“Look at me,” he repeated.
She opened her eyes, careful to keep her chin against her right shoulder. He stared at her with ferocity that bordered on animalistic.
“Jared.” Her body tightened around him as the orgasm to end all orgasms overtook her. Her hips rocked, bypassing rhythm and barreling straight toward the road marked pleasure.
He slammed into her quivering, jerking body one more time and stilled. His head tipped back, and his grip tightened.
“I fucking love you,” he growled.
Her brow furrowed, and her head turned to face the stairs. It was as if she’d accidentally walked in on an intimate moment. As if she’d pushed open a door, and overheard something that wasn’t intended for her ears.
He hadn’t meant to say that. Not out loud. I love you—those words didn’t fit. They were on her front stairs.
Maybe he was talking to the orgasm.
She kept her gaze fixed on the floorboards. His movements slowed. She felt him pull out, leaving her empty and wanting. Her body was ready for the second round. Only maybe this time she would sit him down on the stairs and ride him.
Because he’d given her exactly what she wanted. He’d said the magic words. They could mount their horses and ride off into the sunset. Jared Mitchell, the gorgeous billionaire bachelor, loved with her. She wanted to stay right there—finding her way, learning him, and loving him.
“Lucy?” he murmured.
She pushed off the stairs, righting herself before she turned to face him. He’d pulled his jeans up but hadn’t secured them. She could still see the waistband of his boxer briefs. A trail of dark hair ran up from the elastic strip. She followed his sculpted abdomen up to his chest.
“I meant what I said, Lucy.”
Her eyes widened, and her brows arched.
“I royally fucked up the timing,” he admitted. “But dammit, I’m falling for you.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. A loud ring accompanied his touch.
She glanced at his pocket. “They’re calling you away.”
Ring! Ring! Ring!
He sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to leave, but I can’t mess up this product launch. I need to get this right. The fund can’t afford another misstep.”
So I’m leaving you behind . . . I’ve heard that line before, she thought.
She shook her head as if hoping to dislodge the memory. This time was different. Jared wasn’t her ex. He wanted to make this work.
“I understand,” she whispered. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to his lips. “You still owe me dinner when you get back.”
“Friday,” he promised as his phone started ringing again. “I’ll see you Friday.”
His phone called out from his pocket, and he stepped back. He withdrew the cell from his pocket and held it against his ear with his shoulder. His hands quickly zipped and buttoned his jeans.
“I’ll be right there,” he said into the phone. “I’m twenty minutes from the airport.”
He ended the call and dropped a brief kiss to her lips. “See you later, princess.”
She waited for the front door to close and then sank down onto the bottom step. She’d won the billionaire bachelor’s heart. Her future suddenly looked bigger than she’d even imagined—and more complicated. He’d flown to Florida to spend an hour with her because she’d wished he could be there to help her out of her gown.
And that makes sense to him, she thought.
But she couldn’t build a future on stolen hours. She couldn’t trust that when she truly needed him, he would drop everything and fly to her side.
“Because I need him now,” she told the empty hallway. “And first thing when I wake up in the morning. And it’s just not possible.”
She glanced at the crumbled blue ball gown. She wouldn’t walk away from her company. She might play Cinderella, but at the end of the day, she wasn’t slaving away for an evil stepmother. She was her own boss. And she spent her days delivering joy and birthday wishes. She made sick kids smile and laugh. Her Happy Ever After didn’t require a rescue—not from a prince or a billionaire.
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t want my prince,” she murmured as she stood and headed for her gown. “I want Jared.”
She scooped her dress off the floor and held it to her chest. What kind of warped fairy tale had she stepped into?
Chapter 24
“You were right.” Lucy sank onto the couch and reached for the popcorn. “My Friday night plans went from dinner out to snacks on the couch while watching—” she glanced at the television—“Deadpool for the tenth time.”
“Jared cancelled?” Emma asked.
Lucy nodded.
