Billionaire Season 3: Summer Ablaze (Billionaire Season Trilogy) by Kimball Lee

people lingered on the lawn and in the spacious rooms of the house as the sun began to set and the wild things began their night songs out on the bayou. It was difficult to say who was more ecstatic about the day’s events—William and Allie, or William’s father and Mae—even Walden was sincerely happy for his brother’s great joy. Mae was in her element now that the truth of how deeply the Warfield’s treasured her as part of the family was known to all. She circulated among the last of the hangers-on accepting their kind words, nodding and smiling and accepting their good wishes. The last to leave was Beth Hawkins, she’d kept mainly to herself all day and Mae mistook the gleam of tears in her eyes as a touch of bittersweet regret that the time she’d spent running William’s household had come to an end.   
    “Mr. Warfield and his boys, they’re good men, good people, isn’t it the truth, Beth?” Mae said as they stood on the front porch and watched the newlyweds drive off into the night. “They look after their own and they’ve always made me feel like family. Truth be told—I’m thankful to have this house and land so William and Allie can bring their children out here someday and I’m gonna teach those babies to call me Mimi. I don’t think it’ll be long until that dream comes true, what do you think? The new bride has that look about her, she’s about six weeks along, I’d say,” Mae said, she was all smiles and it wasn’t just because of the enormous gift her employer had bestowed on her, it was what it meant. “You and me are set up just fine for the rest of our days. And you’re still a young woman, how old are you now—thirty nine or forty? You got a fine house to live in and I figure William settled a good sum of money on you. That’s a fine early retirement, you ought to go off to Tahiti on a cruise and meet yourself a man to share your good fortune.”
    “My good fortune, huh?” Beth Hawkins said, her left eye had begun to twitch and the corners of her mouth curled into a snide smile. “I made a home for William, washed his sheets and his underwear when he was done with whatever low-life trash he dragged in to my house. I never lectured him or berated his unconscionable behavior, he couldn’t have asked for a more devoted companion than me. Yet, he can let me live in his fancy townhouse while he treats that girl like a queen. Did you see the ring on her finger? That ring wasn’t good enough for that cheating slut Stella, but it sits on Alaina Darling’s finger as if she was the Countess Warfield born and bred. I hardly see how you can condone this union, Mae. For a man like William to marry that teenage twit is as ludicrous as his father to have ever entertained the notion of hooking up with that trashy money-grubbing Hannah Trudeau….”
    “Beth Hawkins what has gotten into you, girl? Have you been sweet on William all these years? Surely not, he’s ten or eleven years younger than you and your mother was….”
    “My mother was a fool, she made mistakes and ruined any chance our family had to rise above our circumstances and become blue-bloods. She went to her grave cursing…. Oh, never mind,” She said brightly, turning to smile at Mae as if not one untoward word had passed between them.
    “Blue-bloods are born, not made, Beth,” Mae said and a cold chill ran up her spine as if someone had walked on her grave. “Money can’t buy class.”
    “Oh, don’t pay any attention to me. You know I’m at loose ends without William to fuss over, it just has me out of sorts, that’s all, and being out here at Greenlea stirs up memories. I do get carried away with nostalgia, Mae, please forget my silly ramblings. Things have changed so much haven’t they, and so fast? Lord, my head’s fairly swimming with all the good luck that’s fallen on me lately. You are absolutely correct, I should go on a world cruise. Excuse me won’t you? Congratulations on being so highly