”

  Mira closed the gap between them, reaching for his hand before she thought better of it. He didn’t pull away or turn away from her either. “I’m glad you told me. And I want you to know that your value isn’t based on the remarks of two people who were clearly selfish–and greedy–themselves.”

  Hunter pressed his lips together like he wanted to argue, but he finally nodded. “I am sorry for how I treated you. And…and that I assumed you’d be…”–he swallowed–“shallow.”

  Mira took a breath. “I forgive you. And I’m sorry for invading your privacy. After the movie, I just…I wanted to understand what was going on.”

  “I figured as much.” He cracked a small, crooked smile. “Let me rephrase that: I thought about it once I could think clearly.”

  Mira remembered him stomping over to help her on the road and guessed the clarity didn’t come until later. “I’m glad you’re here. In the light. You look good.” The words slipped out before she’d seriously thought about what she was saying. A glimmer of light sparked in Hunter’s brown eyes and Mira felt heat rise in her face. “I mean, you look…healthy.” It was too late to save herself; he’d already gotten the message loud and clear.

  “Well,” he said, less somber than before, “I guess we better get back to work. I don’t want to get you in trouble with Penny.” He smiled, his face paler than earlier. But his eyes were also lighter like some weight was lifted off. Mira guessed very few people in the world knew what had happened to him.

  Mira consented, not wanting to push him to talk about it anymore. They left that wing behind, and Mira hoped that maybe Hunter had left some of his troubles behind too.

  CHAPTER 14

  Hunter’s heart thrummed in his chest as they walked hand in hand back to where they’d been working earlier. Mira changed topics to something lighter, which he was grateful for. But he was also relieved he didn’t scare her away. Only a handful knew the full details of that night and he’d been terrified he was making a mistake including her in that circle. But she took it in stride, her touch warming him in a way he never thought possible. Plus, she may have admitted she found him attractive, which didn’t hurt his mood.

  That night, Hunter made sure they had dinner with proper lighting and a smaller centerpiece. He smiled at Mira as she got situated, thrilled and nervous to be out in the open like that with her. Mira smiled back, then glanced from her place setting toward his end of the table. Without a word, she stood up and dragged her plate and silverware across the table and all the way down to the chair to his right. She straightened it all out, then sat down, smoothing out her napkin on her lap.

  “Is that better?” he asked, arching an eyebrow inquisitively.

  Mira folded her arms on the table, an aroma of vanilla and coconut wafting toward him. “Much. We won’t have to shout now.”

  No, they wouldn’t. And he could see Mira in all her glory, from her sparkling eyes to the way shorter pieces of her hair curled at the base of her neck. He wanted to register every detail, his eyes exploring her throughout dinner even when he told himself not to. Electricity shot through him that she wanted to be closer, but he also appreciated that she’d taken the seat to his right. He wanted time with her, and they stayed and talked until she was yawning too much.

  The next day, Mira showed him how to use the vacuum cleaner and laughed shamelessly at his failed attempts to figure out how to turn it on. But he’d insisted on helping since it was clear the to-do list was never ending.

  Later in the week, he’d raised eyebrows when he showed up in the kitchen to eat breakfast with them. But he could tell Penny, Jimmy, and Courtland would be twittering about it happily behind his back when he left.

  He felt…useful, maybe for the first time ever. And, as a huge bonus, it gave him that much more time with Mira, whom he was quickly growing addicted to–even though she bossed him around and had no trouble telling him he hadn’t dusted thoroughly enough. After some of the major chores had been tackled, Mira demonstrated how to clean the antique portrait frames and they’d spent an afternoon working on that together.

  All in all, he wasn’t sorry she’d told him off.

  When the weekend rolled around, though, he had something special to show her that Hunter was sure she’d appreciate. He led Mira into his private wing, which she hesitated to enter until he reminded her that he was inviting her in. When they got near enough, he forced her to close her eyes, guiding her to the middle of the room.

  Hunter took a breath, excitement making it tough to just stand there. “Okay…open your eyes.”

