Page 19 of The Billionaire's Housekeeper

“Oh, my God! Chad, I’m so sorry to hear about your father. How awful.”

“Thanks.”

“I can imagine how it must have felt for you to see that little girl like that. My heart ached for her when I saw her. She’s such a bright little thing. She’s not supposed to be going through that at her age. No one is. I wish there was a cure.”

“I know,” he whispered. “You know, my goal is to…eradicate this thing. I hope this becomes a thing of the past by the time I’m through with this life.” He caught himself but it was too late.

“Eradicate this thing?” she chuckled, humorlessly. “Oh, Chad. Don’t we all hope for that? But that takes millions of dollars in research not to mention…”

“I know,” he said, his voice low. He didn’t or couldn’t tell her that Belmont Hotels and Resorts often host charity events to find a cure for diseases like cancer. In fact, many of the ballrooms were rent-free for those occasions, and he himself and his brothers have pumped millions of dollars into research at the best medical facilities in the world. So he wasn’t kidding when he’d said earlier that he’d like to see this thing beat in his lifetime. If only.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late for his dad. It was a long shot, of course. But Chase often believed in miracles. Like the one right there before him.

Abbi Lopez.

His mind drifted back earlier when he’d taken the puppy down from the tree. Abbi was so gentle with the pup like it was her own child. He really appreciated that in a woman, a girl as caring and soft with animals as with humans. That said a lot in his book. Unlike his devious ex. She happened to have hated pets. In fact, she wouldn’t even go near his dogs. And speaking of which, it pissed him off that he had another reminder of that freaking sex tape she’d taken it upon herself to make.

Great! Now the whole thing’s gone viral again!

Even a middle-aged couple from Europe knew who he was…or at least, the man probably got a good shot of Chase’s privates when Giline did a close up of his face, then another clip of her sucking on him hard and fast until he came. And of course, she wanted it all on tape. He loved sex, just like any guy and he loved spicing it up in the bedroom. He just wasn’t an exhibitionist. Giline told him the video was only for her private collection. She was into freaky stuff like that. But then he’d warned her, as if in premonition, that anything a person records could be tapped into at any time and seen by anyone, so nothing was ever really private. It was all an illusion in his opinion. He’d even asked what if someone broke into her computer or hacked her phone? Then what would she do if they got to her private photos and videos? Chase was much too smart to put revealing things digital—just in case.

His emotions were beginning to get worked up again. But it wasn’t worth it. He’d listen to his old man’s advice about when people wronged you…don’t let them hurt you twice. Forget about it and move on. Success was the best revenge. So was moving on. Don’t hold onto the pain and hurt. It just wasn’t worth it.

“You seemed to like Lucky,” Chase said, trying to get his mind off Giline and back to the present. He was so glad to be in the company of Abbi. She was so vastly different from Giline in every single way possible. A breath of fresh air. An honest, hardworking woman who appreciated the simple things in life, like himself. Though he’d love to tangle between the sheets with this beautiful hotel maid. He’d bring her to soaring heights of pleasure she’d never imagined. He wondered what she would be like in bed, but then he shifted his focus to keeping things professional.

“I do. I love dogs,” she answered gently. “What about you?”

“I own a few dogs, including a Border Collie and a Labrador, Luke and Leia, I call them.”

She laughed warmly. “Aww. Luke and Leia. Star Wars.”

“Of course.”

“Great names for dogs.”

“My brothers don’t think so. No. They think I’m too much into science fiction movies.”

“I don’t think so,” she said, leaning closer to him. The floral scent of her perfume drove him wild.

Chase couldn’t help himself. He was so drawn to Abbi. There was something about her that pulled him into her.

He inched closer to her and brushed his lips over her soft sweet lips. She tasted sweet like the freshly squeezed orange juice she just drank mixed with a minty zest. Chase didn’t think he’d be able to control himself. He could tell she was enjoying their lips embracing as much as he was. The sounds of her low groans coming from her throat as he teased her tongue with his turned him on big time. What was it about this sensuous woman that turned him on so much?

