The Secret (Billionaire's Beach Book 6) Read online

  The school’s final bell buzzed. Ethan went into motion, passing Piper and her shocked expression and moving to Charlie.

  “I’ll get Wells,” he said, for her ears only. “I’ll hustle him to the car.”

  So that the six-year-old wouldn’t find out about the change in circumstances from some random remark by one of the parents who’d witnessed his declaration.

  He slid a finger over her cheek. “I know. I broke a rule and we’ll have to tell him this afternoon. But I’ll follow your lead on that, okay? Promise.”

  One step away, then he backtracked.

  “Charlie?” he said, staring into her eyes. “I couldn’t help myself. Don’t be mad.”

  She should be mad, she thought as he strode off toward the second-grade classroom. Her reason to wait had been to give them both a chance to think the idea through more thoroughly. To give her common sense a chance to reassert itself.

  What if marrying into the family of her child was a huge mistake? It had to be, right? Certainly it was fraught with tensions and hovering catastrophes that any level-headed person would seek to avoid.

  But the person in question was her. The other players in this very serious situation Ethan and Wells. The temptation to secure herself a permanent place in the lives of those Archer men had been too great to turn down.

  The ride home passed quickly. Charlie filtered and filed away the salient facts from Wells’ chatter―the spelling test had been moved up to tomorrow, and the field trip to the water treatment plant next month needed five parent chaperones.

  Parent, she thought, as they drove through the gates to the house. When she married Ethan, she wouldn’t be Wells’ caregiver, the paid help that looked after the boy. She’d be a true partner in the raising of him from child to man.

  Her throat tightened, and she blinked at the press of latent tears behind her eyes. Now was not the time to fall apart. She needed to get through this with her usual calm. Pretending she felt it for all she was worth, she followed Ethan and Wells into the house. The boy scampered ahead, but Ethan paused, grabbing the canvas bag of Book Fair paraphernalia from her. Then he took her hand in his free one, its grip warm and firm.

  She sent him what she hoped was a serene smile.

  He winced. “You look so nervous that Wells will assume something’s wrong, sweetheart. This is supposed to be a happy event for all of us.”

  Charlie squeezed shut her eyes and sucked in a long breath. As she let it out, she opened her eyes and tried another smile. “How’s that?”

  “Better.” He tugged her toward the kitchen, their hands still joined.

  Wells didn’t notice, not with his head stuck in the refrigerator. He pulled out a plastic container of apple slices and stuffed one in his mouth. Charlie slipped from Ethan’s hold and crossed to the backpack the boy had slung on the island. With practiced ease, she pulled out the homework folder, a broken pencil, two rocks, and a plastic baggie containing the remains of his morning snack. Then she glanced at Ethan, nodded.

  He cleared his throat. “How about a walk on the beach, Wells? You, me, and Charlie.”

  His son looked over. “Why?”

  “It’s a nice day. School can make us forget it’s still summer.”

  “Can I bring my soccer ball?”

  “Sure.”

  In mere minutes, they were all three on the sand. Wells jabbed at the ball with his feet, deftly kicking it right then left.

  Ethan watched the boy. “This time next year, with that wrist as good as new, we’ll be spending all our Saturdays on the soccer field.”

  We. Meaning by then they’d be a family. She’d be a wife. A…mother, if Wells wanted that.

  They continued strolling down the beach, the boy just a little bit ahead. Charlie toed her sandals off her feet and shuffled her soles through the sand, spreading the warm grains around until she uncovered the cooler, damp layer beneath.

  Ethan laughed. She looked up at him, catching an easy smile on his face.

  “Summer girl,” he said, shaking his head little.

  She felt a little like summer, like summer when she was Wells’ age, and each day offered endless possibilities. Her parents were still together then, and their little house had been bright, with all the windows open to capture the breeze. Later, after her father left, the blinds had come down, leaving the air stale with bitterness.

  But here, today, those years seemed like an old, bad dream.

