Buch lesen: «Snowbound With A Billionaire»

One

Max Ford maneuvered his rental car carefully through the slushy streets. Granted this old, dirty snow lining the thoroughfares was nothing new to Lenox, Massachusetts, for the month of February, but it was quite a jump from the palm-draped avenues he was used to back in L.A.

He hadn’t been back to Lenox in years and hadn’t driven in snow in even longer, but, as he eased off the gas, he realized he’d missed doing this. Shooting a scene for a movie in the snow wasn’t the same as spending time off enjoying the pristine white surroundings. Besides, usually when he would shoot a winter locale, it was with man-made snow and not the God-given kind.

Since Max had grown up here, Lenox would always hold a special place in his heart. The population may be small, but the bank accounts of the residents were anything but. The sprawling estates had stood for decades; some were main residences, others second homes.

The two narrow lanes wound through town, and, just as Max rounded the last turn, he spotted a car off the side of the road, its back end sticking up out of a ditch. The flashers were on, and the back door opened. The afternoon sun shone through the car windows, revealing a woman—bundled up with a stocking cap over her head and a scarf wrapped around her neck and mouth—stepping out.

Instinct told him to slam on his brakes, but he was born and raised on the East Coast and knew better.

Carefully easing his car off the road just ahead of the wreck, Max left the engine running as he stepped out into the frigid temperatures. Damn, that biting cold was something he hadn’t missed.

Since he’d come straight from L.A., he didn’t exactly have the proper shoes to be trudging in the snow, but there was no way he would leave a woman stranded on the side of the road. Granted he was only a mile from his destination and could’ve called someone, but that wasn’t the type of man he was raised to be.

“Ma’am,” he called as he drew closer. “Are you all right?”

He wondered if she’d hear him over the howling wind, but when she froze at his voice, he assumed she’d realized she wasn’t alone.

The woman in a long, puffy gray coat turned. All Max could see was her eyes, but he’d know them anywhere. Those bright emerald-green eyes could pierce a man’s heart...and once upon a time, they had penetrated his.

“Raine?”

Her eyes widened as she reached up with a gloved hand to shove her scarf down below her chin. “Max, what are you doing here?”

It was too damn cold to be having a discussion about anything other than her current predicament, so he asked again, “Are you all right?”

She glanced over her shoulder, then back at him. “I’m fine, but the car is stuck.”

“I can give you a lift,” he offered. “Where are you going?”

“Um...I can call a friend.”

Max nearly laughed. Were they really going to argue about this? It was freezing, he hadn’t seen her in...too many years to count, and he really wanted to get to his mother, who was recovering from surgery.

“Seriously, just get in the car and I can take you anywhere,” he said. “Grab your stuff and let’s go.”

Raine hesitated, holding his gaze as if she were contemplating waiting in the snow for another ride instead of coming with him. Granted they hadn’t left things on the best of terms.... No, they had actually left their relationship on very good, very intimate terms. It was after he’d left that something had happened. And he had no clue what that something was because the last time he’d seen her, they’d been in love with plans for a future together.

Still to this day, thinking back on that time in his life left his heart aching.

But now was not the time to consider such things. Raine needed to get in, because who knows how long she’d been out here in the freezing cold, and she needed to call a wrecker.

“All right,” she conceded. “I have to get a few things first.”

She turned into the backseat and seconds later she faced him again, this time with a...baby carrier?

Whoa! He totally wasn’t expecting her to have a baby in tow. Not that he’d planned on running into her like this at all, but still...

“Can you hold this?” she asked. “I need to get the base out and strap it into your car.”

Base? He had no clue what a base was considering the only thing he knew about babies is that he used to be one. Max reached for the handle of the carrier and was surprised how heavy this contraption was. He didn’t see the baby for the large blanket-looking thing with a zipper going up the middle. He supposed that was smart, seeing as how the wind was wicked cold right now, and keeping the baby as warm as possible was the best idea.

In all honesty, the idea of Raine with a baby was what really threw him. She was probably married, because a woman like Raine wouldn’t settle for a child without having the husband first. And that thought right there kicked him in the gut. Even after all this time, the mental image of her with another man seemed incomprehensible. He had to chalk it up to the fact he’d had no closure on their relationship, because he refused to admit, after years of living apart, that he still had feelings for this emerald-eyed beauty.

She lifted some gray plastic bucket thing from the backseat and started toward his car. He assumed that was his cue to follow.

