Billionaire Behind the Mask

by Andrea Laurence

  Lauren approached the serving door, preparing to tell whomever it was that they wouldn’t be serving until 11:30 a.m., but found Gracie Diaz there with a smile on her face and her favorite pumpkin spice latte in her hand. The newest Royal millionaire was one of Street Eats’s biggest fans. She used to show up at the trucks at least a few times a week, after work with the Wingates. Now that she didn’t have to earn a living, Gracie had been a bit scarcer. Lauren missed her coming by and was glad to see her again.

  “Hey, Gracie,” she said, sliding open the window. “Haven’t seen you in a little while. How’s the millionaire life been treating you?”

  “It’s—” Gracie hesitated for a moment with a conflicted expression on her face “—not what I expected. But I won’t complain about something like that. No one has any sympathy for my problems anyway.”

  Lauren nodded. The path to Gracie’s lottery win had been complicated, but now she could hopefully enjoy the fruits of her success. “More money, more problems, right? Well, if you get tired of rich people and feel like hanging out with us lowly food truck cooks, you know how to find us.”

  Gracie held up her phone. “I always know where you guys are parked for the day, even if I can’t make it over. And you’re not a cook, Lauren. You’re a chef. An amazing chef. The food trucks are a means to an end and one day you’re going to have a restaurant without wheels. I know it.”

  “From your lips,” Lauren said with a smile.

  “I’m surprised you’re going to be open today, though. You went to the masquerade ball last night, didn’t you? I’d heard you won that contest, so I half expected you to close the trucks down for today and rest. That was a late night for everyone.”

  She had no idea. Lauren had gotten a whopping four hours of sleep after slinking home and lying in bed for longer than necessary, thinking about what she’d just done. It had been the single most erotic encounter of her entire life. Every time she closed her eyes, she could feel his hands on her body again. It took hours for the adrenaline to wear off and allow her to sleep at last.

  “It was more exciting than I expected it to be when I won the contest. I had a good time,” she said, avoiding any unnecessary details. “How about you?”

  Gracie smiled with a wistful look in her eye. She looked down at her latte and took a sip, avoiding Lauren’s gaze. “It was fun. It almost felt like the kind of night that could change your life forever if you’d let it.”

  She was startled by her on-point observation. What did she mean by that? Gracie couldn’t even look her in the eye as she said the words. Had she seen Lauren with Sebastian last night? It’s possible that Lauren was the only outsider who hadn’t recognized the infamous CEO on sight, even with his mask. Perhaps the whole town’s tongues were wagging about her torrid hookup in the billiard room and Gracie was giving her a heads-up before it all hit the proverbial fan.

  If that was the case, she might need to reach out to Sebastian and do some damage control. Seeing him again would be a scary and exciting prospect. His woman in red was long gone, but she would have to do it. She’d worked very hard to build her business and she didn’t want one night’s indiscretions to ruin it all. She’d gone to that party to make connections, not to become gossip fodder.

  She pushed her worries aside for the moment. Right now she needed to focus on getting the menu going and getting the staff prepped for the trucks going out today. But sooner or later, Lauren would have to face the music and track down Sebastian Wingate.

  * * *

  It was a Monday morning. Typically one of the busiest mornings of the week. And yet Sebastian Wingate had nothing to do. He’d gotten up early, as he always did. Ran a few miles. Then showered, had some coffee and ate his breakfast. Now he had run out of things to do with his time.

  Sutton had already left the house. He’d gone into town to talk to his lawyer about one of the cars he was trying to sell. His twin seemed much more comfortable with his free time. At least, he was better at finding ways to fill the hours. Sebastian was counting down each minute that went by until their reputation and board positions were restored. Then life could get back to normal.

  It would happen. He kept telling himself as much. But until then, he needed something to do with his time. Maybe he could make a few calls and round up some guys to play eighteen holes over at Pine Valley. He picked up his phone and realized quickly that everyone he knew was at work.

  Frustrated, he finished off his second cup of coffee and put the mug into the sink. He had to get out of this rental house before he went stir-crazy. Grabbing the keys to his BMW from the counter and his jacket from the hall closet, he went to the front door and flung it open—completely scaring the hell out of the woman standing there, about to ring the doorbell.

  Sebastian had nearly collided with her in his haste. “I’m so sorry,” he said, taking a step back into the house while they both recovered from the unexpected near miss.

  He took the moment to study the unanticipated visitor. Once the flush of excitement faded, he noticed that the woman standing on his stoop was quite pretty. The sun made the honey highlights in her brown hair shine. She had full lips and a full figure beneath the leather jacket and clingy jeans she was wearing. But he didn’t recognize her.

  “It’s my fault,” she insisted. “I’ve been standing here working up the nerve to ring the doorbell.”

  “I’m not sure who you’re looking for, but we just rented this house,” he explained. She looked at him like she knew him somehow, but he couldn’t place her.

  “Actually, I think you’re the one I’m looking for. Are you Sebastian Wingate?”

