Reining In The Billionaire

Okay, this wasn’t as fun. Mason narrowed his gaze but kept his smile in place. For some reason, it was perfectly acceptable for him to pick on EvaMarie—after all, Mason justified that he had a reason for his little barbs—but this woman’s comment seemed uncalled for.

“The area’s rich in racing history,” he explained. “My brother and I are setting up our own stables.”

“Oh, there’s two of you?”

No substance, all flirt. Mason was getting bored. “Lovely to meet you, but if you’ll excuse us, we were discussing business.”

“Business?” She threw a sideways glance at EvaMarie, who looked a little surprised herself. “Well, that makes more sense.”

Liza giggled, leaning forward in such a way to give Mason a good look into her not-so-modest cleavage. He couldn’t help but compare the in-your-face sexuality and lack of subtlety in a woman he had just met with the image of soft womanhood sitting beside her. EvaMarie was smartly dressed, and yes, he detected a hint of cleavage, but she hadn’t flashed it in his face in order to get what she wanted. Of course, that thought reminded him of just how much of her cleavage he’d seen...and how much he’d like to see it again. Sort of a compare-and-contrast thing. He remembered her as eager to learn anything he’d been willing to teach her—did she still need a teacher?

Mason quickly reined himself in. There was no point in going there, since he had no plans to revisit that old territory. No matter how tempting it might be. Besides, EvaMarie was looking stoic again. Maybe he should relent—a little.

He stood, then pulled a business card out of his inner jacket pocket. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Liza,” he said, handing the card over. “I hope I’ll get to see you again soon.”

Liza grinned, then reached into the clutch at her side for a pen, wrote on the card and handed it back. “So do I,” she said, then flounced back to a table across the floor where several other women were waiting.

EvaMarie had turned to watch her go, then groaned as she caught sight of the other women seated at Liza’s table, all of whom were craning their necks to get a good look. “Well, I hope you’re ready to announce your presence, because it’s gonna be all over town in about two hours.”

“That’s the plan,” Mason murmured. A glance at the card revealed Liza’s cell phone number. With a grin because he knew how much it would annoy EvaMarie, he slipped the card back into his pocket. “Now, where were we?”

The pained look that slipped over her face as she opened her mouth, probably to start from the beginning, made him feel like a jerk. So he broke in before she could speak.

“Let me see what I can do,” he said. Not a concrete answer, but he needed time to think. And a few more days of worry wouldn’t hurt her.

* * *

Dang it!

How come Mason Harrington had to show up every time she looked like a dusty mess? Here she was desperately trying to pack like a madwoman with only five days to move, and he was interrupting with his loud, insistent knocking.

She seriously considered leaving him there on the doorstep, especially since it was raining. Her nerves were strained from the physical labor, emotional stress and learning everything she needed to navigate while losing their home, but a lifetime of training had her opening the door.

But she only forced herself to produce a strained smile. After all, she was exhausted.

“Mason, what can I do for you?”

His lazy smile was way too tempting. “That’s not very welcoming.”

It wasn’t meant to be. And she refused to be lured in by his teasing—a long time ago it had been a surefire way to shake her out of a bad mood. Instead of saying what she thought, she simply focused on keeping her smile in place. But she didn’t move.

He didn’t own the place yet.

“Come on, EvaMarie. Let me in,” he added, a playful pleading look to his grin. “I have an offer that will make it worth your while.”

She hesitated, then stepped back, because continuing to keep him out was bad manners. That was the only reason. Not that she should care, but a lifetime of parental admonishments kept her in check.

Mason took a good look around the high-ceilinged foyer with its slim crystal chandelier, then walked farther down to peek into a few other rooms on either side.

“Wow. You’ve made progress.” His voice echoed in the now empty spaces.

That’s because I’m working my tail off. But again, that was impolite to say, so she held her tongue. She didn’t bite it, because she had enough pain right now. Though she’d taken on a large amount of the physical work around the estate, it had not prepared her for all the lifting, dragging and pulling of packing up her childhood home. Her muscles cried out every night for a soak in her mother’s deep tub, but even that didn’t relieve the now constant ache in her arms, thighs and back. Definitely hard on her back but great for weight loss.

He glanced down the hallway toward the back of the house. “Is your father here?”

