Page 62 of The Billionaire's Secret Heir

Chapter Nineteen

When a knock on the guest house door finally interrupted Madi’s two-day streak of shutting everyone out, she would never have expected to find Sander Van de Kamp on the other side. He grinned and Madi softened at the kindness in his eyes. She had been prepared for Beckett, prepared to send him away. For two days she had waited for the knock on the door. Or a phone call, then a knock. A text. Nothing.

“Hello, Madeline. I’m sorry—you like to be called Madi. May I?” He gestured inside the guest house and, too startled to do anything else, Madi let him in.

As he walked in, she realized that there were sounds from outside: splashing, music, children’s voices. Squinting in the bright April sun, she realized that Graham and Courtney were by the pool with their children. Was Beckett? Her eyes were still searching even as she closed the door.

Sander was walking through the guest house, a small limp in his step. She had not noticed at first, but he was wearing swim trunks, navy with a red anchor pattern, with a white short-sleeved shirt on top. Madi bit back a smile.

Hands behind his back, he looked everywhere. Madi should have felt strange about this perhaps, having only met him once before, but there was something about Sander that calmed her. She would have let him look through her closet if he wanted. It was hard for her to see that this was the man who had built up the company that Beckett now controlled or soon would. She realized she didn’t actually know when that was happening or if it already had. If she had talked with Beckett about this, she would know. Her chest tightened, remembering that this man was the same one who had put forth a contract requiring Beckett to have an heir.

“Something to drink? I have water, milk, juice, or I can make coffee.”

“No, thank you. Is Becka napping? I hope I didn’t wake her.” He turned his kind eyes back to Madi before he sat down on the sofa.

Madi took a seat on the other side, on the edge with her hands in her lap. She probably looked like she was ready to bolt. In some ways, she was.

“As active as she is, Becka sleeps hard. She’ll probably be up in the next half-hour or so.”

“Good, good. Maybe she can join us by the pool. Selena and Logan enjoyed meeting her. She fit right into the family.”

Did Sander not know? Beckett might have kept the truth from him in order to keep the company. She hoped he would come clean, but had no idea since she hadn’t spoken with him. It was her choice not to know and suddenly she felt extremely disappointed in herself. Sander met her gaze as she opened and closed her mouth.

Sander chuckled and patted his own leg, like he was reassuring himself. “I can see what’s behind your eyes. Beckett did tell me that Becka is not his biological daughter.” His head tilted to the side as though ready to listen more actively. “Does this bother you?”

Did it bother her? What kind of a question was that?

Madi fumbled with the question more than the answer. It was a strange way of asking her how she felt. Or was it? She remembered Beckett saying that Dutch people were often much more direct. That had been one of their private jokes. Sander could have asked a lot of other questions about the situation they were in. She let herself really think about the question.

“It bothered me that I didn’t know. It doesn’t bother me that Beckett isn’t … ” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Sander smiled. “My son says you have a big heart. I see that in you.”

Madi had to look away. “Thank you.”

“You heard about what I did. Requiring Beckett to have an heir.” Sander waited until she acknowledged his statement with a nod before he continued. “This may seem strange or even cruel. I do not know. What I meant by this was to keep my dear son from a life of being married only to work. It was stupid of me. But I thought that if I put a condition on something he wanted, that he would be forced to confront what he was missing but did not know that he was missing.” Sander grimaced. “This was my mistake.”

Madi didn’t know what to say. She knew that Beckett would not have sent his father here to say this. She sensed that Sander, despite his kind eyes, was not the kind of man who could be told what to do. He was here doing what he felt necessary, righting a wrong.

His face relaxed into a brilliant smile. “Mistake though it was, this has had the intended effect. Beckett is enamored of you and of Becka. Not because I required him to be. But because I required him to confront his solitary life. His feelings are genuine, both for Becka and for you, my dear.”

Madi felt her cheeks flush as warmth passed from her heart outwards. Her father was not here to approve of her relationships. This might be as close as she got.

“Do you think Beckett is sincere?”

Sander’s face betrayed nothing. “Did you have reason to suspect that he was not?”

“No, not until—”

“Good, then.” Sander stood. “We would love for you and Becka to join us. Someone is grilling something for dinner and the weather is just warm enough to swim.”

Madi moved ahead of Sander to open the door for him. He patted her arm. “Do not fear. Perfect love casts out fear. That is said of God’s love, but I believe when we act in love toward others, we are partaking in the act of casting aside fear.”

When Sander was gone and the door was closed, Madi pressed her back against it. The firm wood behind her back did little to stop her shaking hands and knees. She bent at the waist, head between her knees.

Breathe. Breathe.

How Sander could have said just the things he did and then casually walk out in his anchor-print swim trunks … well, it made no sense. He was not so different from the strange character in movies who shows up to spout truths hidden in riddles. His question rang in her mind: Does this bother you?

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