Forgetting the Billionaire (A Clean Billionaire Romance Book 1) Read online

  “I got my dress, a caterer, and a photographer. They all thought I was crazy, but then they changed their mind when they heard the amount we were offering.” She giggled as she walked back over to the table.

  “No need for a caterer, I found one.” Mitchell filled his mug again then turned and leaned against the counter.

  Charlie had remained quiet as she sat. Why wasn’t she talking? He wanted her to say something. He could tell that she was worried. He wished he knew about what.

  Victoria sputtered. “Really? Who?”

  “The local diner and my new business investment is going to do it.”

  A high-pitched laugh filled the room. “A diner? Are you serious? Do you know the high-profile people who will be coming?” She dumped some creamer into her coffee and stirred. “Diner? I don’t think so. They only serve things fried and slathered in gravy.”

  Victoria’s voice set Mitchell on edge. “Listen, Vic, we’re going with the diner. My grandmother remembered it, so we’re going to do it.”

  Her face reddened as she met his gaze. “I don’t care who wants this diner to cater, Mitchell. This is my day. I say who feeds us.”

  Charlie’s face fell as she glanced from Victoria over to Mitchell. “Listen, I’ll talk to Jorge. I’ll let him know he really needs to bring his A-game. Don’t fire him. This town could really use the money.”

  Victoria studied Charlie then sighed. “Fine. But mine is coming as well. In case that man is incompetent.”

  “Geez, Vic.” Mitchell shot her a look, but she just brushed it off.

  “So, what are we doing today?” she asked as she sidled up next to him.

  The videos of men with chainsaws and axes from the night before raced through his mind. He hadn’t realized how difficult it was when he agreed to participate. “I’m competing in a lumberjack competition.”

  Victoria brought her mug to her lips and took a sip. “What’s that?”

  “Where we use chainsaws and such to compete,” Mitchell explained.

  Victoria shivered. “Ugh. Outside stuff?”

  Mitchell nodded. “Yeah. You gonna come?” Inside, he was hoping she’d say no. He wanted to break things off with her, but there was no way he could do that and not disappoint the two women in his life he wanted to please. He was in such a mess, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of it.

  Two other residents entered, grabbed a plate, and dished up their food. Victoria slunk closer to the edge of the kitchen as she watched them. They said hello to Charlie, who smiled at them, and then they left.

  With the room now cleared, Victoria shook her head and neared Mitchell. “I’m not staying here with these old people, so yes, I’m coming.”

  Mitchell forced a smile. “Great.”

  The back door opened, and they all turned to see who it was. Mitchell tried not to groan as Alex walked into the kitchen. His face lit up when he saw Charlie.

  “Hey, babe!” he said as he walked over and leaned down.

  Mitchell’s stomach twisted as Alex kissed her. All the anger he’d felt from the last few days bubbled over. Turning, he focused on the countertop behind him. He fought the urge to run over there and punch the guy. Alex didn’t deserve her.

  “Ready, Mitchell?” Alex asked.

  Mitchell pinched his lips together and turned, nodding as he met Alex’s gaze. “Yep.”

  “We’re gonna take my buddy’s boat out. The place we practice at is about an hour boat ride away.” Alex grabbed Charlie’s hand and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Wear something comfortable.”

  Mitchell glanced down at his basketball shorts and t-shirt. “Yep.”

  Victoria giggled as she pressed herself against Mitchell. “This should be interesting.”

  Charlie avoided his gaze as she passed him on the way out. She smiled over at Alex, and Mitchell’s heart sank. He needed to put his feelings aside right now. She wasn’t his, and she never will be.

  17

  Charlie

  Alex kept his hand on her leg as he drove the four of them to the docks. Charlie fought the urge to push it off. She really didn’t like his constant need to touch her right now.

  Mitchell and Victoria were surprisingly quiet, which Charlie appreciated. She really wasn’t in the mood to talk today. The bank’s impending foreclosure loomed over her head like a bad dream.

  Once Alex parked, they climbed out, and made their way to a boat titled “Miss Thang”. Charlie raised her eyebrows as she nodded toward it.

