Single Dad Billionaire Heartthrob Read online

  “Lucie sounds great,” I said. “It’s sweet that you take her on trips like this.”

  Maxim laughed. “Well, it seems like Ryan has no shortage of fun adventures either.”

  If only he knew how far off base he was.

  The longer we sat together, the clearer it became that Maxim and I came from completely different worlds. Nonetheless, he was a great dining companion. If this had been a planned date, instead of some sort of charity case, it would’ve ranked among my best. Still, there was that nagging feeling that I was completely out of my element.

  “Would you like some more champagne?” Maxim asked as I twirled some spaghetti around my fork.

  With a smile, I said, “I’d love some.”

  It might have just been wishful thinking, but I would’ve sworn that Maxim was flirting with me. The little things were starting to add up, like how his hand brushed against mine when he reached for his champagne glass, or how he’d say I was beautiful as if it was a fact instead of his opinion.

  “So, you said you travel a lot, right?” I asked Maxim.

  He nodded. “I sure do. Maybe too often.”

  “Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?”

  I loved hearing people’s answers to this question because it revealed so much about a person and their interests. If someone had asked me, up until this point, I’d have said the Grand Canyon, even though I was ten years old when I went and hardly remembered it. Switzerland was definitely on its way to topping my list. I supposed working as a taxi driver and regularly picking passengers up from the airport had given me a newfound interest in travel.

  I tried to predict Maxim’s answer. Maybe Italy? France? I wasn’t sure if he was more of a local traveler, staying in Europe, or if he’d traveled beyond that.

  “That’s a tough question. Can I pick two?” Maxim crinkled his nose, something I’d noticed he did when he was deep in thought, and it was absolutely adorable.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “My favorite with Lucie would have to be a trip we took to a massive amusement park in Tokyo,” he said. “She was in absolute heaven.”

  “Wow! Tokyo seems like it would be a cool place to visit.”

  Maxim shrugged. “I’ve been there enough that it doesn’t even feel like I’m visiting somewhere different when I go. The amusement park was something new for us, though. That was only Lucie’s third time in Japan.”

  I tried to hide my reaction and keep my tone even. Ryan hadn’t even left our state three times, let alone traveled halfway across the globe to visit an amusement park.

  “And how about your other favorite?” I asked.

  “Well that would have to be Auckland,” Maxim said with a smile. “New Zealand was just beautiful. It was supposed to be a quick, 24-hour business trip, but I was so enamored with the place that I actually had my assistant extend my trip by two days, even though that meant canceling half a dozen meetings, just so I could explore the area.”

  Assistant? Flight rescheduling? I’d heard more than enough passengers in my taxi complain on their phones to airlines about flight change costs to know that it must have cost Maxim a pretty penny to make a last-minute switch like that. Not to mention, he probably flew first class, which probably doubled or tripled the cost. Exactly how rich was this guy?

  Back home, a wealthy person in my area was someone who could go out to fancy dinners on a regular basis and pay for cars with cash. Dropping a few grand to extend a trip wasn’t exactly on their radar. Or maybe it was. I knew so little about this word, and I wasn’t sure the grin plastered on my face was enough to mask that.

  “How about you?” he asked.

  “Huh?”

  “Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever been?”

  “Oh.” I hesitated. “I, uh, don’t really get to travel much with my work schedule.” That wasn’t a complete lie.

  “What?” Maxim threw his head back and sipped from his champagne glass. “You run a big PR firm and don’t arrange your clientele so that you get the chance to travel?”

  Okay, now I knew for sure I’d never said that I ran some big, fancy firm. I’d simply told him I was a PR executive, and he’d made the leap from there. I supposed it wasn’t totally off base, given the upscale resort we were staying in, but it was even further from my reality, and I hated the lies. I had to get the attention off of me.

  Before I had the chance to respond, Maxim opened his mouth to speak. “You should visit France, especially Strasbourg. It’s magnificent there. The architecture transports you right back in time. We just closed a multi-billion-dollar deal up that way, so I’m hoping I’ll get the chance to visit more often. I think Lucie would love it.”

  He’d said billion, with a B. Not million, which would still have been enough to catch me off guard.

  “What’d you say you do for work again?” I asked. It was a combination of deflection and curiosity. He’d talked about the bank like it was some small family business, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

  “I’m CEO of a large bank.” Maxim let the words hang there. The word CEO must’ve slipped his mind the first time he mentioned it.

  “How large exactly?” I picked up my champagne glass, already on my second or third glass of the night, and braced myself for his answer.

  “Well, we’re one of the largest private banks in Switzerland.”

  I nearly choked on the champagne lodged in my throat. I had to be dreaming.

  “Schelling Bank. I’m surprised you didn’t make the connection,” Maxim said.

  “I’ve, uh, never heard of it before.”

  “That’s a welcome surprise,” he said. “Can’t say the same for most of Switzerland.”

  A small part of me had wondered if Maxim had ever struggled like I had, or even less than I had but more than most of the folks here at the resort. Clearly, with his family name, he hadn’t had to worry about money or job security a day in his life.

