Jules Bennett - Snowbound With A Billionaire

“Darling,” his mother said, placing her hand on Raine’s arm. “Please don’t feel like you have to do anything for me. Max and I will get along just fine. Visit all you like and bring this precious baby but don’t bother with anything else.”

Raine’s smile was soft, almost innocent as her green eyes twinkled. “Elise, you’re one of my best customers. I’m happy to help.”

“You take care of this baby and your other customers first,” his mother chided. “I’m seriously feeling good. My radiation treatments start in two weeks, and Max can do whatever I need.”

The old Raine would’ve done anything for anyone. She’d always put others first. Max was glad to see she was just as selfless, just as caring. And it warmed him even more to know that, after everything Max’s parents had done to keep him and Raine apart, she could put all that aside and forge a special relationship with his mother.

Raine hugged Elise and strapped the baby back in the carrier. Once they were all bundled up again, he carefully escorted her to the car. He kept a hand hovering near her arm, careful not to touch, but it was there in case she slipped.

The baby started to fuss a little as Raine locked the seat into place, but she unzipped the cover and replaced the pacifier. Instant silence. How did she know exactly what to do? The whole concept of consoling a baby was totally lost on him. Thankfully his social scene the past decade hadn’t revolved around children. Some people were natural nurturers, like his mother and Raine. Others, like his father, were not. And even though they weren’t biologically related, Max had somehow inherited the not-so-caring trait.

As he pulled out of the drive, he glanced over at Raine. All that gorgeous red hair tumbled from her hat and down her back.

“Where do you live?” he asked, assuming she’d moved out of her parents’ home.

“My grandmother’s farm.”

Max smiled. Raine’s grandmother was a woman like no other, and it didn’t surprise him that Raine had moved into the historic farmhouse. More than likely she had it overrun with goats, chickens, horses and a giant garden. That had always been her dream.

They used to laugh about it, because Raine had always tried to figure out how she could get all of that in L.A. But she’d assured him that she was willing to try, because she loved him more than this old farmhouse.

Perhaps that was what held her back, kept her distanced from him when he left, and compelled her to ignore his phone calls and letters.

Max passed the spot where her car was still stuck in the ditch. “You going to call a tow truck before it gets dark?”

“I’ll call when I get home,” she told him.

“Do you want to talk about this?”

She glanced his way. “This meaning what? Because if you’re referring to the past, then no. If you’re referring to the freezing temps, sure.”

A muscle worked in his cheek. “Always running from uncomfortable topics,” he muttered.

“Running?” she asked, her voice rising. “I’ve never run from anything in my life. I’d choose better words next time. Or is it too hard when someone hasn’t written them for you?”

Max sighed, turning onto her street. The car slid a bit on the icy patch, but he eased the wheel in the opposite direction and righted the vehicle.

Raine was in a mood. Welcome to the club because, now that the initial shock of seeing her again had passed, he could feel all those old memories stirring up inside of him.

“I don’t want this to be uncomfortable for either of us,” Max said. “It’s apparent that you and my mother are...closer than you used to be. But I’ll be here for a few months, and so you and I are going to see each other.”

Raine turned and faced the front again, her hands twisting in her lap. “The past is dead to me, Max. I have different priorities now, and I don’t have the time—or the inclination—to dredge up old memories of that teenage lust we shared.”

Ouch. Lust? He’d been head over heels for her, but, with her declaration, there was no way in hell he’d admit that now. She had made her feelings about that time very clear, and he wouldn’t beat that dead horse.

Max turned onto her drive and barely suppressed a gasp. The old white sprawling two-story home had definitely seen better days. The stained roof needed to be replaced, paint had chipped off several of the window trims, the porch that stretched the length of the home was a bit saggy on one end, and, from the looks of things, no one had shoveled the snow off the walk.

“Just pull around to the back,” she said.

Keeping his mouth shut about the obvious needs of her home, Max eased the car around to the side where a very small path had been cleared from the garage to the back door. The red handle from the shovel stuck up out of the snow, where she’d obviously left it for future use.

“Thanks for the ride.”

As Raine jumped out, Max did, too. He opened the back door as she came around, and in seconds she’d unfastened the carrier. Max reached for it before she could grab the baby.

“Let me have her, and you can remove that base,” Max told her.

Because it was cold and she knew way more about that contraption than he did, Max started toward the cleared path, watching his steps carefully because he wouldn’t dare drop this baby.

Raine came up behind him with her keys and the base. He let her pass to unlock the door, but she blocked the entryway. After easing in, and setting down the base and her purse, she turned back to take the carrier.

“Thanks for the lift home.”

Her eyes darted away from his, to the baby, to the snow swirling around them, anywhere but on him.

“Do I make you nervous?” he asked gruffly.

Now she did meet his gaze. “No. You make me remember, and that’s worse.”

He stepped closer, near enough to see those gold flecks in her bright eyes. “Is remembering so bad?”

“For me it is, maybe not for you.” She shifted, holding the carrier between them as if to use the baby as a shield. “I’m not the same person I used to be.”

“You’re still just as beautiful.”

Raine rolled her eyes. “Surely you don’t think during the brief time you’re home that you can just pick up where you left off?”

“Not at all.” But damn if some of those old feelings weren’t right there at the surface. “We’re both different people, Raine, but you’re still stunning. Is it wrong of me to say so?”

“It’s wrong of you to be watching my mouth when I talk,” she said.

Max grinned. “Just doing a little remembering of my own.”

Raine gasped, and Max couldn’t suppress his laughter.

“I’ll let you get inside,” he said. “It’s too cold to be out here with that baby.”

Just as she started to turn, he called her name.

“What?” she asked on a sigh.

“See you tomorrow.”

He walked back to his car without waiting on her to sputter a response or narrow her eyes at him. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind she wanted to be left alone, but he just couldn’t. Raine had an underlying vulnerability, and like a fool, he couldn’t ignore the fact they shared a past and he wanted to know what happened after he left.

Even after all these years apart, all the blockbuster films, all the starlets on his arm and all the lavish parties, Max never felt so at ease, so...comfortable as he did with Raine. He honestly had no clue their past could come back at warp speed and take control over his emotions.

These next few months may be spent caring for his mother, but he sure as hell was going to have an interesting time with the beautifully sexy Raine Monroe.

Two

Raine all but sank against the door. Her heart was so far up in her throat she thought she was going to be sick.