The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

That was when he noticed something. He was too sad to look out at the cottage at first, but as his eyes scoped the grounds he noticed something.

He wasn’t sure, but it looked like there was a light coming from one of the rooms in the cottage.

Rita!

George shot out of his chair, nearly tripping over himself and ran out of the studio and down the stairs. He moved towards the side of the house and to the lanai. He paused only for a moment to look up at the sky, but nothing was going to keep him away; not Julie, not the paparazzi, and certainly not something as silly as the rain.

George stepped off the lanai and out into the garden. He kicked off his shoes and took off his socks and then broke out into a run. If there was a chance, he was going to take it.

He ran across the gardens, closer and closer to the little cottage. Now that he was closer, he could see that the door was left ajar. That meant that she must have still been there!

“Rita!” he called out into the rain, but there was no way that she could hear him through all of it. He got to the porch and reached out to open the front door. His lungs ached and his legs burned from the running, but he didn’t care. He needed to see her. He needed to make things right.

George opened the door and staggered inside of the cottage. His mind was racing with all of the things he wanted to say to her when he saw her. But there she was. Rita was standing in the living room. She was holding a pile of folded clothes, and all she could do was stare at George.

His mind drew a blank. All he could do was think about how beautiful she looked. He wanted to hold her, but he knew that she wouldn’t want that. He closed the door behind him, and they stared at each other for a while.

Neither of them knew what the other was thinking. Neither of them wanted to speak first. There was so much to say between them that it almost felt like the walls were closing in on them. The only sound was the rain pouring outside, but the cabin was so quiet inside that Rita could hear George’s heavy breathing clearly.

“What are you doing here?” Rita’s voice was weak but defiant. She didn’t take her eyes off of him. George pushed a clump of wet hair back and breathed deeply a few times before getting ready to speak.

“Please, don’t go,” George said. His voice was pleading, but Rita couldn’t tell if it was because he was cold and tired from running in the rain, or if it could have been something else.

“I think I have to,” Rita said. She finally looked down at the pile of clothes in her hands as if seeing them for the first time. She didn’t have much more to pack, and the driver was waiting to take her to the airport in a few hours. “I spoke to my mother already. She’s expecting me.”

“I’ll bring her,” George said brightly, as if now there were a glimmer of hope. “Whatever I have to do, whatever it takes Rita, I’ll do it.”

“You don’t have to do that. Using your money is the last thing I want to do. I just wanted to grow with you George,” a lump formed in Rita’s throat.

“It’s not like that. I just thought it would be better to grow as much as I can for myself before trying anything with someone new.”

She looked skeptically at him. Just a few weeks ago he hadn’t been sure about her. He didn’t know if this was something that he could venture into because of his past. Julie was still very much in the picture, and she probably wouldn’t go away until she had drained George of all the money that he owed her.

“What about Julie?”

“What about Julie?” he echoed with an exasperated sigh. “If you want to know, I talked to her. I told her the truth about everything. I told her there was never an affair, and I was doing what I could to help you.”

“Oh,” Rita said.

“I also told her that I was falling madly in love with you. Our marriage isn’t a sham, Rita. I want to do anything I can to make it work with you,” George was talking so fast now that Rita could barely keep up. It was unlike him to be so nervous, but it had been a long time since he’d really bared his soul to anyone.

“But we come from two different worlds, George. I’ll never be a socialite or a debutante…”

“And who says you have to be? I didn’t fall for a debutante, I fell for you. We came from two different worlds, but something brought us together and we’ve made our own world from it. It’s a world I’ve never known before, and I’d like to spend as much of my life exploring that new world with you.”

Rita didn’t realize she was crying until a sob escaped her lips. She put the pile of laundry down on the armchair nearest her and began to wipe her eyes.

George took long strides towards her, taking out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and handing it to her. Rita laughed. It was soaking wet.

“It’s good to hear you laugh,” George said. He gently lifted her face so that she could meet his gaze.

“You really want to make this work?” Rita asked. Her expression had turned serious once again, and her eyes danced, trying to catch even the slightest change in his expression. George nodded and offered her a warm smile. He shivered just then.

Rita moved her hands onto his wet shirt and helped him remove his wet jacket.

“Let’s get you out of those wet clothes,” she said. She took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom inside of the little cottage.

Once they reached the bedroom, George spun Rita around to face him and drew her closer. She didn’t care that her blouse was getting soaked. He still felt warm pressed up against her. George lowered his face and kissed Rita softly on her cheek. The blood rushed to her face, and she felt like she was on fire being so close to him.

She held his face with her hands and rubbed her thumb against his rugged cheek. Rita tiptoed and kissed George. It didn’t scare her anymore. This felt right. This is where she wanted to be, and this is who she wanted to be with.

“Will you stay with me, Rita?” George whispered into her ear, planting soft kisses about her face.

“On one condition,” Rita giggled. George pulled away and looked into her eyes.

“Anything I can do, I’ll do it.”

Rita kissed him again. She felt more at home in his arms than anywhere else on earth.

“As long as we get to explore the world we created together more often,” she said. She raised an eyebrow and flashed him a seductive smile.

“Anything I can do for you, I’ll do it,” he said again. The two of them curled up in each other’s arms, neither one wanting to let go.

The end.