Her friend held out her glass of white wine. “Take this.”
“He called and said the product launch set for next Wednesday is imploding. They might have to delay, but that would mean changing the plans for the company’s IPO.” Lucy drained the rest of the wine. “He sounded stressed.”
“This is the third week in a row he’s cancelled,” Nicole pointed out from her armchair. She still wore her fairy costume from a summer camp event that afternoon, minus the wings. Her legs hung over one arm, and her head rested against the other.
“I know.” Lucy sank onto the couch and cradled the empty glass to her chest. “I haven’t seen him in person since we had sex on the stairs and he told me he loved me.”
“I’ll get another bottle of wine.” Emma rose from the other end of the couch and headed for the hallway. “And pizza.”
“I’m cutting back on carbs,” Nicole called after her. “Or pretty soon my hips will explode out of my gowns.”
Emma’s face appeared around the entryway. “Fine. You can have salad. But you need something. If we don’t eat, we’ll be a hung over mess at tomorrow’s party. And you know Delaney can spot a hangover a mile away.”
“Like Delaney Mayor isn’t overindulging as we speak,” Nicole grumbled. Then she turned to look at Lucy. “You had sex on our stairs? Weeks ago and you’re just now telling us.”
“I thought the ‘I fucking love you’ comment was more important than the location,” Lucy said.
“I don’t know about that,” Nicole murmured with a glance at the archway that led to the hallway stairs.
Lucy pointed to the television. “You’re missing Ryan Reynolds’ nude scenes.”
Nicole turned back to the screen. Then Emma marched into the room armed with a bottle of wine, two additional glasses, and a pitcher of water.
“Pizza is on its way,” Emma announced. She reclaimed her spot on the couch and began pouring the wine. “Now, tell me why I’m right.”
“When he first started leaving juice, you told me Jared Mitchell was out of my league.” Lucy accepted a full wine glass.
“That was before he went to the trouble of creating a dating profile,” Emma said. “I don’t think Jared flew here, declared his love, and then hopped into bed with a model in New York. Do you?”
“No, I don’t believe he’s cheating on me,” she said slowly. “But what happens when he realizes he can’t fix this situation? I want to make space in my life for a relationship in Florida. But he needs to travel all over the place for work. I’m afraid,” she drew a deep breath, exhaled, and then took a fortifying sip of wine. “I’m afraid that the logical part of his brain will kick in, and he’ll give up.”
“You don’t have much faith in your billionaire,” Nicole said.
“I don’t want to be left behind again,” Lucy murmured.
“Have you considered moving to New York?” Emma asked.
“What?” Nicole swung her legs down and turned her back to Ryan Reynolds. “You can’t move. We need a Cinderella.”
Emma shot the wingless fairy a sharp look. “I wasn’t asking as her business partner, but as her matchmaker.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Lucy said firmly. “I can’t uproot my life for him. I can’t make that leap. Not even for someone
I’ve known my entire life. For a man I love . . . ” She shook her head. The wine in her glass sloshed over the edge. “We haven’t had a real date yet.”
“He took you horse back riding,” Emma pointed out.
“We haven’t had a date that didn’t end in disaster,” Lucy said.
“Dating is messy.” Nicole turned back to the movie. “There’s no way around that. If you’re ditching him because you haven’t shared the perfect meal—”
“I don’t need a perfect meal,” Lucy exclaimed. “But a meal would be nice. It’s been one work crisis after another since I learned he was Philip Ryder. And at the end of the day, the Mitchell Fund is just a job.”
“Not for Jared,” Emma said softly. “It’s not just work for him. He built that company from nothing. It’s his world. His identity is bound to his company. He can’t let it fail. Sure, he could probably afford a few missteps at this point—”
“But not after losing the sugar deal.” Lucy let the reality sink in. He might be the billionaire bachelor now, but back when he was her brother’s “hot” friend, Jared had spent most of his time at her house because his home life was a mess. “You’re right, Em. My life is not a fairy tale. I can’t keep expecting the pieces to fall into place. Sometimes they don’t. I should break up with Jared before I ruin our friendship.”
