Tempting The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 13) Read online

  “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you all week, Josh.” Her mom smiled and not surprisingly hugged Josh. He didn’t hesitate to return the embrace. He even dropped a polite kiss on Marilyn’s cheek.

  “Courtney has told me a lot about you and her father, Mrs. Belmont.”

  “You’re about to be family. Please call me Marilyn,” her mom said, touching his shoulder. “I’m going to see how dinner is coming along,” she continued. “Your sister went upstairs to take a call, but everyone else is in the living room. I’ll meet you in there.”

  For private family gatherings, her parents preferred to use the smaller living room situated near the back of the house. When she paused in the doorway, she found her dad, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Jonathan seated in a small circle, more than likely discussing politics. Her sister-in-law, her cousin Jake, and his wife sat with Abby, her uncle Mark’s third wife, and Courtney’s aunt Judith, while Scott sat on the floor playing with his son.

  Earlier in the week, she’d spoken with her dad. Tuesday night, not long after she arrived home, he called to offer his congratulations. Much like her mom, he’d questioned her decision to marry so soon. Then he’d gone on to offer his advice—advice that had included getting a prenup, something she already had an attorney working on, and thinking twice before marrying an actor. He wouldn’t bring up the matter with Josh there, but if they found themselves alone, he wouldn’t hesitate to again suggest she postpone the wedding. Although she recognized her dad only had her best interests in mind, his comments rubbed her the wrong way.

  “What’s wrong?” Josh whispered, his breath warm against her skin.

  Wrong? Nothing, except she needed to introduce Josh to her dad, and judging by the comments he’d made on the phone, he had already formed an opinion of him—an opinion that was anything but complimentary.

  “Honestly, I’m a little nervous.” Josh was on the shortlist of people she could be honest with these days—a situation she didn’t at all care for.

  She kept hold of his hand as she walked toward her dad, partially because it helped sell the act, but also because she simply liked the physical contact.

  Dad won’t say anything with Josh standing there.

  If Harrison Belmont was anything, it was proper and polite. Actually, both her parents were. In fact, she couldn’t remember a time when either of her parents had done something that embarrassed her, which was something most of her friends couldn’t say about their parents.

  Her dad stood and met them before they reached the group. “Your mom was getting worried about you.” Harrison put his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “Did you hit a lot of traffic?”

  Shaking her head, she returned the hug before stepping back. “We just got a late start.” Courtney put her arm around Josh’s waist. “Dad, this is Josh.”

  Extending his hand in Josh’s direction, her dad offered up a tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” He gestured toward where he’d been sitting and clapped Josh on the shoulder. “Let me introduce you to Courtney’s uncles.”

  Talk about being brought into the lion’s den. The way she saw it, Josh had no choice but to follow her dad, and she had no intention of sending him in alone.

  By the time Josh finished shaking hands with her two uncles, Juliette had entered the room. No matter the time or place, her sister always looked as if she’d just come from one of her photo shoots. Tonight wasn’t any different.

  “Arriving late. You really are becoming more like me,” her sister said as she hugged her. Unlike everyone else so far, when Juliette smiled at Josh it was genuine. “We met last year at one of Seth Vallencourt’s parties. It’s nice to see you again.”

  Josh returned her sister’s embrace. “I remember, I was with….”

  He didn’t need to finish his sentence. Thanks to her conversation with Juliette earlier this week, Courtney already knew whom he’d been with. A bowling ball settled in her stomach as she remembered how Juliette had said Selena Cruise had been draped all over Josh that night.

  Who he’d been with before they met didn’t matter. At least, it shouldn’t matter, especially since they weren’t getting married for love. The evil green-eyed monster didn’t seem to realize that fact.

  “I’m sorry I was gone so long. Your aunt Elizabeth called. She said she tried calling you earlier today but got your voice mail,” Mom said, entering the room and joining them.

  Thanks a lot, Mom. Her lousy timing had saved Josh from finishing his sentence. While the party had happened months before they met, Courtney wondered if he would’ve been honest about whom had he been with that night.

  “She asked me to pass along her and Warren’s congratulations. She wants you to call her when you have a chance,” her mom continued before turning her attention to the room as a whole. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

  Before her mom could bring up the wedding or any other questions she didn’t want to answer right now, Courtney grabbed Josh’s hand and led him over to where the rest of the family was gathered. The move would only postpone her mom’s comments, but for now, she’d take what she could get.

  Again, formal introductions seemed unnecessary. Even if they’d never seen any of Josh’s movies, the chances of her family members never seeing a picture of him somewhere was slim. Still, she did what her manners dictated and introduced Josh first to her aunt Judith and then to Abby, Uncle Mark’s third wife, a woman she’d known long before she married into the family nine years ago. She and Donna Sherbrooke, her uncle Mark’s first wife and her dad’s sister, had been best friends for years. Even after Aunt Donna’s death almost twenty years ago, Abby had remained close to the family. Once she’d introduced Josh to the women of the group, she moved on to perhaps her favorite person there.

