Forgotten Stranger: A Billionaire Boss, Single Dad Mystery Romance Read online

  Forgotten Stranger

  A Billionaire Boss, Single Dad Mystery Romance

  Liz Peters

  © Copyright 2018 - All rights reserved.

  It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  If one more person asked Raine Hart if she was okay, she was going to scream.

  Thankfully, the woman who had asked this time—a random stranger sitting next to her on the bus—seemed to understand that Raine was in no mood to talk. When Raine only shot her a hard stare in response, the woman sat back, pulled her phone out, and proceeded to ignore Raine.

  Which Raine was fine with. She didn’t want company. If she had wanted company, she would have stayed at home where her parents fussed over her twenty-four hours a day.

  She heaved a sigh at the thought, staring moodily out the window. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate how worried her parents were, or didn’t understand why they worried, but she needed space to breathe. Still, she hoped they didn’t stress too much when they found that she had snuck out.

  She snorted to herself. She was twenty-nine years old, and she still needed to sneak out of the house like a guilty teenager.

  Suddenly glimpsing a familiar landmark, Raine straightened and reached out to press the stop request button. “Stop Requested” lit up at the front of the bus, and moments later, an automated voice stated her stop. Raine ignored the voice, too busy sliding out of her seat to care about an announcement she knew by heart—even if it had been seven years since she had heard it.

  Her heart thumped hard in her chest. Seven years… Raine swallowed the lump in her throat and steeled herself. If her parents got it into their heads to look for her, this would be the last place they would think she’d go. So, drawing in a deep breath, she stepped down out of the bus when it lurched to a stop.

  Stepping onto the pavement and gazing down the path she had walked so long ago, Raine thought she might be sick. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Being here reminded her of all the reasons she had left; it had all just been too much, and she would be forever grateful that her parents had up and moved with her when they realized that every step she took here was a memory of what she had lost.

  “Are you okay?” asked a kind voice to her right.

  Contrary to her earlier thought, Raine didn’t scream in frustration—if only because she thought she might vomit if she opened her mouth. Instead, she gave the worried-looking young couple standing nearby a tight smile and a nod before hurrying away.

  This is ridiculous, she chided herself. It’s been seven years. Get ahold of yourself!

  Without consciously deciding to do it, Raine ducked inside a familiar family-owned convenience store, thinking some water might help settle her stomach. She grabbed a bottle from the display cooler and made her way to the empty counter, wondering where everyone was.

  “Raine Hart? Is that you?”

  Surprised to hear her name, Raine spun around. Bustling down the aisle toward her was Martha Prince, the kindly older woman who had run this store for almost as long as Raine could remember. Her face was bright as she took in Raine, no doubt cataloging all the changes Raine had gone through in seven years.

  “Mrs. Prince?” Raine asked cautiously, unable to stop herself from smiling; she had genuinely liked the store owner. “How have you been?”

  “Oh, as well as always,” Mrs. Prince beamed. There was a critical look in her eye as she took in Raine’s too-thin frame, dyed-black hair, and sunken pallid complexion. “How have you been, dear?”

  She was likely just asking for politeness’ sake; anyone could see that Raine was not doing well at all.

  “Fine, thank you,” Raine replied. “I just wanted to get this water.”

  “Of course.” Mrs. Prince rang up the water and accepted the bills Raine handed over without waiting to hear the price. She smiled warmly at Raine as she handed back her change. “How is the little one, by the way?”

  Raine froze. Her throat felt like it had closed up, and it was hard to breathe. Her hand clenched around the water bottle. “Fine,” she choked out.

  Then she fled, not able to bear any more questions. This had been a mistake. What had she been thinking, coming back to an area where everyone knew her? Of course they’d ask about the child she had been pregnant with seven years ago; none of them knew what had happened.

  Raine didn’t stop until she reached a large park. There, out of breath, she slumped down on a bench, gazing at the pack of children shrieking and tumbling over each other on the play equipment. Maybe, if things had gone differently, her son would…

  She shook her head to dislodge the thought. There was no sense in thinking about “what ifs.” Her son had died seven years ago before she had even gotten to see him; wondering what it would have been like if he had grown up would just destroy the little progress she had made in getting over it.

  Sighing, Raine ran a hand down her face and leaned back on the bench, the unopened water bottle sitting beside her. Being at this park reminded her of the walks she used to take here, imagining the day her she would bring her child to play.

  Without warning, tears sprang to her eyes. Raine rubbed them away, a little frustrated with herself; she needed to stop this. She was moving on with her life now. It was time she faced what had happened head on. Her child—the child that had resulted from an unfortunate one-night stand, the child she had fallen in love with while she was still carrying him, the child she had begun dreaming of in the days before his birth—had been stillborn, and no amount of wishing would bring him back.