Or before I fall deeply, madly in love with a man who might slip out of my life, she thought.
“Remind me never to hire you as my matchmaker.” Nicole cast a dark look over her shoulder at Emma. Then she returned her attention to the movie.
The doorbell echoed in the hallway. Emma rose to claim their pizza. But Lucy wasn’t hungry.
“I think I’ll head to bed.” Lucy stood and set her glass on the coffee table. “Tell Emma I’ll have a slice in the morning before the first party.”
“My plane lands at nine-thirty tomorrow morning. I wasn’t planning to travel with it to pick up your brother, but I want to see you.” Jared glanced at the clock on his desk. “If I take the flight, I’ll be in Florida in a few hours. We could meet for coffee.”
“I have a party at noon. We need to be there to set up at eleven thirty,” Lucy said through a yawn.
I was a damn fool to call in the middle of the night, he thought.
But he’d spent the day locked away from the software designers at Tico. For the past three weeks, he’d pushed the Tico team to look beyond failure and fix the software’s bugs in time for the launch. When he wasn’t working with the software group, he’d been prepping the marketing team for a new product that included a few snafus. But no one liked his plan to put the software out and then fix the issues. The Tico CEO, whom Jared had personally hired, had threatened to resign if Jared pushed ahead.
But how could he back out now? He saw Tico’s future if they canceled the software designed to rival some of the greats in the marketplace. The business would lose value. And he could forget about taking it public. This company was his first big success. He refused to accept failure now.
“I can have a car pick you up and take you to the airport,” he suggested.
“Jared.” Lucy sounded more awake but also annoyed. “I’m not meeting you for sex on your plane. That’s absurd.”
“I’m picking up your brother,” he said. “Which eliminates the sex on the plane, or in the limo option, unless we want a repeat of the office mess.”
“No,” she said firmly.
“Lucy, please. Meet me for coffee,” he said. “Then I’ll have my driver take you to your party. And I’ll fly back to New York. We need to be wheels up again by eleven. That should leave you time to change.”
“Fine. I’ll come,” she said. “I need to talk to you.”
He felt a rush of hope. He’d raced from one work-related problem to the next for the past few weeks. He wanted to hold Lucy in his arms and feel the world slow down. Flying to Florida for coffee didn’t make sense, but he could work on the flight down and strategize with Finn on the way back to New York.
“Sweet dreams, princess,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter 25
Jared took a sip of his coffee and forced himself to swallow. The dark liquid tasted as if it had been brewed a week ago, and it was lukewarm. “You were right to skip the cup of Joe,” he said. “I can’t believe I paid for this.”
“Princesses don’t drink coffee.” Lucy spoke through her smile. She glanced at him every so often, but mostly she smiled and waved at the people walking through the hospital lobby. She’d jumped up three times since they sat. Each time, she tossed her long blond braid carefully over one shoulder.
“Remind me who you are again,” he said.
“I’m Princess Elsa.” She stood and offered him a curtsey. Glancing up from under her lashes, she added, “Not what you had in mind for our coffee date?”
“I wanted to kiss you,” he said. “And I would have chosen a different location. I hate hospital lobbies. Spent too much time here waiting for my mom.”
“Has your mom been ill?” She reclaimed her seat, maintaining her perfect princess smile and posture.
“Overdose,” he murmured. “Twice. First when I was in college. And the second a few years ago.”
“I knew she drank, when we were growing up.”
“Her booze habit led to pills,” he said flatly.
Her smile faltered. “I’m sorry, Jared. I didn’t know.”
“We kept it quiet,” he said with a sigh as he glanced around the lobby. Florescent lights glowed overhead, and the place smelled sterile. Yeah, this was definitely not the romantic coffee date he’d envisioned in the middle of the night—or the conversation. “She’s back in rehab now. We’re trying a different place, out in California. And a much longer stay.”