Max held the handle with both hands since there was no way in hell he’d take a chance dropping what he assumed to be a sleeping baby. Not a peep was made from beneath the zipper. Surely the child was okay after that accident. Her car was barely off the road but enough that the front end was kissing the snow-covered ditch.

Once Raine had the base in, Max carefully handed over the carrier. With a quick click, she had the baby in the warm car and had closed the door.

“I have to get the diaper bag and this gift I was delivering,” she stated. “Go ahead and get in...I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll get your bag.” He stepped in front of her as she tried to pass him. “It’s too cold and you’ve been out here longer than me. Is everything in the front seat?”

She nodded and looked so damn cute with snowflakes dangling on her lashes, her face void of makeup...just like he’d remembered.

Not waiting for her to protest, Max turned back to her car, cursing the entire way. Cute? He was now thinking she was cute? What was he...five? So they shared a past. A very intimate, very intense past, but in his defense, he hadn’t seen her in nearly fifteen years. Of course old feelings were going to crop up, but that didn’t mean they had to control his state of mind—or his common sense.

He jerked on her car door’s handle and reached in, grabbing the pink diaper bag and a small floral gift bag. Who the hell delivered a gift when the roads were quickly becoming a sheet of ice? With a baby to boot?

Max slid back behind the wheel of his rental, cranked the heat as high as it would go and eased back out onto the road.

“Where am I taking you?” he asked.

“Um...I was on my way to see your mother.”

Max jerked in his seat. “My mother?”

Raine barely looked his way before she focused her eyes back on the road, a place he should keep his.

“I swear I had no idea you were coming in today,” she quickly told him. “I mean, I knew you were coming, but I didn’t know exactly when that would be. If you’d rather I not go...I can come another time.”

She was going to see his mother? Things certainly had changed since the last time he’d been in Lenox with Raine and his parents. The way he and Raine had fought to be together, defying both sets of their parents...and it all was for naught.

He cast a quick glance her way, noticed how she kept toying with the threads fraying off the hem of her coat, her eyes either staying in her lap or staring out the window. Why was she so nervous? Was it him? Was she mentally replaying every moment they’d spent together, just like he was? Was she remembering that last night they’d made love, and the promises they’d made to each other? Promises that he had fully intended to keep, not knowing she’d never hold up her end of the deal. Is that what had her so on edge?

“Why are you visiting my mother?”

Raine’s soft laugh filled the car. “A lot has changed since you were in Lenox, Max.”

Apparently...and since she had pointedly dodged his question, he assumed that was code for “none of your business.” And she was right. Whatever she was doing was none of his concern. Once upon a time they knew every single detail about one another, but that chapter had closed. They were all but strangers at this point. Could this last mile be any longer? Thank God the drive was in sight.

“I didn’t know you had a baby,” he said, trying to ease the thick tension, but once the words were out, he realized he sounded like an idiot. “I mean, I assumed you had a life. I just never... So, how many kids do you have?”

“Just Abby. She’s three months old.”

“Do you need to call your husband?”

Way to go. Smooth, real smooth. Could I be any less subtle?

“No,” Raine replied. “I’ll call my friend when we get to your mother’s house. He can come pick me up.”

He? She was calling a male friend and not her husband.

Max mentally shook his head and scolded himself. Still this was none of his business.

He turned into the long, narrow drive. Straight ahead sat his childhood home, now his parents’ second home, where his mother was waiting inside recovering from surgery. She would soon begin radiation treatments in town. Thankfully the doctors discovered the lump very early, and chemo wasn’t needed.

Max had no clue how she’d look, but he knew he needed to be strong, and being thrown off by seeing Raine couldn’t hinder his plans. His mother had to take top priority right now.... God knows his dad wouldn’t man up in this situation.

The sprawling two-story colonial-style home always dominated the flat acreage surrounded by tall evergreens. Max loved growing up here and had been fortunate to have been adopted by Thomas and Elise Ford. He never knew his biological parents, and, even though he’d rarely seen eye to eye with his father, he knew there were much worse scenarios he could’ve entered into as an orphaned baby.

Max pulled in front of the house and killed the engine. “Why don’t I take your diaper bag and gift?” he offered. “I’m not comfortable with that carrier...unless you can’t maneuver it in the snow.”

Raine glanced over at him and laughed. “I’ve been doing just fine for a few months now, Max. Longer than that before Abby came along.”

