His Millionaire Maid (14 page)

Chapter Eleven

Joe trudged into the changing sheds, the last of his soccer team to stagger off the field, and collapsed onto a bench, feeling like he’d been run over by a garbage truck.

Mick, his sweaty teammate drooping opposite him, shot him a gloomy look. “We were hammered out there today.”

Joe couldn’t deny that. “Yeah. They outplayed us.” Wearily he began unlacing his cleats.

“What happened to all those set moves we practiced? Why weren’t you feeding me any good balls?”

Joe shook his head. “I’m sorry. My mind was somewhere else.”

“You can say that again. You couldn’t even make it to the game on time.”

It was the first time Joe had ever done that. He’d shown up five minutes after the start whistle—an unthinkable occurrence that had never happened before—and he’d played the entire game like a sleepwalker. He hadn’t initiated any set moves, hadn’t motivated his team when they began crumbling, hadn’t done his job as the linchpin and captain of his team.

“Guess those talent scouts didn’t see me at my best,” Mick said with a dismal sigh.

Joe’s head jerked up. “Shit. I forgot about them.” Mick was the best striker Joe had ever played with. He was also desperate to escape his life at the family lumber mill, and he’d hoped the scouts visiting today would pick him out and offer him some hope.

Soccer was his lifeline, and Joe had screwed up his chances. “I’m sorry, Mick. I really fucked up.”

Mick’s dejected stance multiplied Joe’s guilt. He’d screwed up the most important game of the year, and for what? He had no good excuse. The realization weighed heavily on him.

Mick grunted. “Hey, maybe next time, right?”

Next time.
Next time, would he still be in the grip of his mad passion for Nina, or would it have died down just as quickly as it had flared up? He doubted his obsession with her would peter out any time soon. Not by last night’s standards. Or this morning. When he’d dragged himself out of bed after another all-nighter, she’d begun to tease him and flirt with him, and he’d welcomed it, until all thought of soccer receded before the burning need to make good on her promises and bury himself in her.

His decision to stay with her had made him late for his match. He’d shattered his concentration and his game plans. This affair with Nina was beginning to seriously impact other areas of his life. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was only supposed to be a secret, sizzling side order of sex. He wasn’t supposed to let her take root in his mind so deeply as to change his routine.

He went home to tackle the avalanche of emails about the festival, but when he sat on his couch, he instantly fell asleep. Some time later, he woke up to find he’d slept several hours. And now he was late for visiting his nonna. Seriously late.

By the time he rushed into the nursing home, Nonna Lina was huddled in her armchair, twisting her blanket with shaking hands, while two caregivers tried to calm her. When she caught sight of Joe, she cried out.

“I thought you’d had a car accident!” She sobbed and collapsed against the cushions.

“I’m so sorry, Nonna.” Joe hunkered down at her side. “I fell asleep.”

Joe’s heart was a guilty stone in his throat as he tried to reassure her that nothing was wrong. She wasn’t convinced. He never missed a Sunday without giving her plenty of notice. How could he be late today without there being something very wrong?

It took Joe more than an hour to soothe her, and all the while he was conscious of the curious—and maybe accusing—glances from the caregivers.

As he held his nonna’s bone-thin hand, her vulnerability hit him anew. He’d made a deathbed promise to his father to look after his grandmother, and that didn’t mean just footing the bills. His uncle and aunt visited Nonna whenever they could, but they had their hands full with the farm and couldn’t always get to town. And his sister loved visiting Nonna but was thousands of miles away. With her fragile grip on reality, Nonna relied on Joe and his regular visits to maintain her peace of mind. For the first time ever, he’d let her down, and she was devastated.

He couldn’t let that happen again. He couldn’t let an affair turn his life upside down. And the only way to accomplish that now was to shut it down completely.

…

Nina was taking a nap in her room when a knock on her door woke her. Rubbing her eyes, she opened her door to find Joe standing there. She smiled as her body immediately grew warm.

She leaned against the door. “Hi. Joining me for a nap?” After all the sex they’d enjoyed recently, she assumed they were both too worn-out for more, but it would be nice to cuddle together in her narrow bed.

