The Billionaire’s Princess
CHAPTER ONE
“The usual for you, Nico?” I asked, a smile plastered on my face as I poured his cup of coffee.
“Of course, Sophia. Please, and thank you,” the man said. “How you manage to remember my order every single time is beyond me. And it's very impressive given the fact that I only come in every few weeks.”
“Well, what can I say? Maybe it's just hard to forget a sharp dressed businessman like yourself,” I said with a wink.
Flirting with Nico – even though he was a bit older than me – was always fun. Harmless fun. Beyond knowing that he liked his eggs runny, his bacon crispy, and his toast lightly buttered, I actually knew very little about the man who came in wearing freshly pressed, expertly tailored suits and ties. Other than what he wanted for breakfast, the man was a complete mystery to me. I didn't even know his last name.
As I put in his order, I glanced up and noticed him watching me closely.
“How are your folks?” he asked. “I haven't seen your dad in here in a while.”
I cringed inwardly at the mention of my father. To be perfectly honest, things were not going well with him or my family. But that was a private, in-house matter. We weren't supposed to let anyone know what was going on behind the scenes.
“They're good,” I lied. “Everybody's good. Thanks for asking.”
“Really?” Nico asked, skepticism coloring his voice, his eyebrow raised.
“Really,” I said, smiling brightly as I turned away from him to make fresh coffee – and to avoid a gaze that seemed to see and know far too much; at least, more than I was comfortable with.
Still, even with my back turned to him, I felt Nico's eyes on me. He was watching me, studying me with those eyes that seemed to see through me. Although, I wasn't sure if he was watching me from a pure sociological perspective, or if he was just plain checking me out.
I decided that there was no way he was actually interested in me. He was, after all, almost twice my age. Even though he was very easy on the eyes, and always wore expensive-looking suits, he was always kind and respectful. He was also never demeaning or pervy with me either – which was a sharp contrast from some of the other business types who frequented the diner.
Nico was a gentleman, and was always on his best behavior, which, I appreciated.
“I don't buy it, Sophia,” he said finally.
“Buy what?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.
He looked up quickly and I saw his cheeks color slightly. Yeah, he certainly had been checking out my ass and got busted, which made my insides warm.
“That everything is fine,” he said, clearing his throat and trying to cover the fact that I'd just caught him staring at my backside. “I can tell when you're lying.”
With a sigh, I looked around and leaned forward on the counter – accidentally showing off my cleavage when I did so. Like the gentleman he was, Nico looked into my eyes – rather than at my chest – and I pitched my voice low, to be sure I wasn't overheard by anybody else.
“I'm swearing you to secrecy here, Nico,” I said. “I'm trusting you to keep this between the two of us.”
“You have my word, Sophia.”
And as I looked into his eyes, I knew I could trust him. I knew he wouldn't breathe a word of what I was about to tell him to another living soul without my say-so.
“Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how much longer the diner is going to be open ,” I said, biting my lip and keeping my voice low. “Next time you're passing through this way, it may be under new ownership. Or closed. Or turned into a McDonald's for all I know.”
“You're kidding me. Did you father sell the place?” Nico asked in a hushed voice.
Nico's dark eyes suddenly grew so very serious, a look of concern crossing his handsome features. His gaze filled with a compassion I wasn't expecting. After all, this was just a diner he stopped by once every couple of weeks. And if we closed up shop, I knew he could get his fix of morning grease and coffee anywhere else without a problem.
But he looked genuinely concerned, and as he looked at me, I couldn't help but stare into his eyes.
“Not exactly,” I said, straightening up, looking around again.
I knew I shouldn't be talking about our personal family business out in the open with just anyone – but Nico was always so nice and willing to listen. It was hard not to open up to him. And I knew I could trust him, that he wouldn't betray my confidence.
“More like we're losing it,” I said.
“Is that so?” he asked.
“Mmmhmm, sadly so,” I said, fighting back the emotion that welled up within me as I admitted it.
I didn't tell him why were on the verge of losing the diner. I didn't tell him about my father's gambling debt – that wasn't necessary and he didn't need to know that. Sunny Side Up Diner had been in my family for several generations. Growing up, it had always been my dream to own this little diner in the middle of the central valley. I used to think about all of the things I would do to put my own stamp on it – but also everything I'd leave exactly the same to honor the family tradition. I knew I could turn the diner into something bigger and better than it already was.