She shook her head. “Why? Worried?”

“Nope.” Again with the cute grin, which was making her suspicious. Why was he being so nice? “Just didn’t figure it was good for him to get all riled up.”

For some reason, she felt the need to defend her parent, even though Mason was right. “He hardly ever does anymore. Not like he used to. He had a heart episode about six years back that forcibly taught him the consequences of not controlling his temper.” She gave him a saccharine smile. “I guess you’re just special.” Or inspired a special kind of hatred maybe.

“Always have been,” he said. If he’d caught the insult, he let it roll off him.

His nonchalant handling of everything she said made her even angrier. Luckily, she was used to holding her emotions deep inside.

“Actually, I finished moving them to an assisted living facility yesterday.”

Mason’s raised eyebrow prompted her to explain. “I chose to put them there because at least I’ll know there’s someone to look out for them. Even though I feel that someone should be me.” The place had cost a small fortune, but she was hoping being out from under the crippling mortgage payments would help. Now, what did she do about herself? Well, she hadn’t figured that out yet.

Hopefully she’d find something soon, or she might just break down in a panic attack. She hadn’t been kidding when she said the first and last month’s rental deposits put most places out of her range. The fact that she didn’t even have friends she could call on to let her sleep on their couch made her feel lost and alone.

“Do you work?” Mason asked.

The change in conversation came from out of the blue. “What?”

“A job. Do you have one?”

His tone implied she didn’t even know what one was. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him about the new career she was building. He would probably think she was crazy or arrogant to believe she could make a living off her unique voice.

“Taking care of my parents and this place was my job,” she answered, even though most people didn’t view it that way. Mason probably wouldn’t either, even though it had been damn harder than a lot of things she could have done. And asking one of the families they knew in the area for a job would have meant exposing her parents’ failure to their world. She’d chosen not to go against their wishes.

True to form, Mason asked, “How’d that work out for you?”

“I did the best I could,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Think you could do better with a better boss and actual resources?”

Now she was really confused. “What?”

He turned away, once again inspecting the rooms. “My brother and I have plans—big plans. To establish our stables is a simple matter of quality stock, training and talent.” He turned back, giving her a glimpse of his passion for this project. Guess buying this estate wasn’t only about revenge.

“Establishing a reputation—that’s a whole different story,” he said, his gaze narrowing, “and we don’t have the breeding to back it up.”

She knew all too well how hard it was to keep and make contacts within society here—after all, her father had kept his illness a secret in order to protect his own social reputation. It took two things to break into the inner circle around here: breeding and money. Preferably both. But they’d accept just the money if someone was filthy rich.

“We can fast-track it—after all, money makes a big first impression.”

A surreal feeling swept through EvaMarie. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine she was talking to the same boy who’d held her so long ago. Sure, he’d talked horses and racing. She’d known he’d wanted to own his own stables one day—but money had never come up. Then.

They’d both been naïve to think it hadn’t mattered.

“Which means we will be turning this into a showplace,” Mason said, sweeping his hand to indicate the room.

“What does that have to do with me?”

He cocked his head to the side, a lock of his thick hair falling over his forehead. “You’ve lived here all your life?”

She nodded, afraid to speak. His sudden attention made her feel like a wild animal being lowered into a trap.

“I bet you know this place better than anyone.”

“The house and the land,” she said, feeling a pang of sadness she forced herself to ignore.

“So you could come to work for me. Help with the renovations. Prepare for the launch. I’ll even give you more time to move everything.”

Her heart started to pound as she studied him. “Why?” Revenge? Everything in her was saying to run. Why else could he possibly want this?

“I need a housekeeper. I’m assuming you need a job,” Mason said with a nonchalant shrug. “You need time to figure this all out. That’s what you were asking for, right?”

Regardless, working with him every day? Watching him take over her only home and never being able to show her true emotions for fear he would use them as a weapon against her? The last few encounters had been experience enough. No, thank you.

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You don’t?” He stepped closer. “Seems to me you’re about to be out of a home, income... What’s the matter? Afraid your friends will find out you have to get your hands dirty for money?”

That was the least of her worries. Her parents had feared that—yes—but not her.

He moved even closer, giving her a quick whiff of a spicy aftershave. Why was he doing that? Suddenly she couldn’t breathe.

