Page 51 of Cinderella's Fling with the Off-Limits Billionaire

“But he can’t see Skye remotely,” Andie said with saccharine sweetness.

Leandro felt something inside of himself clamming up even when there was an opposing desire to tell them everything.

“It’s not like that,” he assured them.

Andie though clicked her fingers. “Is she the person you were trying to find a nanny for?”

Leandro’s lips formed a tight line in his face. “She has a kid.”

“And kids tend to get in the way of romance,” Andie wiggled her brows. “So?”

“So what?”

“Tell us about her.”

“There’s nothing to tell. It’s not serious.”

“She seems nice,” Max said. “And Andie’s right. She’s very pretty.”

Andie laughed. “She’s the most beautiful person I’ve seen in the real world. It’s like she’s got a filter as part of her exterior. But thank you, darling, for saying she’s just ‘pretty’.”

“It’s subjective,” Max drawled.

“Not really.” But Andie didn’t seem remotely insecure. Why should she be? Max worshipped the ground she walked on and undoubtedly always would.

“Neither of us wants more than this. We see each other when we can. We both know the relationship has an end-date.”

“How romantic,” Andie said with thick sarcasm.

“Neither of us is interested in romance either.” Except hadn’t that been a part of what he wanted to give her? Romance? Seduction? Everything she deserved, even if just for a while. The conversation was uncomfortable for Leandro, because no matter what he said, it felt wrong. He couldn’t easily characterize their relationship. He didn’t want to even try. “Look, I like her,” he said carefully. “She’s great. But she’s been through a hell of a time and is focused on raising her kid. And I’m not exactly in the headspace to make sound life decisions right now. So it’s not serious, and it’s not going anywhere. Don’t tell mum and dad.”

Andie and Max looked at each other with that strangely telepathic way married couple had sometimes and then Andie smiled at Leandro. “We won’t say a word. It’s your news to share, when you’re ready.”

He didn’t bother to reiterate that there was no news and wouldn’t be any news. Andie seemed to have taken an idea into her head and he knew how stubborn she could be.

“See?” Max said, reaching his beer over and clinking it against Leandro’s almost-empty scotch glass. “Nothing’s changed, bro. Never will, I promise.”

When dawn broke the next day, Leandro noticed the difference. He noticed a change inside the core of his being. A feeling that he was more like himself than he’d been since discovering the truth. Telling Max and Andie had unlocked a part of him, or maybe it was their reassurance that had done that. Or perhaps it was Skye’s reassurance? If he hadn’t spoken to Skye first, would he have told Max the truth? Or would he have still been too wounded to open up to anyone?

Had Skye been the key to this change?

Was it possible that in telling her, he’d begun to push the weight off his shoulders and feel more and more like himself?

Suddenly, he wanted to see her. He wanted to see her so much it hurt.

He reached for his phone and dialed her number, stalking his room impatiently while he waited for it to connect.

“Hey,” he said, as soon as she answered.

“Leandro.” Her voice was soft. “How are you?”

He hesitated. How could he even answer that? He couldn’t. Not over the phone. “Are you free?”

“I’m spending the day with Harper.”

“Can I come over?”

Silence.

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