Her Billionaire Secret Romance Read online

  Her Billionaire Secret Romance

  Dana Rae Summers

  Sophia Summers

  Contents

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

  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

  Epilogue

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

  Read all books by Sophia Summers

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  Her Love and Marriage Brides Series

  The Bride’s Secret

  The Bride’s Cowboy

  The Bride’s Billionaire

  Read all the books in The Swoony Sports Romances

  Hitching the Pitcher

  Falling for Centerfield

  Charming the Shortstop

  Snatching the Catcher

  Flirting with First

  Kissing on Third

  Her Billionaire Royals Series:

  The Heir

  The Crown

  The Duke

  The Duke’s Brother

  The Prince

  The American

  The Spy

  The Princess

  Her Billionaire Cowboys Series:

  Her Billionaire Cowboy

  Her Billionaire Protector

  Her Billionaire in Hiding

  Her Billionaire Christmas Secret

  Her Billionaire to Remember

  Her Single Holiday Romances

  Taming Scrooge

  Chapter 1

  Eliza’s coach gave her a leg up into the saddle of her mare, Tandy, a beautiful chestnut thoroughbred. The horse pranced in place, lifting one foot then the other. Eliza opened and closed her gloved hands trying to breathe slowly. But her heart raced. A first race for horse and rider had them full of nervous energy. “We got this. It’s just the locals.” She leaned forward on Tandy and patted her shoulder.

  Dee moved to their front and rested a hand on Eliza’z tall black boot. “Actually, I just got word that the Harringtons entered the race after all.”

  Eliza tried to swallow but couldn’t.

  “Breathe.” Dee shifted, ready to help her slide off the horse. “Breathe, Eliza.”

  She gasped in a throat slicing breath and coughed out, “Why?” She had practiced with Tandy for weeks. She’d been told they weren’t entering. What was it with those people?

  Her riding coach, Dee Laskin, held the reins. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t look like there’s any real competition from the locals, so it’s a race between your two families. I know they said they were pulling out, but this happens every year—no need to be nervous.” That was easy for him to say. Her entire family expected her to bring home the trophy this year. And now that the Harringtons were also racing, they would be adamant about it.

  “Who’s riding for them?”

  “They have Charles riding Sparks.” Dee checked the saddle straps. What a way to ruin her spring break. She had studies and lessons and had hoped to get in some pleasure reading. Instead, she was here, worrying about another competition with the Harringtons.

  “I can’t believe I let my parents talk me into this.”

  Her coach seemed confident. “You’ll be fine. And Tandy will do just fine against Sparks.”

  Eliza didn’t know much about the Harrington horses. ”Is Tandy faster?”

  Eliza’s family and the Harringtons competed over everything. Whose stock was rated higher, whose wife was more accomplished, whose children graduated summa cum laude, or who had the largest European villas. The list was endless. Even though she thought this feud was something out of the dark ages, that wasn’t how her family felt about it. Now that Charles was racing, winning took on a whole new level of importance.

  “It’s hard to say who’s faster,” her coach replied. “It depends on how the horses decide to run today.”

  Charles Harrington was waiting impatiently for the race to begin as Eliza’s coach led Tandy out to the starting line.

  “Good grief, he is tall.” And handsome. “How old is he?”

  Dee looked up at her and smiled. “He’s a junior in college, just a year older than you.” He gave her boot a pat and walked off the track.

  Charles looked over as her horse was led to its position and scoffed with a twinkle in his eye. “Was counting on a little more competition, gonna be honest.” He looked around at the other riders, all lined up and ready to go. “I was hoping at least the Stantons would put up someone challenging, out of high school even.” His gaze travelled from her boots to the top of her helmet and her irritation rose with it.

  Liza thought that was totally unnecessary. “Well, I don’t see anything on your horse worthy of emulation.” Her desire to win increased significantly.

  Charles looked over at her and chuckled. “That was a good one.” He tipped his hat to her. “But it would be more gratifying to win, if my competition could legally drive a car.”

  Why did it matter if she was short? She couldn’t think of anything else to say, which aggravated her. So she rolled her eyes and focused on the track. She would probably come up with ten appropriate responses later today.

  She leaned forward. The world went quiet, and she waited. The starting gun fired, and her horse bolted out to the front, gaining speed as she galloped toward the first turn. Liza was thrilled to be in the lead and hoped no one could tell she was holding on for dear life.

  Charles was right behind her. She could see him gaining on her over her left shoulder. He gave her a victorious smile as he passed. Her dislike for him spiked higher the further ahead he rode. She leaned forward and yelled to Tandy. ”Go, girl!” Tandy shot forward, gaining on Sparks. They were galloping neck and neck around the third turn of the track as Tandy took the lead.

  Then her vision clouded, spots fired at the edge of her eyesight and the world started to go grey. Eliza started to slip off to the side. Her grip on Tandy loosened, and the horse immediately slowed to a stop, prancing in place. Eliza gasped. As air filled her lungs, her mind cleared and she realized she’d been holding her breath. She tried to either scoot back upright on her saddle or get off of her horse, but her foot caught in the stirrup, and she fell face first to the ground.