But Joe shook his head curtly. “I need to discuss something with you.”

Her heart sank at his gruff tone and the bleak set of his face. Joe hadn’t come here to cuddle with her. He’d come here to break up with her. She knew it. Could hear it in his tone, could sense it in his uneasy stiffness, his braced expression. All the warmth fled from her body as she straightened, replaced by icy foreboding.

“Yeah, sure.” She motioned for him to come inside, then moved away to perch on the edge of the desk.

Grim faced, Joe raked his fingers through his hair, looking like he was searching for the right words. Well, he’d have to do it on his own; she wasn’t going to help him dump her…
Dump me. Oh, hell.
Suddenly her legs were shaky and the back of her mouth tasted bile.

“I was late visiting Nonna this afternoon.”

Nina blinked. “I’m sorry.”

His fisted knuckles whitened. “Nonna…well, she’s never recovered from her car accident, physically or mentally. We’ve found it’s best to have her follow a regular schedule. It keeps her calm and happy, but any deviation from that schedule without warning makes her anxious. And I mean extremely anxious. I was late today because I fell asleep at home.”

“Because of last night.” She rubbed her upper arms. “I didn’t realize…”

Joe shook his head. “You’re not to blame. I’m the one who’s been dropping the ball lately.”

She looked up at him. “So it’s not just your grandmother?”

Sighing, he scowled down at his shoes. “I fell asleep at a festival meeting. I was late with some financial paperwork. And I missed the kickoff of my soccer match and played the crappiest game on record. I’ve let down people I care about, people who expect more from me.”

The disapproval in his face pinched her. Joe had high standards, and he was disappointed in himself.

“Yeah,” she said, “and let’s not forget the Comet Inn. Sarah already hates my guts, and she doesn’t even know we’ve been sleeping together.”

Joe’s face grew even grimmer. “Tell me about it. Vince isn’t happy with me, either. In fact, everyone’s been walking on eggshells around here.”

Nina bit her lip as she realized how much damage this was causing Joe. Damn. He’d put his business at risk to be with her, the business he’d built from scratch and worked so hard at. The business that employed people and generated income for the town. The business that paid for his sister’s college education and his grandmother’s care.

Joe wasn’t like Nina. He didn’t have an inheritance or rich connections to fall back on. Everything he had he’d earned on his own. People relied on him. People needed him.

She turned to Joe, her throat tight. “Looks like we’ve been selfish, huh?”

He stared at her, then crossed the small room and held her shoulders. “We just got carried away.” He paused and drew in a breath. “God, did we get carried away.”

“But we should stop, shouldn’t we?”

“Yeah, we should,” Joe said, “even though I don’t want to.”

The conflict in his face seared her. She had lied to him about her identity and slept with him knowing he wouldn’t have if he knew she was a Beaumont. And she was still lying. The enormity of her deception suddenly frightened her.

Gulping, Nina twisted out of his grasp. “It was bound to end anyway.”

He stilled, and his expression grew enigmatic.

She should have left it at that, but maybe she was trying to justify her deception. “I mean, this thing between us, it was never going to develop into a full-on relationship. Right?”

His face turned rigid. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

The blunt reminder put her in her place. She was good enough for a brief fling, but not worthy of official girlfriend status. Well, maybe she deserved it for her lies.

Nina pressed her hands on the desk she was leaning against and forced herself to meet Joe’s eyes. The prospect of not kissing Joe again, of not sharing the sweetest intimacies with him, left her feeling hollowed out and more than a little abandoned. That scared her. Joe had become an important part of her life so quickly. How had she let that happen?

“Maybe I should leave.” The words jerked out of her.

“Leave?” He sounded bewildered.

“Yeah. Maybe I should find another job.”

She had to return to San Francisco after the Food and Wine Festival anyway, and now Joe had given her a convenient out. Even though it hurt like crazy, this wake-up call was a relief. Now she had a good reason to leave Hartley, and he’d never know who she really was. Her guilty conscience festered at the continued subterfuge, but what good could come from confessing now? He’d never forgive her if he found out, but this way she could keep her memories of him and of this little town and all the people she’d met.

Joe’s eyes were dark. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“But it’s the best decision for both of us. I’ll wait until after the festival.”