  This was getting to be too much. While living in this imaginary world where I was wealthy and important had seemed nice, Maxim was beyond everything even imaginary fancy “PR Tia” could have anticipated. I had to get out of here, but I wanted to do so as politely as possible. Maxim wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed this much with someone over the age of ten. We were simply too different.

  “I think it’s about time for me to call it a night,” I said.

  Maxim looked surprised. “What? We haven’t had dessert yet.”

  I shrugged and patted my stomach for dramatic effect. “I’m stuffed. I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

  “Come on, Tia,” he said. “They make incredible homemade gelato here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I really should go pick up Ryan. It’s been a really long day, and I’m sure he’s exhausted.”

  As much as I was using Ryan as an excuse, it wasn’t as far-fetched or lame as it had sounded when I said it. I’d left my son in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar country, and I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. On top of that, we’d been awake for over twenty-four hours, and I wanted to get Ryan on a normal sleep schedule here so that we could enjoy the weekend.

  I didn’t have to ask to be certain that Maxim wouldn’t let me near the check. Instead of being turned down, I shuffled through my purse until I found the Swiss francs I’d gotten at the currency conversion kiosk at the airport. I threw down double what my meal cost, hoping that would cover my meal and my share of the appetizer and champagne. I didn’t care how rich Maxim was. I didn’t want a handout. More than that, I didn’t want him to know the truth about my financial situation.

  “Thank you again for letting me join you.”

  “Absolutely. It was my pleasure.”

  As I met Maxim’s gaze one last time, I saw a hint of something in his expression—or at least I thought so. A small part of me hoped that he’d ask me one more time to stay, or suggest that we get together another time. I was torn between feeling out of place and longing to stay here with Maxim. We just didn’t make sense together.

  Still, it was nice to be wanted. It would’ve made my night to hear Maxim say how he’d had a great time with me, or that he desperately wanted me to stay here with him. His expression had changed. It appeared regretful, or maybe sad.

  I stood up, giving him one last chance to reconsider—or to ask me to reconsider. Instead, he offered up a small nod and told me to have a good night.

  Chapter 6

  Tia

  Ryan looked half his age in the queen bed he slept in across the suite, a far cry from his usual twin-sized bed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him smile this much, and we’d only been here for a day. He’d fallen asleep talking about the kids he’d met at the kids’ club as if he’d known them for years. There was just something magical about this place, something that made me feel so at peace and so out of place at the same time.

  Though I felt miles away from my comfort zone, there were two things keeping me going: my love for my son, and my curiosity about Maxim. While most women would be enticed by the idea of dating—or even befriending, for that matter—a billionaire, it terrified me. Even as a PR executive he’d be far out of my league. As a cab driver? Forget about it.

  Up until the end of our date, when I’d sort of freaked out about Maxim’s wealth, we’d had a great time. He was surprisingly charming, and much more down to earth than I’d expect from someone of his means.

  Today, however, it was all about Ryan and me. Jenny had scheduled ski lessons for her and Bradley and told us that we were more than welcome to use them. Otherwise, they would have gone to waste, much like the trip itself if we hadn’t taken it.

  I would’ve been fine either way, skiing or letting the ski lessons go to waste, but Ryan hadn’t stopped talking about going skiing since I’d first told him about the trip. He was such a good kid that it was the least I could do for him. Besides, I’d never been skiing either, and I’d heard it was one of those experiences that everyone should have at least once.

  “Ry, we have some time to kill,” I said. “Want to go explore the hotel some more before we head over to the ski lodge?”

  “Sure. Let’s go!”

  As I finished brushing my hair, I found myself asking Ryan if he had met a girl named Lucie at the kids’ club the night before. I was admittedly curious about Maxim’s daughter, but Ryan hadn’t mentioned any girls from the club when he talked about his night.

  “How do you know Lucie?” Ryan asked.

  I hoped he was still young enough to not notice the flustered look on my face. “I met her father yesterday,” I said, as if it had been a quick, impersonal interaction. “So I guess you met her?”

  “Yup. She was cool. She watched a movie with me and Fredrick and Oliver, and, at dinnertime, I traded her my grilled cheese for her French fries.”

  “If you gave her your grilled cheese, what did you eat?”

  Ryan shot me a sly grin. “Lots and lots of French fries.”

  I couldn’t even be mad. It was vacation, after all. I felt silly that it hadn’t occurred to me earlier that Ryan and Maxim’s daughter might have crossed paths.

  I needed to push Maxim out of my mind. Feeling a tinge of guilt about having spent the previous night separated, I thought that a little adventure with just the two of us would be the perfect way to kick off the day. I let Ryan lead the way.

  We took the elevator down to the first floor, and, though Ryan hadn’t outwardly said so, I had a sneaking suspicion it was because that happened to be the same floor the resort’s pool was on. I followed him down the long hallways until he found the one he was looking for.

  “Look!” he exclaimed, pointing through the glass doors at the biggest hotel pool I’d ever seen. Not only was the water crystal clear, but the pool was entirely empty. “Can we go, Mom?”

