Single Dad Billionaire Heartthrob Read online

  “When was this?”

  “Over winter break. When you were in France. Or maybe Scotland.”

  I wasn’t necessarily upset that one of the nannies I’d hired to watch Lucie when she wasn’t away at school had given her some makeup to play with. I just wished that I’d known about it. Sometimes it felt like I was missing out on so much of my daughter’s life.

  “Well I think you look beautiful,” I said. “What do you think of going to that fondue place you love right down the road?”

  “Tonight?” Lucie asked, shrugging.

  “What other night would I be talking about, silly?”

  Lucie twirled the bottom of her corduroy dress around her finger. “I was actually thinking I’d like to go to the kids’ club at the hotel, if that’s all right with you.”

  The words stung. Nine years old and Lucie was already disinterested in hanging out with her dad?

  The truth was that I’d booked this trip as a sort of bonding experience for Lucie and me. I saw so little of her that I thought we could use some quality time. At the same time, I didn’t want to make her feel like I was forcing her to have dinner with me.

  “If that’s what you really want, sweetheart,” I said.

  She nodded. “It is.”

  I loved my daughter more than anything in the world, and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her. Instead, I told her to get ready for the kids’ club and that I would dine at the hotel restaurant. Lucie was a kind soul who would never intentionally hurt anyone. She wasn’t out to upset me.

  I supposed children just didn’t think about these things the same way adults did. In Lucie’s mind, playing with kids her own age was more exciting than going to a Michelin-starred restaurant. In my mind, she was choosing the kids’ club over me.

  I shouldn’t have been thinking that way, but I couldn’t help it. The whole reason I’d arranged this trip was so that Lucie and I would have the opportunity to spend quality time together, to strengthen our relationship. She went to school a hundred miles away from our home, and this was one of three major breaks I got to spend with her. Sure, spring and winter breaks were only two weeks long and I still had summer break, which was eight weeks long, but that seemed so far away.

  Nonetheless, we still had another week together, and I’d surely have my chance to spend more one-on-one time with my daughter.

  After a quick change of clothing and a run-through of the ground rules with Lucie, I called my private concierge to send over a town car to take us to the main hotel.

  I was greeted with my usual “Yes, Mr. Schelling,” and “Of course, Mr. Schelling.” It was no secret that being wealthy and having a high-profile position had its perks. I enjoyed nice meals and traveled more than most and had seen some of the most incredible views in the world.

  I was lucky, and I knew it. But sometimes I just wanted to be Maxim. Sometimes I just wanted to be Dad, without worrying about business trips and meetings and negotiations. Staying at world-class resorts and having fancy dinners didn’t mean anything if I wasn’t able to share them with the most precious gift I’d ever been given, Lucie.

  “Daddy, we can go to the fondue place if you want,” Lucie said as we walked down the main corridor toward the designated children’s room. “I can always go to the kids’ club another time.”

  Could my disappointment have been that obvious?

  “That’s sweet of you to offer, honey, but that’s not necessary.”

  “Promise?”

  As lousy as I’d felt when Lucie had turned me down for our father-daughter date, I felt even worse that I’d inadvertently made her feel guilty about wanting to spend time with children her own age.

  It wasn’t anything personal. I knew Lucie missed me when she was away at school. She sent emails and called home every chance she could get, and she kissed my face a hundred times each time we reunited for a school break. But I also knew that she wasn’t oblivious to how much time she’d been spending with nannies lately during her time off from school. I wasn’t going to make that mistake this trip. If Lucie wanted to spend time with people other than me, that was fine, but I was going to be here waiting whenever she needed me. That was what this trip was all about.

  “Lucie, we have your whole break to spend time together,” I said, resting my hand on her shoulder. “How about you have fun with the other kids tonight, and we’ll hit the slopes together in the morning?”

  Lucie’s lips curled up to form a smile. “Thanks, Daddy!”

