Goldilock's Misunderstood Billionaire Read online

  Goldilock’s Misunderstood

  Billionaire

  A Middleton Prep Romance

  By Laura Ann

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  GOLDILOCK'S MISUNDERSTOOD BILLIONAIRE

  First edition. January 29, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Laura Ann.

  Written by Laura Ann.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  FREE GIFT

  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

  CHAPTER 15

  EPILOGUE | 5 YEARS LATER

  AUTHOR NOTES

  The Gruffman Brothers

  SERIES ORDER

  Keep Reading for a Peak at Middleton Prep #1 | “The Librarian and Her Beast”

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  KEEP READING

  DEDICATION

  To my running partner, Jen.

  Your patience to listen to my ideas

  and put up with my slow trodding

  is amazing. Thank you for being such

  a wonderful friend.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As always, thank you to Victorine and her sister

  for the beautiful cover. I love them all.

  FREE GIFT

  Come join my reading family and receive a FREE copy

  of “A Home for the Ugly Duckling”, the love

  story that started the whole Middleton Prep series.

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  CHAPTER 1

  Goldie did her best to ignore the fact that the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. She did her best to ignore her heart attempting to pound right out of her ribcage. She did her best to ignore the fact that her tight chest was trying to keep her from breathing normally. In general, she was doing her best to ignore him.

  As she walked around Snow and Quentin’s engagement party, she smiled, laughed and flirted at all the right moments, all the while pretending that the man in the corner wasn’t affecting her. Tall, dark and handsome as Finley Gruffman might be, Goldie could spot a fake when she saw one.

  Moments ago when he had sidled up to her, oozing his flirtatious charm she had been caught off guard. His stunning good looks made it difficult to notice the insincerity that shown through his eyes. But after snapping out of her stupor, Goldie had done the only thing she could think of. She had walked away.

  And now he’s sitting, brooding in the corner like some spoiled child. Ha! Probably hasn’t ever had a woman not fall at his feet. Goldie lifted her glass to her lips with a smile and laughed at what the gentleman in front of her was saying, but her mind wasn’t on his anecdote. Her mind was on the shark in the corner. Hmm... yes, a shark. That’s the perfect description for him. Dark, dangerous, and gives you very little warning before he strikes.

  Blinking out of her mental wanderings, Goldie realized the man she had been talking to had gone silent. Oops! Looking at him, he appeared to be waiting for her to give him some kind of answer. Shoot. She mentally cursed the predator in the corner who was keeping her mind in places it shouldn’t be.

  “I’m sorry. I seem to have lost track of what we were talking about.” Goldie smiled wide and batted her lashes, hoping to charm him out of being agitated with her.

  The man blinked and smiled. “It’s all right. I went on too long as it was. It’s no wonder your mind wandered.”

  “Oh, no, no, no,” Goldie assured him, resting her hand on his arm. “It wasn’t that at all., uh...” she wracked her brain for his name, “Travis. I’m afraid this party just has been a bit overwhelming for me.” She looked around at the lavish house and decorations before looking back at her companion. “I’m not used to all this. I mean, everything is so... uh, fancy.” There. That’s a better word than rich. “It takes my breath and my attention, clean away.”

  Travis smiled and patted her hand on his arm. “Yeah. It’s quite something isn’t it?” He leaned closer. “If you like this, you should come see my house sometime.” His eyebrow raised suggestively.

  Goldie’s eyes widened, and she jerked back her hand. “Uh, thanks. That sounds nice, but I’m awfully busy this time of year. I’m a teacher, you know.”

  He nodded and straightened.

  Shoot. I didn’t mean to give him the wrong impression. Glad he took the hint.

  “Some other time then, huh?” He asked casually, his hands stuffed in the front pockets of his suit pants.

  “Sure,” Goldie said kindly. “Oh! I see someone I work with, I should go say ‘hi’.” Goldie smiled and began walking quickly toward Mrs. Merryweather, one of the secretaries at the school Goldie taught art at.

  If there was a little more hip swing in her walk, Goldie couldn’t seem to help it. She could still feel Finley’s eyes on her and the little devil inside couldn’t help but try to mess with him. Someone has to teach that man a lesson in humility. Might as well be me. Her lips curled into a smug grin.

  “Oh, hello, dear!” Mrs. Merryweather gave Goldie a hug as she approached.

  “Hi, Mrs. Merryweather! How are you doing this evening?”

  “Oh, wonderful,” she said with a smile. “I love these things. Everyone seems to be finding love and soon our school won’t have any single people left!”

  Goldie chuckled. “Oh, there’s still a few of us. And some of us don’t even mind the single status.”

  Mrs. Merryweather cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “Not for long, dearie. Not for long.” Her eyes flicked behind Goldie’s shoulder and back. She patted Goldie’s shoulder, which was only slightly higher than her own. “Just don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

  “Wait, what?” Goldie frowned as she watched the woman shuffle away. “O-kay.” Goldie shook her head. And everyone thinks I’m flaky sometimes. She glanced at her watch. Sheesh. I’ve been chatting for hours. My brothers are going to kill me. Glancing around, Goldie noticed the size of the crowd had diminished by about half. Right “Time to head out,” she muttered quietly.

