The Billionaire Series Collection
Page 27
“Oh, there’s Grant,” Lacey said. “Good. He can rescue us from our silliness. He can be our knight in extremely serious armor.”
It was just possible that we’d had too much champagne.
Maybe. Just putting it out there as a hypothesis. Were there any scientists at the party? We could ask them to test it.
Grant came strolling up to us with the self-satisfied saunter of a man who has successfully parted several people from their not-terribly-hard-earned money for a good cause. He was accompanied by two other guys, one tall and sandy-haired in a rumpled suit, his square jaw and slight belly making him look like a jock gone to seed. The other one—
—was Asher.
If I’d thought he’d looked good in that T-shirt while at my apartment—well, shut my mouth. And open it again, because those dimples were in danger of making my jaw hit the floor.
He wore a midnight black suit, the jacket unbuttoned and the tight red silk of his shirt making his skin almost glow. He’d tugged off his tie in the heat, and was now absentmindedly wrapping it around and around his strong, graceful hands. His green eyes seemed to sparkle in the faint light of the torches and fireworks, and his hair fell in defiant curls around his face. A hint of stubble graced his cheeks, just enough to rasp against someone’s skin if he leaned down to claim their mouth with those full, pouty lips…
Oops, Grant was saying words. I should probably pay attention to Grant’s words and not Asher’s lips.
Though the lips were definitely more interesting.
He’s got a girlfriend, I reminded myself. He’s off limits, and also, he’s a jerk! You have instituted a strict no jerk policy! All jerks must be put in checked luggage; if you attempt to board this relationship with a jerk, Security will ask you to step from the line.
“—all in university together,” Grant was explaining to Lacey. “Brody and I played on the polo team together, and Asher was his roommate. Lacey, Kate—Brody and Asher. If I’d taken either of their advice back at college, I’d have make my fortune a lot sooner. Asher and Brody, Lacey and Kate. They keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Brody said to us.
Asher took Lacey’s hand and kissed it. “Delighted.”
Lacey’s eyebrows climbed so high they could have formed their own airline.
Asher took my mine. “Del—”
“We’ve met,” I said shortly, pulling my hand away.
“Asher, did you forget your manners again?” Grant asked. “He likes to put on the whole Prince Charming act now, but when I first met him, he couldn’t speak two words to girls that weren’t ‘move, you’re blocking the Lord of the Rings trilogy.’”
“Grant, please,” Asher said, starting to look embarrassed.
“This one time,” Grant started, a wicked grin blooming on his face, “he didn’t know his crush from the debate team was in the lobby, and he was racing down the stairs, skinny arms flailing in the wind—you should have seen him before he got into body-building, a toothpick could have taken him in a boxing match—”
“Don’t go digging up my tragic past, man,” Asher said with a laugh, giving Grant a friendly punch in the shoulder. His face took on a mischievous cast, and his slightly awkward smile widened. “Unless you want me to bring up that incident with you, the sorority, the whipped cream, and the fire department.”
Grant shot a fake-panicked look at Lacey, who rolled her eyes. “Another tale of your misspent youth? I’ve probably heard worse.”
“I think I’ll play it safe,” Grant said, “and change the subject. Where’s your lovely date, Asher? Have you met her, Kate?”
I was about to say I had, when suddenly a blonde woman who was ten pounds too thin and six inches too short to be Dove Steele shot out of the crowd and wrapped herself around him, nestling her head onto his shoulder and letting out a contented little murmur. He had another girl already? Or in addition? This guy gave ‘player’ such a new name they were going to have to add another page to the entry in the encyclopedia.
“Oh, there you are, sweetums!” she simpered like a little lost kitten. “Ugh, this charity ball is such a drag! And oh my God, books, like, what are poor kids even going to do with books? Can they even, like, read? Aren’t they all on crack?”
Everyone froze for a second. You could see the thoughts slowly travel across their faces as they wondered if they had really heard what they thought they had just heard, and if so, whether they should laugh, yell, or cry.
Asher looked like he sincerely hoped the ground would open up beneath him and he would be kidnapped by Mole People before he had to figure out how to respond.
“Excuse me,” I said as straight-faced as I could. “I think I see something over there. Yes. A thing. That I should go—see. Bye!” And I fled behind the band’s stage where no one could see me.
When I had recovered, I poked my head back out and surveyed the scene. The coast was clear; Asher and his…I wanted to say ‘date,’ but ‘disaster’ seemed so much more accurate…seemed to have fled. Brody was nowhere to be seen either, but Lacey and Grant were still lounging hand in hand where I had seen them last.
I paused for a moment before going to rejoin them, just watching them, so in love and so unselfconscious. Grant teasing Lacey by holding a chocolate-dipped strawberry just too high for her to grab, and then kissing her gently before feeding it to her himself. Lacey laughing and relaxing into his arms, her eyes closing in delighted contentment.
Lacey had her man and her job, and she loved them both beyond reason. It was the whole package.
And sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if my whole package had gotten lost in the mail.
I set my shoulders and told myself to stop wallowing. I had more important things to focus on. It didn’t matter if achieving my dream took years or even decades; I had set my mind and heart on it, and I was going to do it.
And hey, in the meantime, there was always champagne. I snagged a glass off a passing waiter’s tray, and he turned to me with a grin like electricity. Oh, hello, cute waiter from before. Still looking twice as delicious and intoxicating as the champagne he was carrying.
“So,” he said with a Louisiana drawl that had me contemplating how that voice might sound coming from between my thighs, “what’s a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?”
Well, if he was going to flirt with me first, I definitely wasn’t going to cling to any reservations about flirting with him.
“Oh, nothing much,” I answered back, coming forward and letting my hand rest lightly on his arm. “Just…admiring the scenery.”
Dreams were hard things to achieve. It was a good thing life was stocked with so many pleasant distractions.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
What happens next? Kate and Asher’s steamy, hilarious story is just getting started!
The next book in the series, The Billionaire Game is available now.
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About the Author
Combining her love of writing, sex and well-fitted suits, Lila Monroe wrote her first book, The Billionaire Bargain, in 2015. She weaves sex, humor and romance into tales about hard-headed men and the strong and sassy women who try to tame... love... tame them. Her books are extensions of her own fantasy life and take readers from the boardroom to the Berkshire Mountains, with keen character development, unique plot lines, and fanciful romance.
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ionaire Series Collection