  Alex snorted. “What?”

  “Miss Thang?”

  He shrugged. “What can I say? My buddy’s got a sense of humor.”

  Alex hopped onto the boat and extended his hand. Charlie grabbed it and he pulled her on. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mitchell do the same to Victoria.

  Once they were all on the boat, Alex headed to the wheel and started it up. Charlie took a seat at the back, so she could stare out to the ocean. If she was lucky, she just might see some whales. It was her favorite pastime with her grandmother.

  “This seat taken?” Mitchell’s voice broke her thoughts.

  She turned and cursed herself for looking into his gaze. There was so much that he was saying through it, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to process it all. She should have never let herself kiss him. That was a door she could no longer close. How was she going to be around him now?

  “Where’s Victoria?” Bring up his fiancée. That helped remind her that he wasn’t hers.

  He glanced behind him as he sat, apparently not waiting for an invitation. “She gets seasick, so wanted to stay at the front.”

  “Oh.” She glanced out to the water as Alex pulled from the dock.

  The boat kicked up the water as it sped away. The smell of salt and the feel of the breeze on her face relaxed her. She closed her eyes. This was familiar. Here, there was nothing to worry about.

  “Do you do this a lot?”

  “Hmm?” she asked, keeping her eyes shut.

  “Go on boat rides. It suits you.”

  She glanced over to Mitchell who was staring at her. Heat raced to her cheeks. “Yeah. It’s something I used to do with my grandmother before she passed away. We’d go out searching for whales.” She pushed her hands out and stared at her fingers. “Have you ever seen a whale?”

  “Like in person?”

  She nodded.

  “No. Never really had the time.”

  Charlie eyed him. That was sad. He had all that money, but never took the time to enjoy such a majestic creature.

  Mitchell’s brows furrowed. “What?”

  She shrugged as she turned her focus back to the water. “It’s just sad. All that money and you’ve never seen a whale.”

  Silence.

  “Show me?” he asked, his voice low.

  Refusing to look at him, she nodded. “Alex?”

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Got binoculars?”

  “Bin right behind you.”

  Charlie rifled around in old fishing gear and lifejackets until she found them. Then she settled in next to Mitchell. He’d moved closer to her, and she tried to ignore how good he smelled.

  “The key to spotting a whale is looking for the blow. That’s when the whale reaches the surface of the water and blows out its air.” She peered out across the water. “They like to stick close to the shore. That’s where fish hang out.”

  The sound of the boat cutting through the water filled the air as Charlie grew silent. She kept her gaze peeled for the white gush of water.

  After about ten minutes, Mitchell spoke up. “Looks like they’re not out right now.”

  She smiled. “It takes patience. Keep looking.” Just as she finished the last word, she saw a stream shoot up from the water’s surface. “There!” She tried to keep from yelling as she pointed out to the water.

  “What?” Mitchell asked.

  “Wait for it.” She couldn’t help it, she held her breath as
she waited.

  Mitchell leaned closer to her. She turned her head slightly to look at him. His gaze was fixed on the spot she was pointing.

  “Are you sure?” he asked with his voice low.

  Shivers ran down her spine from his closeness. “Yes,” she whispered.

  Mitchell grew quiet as he kept his gaze on the water. She wondered if he felt the same. Did his knees turn to Jell-O whenever he got close to her? Was it all in her head? She would move if there was more room on the bench. At least, that’s what she told herself.

  “No way!” Mitchell yelled as he clapped his hands.

  Right where she was pointing, a whale’s blow rose up in front of them.

  “That’s awesome,” he exclaimed as he clamped his hand onto her shoulder.

  Her body shook from the force. He glanced down at her with a huge smile on his face. His hand lingered as he kept her gaze.

  “Thanks,” he said with his face inches from hers.

  Her stomach knotted. The kiss they’d shared yesterday rushed back to her. In this moment, she wanted to kiss him. Suddenly, Alex and Rose faded away and all she needed was to be wrapped in his arms.