  I wrapped her in my arms, planted a kiss on her forehead, and told her that I’d be right across the hotel in the restaurant if she needed me. Before I knew it, she had disappeared through the doors, her laughter echoing down the hall. My little girl was growing up so fast.

  I couldn’t walk more than ten or twenty feet without one staff member or another greeting me. I supposed that’s how it went when your face regularly covered the local newspapers and you visited the same resort two or three times a year.

  Having been caught up in the excitement of our arrival, I realized for the first time just how hungry I was. My stomach rumbled as if to signal to me that I was making the right decision heading to dinner. The resort’s restaurant was not usually my first pick, but I also usually had business associates, friends, Lucie, or the occasional date dining with me. It wasn’t that the restaurant wasn’t good, it was just that there were so many other fantastic restaurants in the mountains that I seldom stopped to consider eating in the hotel.

  Dining alone as someone with such a public profile was an invitation for judgment and gossip. It was quite ridiculous, but that was the reality. Here, everyone knew me, so the situation was different. I could snag a corner table and lay low until it was time to pick Lucie up. Besides, I remembered from the few times I’d dined at the resort that the polenta was to die for. It was the perfect plan for a low-key night.

  As I strolled through the lobby to the other atrium of the hotel, my work cell phone rang from my pocket. I usually made a habit of turning it off on the rare occasion I took a day off or went on vacation, but, clearly, I had forgotten all about it. It crossed my mind to ignore the call, but I knew there was a good chance that whoever it was would just keep calling.

  Hesitant, I pulled the phone out of my pocket. It was Jérôme, my manager for Switzerland, Germany, and France, who also happened to be my cousin. He rarely called, instead opting for email communication, so I took it as a sign that I should answer.

  I cleared my throat and said, “Maxim here.”

  “Maxim, it’s Jérôme,” he replied, as if he had somehow forgotten that cell phones showed who was calling.

  “This must be important for you to be calling me while I’m on my trip with Lucie,” I said coolly. I didn’t want to come off as a jerk, but I worked eighty hours a week, surely enough for it to be reasonable to request a few days without contact from the office.

  “Oh, I thought that was next week,” Jérôme said. “My apologies. Enjoy your trip. And turn your damn phone off!”

  I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or amused, but I took Jérôme’s advice and turned my phone off.

  I walked over to the entrance of the restaurant and took a deep breath. There was nothing like dining alone to boost an ego. I was sure I could probably find at least one business associate or colleague staying at the resort to dine with, but a last-minute ask would be frowned upon. Besides, most of the groups here were either couples or families. Tomorrow night, I’d have dinner with Lucie, but, for now, I’d have to be my own company.

  As I approached the hostess stand, I realized the woman standing in front of me was the same woman I’d seen in the lobby earlier. When Lucie and I had arrived, it seemed as though we had interrupted the woman’s check-in process, but she didn’t appear to have minded. In fact, she’d darted away from the desk before I could say so much as a hello. She’d had a boy with her, too, maybe a year or two older than Lucie.

  For the most part, everyone at this resort was coupled up or from my usual business circle. I’d never encountered a woman here that I’d even remotely considered getting involved with—or even asking to dinner. The woman in front of me, however, was new, at least to me. I’d never seen her before today, and, though I hadn’t gotten a close look at her earlier, I’d seen enough to know that she was good-looking.

  Now, getting a closer look, and with her all dressed up, she was even more beautiful than I’d remembered. Her blond hair was tied up at the nape of her neck, and she wore a dark pink dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. I was intrigued. I had to know more about her.

  “I’m sorry, miss,” the hostess said to the mystery woman. “We don’t have any free tables available.”

  “When will you have a free table available?” She sounded calmer than I would have been in her situation. Then again, that had never happened to me before.

  “We’re all booked for the evening.”

  Looking defeated, the woman in front of me slowly stepped to the side, noticing me for the first time.

