Page 18 of BillionHeir
“Something in common?” he asks with a hint of playfulness in his voice. “Surely not.”
I giggle quietly as I wait for him to ask me another question.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
A shock of surprise runs down my back. I wasn’t expecting that sort of question.
“I don’t know, really. I suppose I just hope that I have found someone to settle down with that genuinely loves and respects me. I assume I will still be nursing, though I wouldn’t hate taking some time off to take care of my babies. If he wants them, of course.”
I try to picture being in a happy committed relationship, one where the thought or presence of children isn’t unwelcome, where my partner cares about me and my wellbeing. It shouldn’t be so difficult, but after the luck I have had with men, it feels like a fantasy.
“What about you?” I ask, peeking at him in the rearview mirror again. Only this time, I find him with his eyes closed and a peaceful look on his face.
He is fast asleep. I guess my little game worked.
But I can’t help the feeling of disappointment when I don’t get to hear his answer.
Chapter 7
_______________________
Maxwell
“Welcome to Seabanks Manor.”
I feel a sense of pride as I look out on the grand estate that I inherited from my parents. It was designed to imitate the old manors of Europe, but it still has its own distinct American style. The carefully manicured gardens stretch out in both directions to the forest on one side and the ocean on the other.
“You didn’t tell me your ‘house in Maine’ was a mansion!” Chloe complains as she helps me exit the SUV.
“You never asked.” I say as I startfor the door.
“Not too fast!” she scolds.
“That is what all the ladies say,” I respond, chuckling as I struggle to walk up the front steps.
“I don’t think that is what you want the women saying,” Chloe says as I lean against her for support.
A bark of a laugh bursts from my chest in response to her joke. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
“Does it feel lighter now?”
“Not really,” I huff out soberly just a few steps later. It is going to take everything in me to make it up these stairs into the house. I grew up spending summers and holidays here, and I have always had a fondness for this house and its grounds. It is the place that I feel closest to my parents, even after all these years.
As we reach the door, I am struck by how weak I am now. Not to mention the fact that once we are inside, we will still have to tackle another flight of stairs to make it up to my bedroom.
“This . . .” she says, gesturing to the fact that I am exhausted after ascending the five steps up to the front door. “Is the reason why the doctors wanted you to stay in the rehab facility.”
“Physical therapists can come to me. All we have to do is get me upstairs and into bed. Then I will be fine.”
“Upstairs?”
“That is what I said,” I answer as I hand her my key ring, much too tired to fuss with the locks myself.
She frowns as she looks at all the keys on the ring. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“How on Earth did you pass nursing school if you don’t know how to use a key to unlock a door?”
“What did you just say to me, your nurse and only caretaker? Did you call me stupid?”
