Page 8 of BillionHeir

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Maxwell

“Welcome to Seabanks Manor.”

I feel a sense of pride as I look out on the grand estate that I inherited from my parents.

It was designed to imitate the old manors of Europe, but it still has its own distinct American style.

The carefully manicured gardens stretch out in both directions to the forest on one side and the ocean on the other.

“You didn’t tell me your ‘house in Maine’ was a mansion!” Chloe complains as she helps me exit the SUV.

“You never asked.” I say as I start for the door.

“Not too fast!” she scolds.

“That is what all the ladies say,” I respond, chuckling as I struggle to walk up the front steps.

“I don’t think that is what you want the women saying,” Chloe says as I lean against her for support.

A bark of a laugh bursts from my chest in response to her joke. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Does it feel lighter now?”

“Not really,” I huff out soberly just a few steps later.

It is going to take everything in me to make it up these stairs into the house.

I grew up spending summers and holidays here, and I have always had a fondness for this house and its grounds.

It is the place that I feel closest to my parents, even after all these years.

As we reach the door, I am struck by how weak I am now. Not to mention the fact that once we are inside, we will still have to tackle another flight of stairs to make it up to my bedroom.

“This . . .” she says, gesturing to the fact that I am exhausted after ascending the five steps up to the front door. “Is the reason why the doctors wanted you to stay in the rehab facility.”

“Physical therapists can come to me. All we have to do is get me upstairs and into bed. Then I will be fine.”

“Upstairs?”

“That is what I said,” I answer as I hand her my key ring, much too tired to fuss with the locks myself .

She frowns as she looks at all the keys on the ring. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“How on Earth did you pass nursing school if you don’t know how to use a key to unlock a door?”

“What did you just say to me, your nurse and only caretaker? Did you call me stupid?”

I don’t know why she needs to be so dramatic.

“It is the red key. I have all the keys to my properties color coded by the color of the door.” I gesture to the front door which is painted a maroon color. “Red door, red key.”

She rolls her eyes at me before selecting the appropriate key and pushing it into the lock. “Shouldn’t an estate like this have staff who can help?”

“I employ a full staff during the summer, but they have just gone home for the season. We will have to make do without.”

She leads me straight to a chair that is positioned in the foyer near the front door. I have never actually sat in it before, but my decorator felt like the open space was too cavernous, whatever that means. I have never been more thankful for a useless piece of furniture in my life.

I collapse into the leather wingback chair and look over at the staircase, wondering how I am going to make it up to my bed.

I am a stubborn man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, but I don’t know if I will be able to do this.

I have always considered myself strong and resilient, but after the crash, I am just not sure what I am capable of.

My eyes find Chloe, standing in the center of the foyer in her blue nursing scrubs, her eyes wide as she takes the house in.

I guess I should have thought to warn her that my home in Maine is a little more than your average house, but it didn’t even occur to me just how hard it would be to navigate around the palatial estate.

As I am contemplating a comfortable spot here on the first floor, my phone rings. I look down and see Tristan’s face on the screen. I consider sending it to voicemail.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Chloe asks, eyeing me curiously.

I sigh in resignation as I answer the call and bring the phone to my ear.

“What do you want?”

“Is that any way to greet your best friend?” he asks.

“Hello, Tristan. Now, what do you want?”

“Where the hell are you?”

“I just got to my place in Maine. Why?”

“I came to see you at Sanctuary Springs, but they told me you were gone. I heard some of the staff gossiping as I left. Did you poach one of their best nurses?”

“Would I do that?” I ask, looking over at the nurse in question. I chose her because I had a connection to her, but to hear that she was one of their best employees makes me feel even better about the decision.

“So it is true then.”

“It is, but I am starting to think I might have made a mistake.”

“Why is that?”

“I can’t get up the stairs.”

Tristan lets out a loud laugh at my expense. He has always been the jokester of the group. Don’t get me wrong, he is one of my oldest and most loyal friends, but he is far more likely to roast me than to give me any kind of life advice.

“I told you to add that chair lift when you had the chance.” If I wasn’t so tired, I might laugh with him. He did actually joke that I would need help getting up the large staircase sooner rather than later. Though I am sure neither one of us thought it would be like this.

When he is finally done laughing at me, he adds, “I am on my way.” There is that loyalty I was talking about. He jokes all the time, but I know if I ever need him, he would be there in an instant. Just like right now.

“You do not need to come three hours to help me get up a flight of stairs. We will figure it out,” I say, watching as the look of hope on Chloe’s face vanishes as fast as it appeared.

“I need to meet this nurse of yours anyway. I will call Liam and see if he is up for a drive. I assume we can stay the night? ”

“Of course. There are plenty of empty rooms. Upstairs.” I roll my eyes, annoyed that I didn’t anticipate this wrinkle. I would have gone to my penthouse in Boston if I had thought about how hard it would be to get around here, but this place has always felt more like home.

“Okay. Give us a few hours to get up there, and we will help you get settled. Just relax for a while.”

“Easier said than done,” I grumble before hanging up. I glance over at Chloe who looks like she is reconsidering taking this position. I can’t say that I blame her. “My friends will be here in a few hours.”

I may not have many people in my life, but the ones I do have are worth their weight in gold. I am sure I don’t appreciate them enough.

I look up to see Chloe still watching me.

“What?” I ask, unable to keep the aggravation out of my voice.

“Maybe you are not as lonely as I thought,” she says quietly.

Then she turns and walks deeper into the house. I hear her shoes tapping on the hardwood floor, but I have no idea what she is doing. A few minutes later, she comes back into the foyer with renewed determination.