She got out and closed the door. Her quick jab wasn’t lost on him, but he had no idea why she was bitter. She was the one who’d dissed him when he’d gone to L.A. Destroyed any hope of sharing his life with her. And in his rage, after realizing she didn’t want him, he had nearly got himself killed.

When he stepped from the vehicle, he noticed she was getting the carrier out, and also had the gift tote and her diaper bag dangling from her arm. Apparently this Raine was a bit more independent and stubborn than the old Raine. Who was he to argue?

He followed her up the steps, careful to stay close in case she slipped. By the time they reached the wide porch, they were stomping the snow off their feet. Max moved forward and opened the door for her, gesturing her in ahead of him.

If she was going to insist on carrying everything even though he’d offered, the least he could do is get the door and be somewhat gentlemanly.

The grand foyer looked exactly the same as when he had left home at eighteen. There was never a need for him to return to this home, because, as soon as he’d left for L.A., his parents had hightailed it to Boston.

His father had always loved the Boston area and thought it would make good business sense to branch out his pubs by starting a second in a larger city. Now his father had a chain of restaurants, and Max still wanted no part of the family business.

The wide, curvaceous staircase dominated the expansive entryway, allowing visitors to see all the way up to the second-floor balcony that ran the width of the entryway. A vast chandelier suspended down from the ceiling of the second floor, the lights casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto the pale marble flooring.

Raine was just unzipping the blanket mechanism covering the carrier when his mother came into the foyer. Max didn’t know what to expect when they finally came face-to-face after her major, life-altering surgery, but relief quickly settled in when Elise Ford rushed forward and launched her petite little frame into his arms.

“Max,” she said, looking up at him with beautiful blue eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here. I hate to pull you away from your work, though.”

He was careful how he returned her embrace, knowing the left side of her body was tender from surgery.

“I would drop anything for you, Mom. Besides, I don’t start another movie for a couple of months, so I’m all yours.” He smiled down at her, soaking in the fact that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but, had not only fought it, she’d beaten the odds and won. “I can’t believe how great you look.”

She laughed, swatting his chest. “What were you expecting? I’m sore, and I definitely have my moments where I’m feeling run-down and tired, but today is a good day. Not only is my son home, he brought a beautiful girl and a baby with him.”

Max turned to see Raine directly behind him, cradling a swaddled, sleeping baby. While his eyes were drawn to Raine, his curiosity made him look down at the child, wondering what life his ex was leading now. Apparently she’d gotten all she’d wanted out of life: husband, baby, probably that farm of her grandmother’s she’d always loved.

“Oh...” Elise moved past Max and sighed. “Look how precious she is. Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.”

How were babies always instant magnets for women? What exactly was the draw? Baby powder? Slobber? What?

As Max watched the maternal love that settled into Raine’s eyes, the softness of her features, the tender smile, he couldn’t help but be jealous of this baby.

Perhaps that thread of jealousy stemmed from his lack of being that loved at such a young age...but he didn’t think so. Max knew his jealousy had sparked because he once had that same unconditional love from Raine...until she’d broken his heart. So why was he upset? Had he seriously not learned his lesson the first time he got entangled with this woman?

“May I hold her?” his mother asked.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Raine replied. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Elegant as always, his mother waved a hand through the air and smiled. “I’m perfectly fine to hold a little baby. My surgery was two weeks ago. Take your coat off and stay a while, anyway. It’s too cold to be out on a day like this.”

Raine handed over the baby and made work of removing her coat. Max should’ve done the same, but he was too busy watching Raine shed her scarf and gloves. When she pulled the crocheted purple hat off her head, she ran a hand over her auburn curls, as if she could tame them. He missed seeing that hair. He remembered running his fingers through it and feeling its silky softness. Truth was, he didn’t know he’d longed for such minute things about her at all until just now.

“I need to call my friend to come get me,” Raine told his mother. “My car is in a ditch about a mile away.”

Elise gasped. “Oh, honey. Are you all right?”

Raine nodded. “I’m fine. Abby’s fine. Just scared me, but I was getting ready to call someone when Max pulled up.”

His mother turned to him. “Good timing.”

Wasn’t it just? Fate hated him. He was positive of that. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here in his childhood home, with his high school sweetheart and his mother, who had not exactly fought to keep them apart but had expressed her opinion that their teenage relationship wasn’t the best move.

