The Billionaire's Housekeeper: A Marriage of Convenience Romance for Adults Read Online Free Page A

stepped into her
cottage. She didn’t want to think of Julie or George anymore.
She sometimes had to remind herself that their lives were not her
whole life. With the day she had had, Rita just wanted to relax. She
told Jose more about herself before she had left Montreal, and Jose
vowed not to tell anyone. He also said that he would find a way to
help her if she ever needed it, and let her know that everything
would work itself out.
    She was so grateful for her friend.
She wasn’t alone in the world, but she felt alone in the
country. Jose made her feel more at home since they had met, and
Thursdays were definitely her favorite days because she knew that he
would be there at the house tending to the roses and marigolds.
    There was one more person that Rita
wanted to talk to about the day that she had. Her mother, Aurelie
Brooks. Her mother was her confidant. Aurelie was the most supportive
person in Rita’s life. They spoke at least twice a week, and
Aurelie knew about Rita’s life as if Rita was still in Montreal
with her.
    Rita picked up the little white
telephone that was on the side table in her living room. She dialed
her mother’s number and placed the phone between her ear and
her shoulder. She was fixing herself a sandwich in her little kitchen
as the phone buzzed in her ear.
    Aurelie picked up on the 4 th ring.
    “ Bonne nuit, maman,” Rita
greeted her mother.
    “ Hello my darling! ”
Rita could hear the smile in her mother’s voice. Aurelie always
sounded like Rita hadn’t spoken to her for years, even if Rita
had called once before on that very same day.
    “ How are you? What was your
day like? ”
    They always asked each other about
their days and if anything interesting happened. Rita’s mother
was an English teacher at a middle school in Montreal, so there was
always a story about some rowdy teenager, or the politics of being
one of the head teachers at the school versus the other teachers or a
member of the board of directors. Rita mostly talked about her work,
or something that Jose had told her. She was so glad to be still
close with her mother. Aurelie was the only one that Rita could
really talk to about the things she had in her head and her heart.
    “ My day…” Rita
paused to give it thought. “My day was ok.”
    “ Something’s wrong ,”
Aurelie said.
    “ Why you say that?”
    “ It’s your voice. I can
always tell when you sound upset. What happened? ”
    “ I’m not even sure,”
Rita said. She knew her mother would immediately pick up on the fact
that something had been bothering her. “It’s been a
strange day. I’ve been thinking a lot.”
    “ Don’t think too deeply
my dear. It will only have you drowning in your own thoughts .”
    Aurelie always gave the best advice.
She was right, of course. Rita had been thinking an awful lot without
even really knowing what the real situation was. It had helped to
tell Jose the truth. It had been a release for Rita, and she still
let the feeling of the beautiful day be shadowed by her fears and her
thoughts.
    She was going to have to tell her
mother, she knew. Rita would have to explain her feelings and what
caused them. The last thing she wanted to do was to have her mother
worry about her.
    “ I’ll try, Maman. Thanks
for always being here.”
    “ If only I could be there for
you in person. But I know we’ll see each other soon .”
    “ Maman…” Rita bit
her lip. She was already emotional, and a lump developed in a deep
part of her throat. She wouldn’t cry on her own, but she felt
that saying what she was about to say would break the proverbial
levies. “Do you think I’ll be able to come back from
this?”
    “ I believe so more than you
know ,” Aurelie said without skipping a beat. She knew what
Rita was talking about. A mother always knew.
    Even though she wasn’t sure she
believed it, Rita gave a sigh of relief anyway. Those were the words
she needed to hear. Her mother would always have her back and be on
her