  Sighing, she trailed her eyes over the people milling about. A man entering the park with a little boy caught her attention, and she raised an eyebrow. Wasn’t that Mason Parker? She recognized him from magazines; he was their city’s resident billionaire, a ruthless business tycoon who had recently fallen off the map.

  If he had a son, it would explain why he hadn’t involved himself in any new business ventures in the last few years. She glanced at the boy as they came closer. He was a cute kid with large blue eyes and curly brown hair. As she watched, he beamed up at his dark-haired father.

  Her breath caught in her throat. The expression on his face… she had seen it before, on features she recognized. Raine stood before she even realized what she was doing, and suddenly she was in front of the father-son pair, her hands trembling. She hadn’t meant to approach them, and she faltered, as surprised as they were at her sudden appearance.

  “Can I… help you?” Mason asked, sounding confused.

  Raine backpedaled. She thought she might have stuttered something about thinking they were someone else, but she
couldn’t be sure. She dashed off before he could reply, feeling his puzzled eyes on her back as she fled the park, stopping only to snatch the water bottle she had abandoned off the bench.

  There was a strange roaring in her ears. She didn’t understand. It just wasn’t possible. But… she had seen it with her own eyes.

  Mason Parker’s son was almost the spitting image of her own childhood photos.

  * * *

  Mason blinked as the strange woman disappeared, feeling a little concerned; she had looked moments away from a breakdown. Or maybe she had just been embarrassed about coming up to a stranger (and an admittedly famous stranger, at that) before realizing that they weren’t who she expected them to be.

  “Daddy?” At the tug on his hand, Mason smiled down at his son. “Can I go play now?”

  “Of course, Oliver.”

  The little boy cheered and slipped his hand from Mason’s grasp before running off.

  “Be careful on the monkey bars!” Mason called after him.

  Oliver gave no indication he had heard Mason, likely not even remembering slipping off the monkey bars at school last year and spraining his wrist. Mason rolled his eyes and wandered to the closest tree so he could lean against it and watch Oliver play.

  Now alone with his thoughts, though, he felt his mood shifting downward as he again considered what he should do now. At home, the politely demanding email he had received that morning still waited for him, and he was still no closer to making a decision.

  Of course, it would have been easy to decide what happened next if Emily was still around. At the thought of his ex-wife, Mason’s lips twisted into a grimace. He still had no idea why she had left him five years ago, abandoning both him and their then two-year-old son. She had left no way for him to contact her and hadn’t attempted to touch base with them since she had disappeared.

  He had long since come to terms with it. But, at times like this, he missed her, if only because he wouldn’t find himself so split between his family and his work if she hadn’t left.

  Mason wondered what the magazines would think if they could see the “ruthless” business tycoon now. Seven years ago, it would have been an easy decision; work and parties were all he’d had, and nothing had come before his business deals.

  But then Oliver had come along, and Mason had found his entire worldview shifting. Holding that precious bundle in his arms for the first time, Mason had marveled that he had helped create this tiny life. When Emily had left, his world had shifted again, narrowing until his only focus was on Oliver; Mason would provide the world for his child if he could.

  Unfortunately, it seemed like seven years was too long to leave his associates hanging. He had gotten away with it before now because he had done most of his work from home, but now they were looking to close the biggest deal they’d had in years. If Mason didn’t accept his responsibilities and step up, he could lose everything.

  Of course, he wouldn’t mind that if it meant that he could continue to put Oliver first. Money was no longer the most important thing in his life. But if he lost his company, he wouldn’t be able to provide all those things he wanted to provide for Oliver. So, to give his son the life Mason wanted him to have, Mason would have to be away from him. It was a catch-22.

  From the top of the slide, Oliver grinned and waved wildly to attract his father’s attention. Mason smiled and waved back, ignoring the furtive looks of the other park-goers who no doubt recognized him. With another glance to make sure his father was watching, Oliver tumbled down the slide. As he reached the bottom, shrieking in delight, Mason waved to him again before sighing.

  Mason didn’t want to admit it, but he knew he needed help on this one. He would have asked his parents, but he didn’t want to burden them with their grandson seven days a week when they were retired and busy planning overseas trips.

  There was no one else he could ask, either; he had fallen out of contact with a lot of his partying friends after Emily had left (not that he would have asked any of them anyway), and all his other acquaintances came from his business ventures.

  There was only one thing to do.

  He needed a nanny.