“This is quite the ‘house’ you have here,” she says, using air quotes .

“Thank you,” I say, finally breathing a little easier after my earlier exertion.

“Seems like more of an estate to me,” she says as her eyes follow the circular staircase up to the second floor and then around to the third.

“That is fair, actually. There is an indoor pool in the basement, plus the outdoor pool and pool house. Down by the water is a boathouse that stores my boats.”

“Boats? As in plural?”

“They were my father’s. Sailing was a passion of his,” I answer quietly.

Her eyes widen with curiosity at the subject of my father. I expect her to ask me about him, but she wisely chooses to dodge the subject.

“I think we should get you settled on the sofa until your friends get here. Unless you have a better idea?”

“Staying here isn’t an option?” I ask, grimacing at the thought of walking again. My body aches in ways I didn’t think possible.

“I am afraid not. I have shifted things around a bit in the living room. I think we can make you quite comfortable for a few hours, if you would like.”

I nod. That does sound nice. Traveling really took it out of me, even if I was just sitting in the back of the car talking to a pretty woman. It was much more painful than I thought it would be, and all I want to do now is sleep .

“I have some pain medicine for you to take as well. I am sure you are rather sore after that car ride.”

She sure doesn’t miss a thing.

Chloe helps me stand from the chair and guides me carefully into the other room. When we reach the couch, she gently lowers me down onto it.

“I will be right back.”

She bustles out of the room as I lean my head back against the plush material of the couch and kick up my feet, thankful to be out of that moving car and settled in a more comfortable position.

A few minutes later, Chloe is back with a glass of water and a prescription bottle. She hands me the glass, then a pill, and watches as I swallow it. Once I am done, she takes the glass of water and sets it on a side table.

“What is the food situation?”

“I had Ethan get in touch with my chef who comes every other day just after lunch when I am here in town. His name is Roger and he owns a restaurant in town that I love. He usually brings enough food to cover all the meals until he comes back again. We can heat it up as we see fit.”

Chloe looks impressed as she nods.

“If there is anything specific you want, just let Roger know, and he will bring it with him the next day.”

“What about cleaning and the like? ”

“I have a housekeeper who comes twice a week when I am here. Usually Monday and Thursday.”

“And clothes?” Her eyes scrutinize what I am wearing. “We are both going to need some things.”

“My personal shopper should have already taken care of that based on the list of things you provided Ethan. Your room is upstairs, second door on the left. Just next to my room, in case I need anything in the night. I think you will find everything you need there, but if not, we can have it delivered tomorrow.”

Chloe’s eyes go to the stairs that lead to the room in question.

“I am fine,” I say when it becomes clear that she wants to see the rest of the house. I can’t blame her for being curious. “Go ahead and check everything. Let me know if anything is out of order.”

She looks like she is ready to walk out of the room when she finds my eyes again. “How did everything get here so fast?”

“My staff are paid well so that they are available to serve me on a moment’s notice.”

Chloe says something under her breath, but it is too quiet for me to hear. Normally, I would make her repeat herself, but I am exhausted right now, and I just don’t care.

“Why don’t you close your eyes and go to sleep?” Chloe suggests.

“Good idea,” I say as my eyelids immediately start to feel like tiny weights are pulling them shut.

* * *

The next time my eyes open, it is already dusk. The room is filled with golden light from the late afternoon sun. I am extremely groggy, like I have been sleeping either for too long or not long enough. I start to bring my hand up to wipe the sleep off my face and groan at the pain it causes.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Tristan says from somewhere to my right. I twist my head and find him sitting on the other side of the sectional couch. “I don’t think I have ever seen you sleep so much in my life.”

I roll my eyes. “Two words. Helicopter. Crash.”

“Yeah, yeah. You act like it is so terrible, yet you have hired the hottest nurse possible to take care of you? I am not buying it.”

“She is best friends with Jackson’s girlfriend,” I say, not quite defending myself.

“Are you telling me there wasn’t one other nurse in New England who would be your private nurse? Isn’t there some kind of service for this type of thing?”

He is right, of course, but I am not going to admit that to him.

“It is not the same. I don’t want some stranger in my home.”

“Have you ever met this woman before two days ago in the rehab? ”

“Yes,” I fib. I have seen her before, but technically we weren’t introduced.

“Uh huh,” Tristan says, clearly not buying it. “Whatever you say, man.”

I look around. “Where is Liam?”

“He is out back giving Chloe a tour of the pool house,” Tristan says with a smirk on his face.

“What?” I start to sit up, but the pain in my back smacks me in the face, forcing me to lie back down. I have done more than I should have today and my body is protesting in a major way.

“What is wrong with that?” Tristan asks, arching his brow and using a voice that tells me he knows exactly what I might find wrong with it.

“Nothing.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Would you stop with that shit?”

Tristan has the nerve to laugh at me. “What the hell did I do?”

“Mmhmm,” I mock. “You are getting on my nerves.”

“Well excuse me for coming to help you,” Tristan says with his hands up defensively.

I suppose I am grateful that they came to help, but their idea of help and mine are two different things.

I don’t know why I am feeling so proprietary about my nurse, but there is something about her that has me foolishly wanting to keep her all to myself.

It is not like she is mine in any sense of the word.

Hell, I hardly know the woman. I need to get a damn grip.

I stretch, trying to get comfortable, and end up in even more discomfort than before. When I shift my weight, a groan involuntarily escapes my mouth as I try to control the sharp pain throughout my body.

Maybe ignoring the doctor’s recommendation wasn’t the best idea.