  “Ugh, that hurt.” She rolled over, pushing her long, thick auburn hair off of her face with her dirty hands so she could breathe. Her eyes were watering as she tried to get the dirt out of them.

  Charles ran over. He kneeled down and took her hand. “Eliza, are you okay?”

  She opened her eyes, looked up at Charles and frowned. “I really don’t like you.” She spit a clod of dirt out of her mouth, landing on his knee.

  Charles started to laugh. “I’m sorry, it looks like you are literally eating my dust.”

  “I was ahead of you when I fell.” Eliza tried to be indignant, but she couldn’t help imagining what she looked like. She started to laugh. Good grief it must be the stress of this accident.

  Charles stepped away, and her parents arrived and knelt down by her side. Rachael Harrington was a physician, and she took over her care, under skeptic looks from Eliza’s parents.

  Eliza started choking and coughing, with tears running down her face, as she continued to laugh. This is deplorable, I must look mentally deranged.

  Rachael turned to Eliza’s mom. “Anna, could you help me take this j
acket off when I lift her?”

  Liza tried to talk as her mother helped her take off the jacket, but she continued to cough. Rachael checked her for injuries.

  She gasped and cleared her throat. “I think I was holding my breath.”

  Rachael Harrington smiled. “That would explain what happened. Just a little too exciting for you.” She patted her arm. “I did that myself the first year I entered this race, but fortunately I didn’t fall off of my horse.”

  Rachael Harrington was well known as an excellent physician and was the department chair of pediatrics at the medical school. She was well into her thirties and had no intention of getting married. Liza had heard the story listening in on her parents’ conversations. The Harringtons had wanted her to marry into a well desired family. She’d refused and went to medical school instead.

  Once, while growing up in their lovely estate, Eliza had overheard a conversation about Rachael—she’d learned early that if she wanted to know what was going on, she had to use clandestine methods. Eliza’s father had said they couldn’t understand her motives. Rachael was to inherit a fortune and certainly did not need employment. Eliza’s mother said that she had told them she wanted to do something important with her life and that helping children gave her the greatest joy. Her older brother added that she had had a few boyfriends over the years but she’d always felt her fortune was the main draw when it came to the men who pursued her.

  Although her family had been deriding Rachael, it had only made Eliza admire her even more. “Thank you, Dr. Harrington, I will try to remember to breathe next time.”

  The doctor laughed and helped her up. “You can go home now, Eliza. You’re just having a little reaction to the shock of falling.”

  “So I’m not going mental?” I am so embarrassed. Thank heavens there aren’t many people standing here. So embarrassed about her deranged laughter, she looked over to see Charles walking away. What he’d said was funny but not hysterically so. He probably couldn’t walk away fast enough. Eliza smirked as she brushed dirt off of her clothing. Too bad, cause he was handsome, even if he was a Harrington.

  Looking at Rachael’s example, Eliza felt hopeful that she’d be able to fight against the parental pressures to marry the “right person.” Times were changing, and Eliza wanted to marry for love like all of the heroines in the books she read. She often daydreamed of just how it would be. She would be traveling in an exotic area and find herself in distress. Just in the nick of time, a strong, dashing man would arrive and save her. One look into his dreamy eyes, and she would know he was the one. They would ride off into the sunset together.

  All of her favorite novels contained horses and Western country living. Her very prim and proper life on the Upper East Coast was stifling. The freedom of the West and the open country appealed to her greatly. Not just because there was open country but because the culture there had freed itself from the stifling East Coast mores. It was one of the reasons she loved the horsing community where she lived.

  Her father, Harold, took her arm and helped her walk back to the stables. She looked over to see Charles sitting on the white board fencing around the track. He looked away.

  Eliza scowled; he was too pompous for his own good. The challenge of knocking him off of his self-built pedestal was one she couldn’t resist. “Dad, do you think Charles will be riding in this race next year?” She was starting to think there was something to this family feud.

  “Probably. He is the youngest in their family like you. Why do you ask?”

  “Because I’ve decided I am going to beat him!”

  Her father laughed and put his arm around her.

  “Then he doesn’t have a chance, Lizzy.” They walked into the stables, where they found Tandy being led into the horse trailer. Eliza got into the limo with her family and watched Tandy stomp and whinny with her head out the trailer window. Her father handed her jacket to her mother.

  “Tandy looks frustrated, Dad.”

  “I think everyone is frustrated today, Lizzy.”

  Eliza loved her father. He was fun and always seemed to find the humor in a situation. He even joked about the feud with the Harringtons, which was saying something.

  Her mother, Anna, leaned over and touched her arm. “Eliza, I’m so glad you’re okay. You could have been seriously injured.” She patted her arm and sat back.

