The Gift, Book 3 (The Billionaire's Love Story) (4 page)

On his walk this morning, the twinkling lights had attracted him, and the trees dressed in shimmering bulbs, with the brightly lit stalls that sprang up along the sides near the ice rink. He’d stumbled into the Winter Village, according to the signs he’d seen and so he had meandered in, mingling with people, families mostly or couples hand in hand. Wherever he looked, people were out in groups. And he was alone.

And then he’d seen them as he stood gazing at the ice-rink. At first he’d been surprised, then had dismissed what he’d seen, thinking he was mistaken. But she was hard to miss with her hair flying out behind her, her face flushed and dewy, her lips red, like cherry. It was the familiarity of her, and then knowing that it really was her, that had brought the smile to his face. He saw Jacob in front of her. The boy was good. In fact, the mother was a great skater too. He’d watched them quietly, unknown by them, until Jacob had spotted him on his next turn around the rink. Then Savannah had seen him, and when their eyes locked, she had looked uneasy, uncomfortable, almost as if she was avoiding eye contact.

And here they were, eating hotdogs together. It was indeed a strange turn of events. “I was hoping we could talk,” he began, lowering his voice, as he leaned towards her.

“About?”

“About what I wanted to see you for yesterday, before my brother and Matthias interrupted.”

“This wouldn’t be an appropriate time or place for that,” she said, lowering her voice as her gaze darted quickly towards her son.

He nodded; she had a point and they continued to eat quietly. He was hungrier than he thought he would be, and damn it, this dog tasted like heaven. He grinned at Jacob whose fingers and mouth were covered in ketchup. Even the napkin he had was smeared in red. “Here, buddy,” said Tobias, giving him another one. The boy finished in record time though Savannah seemed to be taking her time daintily nibbling away on hers and had barely made her way through a quarter of it. “Would you like another one, Jacob?” He asked.

“Have mine, Honey. I’m not very hungry.”

“Don’t you want it, Mommy?” Savannah shook her head.

“I’ll get him another one,” Tobias offered, stuffing the last of his into his mouth.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Stone,” she replied, and handed her hotdog to Jacob.

“Thanks, Mommy.”

“I’m really not all that hungry.” She replied, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

That won’t be necessary? Mr. Stone?
She certainly had a stiffness about her that he thought she only reserved for the office, or maybe it was just for him. He couldn’t blame her. He knew he could be intimidating and that he hadn’t helped things much by the way he had behaved in their earlier encounters.

“You were hungry, hey buddy?” Jacob took the last bite of his hotdog and nodded. Tobias saw this as his chance to discuss a safer topic. “How was last night? With Matthias?”

She was about to tell him when Jacob interrupted. “Mommy, I’m really thirsty.”

“Let me get some drinks,” Tobias offered.

“I’ve got some bottled water.” She pulled a Marvel drinking bottle out of her knapsack and handed it to Jacob.

“How was your evening?” she asked.

“My brother roped me into going with him to The Oasis. It’s some new rooftop bar.” She blinked at him, and he sensed that she had unasked questions lurking at the tip of her tongue, but she refrained from making a comment. He wondered if she thought he’d spent the night with Naomi. And then he wondered if this was his mind playing tricks on him because unlike him, Savannah Page didn’t seem to care two hoots what he did and whom he did it with.

“Matthias—” he started, once more anxious to find out.

“Mommy, I’m thirsty, and this is finished.”

“Excuse me,” she said to him. “I’ll get some more. Anything I can get you?” she asked him.

“Water’s good, thanks,” he replied and watched as she wandered off towards the kiosks. He hoped to continue the conversation when she returned. He dragged his gaze away from Savannah to find Jacob watching him.

“Having a good day?”

“The best, now that you’re here, Mr. Stone.”

His words touched Tobias, even though he knew little children had a predilection for exaggeration. The words still meant something. “Thanks, Jacob,” he replied. “It means a lot to me that you let me join you.”

“I didn’t want you to be lonely,” the boy replied. Then, while Tobias was still trying to make sense of it, he asked, “Do you miss your wife?” The boy’s words, spoken with an innocence that took the edge off their sharpness, surprised him and at the same time, diluted his anger.

A chill iced over him, making his chest tight and forcing him to work harder to breathe. “I do miss her, Jacob. I miss her a lot.” Tobias replied quietly. He bent over until his face was level with the little boy’s. “How did you know?”

“I saw it on Mommy’s computer.” The boy stared down at the floor, his face turning solemn.

“On Mommy’s computer?” Tobias straightened up and ran a playful hand through the boy’s hair.

Jacob nodded. “I’m sorry.” The boy’s apology brought him back to earth again.

“Hey, buddy. Hey,” Tobias slipped his finger under the boy’s chin and tilted his face upwards gently. “It’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“I’ve made you sad again, haven’t I?”

Tobias swallowed. Any mention of Ivy always made him sad. Anyone else asking would have been an unwelcome intrusion, but with Jacob asking, it didn’t feel like that at all. “Sometimes things happen in your life that are out of your control.” He stared into the boy’s green eyes, needing him to hear his words. “This was one of those things.”

“I’m sorry that you’re alone.”

“I’m not alone, Jacob. We ate together, didn’t we?” asked Tobias, trying to keep his voice firm.

“I guess,” Jacob nodded, still not looking convinced. “Do you like hot chocolate? Mommy was going to—” he stopped as his mother headed back with bottles of water for them all.

“Mommy was going to do what, Honey?” Savannah asked, handing him a bottle.

“Is it OK if we get hot chocolate?” Jacob asked.

“Sure. We can,” she replied. “Would you?—” She turned to Tobias but he shook his head. He would have taken them up on their offer but for some reason he now wanted his own space. Perhaps it was better for him to continue with his walk, as he had set out to do this morning. “I think another time, Jacob. Thanks for the offer.”

