Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 23

*Shelby*

Michael held my hand as he led me through a side door of the mansion, avoiding the large crowd of the engagement party. When the door closed behind us, the music and noise of the group were muffled. All that we could hear was the low rumble of the bass as it vibrated through the walls.

Michael and I walked in silence, and he never let go of my hand as he led me back to his room. Michael’s room was decorated in soft grays and silvers. The massive bed stood alone in the center of the room with a crystal chandelier hanging over the center.

My feet were sore, so I slipped my heels off and set them by the double door entrance of the room. Michael clicked the lock on the door, walked across the room, and sat down in an armchair on the other side of the room. I followed, my bare feet cold on the tile floors.

The room’s soft coldness made me feel like I was surrounded by a cloud, comfortable and warm but still in a storm. I nearly sank into the plush armchair that matched Michael’s. I would have loved to be enveloped by the chair and not have the conversation I knew was coming. Unfortunately, the truth would likely bring on a storm of its own.

“I need to know the truth, Shelby.”

“I know you do,” I said. I let the silence fall between us, not knowing how to start. So I waited for Michael to ask a question first.

“You’ve known Todd for longer than just this week, haven’t you?”

“I met him at NYU in one of my general classes,” I admitted.

“So you have known him for years?”

“Almost four years,” I said barely above a whisper. “We dated for three.”

I heard Michael take a deep breath at my confession.

“Why didn’t you tell me or Lauren?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. When I got here, I had no idea that Todd would be on board too. Lauren introduced me to him as her new boyfriend, and he acted as though we had never met before.”

“The situation was so uncomfortable. I was still in shock and so hurt.” Deep down, I knew I should have spoken up on that very first day instead of letting the lie go this long.

“So you just decided to say nothing instead?” his eyebrows cinched together. All I could manage was a nod as the tears blurred the edges of my vision.

“You said you were hurt seeing him again. How long ago was this break up, Shelby?”

“He officially broke up with me the day before I walked to receive my Master’s degree. We had been fighting for weeks before that, though, when I found out he had been cheating on me for months.”

“s**t. With my daughter?”

“Yes…they met at my birthday party.”

“Did she know?”

“I honestly don’t think she knew. Or at least if she did, she didn’t know I was the girlfriend.”

“I am so sorry, Shelby. How did you expect to spend an entire vacation keeping this all a secret?”

“By the time I came to my senses, the yacht had already departed. I figured I would avoid Todd, and at the end of this vacation, I would go back to my normal life,” I said.

I continued, “I would never see him again after I moved, and I honestly didn’t think that Lauren and Todd would last. Lauren never dates anyone for longer than a few months. I never imagined that Lauren would get engaged to him.”

“Why has he been following you around?” Michael said sternly.

“I don’t know why he can’t just let our relationship go…” I said.

I heard Michael sigh, and when he spoke again, his tone was softer.

“What did he have to say to you tonight on the gazebo? You looked like he had you cornered.”

“He was lying to me….” I attempted to avoid his question, not wanting to go into the awful details of my conversation with Todd.

“About what?” Michael asked; he was clearly going to keep pressing until I told him everything.

“He told me Lauren knew, that she invited me on purpose as some kind of joke for her and all her rich friends.”

“I know my daughter can be thoughtless at times, but I don’t believe she would purposely be so cruel,” he said, rubbing his hands on his face.

“I don’t believe him,” I assured Michael, seeing the worried look on his face.

“Why would he outright lie like that?”

It took me a few minutes to respond, trying to replace the best way to word my answer. I sighed and looked down at my feet.

“He was trying to convince me to sleep with him again… to get back at Lauren.” My cheeks flushed at this admission of what Todd had said to me.

Anger heated Michael’s gaze as his eyes bore into mine.

“Do you want him again?”

“What are you talking about? No! Of course, not. I don’t want him in any way ever again. He completely betrayed me,” I said, completely shocked by his question. I’d figured his anger would be towards Todd, not me.

Michael’s eyes remained dark, and he didn’t respond. Instead, he got up from his chair and started pacing the room.