  Maybe she would have summer for the rest of her life—long days and starry nights and her every hidden wish.

  Wells had stopped to inspect a mound of tangled kelp. When they caught up to him, Ethan cleared his throat again. “Wells, let’s all have a seat over there on the sand. There’s something Charlie and I want to tell you.”

  The boy stilled, then sent a cautious look at the adults.

  Ethan indicated a spot farther up on the beach, on a space safe from the spreading foam of any reckless wave. They sat down facing the ocean, Wells in the middle. Charlie clutched her sandals to her chest and exchanged a glance with Ethan over the boy’s head.

  “Am I in trouble for something?” Wells asked.

  “No,” she and Ethan said together.

  “Not at all,” the man continued. He ran his hand over his hair, caught Charlie’s eye again, and gave her a small smile.

  “We have some news,” he finally ventured. “News that might come as a surprise to you.”

  “A good surprise?” Wells asked, hopeful.

  “I hope you think so.” He hesitated again. “You know your mom is never coming back.”

  “She died,” his son said in that matter-of-fact way of his.

  Still, it made Charlie’s pulse jump and her chest ache with sympathy for the two males that Michelle Archer had left behind.

  “That’s right,” Ethan said easily. “Which means we’ve become a couple of lonely men, rattling around the house.”

  “But we have Charlie,” Wells pointed out.

  “Exactly, pal.” Another smile. “So…I’ve been thinking about finding a way to keep her.”

  Wells turned to Charlie now, concern etching lines between his eyes. “You’re planning on going away?”

  Her hand reached out to push his hair off his forehead, the tender gesture that she loved to perform for both father and son. “I’m definitely not planning on going away.”

  “Actually, she’s planning on—” Ethan stopped, then started over again. “She’s said she’ll marry me. Which means, pal, she pretty much marries both of us, since we come as a set.”

  Wells’ eyes went wide.

  Ethan cleared his throat. “I’m sure you might have some questions,” he continued. “And you can ask them, now, or any time they come up.”

  The boy looked from his father, to Charlie, and then back again. “Am I going to get a brother or sister?”

  Charlie felt her face flame, and she saw Ethan’s mouth open, close.

  He glanced over at her. “That’s to be determined, I guess I’d say. Not right away, for sure. Because at the moment you are the top priority in this little family.”

  “Can I get a dog then? Emmaline’s getting a dog and a cat, and I think I should at least get a dog.”

  Since Emmaline’s fiancé, Lucas, had promised her butler friend pets, Wells had been riveted by the idea.

  “Um…” Ethan appealed to Charlie again.

  “Are you allergic to cat or dog dander?” she asked him.

  He shook his head.

  “Wells?”

  “I’m only allergic to spelling,” the little boy said, her own tease when he dawdled over practicing the weekly words.

  “Hmm,” she said and hauled in a breath. Charlie-the-butler, the caretaker, didn’t make big decisions for the household. But Charlie an equal partner in a marriage could. “I think a dog can be arranged.”

  Ethan’s brows sprang high, but he smiled as Wells hooted, then launched himself into her arms.

  With the boy’s
light weight against her, she had to admit it might have been a bit of a bribe, but the look in Ethan’s eyes told her he didn’t mind. They were going to be a family. With a dog. And maybe, some day, a little brother or sister.

  Yes, maybe summer all year round.

  Still, on their way back to the house, Charlie jumped when Ethan slipped his arm around her shoulders. Wells was just ahead. What would he think of his father’s gesture?

  “PDA is perfectly acceptable now,” the man murmured in her ear, as if he could read her mind. His breath blew hot on her sensitive flesh. “You need to get used to it. You need to get used to my touch. Everywhere.”

  Charlie’s pulse tripped, and she tried hiding her little shiver of awareness as warmth gathered between her thighs. He was right, she reminded herself, focusing on her feet as they continued moving forward. This was her new reality, and she needed to become accustomed to being engaged.

  To having Ethan Archer as her fiancé.