The boy nodded and Tobias turned to go. “Will you come again, Mr. Stone?” Tobias turned around. “And maybe you can come ice-skating with us next time,” Jacob offered.

Tobias hesitated before answering, and glanced at Savannah. “Maybe one day, Jacob. That would be good.” He smiled, because it was impossible not to, especially when the kid looked at him as though he was his best friend.

He was tempted to ask Savannah what she was doing looking him up online, but he decided that was a question best left for another day.

Chapter 5

The sound of a screaming siren drilled sharply into her brain, snatching her from Tobias’ arms where she’d lain, their bodies naked and entwined.

Savannah’s eyelids flew open, and she exhaled loudly, her hand automatically hitting the snooze button. She closed her eyes in the hope of retrieving and reliving those moments again but the last wisps of the dream had escaped and had now passed beyond her reach.

Disappointed, she brushed her hand over her face and stretched out in bed, reveling in the feel of the warm bed and dreading the thought of getting up and getting ready for work and school.

In her dream she’d been in Tobias’s bed and his leather jacket had been strewn carelessly on the floor. She felt a pull between her legs as heat swirled below her stomach. It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced for a long time and it resurfaced now, giving her a want, a need and a desire for Tobias Stone and the curiosity of going with him to the 30th floor.

Not a chance in hell.
But the fantasy, as far-fetched as it was, provided an excitement and thrill that her life currently lacked.

She could
not
have these thoughts about Tobias Stone. He would see right through her, especially with that penetrating stare of his and the metallic blue eyes that looked as if he could read her thoughts. She was torn between lying in bed and fantasizing about wicked things and jumping out of bed to get ready for the daily grind. The sharp reminder that it was the first day back to school told her she had to get up. The scramble to get her and Jacob ready and to school in time for the early morning breakfast club was already upon her. And Christmas Eve seemed a long time ago.

Wearily, she sat up, trying to mentally prepare herself for the trudge back to work while scorching hot thoughts, dripping with lust, coursed through her mind and pushed the grayness of January away.

Wondering what it would be like to wake up in bed with Tobias Stone, had that effect.

~~

“Don’t worry,” Briony reassured her. “There will be work and plenty of it but I need to produce a proper proposal and state my case.”

How long was that going to take? Savannah wondered. Especially in a company of this size with its different departments and bits of paper that needed to be signed and dotted. It wasn’t good enough.

The new agency had already replied and told her that they had submitted her résumé and were now waiting to hear back from the company who was recruiting for the position of a temporary office manager.

“You don’t have anything else lined up, do you?” Briony asked her.

She wanted to keep her options open. “No,” she replied, telling the truth. But she needed to let Briony know that she couldn’t sit around waiting for Stone Enterprises to take their sweet time in deciding whether they had a position to offer her or not. “But it would be good to know, you know, sooner rather than later,” she said casually, “in case something comes up. I’ve sent my résumé to a couple of agencies, in the meantime.”

“I understand,” Briony assured her. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Do you think there will be a chance of anything long term?”

“I’m working on it. I have a proposal for Matthias.”

“Do you know when it might come through, and for how long?”

“I know you need answers, hon.” Briony combed her hands through her spiky hair, making it stand up as if a few hundred volts had passed through her. “But I have a heap of stuff I need to finish before I can spend any time on ironing out the job spec. Just bear with me, okay?”

Savannah nodded obediently. After all, what else could she do?

“Right now, the only thing I can give you is little itty-bitty things.” Briony continued.

“Thanks, I appreciate that you’re doing your best,” Savannah told her. She was genuinely grateful for all that Briony had done for her but she was also relieved that she’d kept her options open and had been looking around.

Her livelihood and that of Jacob’s depended on her working and earning as well as she could, given her experience. But it had been a lot harder than she had bargained. This contract with Stone Enterprises had come at the perfect time and it had temporarily made things look up as well as given her hope but Briony’s responses had already dulled her expectations. Now that she’d had a taste of working in an office, she knew she could never return to her waitressing or supermarket jobs. Not only was the money better here, but it was nowhere near as exhausting. For one thing she didn’t have to be on her feet all day, nor did she have to suffer rude customers. And she’d come from an office manager’s job back home. She was more than capable of handling admin work.

She stared down at her only pair of long boots. Thankfully they didn’t look too battered. She’d worn a skirt and a black turtle neck top today. It was a little tight, but it was stretchy and when her whole outfit had been put together, with more care than she normally put into it, she didn’t look bad at all.

“You’ve got enough to keep you busy for the next few weeks and if for some insane reason you finish it, knowing you,” Briony raised her eyebrows at her, “come and tell me and I’ll soon find you something else to do.” Briony drew a line through her notes as if she was crossing something off. But it did nothing to dispel Savannah’s gloom. She’d been basking in a false sense of security, believing that this contract would continue, because Briony had said it would. She needed something concrete and it didn’t look as if Briony was in a position to offer that to her yet.

“Let me get that,” replied Savannah, when the phone on her desk started to ring.

“Savannah?” It was Tobias. The sound of his voice, smooth like silk, made her insides somersault. It wasn’t only his voice, but the way he said her name. So much had happened between them recently; small things, seemingly insignificant when taken on their own, but when put together, they made something bigger. She wasn’t sure what to make of it but knew that the sight of Tobias Stone no longer made her just uneasy. It made her heart do little back flips, too.

“Hello,” she replied, cautiously, glancing at Briony who was still busy making notes.

“Could you come and see me?”

Her insides turned hot like molten liquid and in the silence that followed, she heard a whooshing sound in her ears. “I’m in a meeting with Briony.” She heard herself saying.