Max didn’t know what had happened between these two women over the years, but apparently his mother and Raine had made some sort of truce. Hell, he really had no clue what was going on. Even in the times he’d visited his parents in Boston, his mother hadn’t mentioned Raine after his first few visits.

Max pulled off his coat, hung it by the door then crossed to Raine. The last thing he wanted to do was get close enough to smell her sweet floral scent or, God forbid, touch her. But, being the gentleman his mother had raised him to be, Max reached for her bag and helped her out of her ratty coat.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll make that call.”

Raine slipped to the other room, pulling her cell from her pocket. Max turned to his mother who was making some silly faces and equally goofy noises for the baby.

“What on earth is going on?” he asked in a strained whisper.

Elise glanced over and smiled. “I’m holding a baby and visiting with my son.”

“You know what I mean, Mom. Why is Raine so welcomed here now, and why are you holding her baby like she’s your very own grandchild or something?”

Okay, poor, poor choice of words there, but he was damn confused.

“Raine called me and asked if she could drop something off,” his mother explained. “Of course, I knew she had had a baby, and I’ve visited with Raine several times over the years when your father and I would come back to Lenox. Trust me when I say, Raine isn’t the girl she used to be.”

But he liked the girl she used to be. Liked her so much he’d intended on marrying her, making a life with her.

“So you and she are what? Chummy now?”

Raine stepped back into the room and reached for the baby. “Thanks for holding her.”

“Oh, it’s not hardship holding something so precious,” his mother said. “Did you get in touch with your friend, dear?”

“He wasn’t home.”

Max rested his hands on his hips. Fate absolutely hated him. He’d been home ten minutes, and already he felt as if he was being pushed back into his past, forced to face feelings he simply wasn’t ready for.

And before he could think better of it, he opened his mouth. “I can run you home if you want to call a tow truck to pull your car out.”

Raine’s eyes locked onto his. “Oh, that’s okay. I’ll call someone else. First I want to give Elise a gift.”

“A gift?” his mother asked, clasping her hands together. “Oh, if it’s some of that honey lavender lotion, I’m going to just kiss you.”

What the hell was happening here? At one time his mother and Raine were at opposite ends of the spectrum, and he was being pulled in both directions. Now he had just entered a whole new world where the two women were clearly the best of friends.

“I knew that scent was your favorite,” Raine said, holding up the floral gift bag in one hand and securing the baby against her shoulder with the other. “And I thought you deserved to be pampered.”

His mother took the bag, shifted the bright pink tissue paper and peeked inside. “Oh, the big bottles. Thank you so much, Raine. Let me just go get my purse.”

“Oh, no,” Raine said, shaking her head. “These are on me. I had planned on bringing you some food as well, but Abby was up all night fussing, and I didn’t get to make anything today, because we napped.”

Max couldn’t take all this in. The baby, the odd bond his mother and his ex seemed to have, and the fact they were totally comfortable ignoring him. He’d been in Hollywood for years, the industry and media swarming him everywhere he went. Yet, here in his childhood home, he was suddenly an outsider.

“Oh, darling,” Elise said with a smile. “Don’t push yourself. I know you’re busy. And now that Max is here, he’s more than capable in the kitchen. Besides, I believe my home-care nurse prepared some meals for me before she left.”

Max was thankful his mother had hired a nurse and that she’d been able to stay until he could arrive. Apparently his father was once again a no-show in the family when he was needed most.

“Raine,” he chimed in. “I’ll take you home when you’re ready.”

Her eyes drifted back to him, and she sighed. “Fine. I need to get Abby home anyway and feed her. I hadn’t planned on staying gone long, and I walked out the door with the diaper bag but left the bottle on the counter. And the roads are getting worse.”

“Darling,” his mother said, placing her hand on Raine’s arm. “Please don’t feel like you have to do anything for me. Max and I will get along just fine. Visit all you like and bring this precious baby but don’t bother with anything else.”

Raine’s smile was soft, almost innocent as her green eyes twinkled. “Elise, you’re one of my best customers. I’m happy to help.”

“You take care of this baby and your other customers first,” his mother chided. “I’m seriously feeling good. My radiation treatments start in two weeks, and Max can do whatever I need.”

The old Raine would’ve done anything for anyone. She’d always put others first. Max was glad to see she was just as selfless, just as caring. And it warmed him even more to know that, after everything Max’s parents had done to keep him and Raine apart, she could put all that aside and forge a special relationship with his mother.

