Page 14 of The Billionaire's Housekeeper

Darn it! Why did he care so much about Abbi? He’d only just met her a short time, yet she’d managed to leave a lasting impression on him—and his heart.

Love is the best thing that could happen to a person, his ailing father had always told him. You’ll know when you fall in love, he’d once told Chase. Just then when the words came to his mind, his heart turned over in his chest. The thought struck him that his old man didn’t even have much time left in this world. He was dying. As much as he and his brothers didn’t want to believe it, that was the truth. He’d seen the lab results from the doctor himself. It wasn’t looking good. Yet, his father had given him the bucket list challenge to fulfill his last wish to see his sons settle down and give love a try—even when he least expected it. If he struck a connection with a nice lady, pursue it.

In the past, after Giline, Chase had given up on all that crap about love. He was determined to see himself as a bachelor for life and nothing more. Then seeing his brothers Dane and Brandon so happy with their new wives brought his mind to a whole new level.

Chase shook his head. Was this the case of finding that special person so fast? Nah, it couldn’t be. It was way too soon, wasn’t it? Or was it? Still, Abbi was off limits. She was hotel staff. So, no way could he even ask her out on a date so soon, even if he wanted to.

“Funny, she never even mentioned a peep about this guy last night,” Chase blurted out.

“Last night?” Brandon’s expression reflected intrigue. “What were you two doing last night?” His lips curled into a grin.

“Nothing like what you have in mind, Brandon.”

“Now how do you know what I have in mind?”

“I know how your brain operates, Brandon. Besides, it’s not what you think. We were just up on the rooftop alone.”

Okay, that sounded worse. But truth was, Chase couldn’t get over the sweetness of Abbi’s lips as he kissed her last night. Never mind that, he’d been dreaming of pleasuring more than just her sweet lips. She tasted so good from what he’d experienced with her. He wondered what her warm body would feel like underneath him as she reclined on top of silky bed sheets while he caressed her body with his lips and took her intimately and deeply while watching her come. But he had to run those thoughts from his mind right now. It would drive him crazy if he didn’t. What was he thinking? Yeah, it probably was the lunar effect last night making him stir crazy.

“We were stargazing,” Chase added, before Brandon could open his mouth and make another smart comment.

“Uh-huh, I see.” Brandon arched a brow, a dubious expression on his face. “Stargazing. Right,” he playfully mocked his brother.

“We were, Brandon. Nothing more. I thought I was alone up there but she was on the other side, looking out with her binoculars. Man, it really surprised me that she actually enjoys doing the same things I do.”

Well, he would have to omit the bit about the kiss at the end of their star watching adventure. Why tell Brandon anyway? Chase wasn’t even sure of what he felt right now.

“It was really weird. I’ve never talked about stars and stuff like that with any other woman,” Chase continued.

“She really likes that stuff?”

“She does. Like there was some crazy connection between us.” Chase had to stop himself before he said too much or something he’d regret. The last thing he wanted was to give Brandon any ideas about the surge of mixed feelings for Abbi.

Chase drew in a deep breath. “Right now, I only want you to check out this Eduardo dude,” Chase added, “though I’d really like to throw out this Eduardo dude.”

Brandon chuckled. “Throw him out, huh?” He grinned. “Sure, you do that, bro. Throw out a new guest at the resort. That’ll get us that five-star rating we’re after with those new hotel industry guides. Check in today, get decked in the head and tossed out on your ear the next day. Welcome to the Belmont Ranch Resort and Spa!”

Chase burst out laughing despite himself and rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean,” he said, turning his gaze out on the horizon. The mountain views were breathtaking, so different from city life in Belmont back east. The province of Ontario was gorgeous in many ways but British Columbia, a five-hour plane ride, crossing over three time zones, to the western coast of Canada was stunning with its mountainous landscape and views of the Pacific Ocean.