  “This gorgeous guy is Cooper,” she said, scooping up her nephew. Settling him on her hip, she kissed his forehead and again wondered how it was possible Cooper was already over a year old and walking. It truly seemed like just the other day she’d held him while making sure to support his tiny head.

  “I guess it’s a good thing we’ve met,” Scott said, extending his hand toward Josh. “It’s nice to see you again.”

  Annoying her older brother was one of those things she’d loved doing when they were younger and something she had never fully outgrown. These days she didn’t get much of an opportunity, since he spent most of his time in New York. “Hey, I was getting to you. Some people are simply more important though. Right, Cooper?” Cooper giggled when she tickled him.

  She glanced away from her nephew as her brother’s words sank in. “You’ve met?” Trent and Josh were friends. They had been for years. Considering Trent’s lifestyle before he met his wife, it didn’t surprise her. But her brother had never been anything like Trent.

  “When I was with Nicole, we attended a few of the same parties as Josh,” Scott replied.

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of Nicole Sutton, Cooper’s mother. Scott had dated the actress for several months long before he met his wife. Even before Scott ended their relationship because he found out she was cheating on him, Courtney hadn’t cared for the woman or understood why her brother was wasting his time with her. Her opinion of Nicole only deteriorated more after she leaned Nicole had waited until after Cooper was born to tell Scott he might be the father. Since she’d been sleeping with two other men while with Scott, it had taken a paternity test to identify whom Cooper belonged to. While she might be able to forgive the woman for cheating, she couldn’t forgive her for hiding the truth about Cooper for so long. Especially since Scott was a fantastic father. There wasn’t anything her brother wouldn’t do for his son. And when Paige gave birth later in the year, the same would be true for those children. Considering the lengths Josh was going to to make sure he retained joint custody of his daughter, Josh shared the same trait.

  Children. She smiled at the image of her brother trying to handle twins, and she was glad Scott was the one expecting
twins and not her. If and when she had children, she wanted them to come one at a time and preferably a few years apart.

  “Care to share what’s so amusing?” Scott asked.

  She considered his question or at least made it look as if she was considering it. “No, not really. But I do think it’s time to eat.” Across the room, her father and uncles stood as her mom headed their way.

  As if he did it every day, Josh’s arm went around her waist after she handed Cooper back to Scott. Before she could think about her motives, she leaned into him.

  “What was so funny?” His voice remained low.

  She slowed her pace so everyone else could pass by them. “Scott and Paige are expecting twins. I was picturing my always-in-control brother trying to handle two babies.”

  “Twins. Ouch. Better him than me. Taking care of Adalynn after she was born was exhausting enough.”

  The same sadness she’d heard earlier in the week when he mentioned his daughter resonated in his tone and pulled at her heart. And now, like before, she wanted to hunt down his ex-girlfriend and tell her what a bitch she was being. She understood wanting what was best for your child, and in some cases that meant limiting how much influence a parent would have on a son or daughter. As far as she was concerned, that wasn’t necessary in this situation, and she’d do whatever she could to help Josh.

  Ten

  When it came to preparing meals, not many people did it better than her parents’ chef, Paulette. The woman could take a piece of toast and turn it into a masterpiece of flavor. The meal served tonight was nothing short of perfection. In fact, it had Courtney thinking she should visit more often, specifically around dinnertime. As for the dessert, well, there weren’t words to describe it, and if there was any left in the kitchen, she might take some home with her.

  “Where are you going on your honeymoon?” Charlie, Jake’s wife, asked. With dinner over, the whole family except for Uncle Jonathan, who’d received a call from her cousin, was once again gathered in the living room.

  Beats me. Considering the detailed storyline they’d devised, you would have thought the topic of a honeymoon would’ve come up at some point. Somehow though it’d slipped both their minds.

  Josh gently squeezed her leg, and she took that as a signal to leave the answer to him. “Courtney doesn’t want to take time off from the foundation right now, so we decided to wait and go somewhere this summer.”

  Well, he wasn’t wrong. She’d only been with the Helping Hands Foundation since the middle of December. It was a little too soon to be taking a vacation. But at some point they’d need to go on a honeymoon, so it was a topic they’d need to discuss later.

  “If you postponed the wedding by six or seven months, taking a few weeks off wouldn’t be an issue,” her mom said.

  She’d expected her mom to mention changing the date long before now. The fact she’d made it until after dessert without mentioning it was amazing.

  “And then you could have everything outside at Cliff House.” Now that Mom had started, she wasn’t ready to give up. “We could plan something similar to Gray and Kiera’s wedding. The winter isn’t a good time to get married. You never know what the weather will be.”

  She couldn’t deny her cousin Gray’s wedding back in June had been gorgeous and romantic. Under different circumstances, she wouldn’t mind something similar, but time wasn’t on their side. And as far as the season went, her cousin Trent had gotten married in January and everything had run smoothly.

  “Trent and Addie got married in January without any problems.” Perhaps a little childish, but she couldn’t help remind her mom of that fact. “Besides, the weather can cause problems in the summer too. We all thought Gray and Kiera would have to move everything inside, remember?”

  For days leading up to her cousin’s wedding, the family kept their fingers crossed that the storm moving up across the Atlantic would stall or change course.