Raine hugged Elise and strapped the baby back in the carrier. Once they were all bundled up again, he carefully escorted her to the car. He kept a hand hovering near her arm, careful not to touch, but it was there in case she slipped.

The baby started to fuss a little as Raine locked the seat into place, but she unzipped the cover and replaced the pacifier. Instant silence. How did she know exactly what to do? The whole concept of consoling a baby was totally lost on him. Thankfully his social scene the past decade hadn’t revolved around children. Some people were natural nurturers, like his mother and Raine. Others, like his father, were not. And even though they weren’t biologically related, Max had somehow inherited the not-so-caring trait.

As he pulled out of the drive, he glanced over at Raine. All that gorgeous red hair tumbled from her hat and down her back.

“Where do you live?” he asked, assuming she’d moved out of her parents’ home.

“My grandmother’s farm.”

Max smiled. Raine’s grandmother was a woman like no other, and it didn’t surprise him that Raine had moved into the historic farmhouse. More than likely she had it overrun with goats, chickens, horses and a giant garden. That had always been her dream.

They used to laugh about it, because Raine had always tried to figure out how she could get all of that in L.A. But she’d assured him that she was willing to try, because she loved him more than this old farmhouse.

Perhaps that was what held her back, kept her distanced from him when he left, and compelled her to ignore his phone calls and letters.

Max passed the spot where her car was still stuck in the ditch. “You going to call a tow truck before it gets dark?”

“I’ll call when I get home,” she told him.

“Do you want to talk about this?”

She glanced his way. “This meaning what? Because if you’re referring to the past, then no. If you’re referring to the freezing temps, sure.”

A muscle worked in his cheek. “Always running from uncomfortable topics,” he muttered.

“Running?” she asked, her voice rising. “I’ve never run from anything in my life. I’d choose better words next time. Or is it too hard when someone hasn’t written them for you?”

Max sighed, turning onto her street. The car slid a bit on the icy patch, but he eased the wheel in the opposite direction and righted the vehicle.

Raine was in a mood. Welcome to the club because, now that the initial shock of seeing her again had passed, he could feel all those old memories stirring up inside of him.

“I don’t want this to be uncomfortable for either of us,” Max said. “It’s apparent that you and my mother are...closer than you used to be. But I’ll be here for a few months, and so you and I are going to see each other.”

Raine turned and faced the front again, her hands twisting in her lap. “The past is dead to me, Max. I have different priorities now, and I don’t have the time—or the inclination—to dredge up old memories of that teenage lust we shared.”

Ouch. Lust? He’d been head over heels for her, but, with her declaration, there was no way in hell he’d admit that now. She had made her feelings about that time very clear, and he wouldn’t beat that dead horse.

Max turned onto her drive and barely suppressed a gasp. The old white sprawling two-story home had definitely seen better days. The stained roof needed to be replaced, paint had chipped off several of the window trims, the porch that stretched the length of the home was a bit saggy on one end, and, from the looks of things, no one had shoveled the snow off the walk.

“Just pull around to the back,” she said.

Keeping his mouth shut about the obvious needs of her home, Max eased the car around to the side where a very small path had been cleared from the garage to the back door. The red handle from the shovel stuck up out of the snow, where she’d obviously left it for future use.

“Thanks for the ride.”

As Raine jumped out, Max did, too. He opened the back door as she came around, and in seconds she’d unfastened the carrier. Max reached for it before she could grab the baby.

“Let me have her, and you can remove that base,” Max told her.

Because it was cold and she knew way more about that contraption than he did, Max started toward the cleared path, watching his steps carefully because he wouldn’t dare drop this baby.

Raine came up behind him with her keys and the base. He let her pass to unlock the door, but she blocked the entryway. After easing in, and setting down the base and her purse, she turned back to take the carrier.

“Thanks for the lift home.”

Her eyes darted away from his, to the baby, to the snow swirling around them, anywhere but on him.

“Do I make you nervous?” he asked gruffly.

Now she did meet his gaze. “No. You make me remember, and that’s worse.”

He stepped closer, near enough to see those gold flecks in her bright eyes. “Is remembering so bad?”

“For me it is, maybe not for you.” She shifted, holding the carrier between them as if to use the baby as a shield. “I’m not the same person I used to be.”

“You’re still just as beautiful.”

Raine rolled her eyes. “Surely you don’t think during the brief time you’re home that you can just pick up where you left off?”