  I looked down at my watch. To my surprise, we were up early enough that Ryan had time to splash around in the pool for an hour before we had to get ready for our ski lessons. The realization that I hadn’t packed Ryan’s swimsuit hit me like a ton of bricks.

  I braced myself for a disappointed reaction. “Sweetie, I didn’t know there would be a pool here, so I didn’t pack your swim trunks. Maybe we can buy some later so you can go in the pool tomorrow.”

  Ryan shot me a sly grin. “I threw them in my suitcase, just in case.”

  With that, he skipped back down the hallway, half-dragging me into the elevator, back down the hallway on our floor. In a matter of two minutes, he was in the swimsuit I’d forgotten to pack with the goggles I hadn’t known he’d brought. My son was one smart kid.

  As Ryan splashed around in the pool, practicing underwater handstands and floating on his back, I sat on a lounge chair and simply watched. It had been a long time since I’d had enough free time to just watch my son. He was growing up so fast, and I wanted to soak in every moment I could.

  I’d always loved that children had such a vivid imagination, and that stood out even more so to me as Ryan played in the pool by himself. It didn’t bother him in the slightest that no one else was there. In fact, he reveled in the glory of having the entire pool to himself. This vacation was exactly what he had needed, what both of us had needed.

  “Mom, come put your feet in,” Ryan called.

  “We only have ten more minutes,” I said, shaking my head.

  “That’s plenty of time!”

  Not wanting to let him down, I slipped off my sneakers and socks and rolled up my pant legs until they stopped just below the knee. Careful not to slip on the water Ryan had splashed out of the pool, I sat down on the ledge and plopped my feet in.

  “Isn’t it great?” he asked.

  As a matter of fact, it was. I had never seen such pure, unfiltered joy on my son’s face—or at least I hadn’t recently. Between school and work and cooking and cleaning, I was lucky if I got to spend an hour with him each day.

  I flipped my feet up and down in the pool like I had when I was a child. Just like Ryan, I’d adored swimming, content with spending hours in the pool until my fingers and toes looked like raisins.

  “What do you think of Switzerland so far?” I asked when he swam up to me.

  “It’s my favorite place in the whole world,” he said.

  “Really?” I laughed. “All we’ve seen so far is the train and the hotel.”

  Ryan shook some pool water from his hair. “So what? I got to see mountains, and swim in the pool, and eat French fries for dinner. That makes it the best!”

  I’d lucked out with an easy-to-please kid, but that didn’t make what he’d said any less heartwarming. I snapped a picture on my phone of Ryan swimming to send to Jenny. To go along with the picture, I wrote, “I’ve got the happiest kid in the whole world. Thank you a million.”

  Realizing the time difference, I followed up with a text message apologizing if I’d woken her up. Within a minute, I was reading Jenny’s reply with a smile on my face. “No worries. Up and at the gym, big meeting is today. Kiss Ryan for me!”

  When I thought about what she’d done for me, giving me this amazing experience to share with my son, I got teary-eyed. Even though she wouldn’t have been able to take the trip herself, it still meant the world that she’d chosen me to give it to. It was one of the most thoughtful gestures I’d ever encountered, let alone experienced for myself.

  Ryan whined when I told him it was time to get out of the pool, but he quickly obliged when I reminded him that our ski lessons were the reason for our departure.

  “Can we come back later?” he asked, as he dried himself off with a towel. “And tomorrow?”

  “We’ll see. I’m sure there are plenty of awesome things to do here besides just swimming.” I watched as Ryan gathered his belongings from a lounge chair. “Are you ready to go back?”

  Instead of answering, he wrapped his arms around me, giving me a chlorine-filled hug that brought a smile to my face.

  After making sure that Ryan and I were dressed in as many layers as we could comfortably put on, we took the shuttle to the other side of the resort, fitting in surprisingly well among the skiers. I supposed that, when everyone was bundled up, it was hard to tell who was rich and who wasn’t.

  At the top of the slopes, I followed the crowd into what the resort referred to as the registration cabin, though it looked more like a mansion than a cabin. Inside, instead of the typical wood I’d expected for a ski resort, everything was different shades of white. White marble benches, white granite concierge desk, white skis in pristine condition.

  “Come on, sweetie,” I said to Ryan, who was eyeing some sort of breakfast pastries despite the fact that we’d just eaten. “Let’s find out where to go.”

  I stepped in line behind a distinguished-looking older gentleman who looked like he could be someone wealthy and important. Each time I began to feel a semblance of belonging here, diamond rings and personal butlers—and, in the case of the man in front of me, a suit that cost more than my mortgage—reminded me that money mattered here.

  One of the concierges stepped out from behind the desk and took the man in front of me aside to a private area, clearly embarrassed that they’d made him wait in line with those of us not nearly as wealthy.

  “Can I help you?” the other concierge asked, directing his voice toward me. I stepped up to the desk, and, just as I opened my mouth to speak, he continued. “What name is the reservation under?”

  I hesitated. “Jennifer Miller.”

  I held my breath as he typed something into the computer. Had I gotten it wrong? I had played it over and over again just as Jenny had told me: Skiing lessons. Sunday morning. 11 a.m. Use my name.