  Suspicion suddenly crept into his mind. He hated that he had started looking for dark intentions in everyone he met, but it couldn’t be helped. Someone had set his family up and, until they found out who it was, everyone was a potential suspect. “If I said that I was Sebastian Wingate, would you serve me a subpoena?”

  The woman’s dark eyes grew wide with surprise. “No! A subpoena? Not at all.”

  Her reaction seemed genuine enough. “Okay, then. Yes, I’m Sebastian Wingate. What can I do for you?”

  The woman seemed to grow a little more nervous as he looked at her. She chewed at her full bottom lip anxiously for a moment before taking a breath and seemingly steeling her nerves. “My name is Lauren Roberts. I own a couple food trucks here in town. Street Eats, if you’ve heard of it. I specialize in high-end, local ingredients, in a fresh, easy-to-eat style...”

  Sebastian nodded as she continued to talk, although he wasn’t certain why a lady who owned food trucks was coming to see him. She certainly wasn’t hunting down investors, or if she was, she hadn’t done her homework. The Wingates were not the honeypot they’d been only a few short weeks ago.

  “...none of that is really important—” she stopped at last to take a breath “—I’m actually here because you and I, um, met at the party Saturday night.”

  Sebastian met a lot of people at the party Saturday night. But judging by the way the woman was looking at him expectantly, this had been no ordinary meeting.

  “You and I—” she hesitated again “—slept together.”

  Now it was Sebastian’s turn to be wide-eyed with surprise. Saturday night had been amazing. One of the most incredible nights of his life. But he hadn’t anticipated the mysterious woman to just show up on his doorstep. That was a gift he had never expected to receive.

  “Oh, wow,” he said, anxiously running his fingers through his hair. “Please come in.”

  Lauren stepped into the house, waiting as he shut the door and escorted her inside to the living room. “I know you were on your way out, so I understand if you can’t talk right now.”

  “No, no,” he insisted. “I was just going to get out of the house for a little while. I have time.” Nothing but time, actually. Especially for the vision in red that had been on his mind since s
he walked out on him that night. “Please have a seat.”

  She chose the armchair, so he opted to settle into the couch beside her. “Can I get you a drink or something?”

  “No, I’m fine, thank you. I just came here to talk to you for a moment in private. I didn’t realize who you were until I saw your photo in the newspaper the next day. When I saw your name there, I knew that I needed to come see you and explain—”

  “Explain what?” he interrupted. As far as he could recall, what had happened between them was the textbook definition of one thing leading to another. They couldn’t have stopped it from happening if they’d tried.

  “To explain to you that everything I did that night was out of character for me. I don’t want you to think that I’m the kind of woman that normally acts that way.” She shook her head as the embarrassed pink returned to her cheeks.

  “That’s not the kind of thing I normally do either,” he admitted. “I leave the escapades to my brother. But with everything going on, I was out of sorts and acted uncharacteristically. Under normal circumstances, I’m more of a gentleman. Considering that we didn’t take off our masks and I didn’t even get your name... Well, that’s very unlike me.”

  Lauren sighed, seeming to relax a little bit. “I just wanted you to know that, in case people started talking about seeing us together and tongues started wagging.”

  “People are always talking about me, so I’m used to it,” Sebastian replied. Though it was worse than normal lately. “But like I said, I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. It sounds like you aren’t either, so what about going out again?”

  It hadn’t been what he thought he would propose when they sat down in the living room, but faced with the prospect of this fetching woman walking out the door again, he realized he couldn’t bear it. “What about dinner? We can get to know each other better. Maybe Saturday night can turn into more for us.”

  Lauren seemed a little stunned by his proposal, but she recovered quickly with a smile and a nod. “That would be nice. My trucks don’t run Wednesdays, so that’s one of the few evenings I have free.”

  “Okay. Wednesday night it is.” He reached for his phone and they exchanged numbers. “I’ll see if I can get us reservations at The Glass House around seven and then I’ll text you to confirm the time. Send me your address and I’ll be by to pick you up.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Lauren insisted.

  “Of course, I do. It’s a date. We may have put the cart before the horse, but I intend to correct that and do things right this time around.”

  “Alright, if you insist.” Lauren stood up suddenly, prompting Sebastian to do the same. “I guess I will see you Wednesday night, then.” She thrust out her hand toward him to say goodbye.

  It seemed a ridiculously awkward and distant gesture between two people who had been as intimate as it gets, but as they’d said, they were both different people that night. They were starting over without masks and alcohol to muddy the waters. While a friendly hug or a kiss on the cheek might be more appropriate, he wasn’t going to push her for more and run her off a second time. He reached out and shook her hand softly, and then escorted her out the door.

  As he shut it behind her, he looked down at his hand and frowned. Something wasn’t quite right.

  He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something had changed between them since Saturday. At the club that night, he couldn’t stop touching her. There was something magnetic between them that drew him closer every time he tried to pull away. Every graze across her bare skin sent sparks through his whole nervous system. He’d never felt something like that with a woman in his entire life.