  Despite the fact that it took a couple of minutes to find the front door, it took only moments for the butler to retrieve her coat. “Thank you... I’m sorry. How rude of me. What was your name?” Goldie smiled and raised her eyebrows.

  The stern look on the butler’s face never changed. “Watson, madam.”

  Goldie laughed lightly. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about the madam stuff. I’m just me. Nice to meet you, Watson,” she put out a hand.

  The butler stilled as he looked at her hand and back at her.

  Goldie kept her grin on her face, determined not to take offense at his hesitation.

  Slowly, Watson raised his hand and shook. “Nice to meet you as well, ma’am.”

  Goldie shook her head. “Seriously, I’m just Goldie. Thank you for getting my coat, I really appreciate it.”

  His lip twitched.

  Ah ha! I knew there was some emotion in there somewhere.

  Watson opened the door and Goldie gave another wave before stepping into the chilled air. Sheesh. Isn’t spring supposed to be warmer than winter?


  “Can I walk you to your car?”

  Goldie spun and nearly fell over.

  The man from earlier lunged forward, grabbing her around her elbows and helping keep her upright.

  “Oh, thank you. That was incredibly helpful and an excellent reaction time.” Goldie stepped out of his hands, which seemed to linger on her arms until the very last second. Uh oh, maybe he didn’t quite get the message earlier.

  Travis chuckled. “Anytime.” His eyes wandered up and down her, warming her but not in a good way. “You sure you don’t want to see my house? I’m thinking we could have a great time there.”

  Red flags were waving like they were in a hurricane in her head. “Uh... “

  He took her hesitation as an opportunity to step into her personal bubble and leaned down towards her face. “I’ve even got a hot tub out back.”

  Goldie felt herself leaning back. “Thanks, but no thanks, Travis. Not really my thing.”

  “I’ve got a theatre.”

  “No.”

  “Pool table?”

  Seriously? Does he not get it? “No, thank you. I’m not-”

  “Hey, hon. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” A dark, gravelly voice came from Goldie’s right side just as a large arm slipped around her waist.

  What the-? Every nerve ending stood on end as Finley put his arm around her. Goldie couldn’t seem to control the shiver that ran down her spine and the electricity that shot out from his hand. Turning sideways, she glared at him, only to be met with an amused smirk.

  “Oh, I see. Well, you should have just said so,” Travis cleared his throat and stepped back.

  “No.” Goldie’s tone was firm.

  Both men froze and looked at her.

  Stepping out of Finley’s reach she put her hands on her hips. “We,” she waved a finger between her and Finley, “are not together. And I don’t appreciate you making it seem that way.”

  Finley’s expression went from shocked to thunderous in moments. His dark eyes looked like a tornado was brewing and Goldie knew it was time to get out.

  She turned back away from Finley. “Travis, thank you for the invitation, but before we were interrupted, I was trying to tell you that I’m not interested. Thank you, anyway.” She turned back to Finley. “As for you, I thank you to keep your hands to yourself. I want no part of this little charade you’re trying to put on. Good night.” Spinning on her heel, she stomped to her car and carefully eased her way out of the busy driveway, leaving both men with their mouths hanging open.

  Goldie couldn’t help it. As she watched the men get smaller in her rearview mirror, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Good thing I’ll never see either of those two again.”

  FINLEY KNEW IF HE DIDN’T hit something, he was going to explode. Turning back to the man who had been harassing Goldie, he clenched his fist.

  Travis’ eyes got wide and his face became pale. Putting up his hands in surrender he backed away. “I got the message, man. I’m done.” Sprinting to his vehicle, he took off, spinning his fancy wheels so fast he spit gravel all over the other cars.

  Finley winced as he thought of the paint jobs being messed with, but then shrugged. Not my problem. His eyes drifted back to the small sedan disappearing over the hill. “That one is a problem.” He thought of her small, curvy stature and bouncing, golden ringlets. She looked like a china doll, innocent and pure. Fin snorted. Which is obviously deceptive, since all women are master manipulators. But something about her kept catching his eye.

  He’d never had a woman walk away from him before. Not once, but twice! Women fell at his feet, and he took full advantage. A year ago he had discovered that his girlfriend had not only tried to seduce his brothers, but had been using Finley to help her father take over his company. Finley’s romantic outlook had changed in an instant.

  Why settle for just one? When they threw themselves at him, he gave them exactly what they wanted and then walked away. Well, almost everything they want.

  “What are you doing standing out here?” Brody slapped Finley on the back. Brody and his wife Tia both had their coats on and appeared to be heading toward their car.

  “Nothing,” Finley mumbled, shrugging out from his brother’s hand.

