The Billionaire's Housekeeper (Betsy Jones Book 1) - Unedited

The Billionaire's Housekeeper - Chapter 29

The house didn't feel like home. It was the first thought that filtered through Nick's head as he stepped through the front door. The walls were the same. The furniture was the same. Nothing had changed. And yet it had all changed. Ever since he had confessed to Betsy, only a few painfully short days before, something had shifted in the very atmosphere of the house. It was as if a switch had flipped and suddenly it felt like it had before Betsy had arrived. It was now a place where he and his children lived but it didn't feel like home.

She hadn't left the day after his revelation. He had almost expected her to be gone in the morning, but she was still in his home days later. When he had come down in the morning to see her standing in  his kitchen, making coffee as she did every morning, he had released a breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding. The gesture was repeated morning after morning as he walked down the stairs, expecting to enter the kitchen one day without her there. He wouldn't blame her. And yet the very thought of her not being there in the morning was a painful reminder of how much he had come to enjoy her presence in his home.

And yet, even though she still stood in his kitchen every morning, making the same coffee as she had before, everything was different. A wall had gone up between them. One that seemed impossible to breach no matter how high he tried to climb.

Clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides, Nick drew in a steadying breath. Time. He had to give her time. It was just so damned difficult to do that.

Setting his briefcase down in the hall, he slipped out of his shoes. Rolling his head on his neck to release the tired muscles, Nick sighed, removing his jacket as he did so.

The television was on in the lounge, the muted chatter of the presenters reaching his ears. Betsy would be in there. But, no matter how much to, he couldn't go in there and snuggle with Betsy on the sofa. He wouldn't be welcome. He had helped her notify her family about the potential media storm to come, to put them in touch with his PR team to prepare them for the attention they may receive. Nick had his security team put together another copy of the file as she had requested. Now it was just a waiting game. And yet the guilt was overwhelming. He had to make it up to her somehow. He was trying.

It wasn't enough.

Running a hand down his face, weariness clinging to every part of his body, Nick walked past the open doorway and kept on going. Maybe he was punishing himself. He could easily go and sit with Betsy, to be in her presence and not acknowledge the chasm between them. It just felt wrong to do it without her invitation.

Nick's stomach twisted uncomfortably, his footsteps faltering. His heart felt as if something had clamped around the organ, clenching tighter every time he thought about Betsy no longer being there. How empty his life would feel without her there to bring her warmth.

It should have been a good day. He should have been celebrating with the Giannopoulos family as the merger was done. Signed, sealed, and ready to be announced to the world. The future of his children had been secured. It was what he had been working on for so long, the plans he had spent years putting into fruition. And yet, when he should have felt success at his achievement, Nick only felt a hollow barely-noticeable flicker of pride. His father hadn't managed anything like this during his lifetime.

He didn't feel like celebrating.

"Nick, is that you?"

Nick's eyes fluttered shut as her voice washed over him. He knew that voice so well. Loved the sound as it filled up his very soul.

"Yes, it's me. Do you need anything?" Nick asked, unable to turn around. He knew if he looked at her he would not be able to resist pulling her into his arms. From pulling her close, so close that her petite body was sheltered against his. Nick wanted to pull her close so he could feel her heart beating through the layers of clothing between them.