  That couldn’t all be chalked up to alcohol and the novelty of masks. That was chemistry, plain and simple. And chemistry wasn’t something that was there one day and gone the next. It pulled you back again and again, even when you knew you should stay away. That was the kind of passion and desire he’d felt for the dark-haired beauty he’d held in his arms that night.

  And now it was all gone. Kaput.

  He hated to admit it, but Lauren might as well have been a random stranger at the office or the store. Pretty, no doubt. Personable, albeit nervous. But when he’d shaken her hand, there had been no tingles, no chills. Her hands were soft and nicely manicured, but if he had closed his eyes and touched her, he wouldn’t have said she was the woman from the party.

  And yet she’d shown up on his doorstep insisting that she was the one. No one else knew about what happened that night but the two of them. So if Lauren said she was the woman he’d shared the evening with, it had to be true.

  Sebastian hoped perhaps the chemistry would return once they became more familiar with each other and she could finally relax. Maybe a glass of wine would take the edge off and their attraction would flow freely again. He’d been given a second chance and he wanted more than anything for his masked beauty to be back in his arms.

  But if the blazing attraction didn’t return, Sebastian would be sorely disappointed.

  Four

  Lauren was just nervous. Yeah. That was it.

  There was no other explanation for why this was quite possibly the most boring date she’d ever been on in her life. She was dining with a handsome, rich and powerful man at the best and most expensive restaurant in town. It shouldn’t be that hard to have a good time. The food had been amazing and the wine deliciously paired with each course. Sebastian was an excellent conversationalist, getting even her introverted self to talk freely. And he was also charming and polite, favoring her with that same beautiful smile she remembered from their first night together. They’d had a nice enough time.

  It just didn’t feel like a date. It felt like dinner with a friend from out of town. Pleasant enough, but not charged with that same undeniable spark of attraction that had left her breathless from the moment they’d first met.

  Now the green eyes she’d lost herself in at the gala were studying her across the table as they finished their desserts. The same chiseled jawline she’d kissed was moving gently as he chewed the last bite of his cheesecake. Every physical indication pointed toward Sebastian being the man she was with that night. Everything but the most important part—the chemistry.

  After he paid the check, they walked around the beautifully designed grounds of the Bellamy Hotel for a while. The weather was cooler, but the skies were clear, making for a pleasant fall evening for Texas. She might have even enjoyed the stroll if not for the pressure she’d put on herself for tonight to be special. And, of course, for the heels from the party she’d worn again, as though some magical shoes would make the difference.

  Once again, they didn’t do much more than pinch her toes and make her regret wearing them. They were going in the donation pile the minute she got home.

  They finally made their way back to Sebastian’s car, and with no other reason to continue their night together, he drove her back to her small home, far from the luxurious ranches and expensive mansions of Pine Valley. Her place was small and much more modest in every respect except the kitchen. She had it remodeled to suit a chef and now it likely rivaled even the most expensive home in Royal. You wouldn’t know it when you looked at the outside of the house, though.

  He pulled into her driveway and, like the gentleman he was, ran around the car to open her door and then escorted her up the cobblestone walkway to her front porch. It was nice, but her big, bad wolf hadn’t been entirely a gentleman. He’d taken what she’d freely given and she missed that intensity tonight. She missed everything from their first night together.

  “Sebastian,” she said as she stopped on her doorstep and turned around to face him. He was following close behind, but thankfully not too close. She didn’t think he’d be asking for a kiss or anything more tonight.

  “Yes?”

  “I had a nice time this evening.”

  “I did, too,” h
e said with a blankly polite smile that proved to her that he was as unimpressed with their date as she was.

  She felt like an obligation to him, and that was worse than their lack of sexual attraction. She had to end this before they wasted any more time just being courteous. “And I appreciate you making an effort to turn our night together into more. But I’m not sure we should go out again.”

  His expression was mildly surprised. “Are you breaking up with me? I’ve never been dumped in my life.”

  “I wouldn’t say dumped,” she corrected. Lauren didn’t want to be known as the only woman dumb enough to break it off with Sebastian Wingate. “I’d say we parted ways by mutual decision. You can’t tell me that you had an amazing time tonight and can’t wait to see me again.”

  “Well, no,” he admitted sheepishly. “But I’ve had worse dates. And I don’t know that I’m ready to give up on us so soon. It was just one night. Maybe we should do something different next time. Something a little less formal and stuffy. I think we both put too much pressure on ourselves to make this date successful.” He cleared his throat. “How about we drive up to Dallas and do something fun? There’s plenty of restaurants, museums and other things to do there.”

  Lauren studied his face and felt conflicted by his words. He was trying. He really was. But if it was only out of obligation, she didn’t want any part in it. So, they had a night of hot, anonymous sex. He shouldn’t feel guilty for that. That said, one more date wouldn’t be too much to ask. If it didn’t work out, she could at least say she had taken a real shot at trying to recapture the magic.

  “Okay.” She relented. “We can try another date. One more. And we’ll see how it goes. A trip to Dallas sounds like an all-day affair, though. I won’t be able to get away until next Wednesday when the trucks are closed.”