  “Before today, I was annoyed that anytime the Harringtons enter the race it turns into a feudal war,” Eliza complained. “But now I’m all in. I’m going to practice more, and I want Coach Laskin to come over to the school stables regularly to help me train with Tandy.”

  Anna looked over at her dad and raised her eyebrows. He chuckled and winked at his wife. ”I think we have a little competitor with us.”

  Eliza leaned forward. “It’s not because of the dumb feud. I just want to beat Charles and wipe that snide smile off of his face.” She sat back in a huff.

  “Well, Lizzy, that’s how it all starts.” Her father laughed and patted her hand.

  Eliza rode home determined more than ever to win next year. She laid her head back on the seat and closed her eyes as she relived the race. She could see Charles’s face as he leaned down, trying to help her after her fall. Those eyes did not look so smug then. She must have looked a fright, with dirt all over her face. She could tell he’d been trying not to laugh—until she’d spit out a mouthful of dirt. His eyes were compassionate until then, even a bit romantic. How could that be?

  As they drove through the gate of their estate, Lizzy waved at Oscar, the gate guard. The whole estate had been planted years ago with beautiful, stately red maple trees that now towered over the walls of the estate. In spite of late snowfall, Eliza always knew spring was here when the leaf buds started to open. But it was in the fall that the real glory of the trees shone forth. The leaves turned yellow-orange and then dark red—almost burgundy. They gave their last burst of beauty before the winter snows covered them again in white.

  She sighed. “I just love it here, Mom. I miss it so much when I am at school.”

  “Well, your school is only an hour away.” Her mom smiled at her. “You can be here as much as you want.”

  “I know. I may come more often just to train with Tandy.”

  Eliza thought back to all the fun Oscar had provided as she was growing up. It was Oscar who had helped her make a little tree fort in one of the large maple trees. He was clever; from the ground you could not see the treehouse at all. Little steps had been attached to the tree trunk, and she had easily climbed up to a spot in the tree where the main branches spread out, leaving a nice area for the fort. She’d used his electric screwdriver to attach the planks onto the frame Oscar had built. She was sure he later went up and secured her efforts.

  He made a nice railing and even attached a large golf umbrella that she could open if it started to rain. The fort was really only big enough for one person, and that was perfect in Eliza’s mind. She hauled up some large patio pillows and created a comfy, secret getaway. It was there she remembered reading the Nancy Drew mysteries and later the Magic Tree House series. Roald Dahl and Beverly Cleary were favorites too.

  As a little girl, her mother often suggested she invite friends over to play. “You spend too much time reading,” she would add. “Lizzy, wouldn’t you like to have Eleanor over to play?”

  Eleanor was not her idea of a fun playmate. Eliza was not into playing with dolls, although she had many, and she did put them to bed carefully each night when she was younger. It just seemed like all the fun play was outside, and she preferred to be outside as much as possible.

  One day when she was twelve, her mom had said, “Lizzy, you’re older now, and you don’t want to be a tomboy.” Why not? was Lizzy’s firmly held position. If being a tomboy meant you climbed trees and played outside a lot, she was all for it. As the only girl in a family full of older brothers, reading became a happy pastime for her. And her parents, in time, came to accept that she loved to read. The
y liked that better than all those “Tomboy” activities they took a dim view of. So reading and horsemanship became her main activities outside of school and lessons.

  The estate comprised 20 acres, all of it surrounded by the twelve-foot-high stone wall. The main house had two wings—each complete, standalone homes. They used the west wing for her grandparents, and the east wing had a large indoor pool enclosed with glass sliding doors that opened electronically to a covered outdoor patio. Eliza loved that pool. There was even a slide from one of the upstairs bedrooms into the pool.

  “Anna, how’s your plan coming for the mountain biking trail?” Her father always made a point of supporting her mother in whatever she was doing.

  “I have to have another benefit to finance the trail this next month.” Eliza was proud of her mom. She was a kind and beautiful woman. She kept herself busy with charitable causes, but she particularly enjoyed the nature preserve her family had donated to the state. She organized trail-building projects, and currently they were building a mountain biking path in the more rugged area. It was 1000 acres of beautiful country. The Stanton family did a benefit each year to finance the maintenance of the land, and Anna was always in charge.

  The driver pulled up to the front portico, and Eliza got out and walked over to the stables to talk with Tandy. She was just being led into her stall. “Hey, Jake, how does she look?”

  “I think she is frustrated. She didn’t get to finish her race. But she’s a good horse to stop when she knows something isn’t right.” Jake took off the bridle and brushed her down.

  Eliza walked into the stall and patted Tandy’s neck. Tandy was snorting and acting peeved. “I’m so sorry, Tandy.” She reached her hand out to pet the soft fur around the horse’s nose. Tandy was born in their stables. Originally she was going to be her brother’s horse, but he never spent enough time with her. And since Eliza was out there with her every single day, brushing her and reading to her in her stall, Tandy was eventually given to Eliza. “Thank you. We will do better next time.”