Page 34 of The Billionaire's Secret Heir

Madi blinked back tears and turned away so that he wouldn’t see. His insistence made her feel wanted. Even if it was just for Becka’s sake, he was willing to do whatever it took to make the space livable for them. The part of her that wanted to protest grew smaller and smaller. She did want to be there, maybe more than he wanted her to be. It felt too good to be true. But she couldn’t keep arguing with him. When she was able to blink back the tears, Madi turned back to Beckett and began making a list.

Beckett followed her though the guest house, his eyes had traveled across every surface as she categorized all the changes he would need. She had thought that presenting the challenges would have Beckett begging off. But he seemed more determined than anything.

They ended up back in the open space downstairs. “Honestly, you should have a professional service come in and evaluate. I know how to child-proof a normal house, but with the pool and the unique architecture here, you’d probably want a service to give you their opinion.”

“There are companies to hire? Perfect.”

“I think so.” Madi would never have thought to use one. Her child-proofing was thorough, but based on checklists she found on a mom blog and safety items from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

“Great. I’ll find one and have this taken care of by the end of the week.”

“I didn’t say yes yet,” Madi said.

He looked startled. “Why wouldn’t you say yes?”

Because I don’t want you to keep spending money on me. Because I’m scared of Becka getting too attached.

Because I’m scared of how I feel about you.

Madi stared at Beckett for a few seconds, feeling a wave of emotions rolling through her, and then bolted out of the guest house. The tears just kept coming up. She didn’t want him to see her crying. She didn’t know why she was. It felt like the weight of the last month and the confusion of the last week all settled onto her shoulders at once. She stood by the edge of Beckett’s gorgeous pool, rubbing her hands over her upper arms. It was warm out, but she felt cold, buried in a snowdrift of suddenly sharp grief and worry.

This felt like too much. More than she deserved and more than she could hope for. Beckett was sweeping in like some prince charming in a storybook, offering to take care of her and buying away her problems. But Madi didn’t believe in fairy tales. After losing her parents so young and then Calista, it was hard to trust in something that was too good to be true. With her feelings for Beckett continuing to grow, the idea of moving in here and letting him essentially take care of her felt like too much.

“Madi?” Beckett spoke her name softly, then cleared his throat. The tenderness in his voice shook her to the core.

She couldn’t look at him. “This is a lot to take in.”

Beckett put a hand on her lower back. When Madi didn’t run, his palm flattened more firmly in place. He traced slow circles on her back. She practically melted into his touch. She was starved for it. She had once read a book that talked about different love languages that people have. Madi’s top one was physical touch. When she read that, it had brought tears to her eyes. Other than Becka and, briefly, Bret, Madi couldn’t remember the last time someone touched her.

Silent tears ran over the curve of her cheek down to her jaw. If she wiped them now, it would only draw attention to it. Beckett was such a strong man. She didn’t want him to see her as weak, which is how she seemed to feel every time she was around him. Physically, he towered over her. Emotionally, she was falling to pieces while he showed little emotion. Financially—well, that wasn’t even worth comparing. She had nothing. Without his offer, she and Becka were truly without a home. It would be almost impossible to find a rental this quickly.

“Can I ask you a question? I want you to answer it honestly,” Madi said.

“I always would.”

“Good to know. Why are you doing this for us?”

His hand paused in its movement on her back, but then he slid his arm around her and stood beside her. Madi stiffened, but he urged her closer until she was tucked into his side. She wanted to resist, but it felt too good to be near him. It felt perfect somehow, like it was exactly where she was supposed to be. Relaxing, she breathed in the woodsy scent that she had come to recognize as distinctly Beckett.

“My answer is complicated.”

When he didn’t continue, Madi huffed out a breath. “I’m a smart girl. Try me.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you’d understand. I’m simply struggling to say it. Look, I’ve built a life for myself that is incredibly solitary. I work hard. Long hours and long weeks. I don’t socialize much. Occasionally, I see my brother and his wife and my niece and nephew. My Papa, too. That’s about it and that has been enough for me. Or, I thought it was.”

What he was describing sounded scarily similar to Madi’s life. Her work was Becka. Other than Calista, she didn’t have close friends or people she spent lots of time with. There was a women’s Bible study at church she went to occasionally, but didn’t spend time with the other women outside of the meetings. Her days felt full, but her life felt empty.

“When I found out about Becka, I was shocked. To put it mildly. I never thought about being a father. I wasn’t sure I’d even get married. I wanted to do the right thing by her, but didn’t think I could be a part of her life. I had a panic attack the other day when I talked to my brother about this. I realized through our conversation that I needed—no, wanted—to be more involved than just the person signing paychecks.”

“Are you okay? I mean, after the panic attack?”

“I am. Thank you.” He pulled her just a little closer. “I told you that I was terrified to meet Becka and that was the truth. It’s going to sound cheesy or strange, but meeting her changed something. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt like I couldn’t go back to before. I care about … her.”

His words about Becka warmed Madi’s heart, while another part of her felt the sting of disappointment at what he did not say. She wanted him to care about Becka and had seen the evidence of this, from his willingness to play with her to his willingness now to take care of all the safety issues.

She was being selfish. It was too much to hope that he had felt something for her as well. She must have misread signals. He was kind, but that didn’t mean he was interested. Probably better to keep the lines clear between them anyway. All these thoughts were logical, but did nothing to soothe the ache in her heart.

Carefully, Madi pulled away from Beckett, hating how she missed the warm safety of his embrace. “Thank you for being honest.”

“I always will be. Did that help with the decision about the guest house?”

Madi forced a smile and tried not to look at him too long in case he noticed. “If you can get the safety things taken care of, I couldn’t say no.”

But maybe she should. Because the more time she spent around this man, the harder it was to keep her feelings in check. What if he met someone? Or married someone? How would a girlfriend or a wife feel about a single woman living on the property with his daughter. This would have to be temporary. Long term, she would need a plan to find her own place and to keep her heart protected from falling any further for Beckett.

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