  Mira’s blue-gray eyes popped open and she blinked, adjusting to the light again, the view slowly sinking in. She turned in a slow circle, her mouth dropping open and round eyes widening. “It’s a…a…”

  “Library.” Hunter grinned, knowing this wasn’t the end of it.

  “Holy cow.” She tilted her head back, looking up to the arched ceiling with bookshelves crawling all the way up. “This is like going to the Boston Public Library.” She stared at the rows of books, looking shell-shocked.

  “There’s a large section devoted to art and art history, and I think you might like these, too.” He took Mira by the hand, guiding her over to a locked glass case in a corner of the room. Mira bent over at his direction, scanning the spines. “These are all early editions, including a few first editions.”

  “Shakespeare?” Mira quirked an eyebrow, looking around her again. “These are all yours?”

  Hunter shrugged, his eyes fixed on Mira as she absorbed it all. “In a sense. I mean, one day I’ll be gone, and they’ll pass to the next generation…” Hunter dropped off, realizing as he watched Mira that there might be another generation of his line after all. She looked back to him in curiosity and Hunter cleared his throat. “It’s almost more of a…guardianship, really.”

  Mira nodded, a twinkle in her eyes. “It’s quite the library to take care of. So, I assume this collection has come about over time?”

  “To some extent. Surprisingly, much of what you see came from the man who built the house. You might think it was just for show, but, according to family stories, he did really love to read. Most of his collection includes scientific and historical books. Though his wife added a fair amount of novels.”

  “And you?” Mira met his eyes again.

  “Me what?”

  Mira laughed. “Have you added anything?”

  “Oh…” He scratched the back of his head, gazing at the Persian carpet under their feet. “Just a drop in the bucket. Some sci-fi books and other assorted material. I did have the goal as a kid of reading every book here, but once I came to the collection of romance novels, I changed my mind.”

  Mira smirked. “Show me.”

  “The romance novels?” He’d hoped she’d want to use the library and expected she’d be interested in the art books, but whatever she liked…

  “No, your books.” She waved toward a set of shelves. “Are they just mixed in or did you separate them?”

  Hunter hesitated, thinking his collection would be the least interesting, but as she wished. He led her across the room, pointing up. “For now, I keep them separate. It’s easier to know what’s what that way.” And it didn’t feel like he was contaminating what his ancestors had done, either.

  Mira grabbed a ladder, swinging it around to that shelf and climbed. He waited for her to assess, digging his hands in his pockets. “All of this is yours?” She circled her hand around part of the bookcase and
Hunter nodded. Mira plucked a book from its place and held it out. “Star Wars.”

  “I told you it’s not much.”

  “I don’t know. You’ve managed to make quite a dent in this huge thing. And you have a lot of variety. Botany, psychology, the Revolutionary War…”

  “I’ve had a lot of time to read,” he muttered, thinking of the stacks in his own rooms.

  Mira came back down, grinning. “So am I allowed to read any of these?”

  “Of course. That’s why I brought you here.” He glanced away, excitement rippling through him again. “Well, for that and one other reason.”

  Hunter forced her to shut her eyes again, steering her to a hidden door in one of the walls. He cracked it open and helped her into a secret room, turning on the lights. “You can look now.”

  Mira blinked again, squinting. “Where are we?”

  “In a storage room of sorts. But it’s not for just anything.” Hunter lifted off white drop cloths hiding columns of art leaned one against another like dominoes.

  Mira’s eyes widened more than for the library. She came closer to him, reaching a hand out toward a nearby canvas. “What is all this?”

  Hunter watched dust float through the air. “Uh…investments, collections…take your pick. Somebody decided to start storing the leftovers here at some point.”

  “This is crazy,” Mira whispered, covering her mouth.

  “The problem is we don’t have a proper catalog of everything, so I’m not even sure the insurance is high enough.”

  Mira kept her hand over her mouth, her eyes going even wider. “Why not?”

  “I honestly don’t know. My parents supposed the records may have been lost, but no one’s ever bothered to take inventory.”

  Mira put her hand over her heart. “If something happened…” she drifted off, maybe thinking of the fire. “You need records, Hunter. Some of these might not be worth much, but I’m sure some of them are.”