“I’ll give you a job and a place to live. Sounds a whole lot better than the alternative, don’t you think? And in return I get someone who can make this renovation move even faster.”

Looking into his bright blue eyes, she wasn’t so sure she agreed. There had to be a catch in there somewhere...but she truly wasn’t in a position to turn him down.

Four

EvaMarie smoothed down her hair, wishing she could calm her insides just as easily when she heard Mason come through the side door. From the sound of other voices, he wasn’t alone.

This time she was prepared.

Or so she thought. First she caught sight of Mason’s brother, Kane, who had filled out just as much as his brother. The two men were like solid bookends; carbon copies with broad shoulders and muscles everywhere. If only Mason’s shoulders were available for resting on. How incredible would it feel to have someone to rely on for a change? To lean against his back, feel his bare skin against hers, run her fingers down along those pecs—

Whoops. Not the direction she should let her mind wander down right now. Especially as the three men before her all turned their attention her way. The middle one—slighter than the brothers—looked vaguely familiar.

Kane stepped forward, intimidating in his size and intensity, until a smile split his serious look. “Hello, EvaMarie. I’m Kane.”

“I remember,” she murmured, and shook his hand. What a surprise. No smart remarks. No ultimatums. Looked like at least one brother could be reasonable. “Mason didn’t say when you’d be joining us.” She could sure use a buffer from his brother.

“Oh, I won’t be moving in right away. I’m still tying up some loose ends at our base camp, and we invested in a town house when we were scoping out the landscape.” He shared a glance with his brother. “But I’ll be here soon enough.”

The thought of being here alone with Mason set off a firestorm of nerves inside her.

“After I get the chance to work my magic on this place. I’ve been waiting years,” the slender man said as he moved forward. He didn’t have the bulk of the other two, but she could tell he made up for it with loads of personality. The good kind.

“Hello, EvaMarie,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, so I don’t expect you to remember me. I’m Jeremy Blankenship.”

“Oh, yes. I thought you looked familiar. It’s good to see you again...”

Now that she had a name to go with the face, her memories clicked. Jeremy was a son of one of the active horse racing families who had decided to go completely against the grain and attend school for an interior design degree.

“Can we move past the pleasantries and get to work, please?” Mason groused.

“You’d better get used to pleasantries and small talk if you plan on socializing much in this town,” Kane warned.

Jeremy nodded his agreement before turning his gaze back to EvaMarie with questions in his soft brown eyes that had her tensing. “When I heard the Harringtons had bought the estate, I didn’t expect to find you still here.”

Before she could answer, Mason cut in. “EvaMarie will be overseeing a lot of the daily work and details for me.”

Jeremy looked between them for a moment. “Oh, so are y’all together?”

“No.” Mason’s voice was short, but EvaMarie wondered if that was a hint of satisfaction she heard. “When I say she’ll be working, I mean it literally. As in, for me.”

There it was... EvaMarie felt her face flame, blood rushing to the surface as she wondered how many other people he would find satisfaction in telling her new status to. Part of her wanted to crawl away in defeat, but she forced her shoulders back, projecting a confidence she was far from feeling. With any luck, this job would be a gateway to a new life for her. One that wasn’t going to be at the same level as she’d had growing up, but despite what a lot of people were probably gonna think, she was fine with that.

At least she’d be one step closer to this life being hers.

There was no point pouting over what she couldn’t change...yet. That was one thing life had taught her. The key was to simply put her head down and power through. “Jeremy, would you like a look around?” she asked, assuming that’s why he was here.

“Would love it. After all, I can’t interior design if I haven’t seen the interior, right?” He smiled big, as if to show her his approval, then linked his arm through hers and led her down the hallway.

She might just like having him here.

Most of the rooms were just going to need new wall treatments, updated lighting and furniture. Uncomfortable at first, EvaMarie soon put forth a few tentative ideas and received an accepting reaction from all but Mason, who remained aloof though not outwardly antagonistic. She directed the little party around the downstairs, then into the kitchen and family room.

“This would be a great place for a leather sofa and big screen television,” Kane said. “Right next to the kitchen. Perfect hang out space.”