He could feel himself getting harder by the second. He had to stop.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” he said firmly.

She looked dazed, confused and a little disappointed. “No, don’t be.” Abbi’s voice sounded so sexy and hoarse as hell, it turned him on even more.

“Okay, there’s no full moon out tonight so I can’t blame it on that. Just…” Chase stopped talking and combed his fingers through his hair.

Just as Chase turned his eyes to the distance where the horse ranch was, he saw something that caught his attention.

“What is it?” Abbi said, following his gaze.

“Oh, nothing. I’ve just got to head over to the ranch. I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, no. I want to come with you,” she said.

“You sure?”

“Sure, I’m sure.”

“Wait a minute. Have you ever ridden?”

“Ridden what?”

He tilted his head back, laughed then returned his gaze to her. “A horse,” he said, matter-of-factly.

“Um…no. Where would I get to ride a horse? I’m from the city.”

“You’ve never been horseback riding in the country?” he asked.

They both got up from the table and started walking down the stairs of the eating area.

“No, I haven’t. This is really my first time being out in the country. I mean, sure I went on school trips when I was little but…”

“Well, I’m going to take you on a little ride.”

“What? No, Chad!”

He surveyed her. She had the most sensuous curves on her little body he’d ever seen on a woman. He loved looking at her slender legs. She was wearing comfortable khaki pants and a slim fitting T-shirt that accentuated her assets even more. He was sure she’d be fine riding today or at least learning how to mount a horse. She was wearing comfortable enough clothing. And why not? He really wanted to show this pretty little hardworking maid a good, healthy activity time.

When Chase arrived at the ranch gate, he was shocked to see it had been opened. Heck, one of the horses grazing could have gotten out. This had never happened before. He narrowed his eyes and took out his cell phone to text Brandon. Then he sent another text message to security. Lately, he’d seen a few near mishaps happening around the ranch resort. At first, he’d chalked it up to nothing more than a coincidence.

Abbi noticed the concern on Chad's face as he observed the gates to the ranch.

"Is everything okay?"

"I don't know. This is really odd. The gates should never be open."

Abbi noticed him looking around at certain cameras. "Are you wondering if anything was caught on camera?"

He pondered for a moment before answering. "Yeah."

"Maybe someone left it open by accident."

"Yeah, maybe. Hey listen, have you ever mounted a horse before?"

"I'm… No, I haven't." She hugged herself feeling insecure at the moment and kind of silly. She was probably like the only person he'd met that had never ridden a horse or mounted one before.

As if sensing her hesitation he gently told her, "Hey, there’s nothing to it. I’ll guide you, okay?"

Abbi was beside herself and didn't know what to think. Chad wanted to show her how to mount a horse and how to ride? Was he serious? She felt excitement tingle inside her belly. Well, this certainly wasn't what she had expected. But hey, she was up to trying new adventures once in a while and why not?

"You know something, Chad, yes, I think I will go for it. Why not? I feel safe with you and you only live once and I've always dreamed of riding a horse one day. I really never thought I'd have the opportunity. I know it sounds crazy but when you're on a tight budget as I am, going on country trips to an expensive ranch resort isn't exactly feasible."

His mouth twitched with amusement. There went that gorgeous dimple that appeared on his cheek. Chad was really handsome. Abbi couldn't get over how gorgeous he was and charming at the same time. There was just something about him that really appealed to her soul. Something about him made her feel comfortable to be around him.

"Let's do this." She was feeling excited and adventurous around Chad. It was as if he opened up some emotional lock on the doors inside her. She had begun to feel so insecure when she was around Eduardo. And then of course losing her parents hadn't been easy on her either. She began to withdraw from doing fun things or even trying new things. All her life she'd been solely looking out for her little sister—and trying to get by. But when had she ever had any fun? In fact, until she came to the Belmont Ranch Resort she hadn't really done anything exciting or fun in her life before, not to this grand scale. And Chad was so wonderful in trying to get her out of her shell and not just working hard but also enjoying the fruits of her labor and enjoying life in general. She really loved being around him.

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