“I hope it works this time,” she said softly.
“If it doesn’t, we’ll try a different program,” he said firmly. “I have the resources to fight her disease. That’s more than we had before.”
“She’s lucky to have you,” she said softly.
“Miss?” A woman in a pink scrubs appeared at their table. “Um, Ms. Elsa? Cara will be ready for you in a few minutes. They are just bringing her back to her room.”
“Great!” Lucy beamed up at the nurse. “I’ll give her a few minutes to settle in, and then I’ll head back. I remember the way to her room.”
The nurse nodded. Then she glanced at him. Her brow furrowed as if she thought she recognized him, but then she gave her head a little shake and walked away.
Jared set the coffee aside and focused on his date. “A mom hired you to visit her kid in the hospital?”
“Shh.” Princess Elsa pressed her index finger to her lips. “No one pays a princess, and never in hospitals. I met Cara on a pro bono trip a few weeks ago. She’s no longer responding to treatments. Her parents asked if I could stop by to cheer her up. They want to see her smile.”
Jared nodded slowly. “Go. Deliver a piece of magic to Cara. I’ll wait right here.”
She stood and smoothed her gown. “I won’t be long. Her mother said she’s very tired. I don’t want to wear her out.”
He watched her smile and wave as if she were walking in a one-woman parade. Blowing kisses to the children in the lobby, Elsa the Ice Princess slipped through the double doors. He stared down at his paper to-go cup. The lobby felt sad and sterile, like a rehab waiting room.
A place where hope goes to die, he thought.
But not when Lucy filled the lobby with her smile. It was as if she changed the air around him. She made him believe in the impossible—unicorns, fairies, and storybook endings. She left him wanting things that didn’t make sense. His life was built on success. One smart acquisition led to another. Bank accounts grew. Then investors knocked at his door. More money flowed in, and everyone walked away rich. The pattern worked—except when a curveball like a sex tape blew up a deal. And his life was ingrained in that pattern.
But Lucy’s world was a puzzle of hope. Th
e pieces didn’t fit, but she refused to give up.
I don’t know why she tried to find magic in a relationship. She is magical.
He wanted that opened-hearted, caring princess in his life. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he could offer fireworks beyond the bedroom, but he was willing to give it a shot.
“All set,” she announced.
Lucy’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he glanced up. “How is Cara?”
Her smile never faltered, but sadness shimmered in her blue eyes. “Weak, but there is still hope. The doctors are going to try a new drug. And you should have seen her smile when I walked in . . . ” Lucy shook her head. “There is a warrior princess in that little girl just waiting for another chance to fight her disease.”
She closed her eyes for a second as if sending off her wish to the land of fairy tales and happy endings. Then she opened them and looked at him. “But I’m sorry we had to spend our coffee date in a hospital.”
“I’m not.” He stood and held out his arm. “The limo is waiting outside. May I escort you princess?”
She nodded and placed a blue-gloved hand on his forearm. He led her through the lobby, pausing every now and then for her to wave at her admirers. Minutes later, they settled into the back of his limo. “I need to head to the airport, but after that my driver will take you to your next event. How many parties do you have this afternoon?”
“Just one, but it’s a deluxe party with all the extras—crafts, a visit from a fairy.”
“Should I be worried about drunk dad hands?”
She smiled. “Not at this event. The event is for Delaney’s daughter. Probably her last princess party, so we’re going a little overboard, but I doubt there will be a keg. That’s not Delaney’s style. She’ll serve mimosas or a fancy cocktail for her guests.”
He reached across the limo’s rear seat and took her hand. “I look forward to hearing all about it. We’re going to launch this product on Wednesday, and then I’ll fly back.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and withdrew his cell. Glancing at his calendar, he added, “I need to be in Austin for a meeting on Thursday night, but I could do a lunch on Friday.”
The Cinderella Fantasy (Playing the Princess Book 1) Page 16