  Wells suddenly spun to confront them. Charlie instinctively tried to step from his father’s hold, but Ethan tightened his arm on her and stopped in front of his son.

  “What’s up, pal? Something else on your mind?”

  The boy took a moment to answer, and Charlie felt her muscles tense. Ethan rubbed her shoulder, obviously sensing her new nervousness.

  “When’s the wedding?” Wells asked.

  “We haven’t settled on a date,” Ethan answered. “But you’re entitled to input. Any thoughts?”

  “Not before my birthday.”

  The one that was in a couple of days. “I think we can promise that,” Charlie said hastily.

  “And not during Grandma and Grandpa’s visit.”

  “Uh…” The knuckles of Ethan’s free hand brushed his jawline. “You don’t think they’d want to be part of it? We’ll have a ceremony and then a celebration.”

  “Grandma and Grandpa and I have plans for my school vacation. If we have to work in a wedding…” Wells frowned, shaking his head. “There’s just no time.”

  His mannerisms and wording were so like his father’s that Charlie had to bite back her smile. “Okay, not during your school vacation.”

  “Before it,” Wells decided. “Right after my birthday.”

  “What?” Charlie’s heart jolted, a dozen objections gathering on her tongue.

  “It’ll be like an extra present for turning seven,” the little boy said. “Charlie forever.”

  Those objections turned to dust and drifted away on the breeze as her gaze met Ethan’s. He smiled into her eyes.

  “Charlie forever,” he murmured, then urged the three of them toward home.

  Their home.

  An extra present for turning seven.

  She ignored her hammering heart and the hot wetness in her eyes.

  Charlie forever.

  Okay, okay. Not only would she have to become accustomed to being engaged, now she’d have to be planning a wedding as well. The smile breaking over her face couldn’t be stopped.

  Summer forever.

  Chapter 9

  The night after they broke the news of the engagement to Wells, Ethan helped Charlie get ready for a casual dinner party, the guest list to include her butler friends and their men, his own buddy John, and Charlie’s PTA pal, Liz, who was bringing her husband and kids. The impromptu event had been Ethan’s idea. He wanted their friends on board for this marriage.

  His parents had already been informed of the upcoming nuptials. He’d called his mom and dad first thing in the morning, Hawaii-time. They’d expressed surprise, but then offered a warm welcome to Charlie. She’d been her gracious self, serene and sweet, and with her in a biddable mood, Ethan had quickly moved on to the next item of his agenda. The ring.

  They’d spent the morning at jewelers in Beverly Hills and found the perfect set that he’d had sized on the spot. From there, while she was still dazzled by the diamonds, he’d driven straight to the Los Angeles county branch office a few blocks away and obtained the marriage license he’d applied for online at the break of dawn.

  Some instinct told him to keep the ball rolling.

  The doors to their oceanfront terrace were flung open, and he carried plates to the long table. Returning to the kitchen, he passed the familiar framed photo of Michelle, and his feet paused of their own accord.

  He probed for his pain like a tongue exploring a sore tooth, but the long-time, acute ache had faded.

  “Is this happening too fast?” a voice asked softly.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Charlie, a basket of napkin-wrapped cutlery settings in her hands. His gaze shot to her left ring finger, and the sparkle of his ring there infused him with a distinct sense of satisfaction.

  “I was the one to bring up marriage,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. “I insisted we get the ring and the license today.”

  “But you don’t really know me. What if—”

  “I’ve essentially lived with you for nearly a year,” he reminded her. “I can’t imagine you have any skeletons in your closet.”

  She worried her bottom lip, not looking reassured. “Maybe I forget to cap the toothpaste. Or sing off-key in the shower.”

  Smiling, he cocked his head. “I’d like to hear you sing in the shower,” he said, “off-key or otherwise.”

  “The toothpaste—”

  “I don’t believe for a second that Charlotte Emerson, graduate of the first all-female class of the prestigious Continental Butler Academy ever forgets the cap on the toothpaste.” He folded his arms over his chest. “What else you got?”