But that was apparently not to be. My dreams were going to remain just that – dreams. We were completely and utterly broke, and I honestly wasn't sure what would happen to any of us. Not that any of this was Nico's problem. I didn't want to bore him with our personal family struggles. Nor did I want to tell him that story – I feared that he might see me differently, or think of me as something lesser. And even though I might never see him again once we closed up shop, that was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to remember the way he looked at me, and the genuine kindness he'd always treated me with.
I left Nico to run back to the pass-through window to grab his food. We didn't serve up fancy dinner fare or anything, we specialized in just your basics, but we did that very well, and had for several generations. It was a fact the vast amount of people stopping in as they traveled between L.A and San Francisco regularly could testify to.
Eggs, bacon, toast, a side of pancakes, biscuits and gravy, all made from scratch with ingredients we got from the local farms. What made it special was that the meals we served up were made with recipes dating back to my great grandmother's day. She’d used ingredients and seasonings that weren't very common, and of course, the freshness couldn't be beat. That combination helped us serve up meals that really were mouth-watering.
Sunny Side Up was truly something special, and it had been for a long time. But soon enough, it would be gone.
Generations of hard, loving work flushed down the toilet because of my father. He had a sickness – an addiction he couldn't get under control. What made it even worse was the fact that he didn't ever seem to really try.
I left Nico alone to enjoy his food and spare him anymore of my sob story, but as I handed him his check, he grabbed my hand before I could pull it away. When most guys tried to pull that with me, they got a slap across the face. But I could tell that Nico wasn't trying to be forward or creepy – he was just trying to get me to look at him.
As I looked into his eyes, all I could think about was how damn handsome he was – even for a man twice my age. There was some graying around his temples, but it only added to his appeal, made him look even more distinguished and accomplished.
“When will your father be in?” he asked me.
“Oh, he's in the back, actually,” I said. “He's the one cooking today. Want me to grab him for you?”
“Yes, please,” Nico said, letting go of my hand. “I'd love to have a word with him, if you don't mind.”
I had no idea what Nico would want to talk to my father about, I just hoped it wasn't about what I'd told him. My dad had hardly anything to do with the customers, and honestly, it was better that way. He stayed in the back, in front of the grill, where he was happiest. A surge of adrenaline shot through me when I poked my head into the kitchen and saw him standing there in front of the grill, listening to his talk radio, idly scraping the hot surface.
“A customer wants to speak with you, Dad.”
My father looked up as if waking from a trance. When his eyes settled on me, he looked taken aback. Or maybe just put out.
“Can't you handle it?” he grumbled.
“He specifically asked for you,” I said. “I don't know what he wants.”
My dad wasn't the most pleasant man around. In fact, most days, he wasn't fit for human interaction. He sighed as he tossed his spatula down and wiped his hands on his apron. He followed me through the door into the dining room, not saying a word the entire time.
There was a reason I worked the front of the diner and he remained in the back. My father wasn't very good with people – which might have been the understatement of the century. He was grumpy and irritable on a good day. Now, thanks to all of the pressure and stress he was under, it had only gotten worse., much worse. But, he'd brought it all upon himself.
We were all being made to suffer for his poor decisions. So, if anybody had a right to be upset and angry, it was me, and yet here I was every day with a damn smile on my face.
“Yes?” he said without so much as a greeting, simply standing in front of Nico with a scowl on his face. “My daughter said you wanted to talk to me.”
“There is a rumor going around that you're losing the place,” Nico said.
A shot of fear lanced through my heart, along with a little bit of anger at Nico for betraying my confidence when he'd sworn not to. My dad looked over at me and I shrugged, trying to act innocent.
“I want to help,” Nico said.
My dad scoffed. “Help? How could you possibly help me? And, why would you?”
“I have a proposition for you,” he said.
Just then, another group of customers walked through the front door and I needed to run over and seat them. Grabbing a stack of menus from beneath the counter, I turned to walk away from Nico and my father, but he called me back.
“Sophia, you will need to listen to this as well,” he said.
