Beautiful Rose (Elixir Billionaires #1)

44. Zander

44

ZANDER

After lunch, Beast asks for a few minutes of alone time with me while Zane offers to give Rose a tour of the house. Before closing the door to Beast’s study, I notice Zane leading her to the sunroom.

“When is the wedding?” Beast asks before taking a seat behind his desk.

I linger close to the large bookshelf, hesitating for a moment, or maybe too long, as he raises an eyebrow at me.

“Is there a problem?”

I grab my neck in frustration. I don’t even know what it is. “Nothing. Rose is just shy.”

“And?” He lights his cigar, the smell of tobacco filling the space. This is the only room in the house he’s allowed to smoke in, a rule enforced by Roxanne years back when the doctor first told him to cut down on smoking and drinking.

My mind wanders to Roxanne and Rose’s reaction to her.

“She’s having cold feet?” Beast asks.

“She has commitment issues. She didn’t have a normal childhood.”

“I know her background, Zander. Where she spent her childhood and all.” He puffs curls of smoke before going on. “ You might be the CEO of Elixir, but did you think I wouldn’t run a background check on your future wife?”

His words don’t surprise me a bit. “Then why were you embarrassing her with all those questions about her parents?” His acute curiosity about her parents has come as a surprise to me, though. It seems he’s more curious about Rose’s parents than her.

“Because that’s something my PI couldn’t find.” I read right through the questioning look he’s giving me. He wants to know how much I know about Rose’s past.

“Well, she has no clue about them. She grew up in a home, or something like a home.”

“How did she land there?”

“Someone working in the orphanage found her, just as she told you.” I try not to remember the state in which my girl was found.

Beast stares at me and takes another puff of his cigar. “Hmm.”

“Why are you so interested in her parents?”

He doesn’t reply immediately; instead, looks up to the ceiling. Then he pulls the Cuban close to his lips and exhales. “She reminds me of someone I was close with. Very close.” He looks dreamily at the rising cigar smoke.

“Your wife?” I ask gingerly.

Beast has never spoken to us about his family. But years ago, Roxanne told us that his wife walked out of this home with their daughter. It’s hard for me to comprehend why someone would leave Beast. Even now, when he’s close to sixty, his presence turns the heads of both men and women alike.

“Her eyes,” he says. “Exactly like my wife’s. Exactly like Chloe’s.” Again, he’s lost in his own world of memories.

“Your daughter?”

He nods, lighting another cigar. “You know, point one percent of the population have the OCA2 or P protein mutation.” A weak, sad smile pulls on his lips.

I’ve never seen Beast like this—lost—and I don’t think I’d like a repeat of this rare moment.

“What are the chances?” He continues. “For a second, I thought she was Chloe.”

“And?” I ask warily. Rose’s early childhood is still in question.

Could she be Beast’s daughter? My heart hammers in my chest.

“Chloe was blonde, and her features were more like mine—more German.”

I release my breath silently. Rose and Beast have no similarity in their looks.

He opens his wallet and shows me a picture of a girl around three or four years old. Dressed in a red skirt and white blouse, she looks nothing like my couch girl. Rose has a small button nose, while this girl has a long, pointed nose like Beast. But the eyes…they’re the exact same color.

“Yeah. She isn’t Rose,” I say in relief.

“Yep.” His voice is clipped as he puts the photograph back into his wallet.

“Did Roxy ever work as a nurse or at a children’s center?” I change the topic, trying to lighten the stressful environment.

“No, I don’t think so. She worked at a restaurant before joining me. Why?”

“Rose had a minor episode when she saw Roxanne. She thought she had seen her somewhere before but couldn’t remember. Zane thinks it’s probably due to the stress of this meeting.”

“Doesn’t she have a photographic memory?” Beast’s question resonates with the one in my mind.

I nod. “But before last year, Rose had never stepped foot in St. Peppers.” I shake my head, trying not to make a big deal of something that’s most likely just Rose’s nerves. “Maybe Zane’s right.”

Beast nods. “Roxanne has never lived anywhere else.” He picks up his cigar from the ashtray and takes a long drag. “Her whole family is based in St. Peppers, but I don’t think anyone is alive anymore. She inherited some land close to your father’s property.”

My father’s property. The only good memory of my childhood. It’s the house we lived in before my father passed away. A few years ago, I bought the house, along with the land where my father grew his famous rose garden for my mother. Now, the entire place has been converted into a small B&B, run by one of Beast’s ex-army friends and his wife.

Zach pokes his head through the door. “Are you two done?”

I nod as my brother struts into the room. He perches on the edge of Beast’s study table and moves around the stone paperweight and wooden pen stand, which were hand painted by Roxanne.

Beast huffs and puffs in annoyance, but Zach pays no regard, plucking a cigar from the open wooden box and lighting it up.

I raise an eyebrow at my brother. “I thought you quit smoking.”

“This isn’t smoking. This is sampling the finest Cuban.”

He winks at Beast, who covertly smiles, and if I’m not wrong, he looks proud of my little brother’s knowledge.

Beast opens the top drawer of his desk and places an unopened pack of cigars on the table. Zach lifts it up, but the pack is immediately retrieved by Beast, and Zach receives a smack to his hand. “Not for you.”

Zach shrugs, and my lips curl up at their playful banter until my brother’s attention shifts to me. “You guys set a date yet? ”

Jesus. It seems everyone except my bride is eager for the wedding.

“No. Maybe next year.” My pulse shoots at the mere thought of it. “Maybe on my birthday.” Now that’s a load of baloney, but there’s nothing wrong with being hopeful.

“You stupid prick.” Zach slides from the desk and flicks my head. “You can’t do that. Have you no understanding of the female brain?”

Fucker. I hit his hand away.

“Girls love to celebrate special days. Birthdays, proposals, engagements—all that shit.” He counts off, raising his fingers up in the air. “You want to marry Rose on your birthday so she has one less day to celebrate?” He looks annoyed while stating the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

“Are you serious? What kind of fucked-up logic is that?”

“It’s female logic.”

“He spends the most time with ladies out of any of you, Zander. Listen to what your brother says.” Beast chuckles, loving our stupidity.

“Okay,” I concede. “I’m not marrying her on my birthday.”

I hope it happens sooner than that.

We return to the foyer, and I find Rose with Zane, already waiting for us.

Beast pulls her in for a surprise hug. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” He hands her his card and places a kiss on her forehead in something like fatherly affection. “Call me anytime.”

“Thanks,” she says. My heart fills with giddiness at his warm affection to my girl, and her cheeks turn rosy pink and her eyes gleam with excitement. “It was nice to meet you too.”

“I hope to see you more,” he says, patting her cheeks like she’s his little girl.

After wishing goodbye to Beast and promising to meet Zane and Zach for dinner, we leave .

I’m walking on the clouds, my hand on Rose’s back as I guide her to the car.

Beast approves of my girl. I guess this is what heaven feels like.

I settle into the driver’s seat and pull her hands to my mouth to press open-mouthed kisses over them, making her giggle. “I’m so happy.”

“Me too. I think Beast likes me.” Her face has a hundred-watt smile.

“Of course he does. Why wouldn’t he?”

I’m now seriously wondering why I even had a doubt about it.

She’s too easy to fall in love with.