  “I don’t like watching baseball,” she confessed, then hung her head.

  He laughed and crossed the distance between them to take the basket from her and set it aside. “Charlie, we have something like sixteen other TVs in the house. If the game is on, you can go to another room, though I won’t mind switching to what you like so we can enjoy time together.”

  “No man wants to watch ‘Call The Midwife.’”

  “I’m made of stern stuff.” He lifted her chin with his hand. “Marriage is a compromise. I get that things will be different now that you’re going to be my wife and not my butler. You need to get that too.”

  “I’ll work on it.”

  He kissed her lips and felt it stir him like it always did, a flash of heat and that ardent need rising in his loins. On a quiet groan, he lifted his head and looked into her dazed eyes. “Come to my bed tonight.”

  Despite having announced their engagement to Wells the afternoon before, she’d still insisted on sleeping alone in her bungalow.

  “I don’t know.” She glanced to her right, where Michelle’s photograph sat on the shelf.

  “Should I put that away?” he asked. There were others around the house as well. “I can move them all into Wells’ room—”

  “Oh, no!” Charlie shook her head. “Never think that. It’s only…I can’t help feeling as if I’m taking what was hers.”

  Ethan supposed this would take time too. “She would have liked you.”

  Charlie’s face flushed. “You think?”

  “Not the least of which is because of Wells.”

  Under his hands, she stiffened.

  “Sweetheart,” Ethan said. “I have ferreted out at least one of your mysteries—you do dote on that boy.”

  And even as he said it, footsteps thundered down the stairs.

  “I can see Emmaline on the beach,” Wells yelled. “I want to talk to her about dogs.”

  “Remember to wait about the other thing,” Ethan called back. “We want to tell everyone at the same time.”

  Not long later, there was a throng on the terrace. Wells, his friend Jake, and Jake’s little sister were horsing around on the sand. Jake’s dad sat on the bottom step, watching over them. Ethan passed around beers, and the three butlers took him up on his offer of margaritas. When everyone was served, during a lull in the conversation, he looked at Charlie.

  Then he moved to join
her even as he saw her eyes pop wide with nerves. He slid his arm around her, encouraging her to quarter-turn so he could kiss her forehead.

  That got Emmaline’s attention. He heard her little gasp, so he followed it up with a full-on kiss to Charlie’s lips. As he indulged himself, he found her left hand and lifted it high in the air. Glacing upward, he saw the diamond of the engagement ring catch the light of the early evening sun.

  Instantly the butlers and Liz pounced, breaking them apart.

  High-pitched female chatter followed, the words indistinguishable to Ethan’s male hearing. So he just stood back and watched them, grinning, until the men on the terrace strode over to deliver handshakes and backslaps.

  In the middle of the knot of women, his gaze found Charlie, her flushed face and shining eyes hiding nothing from him. That was happiness written all over her, and he was damn glad to see it. The situation might be unconventional, but he had plans to make sure she never regretted pledging herself to him and his son.

  Soon enough, they were all around the table, the detritus of the consumed meal in front of them. The kids had departed to the adjacent room, where they could see them stretched on the couch watching TV. The adults relaxed with their drinks and the view of the slowly-setting sun.

  His buddy John leaned over to give his attention to Charlie, seated beside him.

  “I suppose I better give you all the down and dirty scoop on the man,” he said, indicating Ethan with his bottle of brew.

  “Now don’t scare her off,” Ethan cautioned, feeling beyond mellow as he slugged down another swallow of beer.

  “We’ve been friends since kindergarten,” John said, undeterred, “and I know everything.”

  Charlie shot Ethan a look, her eyes brimming with amusement.

  God, Ethan thought, as lust punched into his system. She was beautiful. His.

  “There was this girl in high school. He had it bad for her—”

  “Hey,” Ethan protested. “I paid you never to tell that story again.”

  “There’s not enough pirate’s treasure in the Pacific to not share it tonight.” He glanced around the table. “Ethan fancied himself a poet.”