  I stepped up to the hostess stand, fully prepared to work my magic. “No free tables, huh?” I asked the hostess.

  As soon as she looked up and saw me, she fidgeted with her clipboard and let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, uh, Mr. Schelling,” she started. “You know we always have room for you. Let me see what I can do.”

  The hostess disappeared into the restaurant as the woman and I stood in silence by the hostess stand. This was an opportunity in the making. There was no way they would turn me away—as bad as it sounded, they’d rather bump someone else from their table before they’d even ordered dessert than risk losing my business. Losing my business meant losing the business of my thousands of employees, and that surely wasn’t a risk they
would be willing to take.

  I glanced over at the woman as discreetly as I could. She was busy typing on her cell phone, probably looking for other alternatives for dinner, if I had to guess. If only she knew she didn’t have to worry about that.

  “Table for one, Mr. Schelling?” the hostess said, grabbing a menu.

  “Actually, make it a table for two, please,” I said. I took a few steps toward the woman from earlier. “You know, letting a beautiful woman miss out on the fabulous food this restaurant has to offer would be a shame.”

  The hostess grinned. “I’ll tell them to add another place setting.”

  The blond woman noticed for the first time that I was talking to her. “Me?”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “I heard your predicament, and I figured the obvious solution is to invite you to dine with me.”

  I’d gone on plenty of dates before marrying Lucie’s mother and after letting our divorce settle, but the initial ask was still the most nerve-racking. I’d been too busy with work to even consider dating. What did people talk about on dates nowadays? Was this even a date, or was it just co-dining of some sort? I meant what I said, that it’d be a pity for each of us to dine alone, especially given the certain mystique she had. I was curious about her.

  The woman stared at me, dumbfounded, but not in a way that said she recognized me from my television commercials or magazine features. It was more of a look that combined two questions she was undoubtedly thinking: “On what planet do complete strangers eat dinner together in a five-star restaurant?” and “Do you really want to eat with me or are you just pitying me because I couldn’t get a table?” She appeared to be a rarity at this resort, someone who didn’t know who I was, how much money I had, or what I did for a living.

  “What do you say?” I nudged. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

  Chapter 5

  Tia

  My eyes were deceiving me. My ears, too. They had to be. It couldn’t be possible that the man from the reception desk, the man who was the sole reason I wasn’t staying at a crappy motel at this very moment, was inviting me to have dinner with him.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, sure that my cheeks were twenty different shades of red. I was caught in between flirtation and embarrassment. After all, it wasn’t every day that a handsome, presumably rich man saved me—and twice in one day.

  I felt like an idiot for not even stopping to consider that the restaurant at a resort like this might not have openings for ordinary people like myself, making my motivation twofold. While the chance to know more about this mysterious stranger was enticing, I was also just happy to have a way into the restaurant.

  I couldn’t help but stare. His chiseled jaw and warm eyes drew me in. I was so focused on him that I almost missed his answer.

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I insist. You’d actually be doing me a favor, keeping me from dining alone.”

  I giggled like I was a teenaged girl on her first date. “Well, if you insist.”

  I followed the hostess, trying not to appear too eager. Sharing a meal with an attractive man with an equally attractive accent was far more enticing than eating alone in a foreign country. Besides, I was curious about him. It was clear that he was someone rich or important. How else would he have gotten such attention at the reception desk and a table in the restaurant without notice? This whole trip was turning out to be absolutely insane, but it was a nice change from the monotony I was used to at home.

  “Here you are. Will this suffice, Mr. Schelling?”

  My dining companion smiled at the hostess and handed her a banknote, moving so smoothly that I wasn’t able to decipher the amount. “Perfect. Thank you.”

  To my surprise, he came around to my side of the table and pulled out my chair for me. I took my seat and mumbled an awkward thank you, noticing for the first time that we were at what was arguably the best table in the restaurant. If I had been able to get into this restaurant without his help, which would have been a long shot in itself, I surely would have been tucked away in a corner somewhere. Here, we were in the middle of it all, where everyone could see us. The more I thought about it, the more intimidated I became.