  Desperate for a distraction, she shoved the binoculars into his hands. “Here,” she said as she pushed off the bench and stood. “It’s even cooler if they breach. Keep your eyes out. You won’t regret it.”

  His face fell as he took the binoculars from her. “Are you sure?” His voice grew quiet. “You were here first.”

  She nodded. Maybe a bit too fast. She forced herself to slow down and smile at him. “I’m fine. You’ve never seen this before. Go ahead.” She stumbled backwards as she made her way over to Alex who was watching them with his eyebrows raised.

  Once she was settled on a chair, she kept her gaze on her side of the boat. She feared what would happen if she glanced toward the back. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she closed her eyes. What was happening?

  Finally, Alex pulled up to the dock and killed the engine. Charlie was relieved to get off the boat and get some space from Mitchell. They’d seen four whales breach the water and each time, Mitchell cheered and smiled at her. She couldn’t help it. Her insides turned to mush every time.

  “Ready?” Alex asked as he hopped out of the boat and tied it off.

  Charlie nodded and climbed out, not waiting for Alex to help her. She needed air, which was weird since they’d just come from the ocean. As she walked down the dock toward the shore, she glanced around. It’d been a long time since she’d been here. She and Alex used to come to this practice arena every weekend when they were dating. When they broke up, she no longer had a reason.

  Six ninety-foot poles rose up from the ground a few hundred feet from the water. A deep pool had been dug for the log rolling and boom run. Alex and his buddies took this competition seriously. As she neared the small cabin that sat in the middle of the practice area, she paused and glanced behind her.

  Mitchell was helping Victoria out of the boat. She clung to him for dear life. Once she was off the dock, her face relaxed.

  “So, what is all of this?” Charlie heard her ask Alex as they made their way up the shore.

  “Back in the day, when logging was done by hand, they used to have these competitions to help ease the monotony of daily life. Now, you can compete all over the world. We basically do things that loggers used to do in the past.”

  “Which ones are we doing today? The standing block chop? Double buck?” Mitchell asked, glancing over to Alex.

  Alex didn’t seem impressed. “Looks like someone Googled. We’re gonna practice log rolling, the boom run, the double buck, and the standing block chop.” He leaned over to Victoria. “We’ve got a competition coming up.”

  Two guys stepped out from the cabin and waved Alex over. He nodded and headed in their direction.

  “What is he talking about?” Victoria asked Mitchell as they approached.

  “Log rolling is where there are two people on a log and they try to spin their competitor into the water,” Charlie said as she joined them.

  Mitchell glanced over to her. “Yeah, and the boom run is where we’ll run head to head across a boom which is basically a chain of logrolling logs.”

  Victoria scrunched her nose. “Why?”

  Mitchell laced his fingers and pressed his hands out. His knuckles popped from the pressure. “It’s fun.”

  “It’s barbaric,” Victoria scoffed.

  “Come on, Mitchell,” Alex called, waving his hand for him to follow.

  Mitchell nodded and headed in Alex’s direction.

  Victoria and Charlie walked across the grass and over to a few log seats. “Looks like it’s just you and me,” Charlie said, hoping to break the awkwardness.

  Victoria brushed her hand against the top of the log and sat down. Her face contorted into a look of disgust.

  Pleasantries didn’t work. Charlie felt uncomfortable sitting next to this woman. Did she suspect that Charlie and Mitchell had kissed yesterday? Or was this just her personality?

  “So, you got a dress?” Charlie tried again.

  Victoria sighed and nodded. “Yes. It’s a Reem Acra.” Her eyebrows shot up as if that were impressive.

  Charlie had never heard of that person, so just nodded along. “Wow.” Was that a guy or a girl? She felt stupid asking, so kept her lips pinched.

  “She doesn’t normally do wedding dresses in a day, but she did for me.”

  Ah, it was a girl. “Wow, that’s nice.”

  Victoria grasped her leather purse. The sun glinted off the diamond on her hand. Charlie’s stomach fell at the sight. It was Mitchell’s ring. He’d given it to her. He wanted to marry her. Charlie needed to remember that.