I looked at my father who seemed as confused as I was. “I'll be right back,” I said. “I just need to seat this family.”
Nico nodded and off I went, curious as to what he wanted to offer us and how it would affect me. I knew Nico was a businessman, successful in whatever he did. But I had no idea what he did. Could he be interested in buying the diner. He didn't seem to be the diner-owner type; more like a banker or CEO.
“Hey there,” I said, greeting the new customers with a smile. “How are you doing today? Follow me and I'll get you seated.”
As I walked by them with my group, I could hear my dad and Nico talking in hushed whispers, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I got the customers seated, but wasn't really paying any attention to them. I was so focused on what Nico and my father were doing, that I didn't even hear what my customers were saying.
I handed them their menus – more like, tossed them on the table – and rushed back over to the counter.
“Yes, we will do it,” my father said.
“Well, I'd like to hear from Sophia first, if you don't mind –” Nico said.
“She will do whatever it takes for this family,” my father said. “Won't you, sweetheart?”
I looked over at Nico who smiled at me, but I still had no idea what I was agreeing to. I also couldn't let my family down, especially if it meant keeping the diner open and operating.
“Of course, I'll do anything for the family,” I said, watching both men carefully.
“Good,” my dad said, clapping his hands together happily. “Go home, Sophia, and pack, please. You're going to be leaving shortly.”
“Leaving?” I asked, fear shooting through me. “Where am I going?”
Nico turned around to face me and said, “If you are willing, I would like to take you on a vacation. No strings attached, I give you my word. It will be just you and me on a tropical island. We can have dinner, drinks, some adventures,” he said. “In exchange for your time, I will give your father the money he needs to keep the diner.”
My mouth fell open and practically landed on the floor. I looked from my father to Nico and back again, feeling the waves of shock rolling over me. How could my father so willingly sell me to this man? Even temporarily? He was basically pimping out his daughter to save the diner – and he didn't seem to give a damn about it.
He certainly didn't know the first thing about Nico. Yeah, he'd always been nice and kind, but for all we knew, he had a stack of bodies in his garage at home.
“But how? Why?” I asked. “Do you even have that kind of money?”
“I happen to have a lot of money, Sophia,” Nico said with a chuckle. “I'm a real estate developer in San Francisco, and let's just say I do okay for myself. I can help your family and give you the kind of vacation I bet you've never had all at the same time.”
“I have to sit down,” I said. My legs felt weak, so I took a seat beside Nico at the counter, still trying to process what was happening. “Will I have to, you know –”
“No, of course not,” Nico said, quickly. “You will not have to do anything but enjoy your time with me. I'm tired of traveling alone, and think you'd make for great company. I've certainly always enjoyed our conversations here at the diner and we seem to share a similar sense of humor and range of interests. I'm simply looking for a traveling companion. That's all, Sophia. I promise you. You're not a prostitute and I don't intend to treat you like one.”
It all sounded too good to be true, and I was concerned that maybe Nico wasn't telling me the entire truth. But my father was smiling, happy that he found a way to pay off his gambling debt and keep the diner open. But at what cost to me?
“Does that sound fair to you, Sophia?” Nico looked at me with a serious expression on his face. “Because if not, I can –”
“No, it's fine,” I muttered. “It sounds good. I will run home and get my things.”
I stood up, my legs trembling, still in shock, and then I remembered the family I'd just seated. They stared at me, clearly annoyed. Turning back to my father, I looked at him helplessly.
“I have to help them –”
“I got them, sweetheart,” my dad said, smiling more than I'd seen him smile in years. “Just go home and get ready for your trip.”
My heart sunk. My father was really doing this. He was selling me to a stranger to atone for his mistakes. What if Nico was a rapist or kidnapped me? What if he locked me in a dungeon somewhere and never brought me back home? Would my dad even care? From the look on his face, he seemed pleased, happy, even. The fact that he'd just sold me to a complete stranger didn't even seem to be a blip on his personal radar.
I couldn't wrap my head around any of this. Was it a dream? Or was it perhaps, a nightmare in the making?
No, it was happening, and I had to hurry and pack up my life, hoping that maybe I'd return one day. Hoping that maybe, I wouldn't end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Hoping that Nico was really the nice guy he seemed to be because I was literally putting my life in his hands.