  “Finally snapped, huh?” Brody said with a deep chuckle. All three of the brothers had been blessed with their father’s deep, gravelly vocal tones. A characteristic that most women loved and yet could be used to scare a boardroom when the need called for it.

  “Fin,” Tia’s quiet voice pulled him from his thoughts. “We’re worried about you.”

  Finley rolled his eyes. “Not again. I’m fine!”

  Brody shook his head. “Ever since Victoria-”

  “I said, I’m fine,” Finley growled, rounding on his brother and sister-in-law.

  “Hey. Don’t snap at her like that,” Brody growled right back. “You’re family. And we watch out for each other. Mother would be disgusted with your behavior during this last year.”

  Finley felt the blood drain from his face before anger raced through him. The urge he had had to punch something came back in full force. Without warning, he took a swing at his brother, knocking him in the jaw.

  Brody’s head snapped to the side as Tia screamed. Brody’s muscles tensed as he prepared for retaliation, but Tia was quicker. Stepping in between the two she put her hands on their chests.

  “Stop it! Right now.”

  At her touch, Brody’s breathing began to calm and his muscles relaxed.

  “Looks like you’ve been tamed, little brother. What a sissy you’ve turned out-” Finley stopped when he felt a sharp sensation on his cheek.

  “That’s enough, Finley David Gruffman.” Tia’s voice was low and as serious as he’d ever seen her. “We understand you’re hurting still, but we’re not the bad guys. Pushing us away isn’t going to make you feel better. Neither are all those women you spend your time with. Victoria was a horrible person and what she did to you was wrong and out of line, but following in her footsteps doesn’t make you any better.”

  Finley stood still, refusing to back down. Showing emotion only makes you weak. Love makes you weak.

  Tia’s face softened and pity crept into her eyes. “We love you, Finley. Whether you want to accept that or not. We love you and when you hurt, we hurt.”

  Her words hit him straight in the gut, but he refused to show it. In order to cover his reaction, he rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

  Tia rolled her eyes in return. “Now you sound like a teenager. Which are you? Grown man or a young boy?”

  Finley arched a brow and looked down at himself. “Are you really asking me that? I would think the answer was obvious.”

  Tia smirked and met his raised eyebrow. “Then, perhaps you should try acting like it.”

  Brody coughed over a laugh, covering his response with his fist. “Come on, babe. Time to go.”

  Tia turned to look at Brody and a brilliant smile crossed her face. “Be good, Fin,” she called over her shoulder as she followed her husband to their car.

  Sickening. Finley glared at their backs as he silenced the little voice inside of him that was jealous of their relationship. Tia and Brody’s story might have hit a rocky patch or two along the way, but ultimately it had brought the two of them closer together. That’s because one of them didn’t lie to the other for two years.

  Finley put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “You’re a mess man, a mess.” His eyes drifted back down the road to where Goldie had left. “And that naïve, little spitfire would be nothing but trouble.”

  Forcing his attraction to the lovely Ms. Lockwood out of his mind, Finley went back inside to grab his coat and keys and left for home.

  CHAPTER 2

  Goldie’s hips shook as she vigorously stirred the scrambled eggs the next morning. Perfect. “Unlike certain stupid men,” she mumbled under her breath as she poured the massacred eggs into the hot skillet.

  “What was that?” A dee
p, groggy voice said behind her.

  Spinning around, Goldie grinned at the sight of one of her brothers rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Followed your nose, did ya?” She turned back to the eggs before they could burn.

  “You know it,” Ridge said as he put his arm around her and bent down to kiss her head. “Did you have a good time last night? What time did you get in?” He quizzed her as he pulled the plates out of the cupboard.

  Goldie bit her lip, working hard not to roll her eyes. Will they ever treat me like an adult? I’m twenty-six for crying out loud! Goldie had been blessed, or cursed depending on the view, with three older brothers, who all took her safety and well being seriously. Too seriously. “It was fantastic. There were so many single men there, I wasn’t able to pick just one. So, when I decided to sneak into a hall closet for a little NCMO I took three of them with me.”

  Ridge growled. “Not funny, Goldilocks.”

  This time Goldie did roll her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

  “It’s your name,” he said, pointing a fork at her as she scraped a massive mound of eggs onto his plate. “Thank you,” he murmured before digging in.

  “No. Goldie is my name. Why our parents thought that was a good idea with our last name, I’ll never know, but nobody calls someone by the first and last name.” She dumped the rest of the eggs in a serving bowl, set it down on the table and went to grab the bacon from the oven.

  “Do I smell bacon?” Goldie’s second oldest brother, Sawyer scratched his toned stomach as he shuffled into the kitchen area. His hair was flat on one side and his jaw cracked with his wide yawn.

  “Yep,” Ridge said around a mouthful of food.

  Goldie smacked the back of his head. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s bad manners.”

  Ridge grinned unrepentantly before going back to his plate.

  “Thanks, Goldilocks,” Sawyer ruffled her curls before grabbing his own plate and sitting down.