  Voices from behind her drew both of their attention over to the building. Alex stepped out of the cabin dressed in swim trunks. Charlie smiled. He’d filled out since the last time she’d seen him. He caught her gaze and winked.

  Paul and Ralf, his buddies, walked out too. Both wearing trunks.

  As soon as Mitchell walked out, Charlie dropped her gaze. She didn’t know why she did that. It wasn’t like she’d never seen his chest before. But for some reason, she felt uncomfortable.

  “Whoo! Doesn’t my fiancé look hot?” Victoria exclaimed as she patted Charlie on the back.

  Gathering her composure, Charlie looked up. She was acting silly. How was she going to watch them practice with her gaze trained on the ground? As soon as she saw Mitchell, she instantly regretted her decision. In the bright sunlight, she was able to see every chiseled muscle on his body. She could wash laundry on his abs. And he was tan. As if sensing her gaze, Mitchell glanced over at her and a smile twitched on his lips.

  Heat raced through her body, so she dropped her gaze. It was probably best if she focused on something else.

  “Alright, buddy. Know what to do?” Paul asked Mitchell as they stepped up to a two-foot log that was about fourteen inches in diameter. Paul handed over an axe to Mitchell. “You’re going to be competing against Alex, and then we’ll switch and Ralf and I will have a go.”

  Mitchell grabbed the axe and nodded. Alex approached the log next to Mitchell and shot another grin at Charlie.

  Paul raised his hand and let it fall as he yelled “Go!”

  Charlie tried to keep her gaze from drifting over to Mitchell as he began whacking the log. The muscles in his back tensed with each chop. The sun beat down on his skin that was now glistening with sweat.

  She needed to stop staring at his muscles right now. “How long have you known Mitchell?” Charlie turned her attention over to Victoria who had pulled out a file from her purse and was working on her nails. How could she be filing her nails when her fiancé looked so good chopping wood?

  “About a year,” she said, not looking up. “How about you and Alex? Is that his name?”

  Charlie nodded, but when Victoria didn’t look up she said, “Yes, it’s Alex. And we’ve kind of been off and on for a while now.”

&nb
sp; “Hmm,” Victoria said.

  Charlie sighed and turned back to the guys who were each about halfway through the log. Why did this part have to last this long? Keeping her gaze concentrated on Alex, she decided now would be a good time to start listing all the reason she should be with him. Before her gaze drifted back over to the hunky, bare-chested billionaire.

  18

  Mitchell

  Mitchell’s muscles burned as he continued chopping the log in front of him. Alex’s strikes reverberated in his ears, pushing him to work harder.

  Mitchell’s workouts at the gym were nothing like this. Sweat rolled down his back as the sun beat down on him.

  “And he’s done!” Paul yelled out.

  Glancing down, Mitchell realized that it wasn’t his log that Paul was talking about. Cursing under his breath, he glanced over. The top half of Alex’s log had split and was resting next to the bottom.

  Alex grinned over at him. “Good work,” he said. “Looks like the better man won.” He rested the ax on a log and walked over to Charlie. She looked shocked as he pulled her up and dipped her, smacking a kiss right on her lips.

  A twinge of anger raced up Mitchell’s spine. What was that? Did Alex know? A fire burned in Mitchell’s stomach. He wasn’t going to let Alex win the next one. He’d make sure of it.

  Paul and Ralf set up the logs for themselves, and Alex yelled go. Both men began chopping, so Mitchell took this time to focus. The next competition was the boom run. He glanced over to the pool and studied the logs. He’d win this one. After all, he’d run track in high school.

  In a matter of minutes, Alex declared Ralf the winner. Once the axes were cleaned up and the wood discarded, they all made their way over to the pool.

  “Want us to go first to show you?” Paul asked.

  “Yeah. That’d be good. Then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself when you lose.” Alex grinned at him.

  Mitchell fought the urge to punch him. “That’s okay. I think I got it.”

  “You need to run across the logs, circle that orange cone, then run back. First person to touch the starting spot wins,” Ralf said, waving his hand toward the booms. “Don’t worry. We heat the pool so you won’t freeze if you fall off.”