The discussion devolved into name brands and types of electronic equipment that had EvaMarie yawning. Then Kane climbed the three steps to the main kitchen area. The rest of them followed. EvaMarie tried not to cringe. This room had been in desperate need of a makeover for years. Its mustard yellow appliances and farm motif dated it from the early eighties at the latest.

“I want more extensive work in here,” Kane said. “Stainless-steel appliances, new granite countertops, the whole shebang.”

“My brother,” Mason interrupted, “in this area, I give you free rein.”

“That’s because you don’t want to starve,” Kane teased.

Mason winked, pointing at his brother. “You are correct, sir.”

Without thought, EvaMarie said, “Well, looks like one of you learned to cook.”

The men glanced her way. Once more she felt that telltale heat in her cheeks. Maybe she’d gotten a little too comfortable—the last thing she should have alluded to was her one and only trip to the Harrington household when she was a teenager. That’s when she’d realized that the extent of Mason’s cooking skills included opening a box and the microwave door. Of course, hers weren’t comprehensive, but her mother had the housekeeper teach her the basics. She’d enjoyed it so much she’d taken home ec and some specialty classes once adulthood allowed her to pursue a small number of her own interests.

“Well, we will definitely coordinate these two spaces so they flow together,” Jeremy said, smoothly glossing over her sudden embarrassed silence. He gestured back toward the living area beyond the bar that served as a divider between the two spaces. “Do you gentlemen want a true man cave here or something more subtle?”

“Man, too bad there isn’t a place for a big game room,” Mason said. “We can at least watch the Super Bowl on a big screen here, but something more intense would be a great addition.”

Kane nodded. “Pinball machines, a poker table, a wine cellar. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“What are the odds of us getting something that’s awesome?” Mason asked Jeremy with a grin.

“Well, all of these first-floor rooms are open to the hallway. How true to the style of the house do you want to hold to?”

The guys bantered back and forth, Mason’s smile breaking through full throttle. For the first time, EvaMarie caught a true glimpse of the Mason she remembered. Oh, he was older, more ruggedly handsome. But that smile showcased the fun-loving, friendly resonance of his youth.

She’d missed it, as much as the thought scared her.

As they talked more and more about what would make a really cool splash in the house, EvaMarie could feel her stomachache growing. Ideas sparked in her brain...as did the voice of her father calling her a traitor. The push and pull of what should be clear family loyalties confused her. After all, her family had had a difficult time with what life had thrown at them. While losing their home was just part of that life, losing it to the Harringtons was unforgivable to her father.

She shouldn’t be helping them. But she needed to do a good job, right?

“What about the basement?” she asked, the words bursting forth before she’d actually made up her mind.

The three men shared a glance, then Jeremy asked, “What basement?”

EvaMarie offered the interior designer a tentative smile despite her guilt and led the way back out to the breezeway. On the far side of the stairwell was a regular door that opened to a fairly wide set of stairs. She could feel Kane as he leaned around the doorway. “Looks promising,” he said.

“What it’s gonna look is dusty,” she said as she started down, flicking the light switch on as she went. “I can’t even remember the last time anyone was down here.”

She’d actually forgotten about the space, which was currently used for storage. Probably a good thing. Thinking about packing and moving all the stuff down here too might have thrown her over the edge of what sanity she had left.

Funny the things you could block out to protect your mind in a precarious state, she thought.

“Wow. This is incredible,” Jeremy was saying as his dress shoes clicked on the concrete floor.

“The open space runs under this half of the house,” EvaMarie explained, relaxing a little in the face of his enthusiasm. “Since the house was built into the hill, they finished this portion for the square footage. But with only the three of us, there wasn’t any need for it.”

As Mason’s expression darkened, she decided it was time to keep her mouth shut again. The men explored, brainstorming all the cool things they would do down here, sparing no expense on Mexican tile and glass block room dividers and yes, a place for pinball machines. Her input was no longer needed. Not wanting to get in the way, EvaMarie wandered back the other way to the one room on the other side of the stairway. A large open entryway framed the room beyond like a picture.

The long-mirrored wall reflected the ballet bar attached at a child’s level. She could also see her elaborate doll house closed up in the corner. The few stuffed animals she’d kept were resting safely in the wooden toy chest. This had been her own space when she was a little girl—a safe haven from her father’s unreasonably high expectations and her mother’s silent pressure to conform.

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