  “Thank you for doing this,” I said, in an effort to break the ice.

  “Of course,” he said. There was something so attractive and soothing about his voice. “I’m Maxim, by the way.”

  I stopped to think about what name I should tell him. Jenny’s name was on all the paperwork, but, though he seemed important, he didn’t appear to have any connection to the hotel.

  With a leap of faith, I told him my name was Tia.

  “Well, Tia, what brings you to this fine resort?”

  “I’m on a short vacation with my son.” I tried my best to sound as if this was a normal occurrence for me. “He’s at the kids’ club right now. Flew halfway across the world for him to choose a playroom over me.”

  “I know the feeling,” Maxim said with a grin. “My daughter Lucie is over there, too. I wanted to take her for fondue. Of course, if she’d chosen fondue, we wouldn’t be here enjoying each other’s company, would we?”

  I couldn’t help but blush. He was just so charming. “I suppose not.”

  A waiter donning a tuxedo, definitely out of the ordinary for my usual choice of restaurants, approached the table. “Would you like to start the evening off with some champagne?”

  Maxim looked to me to give the waiter an answer. “That would be great.”

  The waiter then went through the dinner specials one by one and gave a brief explanation of their top menu items. As much as I hated to worry about money on vacation, my bank account was low, the mortgage payment having just gone out, and I didn’t want to assume that this man I hardly knew was going to pay for my meal.

  I ordered a pasta dish that came with chicken and spinach, deciding that it sounded both delicious and reasonably priced. Of course, reasonably priced was relative in a resort like this. Maxim asked if I would be interested in splitting an appetizer platter, to which I said yes, and ordered some fancy seafood dish I couldn’t pronounce.

  “Is this your first time in Switzerland?” Maxim asked.

  “It is. So far, it’s been lovely.” Not wanting the conversation to be completely one-sided, I asked him if he came here often, with a slight note of sarcasm given the staff’s clear familiarity with him.

  “Oh, we come here a few times a year,” he said as if it were nothing. “While my daughter is on break from school, I thought we could use a quick getaway.”

  Quick getaway? This guy must’ve had a killer job, given that his version of a mini getaway was the most luxurious vacation I’d ever been on—and would probably ever go on.

  “What do you do for work?” I asked, both because that’s a normal date discussion topic and because I was curious as to how he afforded the lifestyle he seemed to lead.

  “I work for my family’s business. A bank, actually.” Maxim paused, and I couldn’t tell if there was more to the story. “How about you? Are you some fancy New York lawyer? Or an actress from Hollywood?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. His insinuations were ridiculous, and he also clearly believed I was of a similar status, one of those wealthy people who frequented fancy ski resorts.

  My initial instinct was to respond that I was the person who drove a taxi for those lawyers and actresses, but something inside me told me to think before I answered. I was on vacation, I reminded myself. I would never see this man, or anyone at this resort, for that matter, after Tuesday, so why not enjoy myself? I could be anyone I wanted. And, in this moment, I wanted to hide how different my world was from this handsome stranger.

  I took a note out of Jenny’s book. If I was going to borrow parts of her story for the trip, why not go full force?

  “I’m actually a PR executive at a firm in West Virginia,” I said, attempting to make it sound important. At least I told the truth about where I’m from.

  “That sounds like a neat job,” Maxim said.

  “It is. I get to meet a lot of interesting people.”

  As we nibbled on our appetizers, we made small talk about the resort and our kids. I didn’t want to give away too much about myself, but I was completely enamored by Maxim. His daughter turned out to be a year younger than Ryan, but that’s where the similarities ended. From how he talked about it, their relationship was fairly strained, with Lucie spending the majority of her year at boarding school. Ryan and I were the opposite, joined together at the hip. It was us against the world.