He shook his head but said nothing, just stared bleakly at her.

She gulped, her throat raw. “We can still be friends while I’m here, can’t we?”

“Friends.” He heaved in a breath. “Yes. Friends.”

“And I’m still going to help you at the B&B tomorrow. I want to,” she added as he started to object. “You need all the help you can get.” And maybe it would ease some of her remorse.

“Okay.” He sighed as if in defeat. “Thanks. I’d better go now.”

She stood stiffly to attention and watched as he opened the door.

“I’ll see you out there.” He tilted his head to indicate the public areas of the inn.

“See you there,” she choked out.

Then he was gone.

…

Nina was relieved when Vince turned up on Monday to lend a hand. She and Joe had driven out to his B&B in awkward silence, and as soon as they’d arrived he had given her the task of clearing the gutters of the back porch, a one-man job, while he had quickly disappeared somewhere else.

He greeted Vince, and the two men started hammering something at the front of the house.

Nina, perched on a ladder, continued scooping out handfuls of dead leaves from the gutters. Restoring this mansion would be a huge task, but she could see it would make a fantastic B&B. Already she could visualize it in all its restored glory, a gracious, elegant residence that was also relaxed and comfortable. Her fantasies grew wilder and included Joe and herself, working together to bring the B&B to life.

She was so lost in her daydreams that it took her a while to notice the raised voices coming from the front of the house. She clambered down her ladder and hurried through the house. The front door stood wide-open, but when she saw who was outside, she skidded to a halt, her stomach diving.

Two men in black suits faced Joe and Vince. The man in charge, the one who stood in front with shades balanced on his head, was instantly recognizable to Nina. He was Perry Stevens, one of her father’s smarmy, overambitious underlings, who made Nina’s skin crawl.

And right now she could not let him see her.

She shrank back into an alcove beneath the staircase from where she could still glimpse what was happening outside.

“Come on, Joe,” Perry said in his usual oily manner. “It’s a generous offer. You’ll be able to pocket a handsome profit. All you have to do is sign this contract.” He held out a sheaf of papers, a smirk on his face.

Joe stepped right up to him, rigid with fury, and thrust his head at Perry so that the smaller man faltered back. “The answer’s still no. Do I have to tattoo that on your dumb forehead before Carson Beaumont gets the message?”

Perry tittered nervously. “Hey now, no need for that.”

Joe grabbed the contract from Perry’s fingers and stuffed it into the guy’s jacket. “You have two minutes to get off my property.”

“Maybe I’ll come back when you’re not so busy—”

“Yeah, come back any time and say hello to my shotgun.” Joe jabbed his forefinger into Perry’s chest, causing the man to stumble back. “Now get lost.”

Face pale, Perry turned and signaled to the other man. The two revved off in a cloud of dust.

Nina pressed a hand to her mouth as she fought down nausea. She knew how her father operated. He’d tasked Perry to get Joe to sell, and Perry, always eager to suck up to her dad, would try just about anything. He was relentless, a Rottweiler who wouldn’t let go once he’d clamped his jaws.

Joe and Vince were talking in low, tight voices, and before she could move they were in the hallway.

“Nina?” Vince approached her. “Did you hear all that?”

Nodding, she stepped out of the alcove. “I couldn’t believe it. That was awful.” Both men looked grim. She looked anxiously at Joe. “You don’t really have a shotgun, do you?”

He shook his head, then sighed as he raked his hair, his frustration evident. “No, and I shouldn’t have sunk to that, but those Beaumont jerks are feral.”

And she had Beaumont blood flowing through her veins. She shivered with dread at the thought of being outed.

“Don’t worry,” Joe said, misinterpreting the reason for her distress. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

Vince grunted. “Maybe you should think about getting a business partner.”

“A business partner?” Joe raised his eyebrows at him.

“Yeah. If you can’t get money from the banks, maybe you can find someone who wants to invest in your business.”

“But I don’t want someone else interfering in my plans.”

Vince lifted his shoulders. “Maybe not, but at least you’d have a business, right? Anyway, it’s something to think about.” He walked off, leaving Nina alone with Joe.