“Aren’t you worried that this is the man that your daughter has picked to marry?” I asked, exasperated that he was questioning me about wanting to sleep with my ex. As if I was so weak that I couldn’t possibly say no to a man who had utterly betrayed my trust.

“If I go and tell Lauren what is going on and try to convince her to end the engagement, then he would be free to come back to you. Is that what you want?” Michael asked through clenched teeth.

Michael’s words stung.

“Why are you twisting everything I say?”

“How can I trust anything you say after you’ve lied to everyone this entire time?”

The tears truly started falling then. I quickly stood from my chair and made my way to the door.

Before I even reached my shoes next to the door, Michael grabbed my wrist, making me pause.

“Stop. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” he said softly as he ran his thumb in circles on my wrist. Normally, that would have made my heart flutter, but at that moment, the only thing I wanted was to be alone on a flight headed for home.

“I don’t need this from you.” I used the back of my free hand to wipe the tears streaming down my cheeks.

“I just hate imagining you with him,” he said quietly.

We let the unsaid meaning of his words float between us. Neither of us acknowledged the implications of his words.

“I just have to know. Do you love him?”

“Will you believe what I tell you?” I asked, finally turning around to look at him again. He let my wrist fall from his fingers.

“Yes. I promise,” he said with a note of fear in his eyes. Was he truly afraid that I was still in love with a man who treated me so poorly? He reached up to my face and wiped away another stray tear.

“No. I do not love him,” I said pointedly, my voice steady.

“Did you love him?” Michael asked softly.

“I was with him for three years, Michael,” I said with a sigh, exhausted at his line of questioning.

“That’s not what I asked. Did you love him?” he asked again, with more force.

“I did love him, but after everything that’s happened, how could I still love him? I was wrong about so many things in our relationship.”

“What if you change your mind?” Michael resumed pacing the room.

“I won’t. I don’t take betrayal lightly,” I said firmly.

“I just wish you would have said something from the very beginning.”

It was my turn to feel anger. Anger because he was not understanding that everything between Todd and I was completely over. I didn’t want anything to do with Todd because the only person I wanted was him. I only wanted Michael.

“You don’t get it though, do you?” I said, marching up to him, blocking him from pacing.

“What am I not getting? Tell me why you lied to me for so long. I would have understood.”

“Would you really have understood!? Don’t you get it? If I had told the truth from the very beginning, I would have been on the first flight home. I would have left as soon as we made the first port,” raising my voice to a level that made me flinch as it echoed back to me off of the walls

Michael stared at me, clearly still not understanding. I took another step closer to him, so that we were almost touching. I took a breath to calm myself down before continuing.

“If I had told the truth, I would have never gotten to know you!”

Michael looked at me intensely then. He knew I was right.

“I wanted to tell you first thing, but I was just scared. I don’t fit in here, remember? The last thing I needed was to make Lauren mad. And who even knows if Todd would’ve owned up to it? He could’ve pretended I was lying to cover for himself,” I said, starting to turn away from him again.

He gently grabbed my arm, making me face him. He looked down at my hand and then interlaced his fingers with mine.

“So, you’re glad we’ve gotten to know each other then?” he said with a sly smile.

I couldn’t help but smile back. “Of course, I am. Isn’t it obvious? I do spend most of my time here with you.”

He nodded. “That’s true.” He let our hands fall apart, but the tips of our fingers still touched. “Todd wanted you to have s*x with him to make Lauren mad? He seems to be pretty hung up on you, especially physically.”

I raised my eyebrows a bit at that. “Are you trying to ask me about our s*x life?”

Michael looked at me, “Honestly, I’m just jealous he knows what s*x with you is like.”

I blushed despite myself and my heartbeat quickened.

“Why would you be jealous of that? I’m sure you’ve been with plenty of women.”

“Yes, I’ve been with women, but none as beautiful as you–inside and out.”

We stared at each other intently, our fingertips brushing against each other. He moved closer to me and lifted my chin up. I stared up at him, and he brushed a strand of hair out of my face with a smile.

Then he leaned down to k**s me.