“Sure, I know, bro. You know I like to tease you once in a while to keep you in check.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Well, leave it to me. I’ll check out this guy and let you know what the deal is.” Brandon then paused and gave his brother a knowing grin. “You really like this chick, don’t you?”

“No. I don’t.” Chase got on the defensive. He didn’t know why but he didn’t want to admit that his brother was right. All he kept thinking about every now and then was how much Giline had stabbed him in the back. He’d declared right then and there, he’d never be a marrying man. He’d never trust a woman again. Yeah, men were from Mars and women were from Venus in his book. Two completely different planets. He just had a feeling the stars wouldn’t align for him and this nice Abbi character. She was real sweet and everything and he had a deep attraction to her but he just didn’t trust fate being so nice to him this time around. Better to not get his hopes up high.

“She’s just a co-worker I want to protect,” Chase added. “Nothing more.” He then brought his drink back to his lips and took a cool sip. Yet, the bitterness of that little lie he’d just told himself didn’t quite go down so smoothly.

Sure, he really did like Abbi but nothing could possibly come out of this emotion he was having for her. Surely, the feeling would pass.

* * *

Abbi was drained after she finished cleaning her last cabin for the day. She couldn’t wait to take off her gray and white hotel maid uniform. Her mind kept running on Chad and how he’d saved her from what could have been an ugly situation with her crazy ex, Eduardo. What the heck was Eduardo even doing there? He had no right to come to her work place and torment her.

Just then her phone rang and she picked it up.

“Hey, sis. Thanks for wiring me the money the other day,” Louisa said over the phone.

“No problem. Just make sure you don’t spend it all,” Abbi said, wearily.

“Wait a minute. What’s wrong?” Louisa delved, her voice starchy. Obviously she sensed something wrong in her sister’s voice. Little sis could always tell when she was hiding things. She could never keep a darn thing from Louisa. It was as if she had some magical vision to see right into Abbi’s mind and soul.

“Nothing’s wrong. Just…”

“Just what? I know something’s wrong. Tell me what it is.”

Abbi really didn’t want to worry Louisa but she thought it was probably best to let her know now rather than later. At least Louisa would be forced to keep her guard up at all times. No telling what Eduardo might to do her to try to get back at Abbi.

“It’s…it’s Eduardo.”

“What? Did he call you? Is he harassing you again?” Her sister’s tone was defiant.

“N-no. Well, he’s here. He tried to frighten me.”

“Frighten you? He’s there? What is he doing there?”

“I don’t know. I guess his contact at the Elite Agency told him I would be assigned to work here for the next couple of months.”

“But they can’t do that. That’s illegal. It’s a breach of privacy. A violation.”

“I know. Tell me about it. Well, with Eduardo’s connections, anything is possible. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

“I want to help you pay off that debt,” Louisa said. “So that creep won’t have any reason to bother you again.”

“No. You can’t. Besides, you can barely take care of your own debts,” Abbi reminded Louisa.

She could hear Louisa blow out a puff of air. “I know, but I wish there was something I could do to help you, Abbi.”

“The only thing you can do or should do is continue to do well in school, hon. Take care of yourself. Don’t worry about your big sis. Besides, one of the maintenance guys here, Chad, helped me out when Eduardo tried to harass me. Anyway, don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, Abbi. Looks like that maintenance guy can also take care of you, too. Is he cute?”

Abbi grinned. “Yes, he is. And he’s just another staffer here, who helped me out.”

Just?

If Abbi was being completely honest with herself, she knew she wanted Chad to be much more than simply a co-worker at the ranch resort. He was smoking hot, and he was always around when she needed, or so it seemed. But Abbi had work to do. She had a job to keep, so she wasn’t even going to go there, not now.

“Hey, does he know about…your little secret?” Louisa asked.

Abbi’s hand froze on the receiver of the phone. Emotion choked her. “No. No, he doesn’t know and he’ll never find out. It’s probably best that way. I need this job,” she added firmly. “I wouldn’t do anything to screw this up.”

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