  Mason didn’t like the idea. He didn’t want some stranger to come into his house and look after his son. But there were no other options available. He could easily afford to pay a nanny, and he could really use the help if he was going to go back to work full-time. There would be nights he wouldn’t get home in time for dinner and weekends he would have to spend at work. A nanny could take care of Oliver while he was away.

  He sighed. Yes, a nanny was his best option—regardless of what he wanted. He would have to draft an advertisement right away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t regret it.

  Chapter 2

  If Raine’s parents had thought it odd when she had reappeared from wherever she had gone and immediately commandeered the box full of her childhood photos, neither of them had said anything. They had only watched as she sifted through them, putting some to the side, before taking a small pile to her room, but this new and bizarre behavior worried them.

  Two days later, she was still going through the photos, trying to reconcile what her eyes told her with what she knew. Raine wasn’t sure if she was going insane, but an idea had burrowed its way into her mind, and it simply would not go away.

  Because Mason Parker’s son looked far too much like her for it to be a coincidence.

  At first, she had gotten the photos out to disprove the notion. The psychologist she had seen in the aftermath of her son’s death—back when she had turned to alcohol and drugs to dull the pain—had said it was easy to start seeing things that weren’t actually there, and that she needed to think any irrational thoughts through to dispel them. So, she had come home after seeing Mason Parker’s son in the park to convince herself that she was being a fool and to find the photos to prove it.

  But the photos had only proven that there was something weird going on. Not trusting her memory, she had searched the internet until she had found a photo of Mason and his son, Oliver. Then, she had matched it with a photo of herself at around the same age.

  Part of her still felt she was being stupid. Maybe, if she showed her parents, they would tell her she was being ridiculous, that there was no resemblance. Raine didn’t even know what she hoped to discover; that there had been a huge conspiracy that had stolen her son from her?

  It wasn’t possible.

  Yet, still, two days after she saw the little boy in the park, Raine found herself staring at an advertisement. An advertisement by Mason Parker, looking for a live-in nanny for his son.

  Her hand twitched toward her phone as she eyed the contact number. It was all too tempting to call. If she did, she could get to the bottom of things and find the truth.

  Suddenly disgusted with herself, Raine slammed the laptop closed and pushed her chair away from her desk. What was she even doing?

  A soft knock on the door drew her attention, and Raine looked up. Her mother stood in the doorway; she had pasted a smile on her face, but a crease in her brow gave away her concern.

  “Are you hungry, Raine?”

  “I’m fine,” Raine said, abruptly coming to a decision as she stood and picked up her coat. “I’m just going to go for a walk.” She shrugged on the coat and grabbed a scarf.

  “Not far,” she added when her mother frowned. “I’ll only be gone for an hour. Would you like me to pick up milk on the way home?”

  Her mother’s expression cleared, relief crossing her face. Raine making plans to return with groceries meant that she was definitely coming back. Something painful twisted in Raine’s gut as she realized, yet again, the pain she had put her parents through in the early days when they weren’t often sure where Raine was or when—if—she would return.

  “And bread, please,” her mother said.

  “I’m all over it.” She paused to kiss her mother’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Stepping out of the house, Raine paused for
a moment to center herself. She didn’t know if this was the right course of action, but she needed to get these ridiculous notions out of her head before she went insane. The best place to do that was the hospital.

  The hospital was another place she had avoided for the last seven years. Even last year, when her father had broken his leg, she had avoided going there, making up for it by fussing over him when he got home. She hadn’t wanted to step foot there, not when it was the place that her baby boy had died before he had even drawn his first breath.

  Her current determination, however, kept the memories at bay. When she entered the hospital, she set her shoulders and made a beeline for the receptionist.

  “Hi, is there any chance I can speak with Dr. Joshua Monroe?”

  The receptionist glanced at Raine’s flat stomach and then blinked up at her, surprised at the request. “From Maternity?”

  “Yes,” Raine said. She faltered as a thought occurred to her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here… does he still work here?”

  “He does,” the receptionist assured her. “Look, why don’t you head on up to Maternity? I’ll let them know you’re on your way, Ms.…?”

  Maternity was the last place Raine wanted to go. Still, she gave the receptionist her name and even managed a smile before hurrying away. She had hoped the doctor would come to her, but she knew he was probably too busy to trek all the way to reception.

  The maternity floor had an unmanned desk, and Raine paused at it, unsure where else to go. She didn’t think it was a wise idea to barge through the ward, looking for a doctor who might be with another patient.

  Maybe this had been a stupid idea. After all, what was Dr. Monroe going to tell her? He was just going to tell her the same thing he had told her seven years ago; following her difficult labor—which had almost resulted in her own death—her son had been stillborn. Nothing seven years would change.