Yours Completely (Billionaires and Brides 1)

Reluctantly, I turned and headed back to shore. At the base of the deck was a little freshwater shower that I used to rinse the sand and salt from my legs before climbing the stairs back inside. I looked out at the water as I finished rinsing, surprised to see Mr. Belrose looking back at me.

He grinned, and the blush that had finally faded came roaring back. I bit my lip, determined not to make a complete fool of myself and hurried inside, nearly colliding with a giant wall of man. Elijah avoided me easily, making sure that I didn't run into him or the door in my attempt to stop the collision. He chuckled, shaking his head.

My face was burning now, knowing that not only was the stealthy body guard chuckling at me, but Mr. Belrose had seen the whole thing. I mumbled an apology and scurried up to my room to put on real clothes and hopefully fade my blush before my skin permanently matched my hair.

Sunrise Kisses: Chapter 5

I glanced at the map as I hurried through the maze of rooms. I was fairly sure that the kitchen was two more rooms to the right, but every room had the same opulent extravagance. Gilded frames and antique furniture all meshed together until every room looked the same. It was all about the display of wealth. It made it hard to distinguish what room I was in without physically checking the art hanging on the walls. Since the map didn't have that information, I had already gotten turned around once.

I finally just followed the smells of cooking and coffee. It was two rooms to the right and one to the left. Once in the kitchen, though, I finally felt like I was where I belonged.

The mansion's kitchen felt like it had been decorated by someone else. It's simple, rustic charm didn't match the rest of the house. That isn't to say that it wasn't luxurious, huge, or full of gourmet items, but that it didn't feel pompous or overbearing. Of all the rooms in the giant mansion, the kitchen actually felt like one that people lived in rather than a museum.

Leaning against the center island with a bright red mug that said, “If this cup is full, don't bother talking to me” was Charlotte. She was happily chatting away with a heavyset woman in an apron who was bustling around the kitchen cooking something that smelled absolutely divine.

“Good morning, Ava,” Charlotte greeted me, a welcoming grin spreading across her face. Her dark hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and she wore a crisp short sleeved, polka-dot shirt with the cutest skirt I had ever seen. “I wasn't expecting anyone up for a little while yet.”

I grinned back. “I wanted to see the sunrise. I'm very strange and happen to like mornings.”

“Just like her mother,” added a very grumpy voice. I turned to see my father stumble into the kitchen and settle with his work bag at the heavy wooden table. His gray hair was rumpled, and he still looked swollen from traveling. His green in his eyes looked strange against the bloodshot whites. I knew he had slept because I had heard him snoring from across the hall, but he sure didn't look like it.

“It was the time for just Mom and me,” I recalled, smiling at the memory. I could still recall with perfect clarity how Mom would always curl up in the sunny patch of the couch in the mornings, reading the morning paper or a dogeared paperback book. She was always sipping on tea or coffee and wore the same pink, ratty robe. I still had that robe, tucked away into my closet at home. Sometimes in the mornings, I would wrap myself up in it to read the paper just so that I could feel her presence again.

Charlotte handed me a full cup of coffee in a plain blue cup, pointing to the kitchen table where a pitcher of real cream and a sugar bowl sat waiting. I grinned and headed over to make my mug more cream and sugar than coffee.

“Coffee, Mr. Fairchild?” she asked, holding up a green mug. Dad mumbled a barely coherent yes and she poured him a generous helping. Just as she finished setting the cup on the table in front of him, Elijah the Bodyguard bustled into the kitchen. Without missing a beat, Charlotte picked up two waiting travel mugs from the counter and handed them to him. She's like Starbucks, but without the line, I thought to myself.

“Charlotte,” Elijah said, taking a big sip out of one of the mugs. “You're the best, you know that right?”

“Of course I do,” Charlotte replied smugly. She held up a brown paper bag. “Make sure Sebastian eats something for breakfast today. He's got that meeting with the sales rep, and last time he nearly took off the poor guy's head because he was hangry.”

Elijah went to reach for the bag, but she pulled it back, wanting a response before she would give it to him. “Yes, ma'am,” the big man said, rolling his eyes. “As long as there's one in there for me, too.”

“Have I ever let you down?” Charlotte asked, not letting go of the bag.

Elijah growled and she let go of the bag.

“What's 'hangry'?” I asked, not recognizing the word.

“You know when you haven't eaten, and it makes you mad at everything for no real good reason? That's hangry,” Charlotte explained as Elijah nearly ripped open the bag and pulled out some sort of breakfast sandwich. He immediately began to devour it. She raised her eyebrows at the big man. “You'll make sure?”

“Yes, I'll make sure he eats. I'm the one he takes his temper out on if I forget,” Elijah informed her, stuffing the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. I kept waiting for him to comment to me about last night, but he never did. After finishing his sandwich, Elijah nodded politely to everyone in the kitchen and hurried back out carrying his coffees and sandwiches to Mr. Belrose.

I shook my head, unsure of how the tiny brunette survived bossing around the giant bodyguard. He certainly scared me a little. I sat down at the table across from Dad. He was staring into his coffee like it held the answers to the universe.

“You okay, Dad?” I asked, kicking him gently under the table when he didn't look up. “You don't look like you slept well. Or did you just stay up all night talking to Jackie?”

He narrowed his eyes at me, but took a sip of his coffee. He hated when I teased him about Jackie. As much as he insisted that the adorable woman from next door wasn't his girlfriend, the two of them spent an awful lot of time talking on the phone whenever they were apart.

“No, Jackie had to work today, so we didn't talk long.” He took another big sip of his coffee and I smiled. He had been talking with her. I liked Jackie and I was glad that my father had someone in his life that cared for him. He rubbed his jaw and looked up at me. “Remind me to get a dentist appointment when we get home. I think I have something wrong with one of my teeth.”

“If you'd like, I can have someone here on the island look at it,” Charlotte offered from her spot against the center island. She came and sat down at the table next to me. “There are several doctors, dentists, and other medical services located on the island that Mr. Belrose has access too. As his guests, you would have access to them as well.”

“Like, concierge doctors?” I asked, taking a sip of my perfectly sweetened coffee. I had heard of doctors that catered to the rich and famous, but I had yet to actually ever meet any. I didn't make anywhere near the kind of money that required.

Charlotte nodded. “Basically. Since this island is known for it's expensive tastes, the doctors here are all world class. The doctor on our retainer even has his own portable x-ray machine as well as a whole car full of medical equipment. He's like a driving hospital.”

Dad took a sip of coffee and nodded. “If it's not a bother, Charlotte. I'd be very much obliged to have that dentist take a look at it.”