  “When it comes to planning something like a wedding, every season has its drawbacks,” Aunt Judith added. “Jonathan and I got married in September, and a nor’easter hit two days before the wedding.”

  Courtney wasn’t a meteorologist, but she knew most nor’easters tended to occur sometime between late fall and early spring, but they could happen at other times as well. Later, she’d have to thank her aunt for pointing out how unpredictable the weather could be regardless of the time of the year.

  Marilyn pinched her lips together and reached for her tea without commenting.

  “I think we should just be happy they’re inviting us to the wedding, unlike someone else in this room that we know and love,” Juliette said, looking everywhere but at Jake and Charlie.

  She hadn’t been surprised when the couple had a secret wedding without his parents or the majority of the family in attendance. Her cousin Jake liked to do things his own way. Courtney suspected no one in the family had really been shocked when they found out either, including his parents.

  “Hey, I recommend doing it our way. If the media doesn’t know it’s about to happen, they can’t get in the way.” For the most part, the only time he landed in the news these days was when it pertained to his disaster relief organization. However, before he met and married Charlie, the media had constantly hounded him.

  Josh moved his hand off her leg and put his arm around her shoulders. “I suggested we elope,” he said before kissing her temple. “But Courtney was against it. She wanted her family there.”

  He’s definitely playing the part tonight. When he wasn’t touching her hand, he was putting an arm around her, and forget about the way he looked at her. Occasionally, she almost forgot their relationship wasn’t real.

  Reaching up, she caressed his fingers resting on her shoulder. “The media won’t get past the gates at Cliff House, so I’m not worried about them bothering us. And if Uncle Warren or Aunt Elizabeth make it, there will be Secret Service all around too.”

  Usually, she considered the extra security a downside to having an uncle who also happened to be the President of the United States. In this instance, it might prove to be beneficial.

  “I know Mom and Dad plan to attend Leah’s wedding.” Jake pulled his ringing cell phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Sean.”

  Conversation stopped while he greeted his brother-in-law. Earlier in the evening, Jake had mentioned Sean and Mia were watching his and Charlie’s son, Garrett, tonight. Other than to let Jake and Charlie know their son was sick, she couldn’t think of a good reason he’d be calling.

  “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll talk to Charlie and see what she wants to do and get back to you.”

  “Is everything okay?” Charlie asked before Jake could share any details.

  “Sean wanted to let us know the roads are already nasty and there is a multicar accident on 128. He suggested we stay here tonight.”

  She hadn’t thought about the weather or paid any attention to what was going on outside since they arrived. The snow wasn’t supposed to start for a few more hours, giving them more than enough time to get home before road conditions deteriorated. But she should’ve. She’d lived in New England all her life and knew how quickly the weather could change. Given the time of night, she wasn’t likely to see much, but she looked toward the windows anyway.

  “If it’s snowing, I’d feel better if you and Charlie stayed,” Marilyn said before glancing in Courtney’s direction. “The same goes for you and Josh. You have an even longer drive home.”

  On the rare occasion she spent the night, she stayed in her old bedroom. But stay here tonight? With Josh. In the same room. It might be safer to brave the nasty roads.

  Jake didn’t hesitate to accept her mom’s invitation. “I’ll call Sean back and let him know we’ll be back in the morning.”

  “What about you two?” her mom asked, looking first at Courtney and then Josh.

  “Whatever Courtney wants is fine with me,” Josh answered, leaving the ball squarely in her court.


  Jeopardizing their safety so they didn’t have to share a bedroom made no sense whatsoever. “I guess it might be better if we stay too.”

  With her question answered, Marilyn turned her attention toward her brother Mark and Abby. They were the only other people in the room who had more than a five-minute drive ahead of them, since Jonathan and his wife lived in the same neighborhood.

  If they stayed down here visiting long enough, perhaps she’d be so exhausted by the time they went upstairs that she’d fall asleep immediately and not even notice Josh was in the same room. One can hope.

  “Courtney and Charlie, I should have something you can sleep in,” Juliette said.

  She didn’t doubt it. Although her sister had an apartment in New York City, she spent a lot of time here, and her closet upstairs proved it.

  Courtney snuggled into Josh’s side while her parents finished saying goodnight to the occupants in the room. While Uncle Jonathan and his wife had left shortly after Jake’s phone call, Uncle Mark and Abby had decided to stay the night. They’d retired upstairs at least a half an hour ago. Paige, who’d been struggling to keep her eyes open, had followed not long after them.

  “I don’t have much time to plan a bachelorette party.” Juliette waited until their mother left the room before bringing up the topic. Courtney didn’t think it was a coincidence either. Following Jake’s phone call, the conversation moved away from Courtney’s wedding. The mention of a bachelorette party would only bring it back to the forefront of their mom’s thoughts and thus back to the center of their conversation. Her sister knew she’d prefer it if everyone’s attention was focused on something else.

  “I know you didn’t have one, but do you have any ideas, Charlie?” Juliette asked.

  “We took my sister-in-law to play laser tag for her bachelorette party,” Charlie answered. “When my friend Jessie got married, we went into Boston for a show and dinner.”