Page 15 of Billion Dollar Mistake

I laugh. “Most men do.”

“I’m not most men.”

He sits down on his desk, and he hits a button on his screen and the vision of him is gone.

Damn it.

The clear-cut lines of his profile are hot. I watch him type his name.

“I did it.” He talks behind the camera. I can see his computer screen. It’s showing me what I already know.

“Read it,” I say.

He grumbles, but I can tell he starts reading it by the way he slowly scrolls the screen up.

“I didn’t break up with her, she broke up with me,” he argues at the screen.

“Why did she break up with you?” I ask softly. I was curious about that information when I read it last night.

“Nova. You’ve got enough dirt on me.”

“Ohhh, is it juicy?” I ask excitedly.

“No. Me working too much isn’t juicy. It’s pathetic.”

Just as the words leave his mouth he curses, “Shit.”

“You didn’t mean to share that did you?”

A heavy sigh escapes him. “No but apparently that happens a lot when I’m around you.”

I laugh, enjoying this gentle side of him.

He must have hit the button to spin the camera again because his handsome face fills the screen. His dark brows pinch together, but the determined look in his eyes has my lip falling from my teeth.

“Spill Nova.” His tone is darker, and I want to give him something boring but the way he’s looking at me...There’s a vulnerability. It shows that me knowing more about him than he’s comfortable with leaves him feeling exposed.

His vulnerability has me spilling my biggest piece of information.

“My dad’s got stage three colon cancer.”

I watch as his tight face drops. I see his eyes open slightly. I’m expecting pity, but I don’t see it there. Only sadness.

“I’m sorry.” His voice is strained.

I shrug. “Nothing anyone can do about it.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” He leans back in his black office chair.

“Oh yeah, it hurts. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” I shift on my bed, unable to believe I’m sharing all this with him.

All from the wrong number.

But it’s freeing, being this vulnerable. Opening up to a guy for the first time, especially since he doesn’t have any preconceived notions about me. His non-judgment allows me to express my true feelings without the scrutiny I would receive from my friends or family.

“Nova, food’s ready.” I can hear Chelsea calling out. Relief fills my body, the awkward tension of talking about my dad's diagnosis is heavy. I want to go back to the lightness between us. It takes me away from the dark.

“Down in a sec,” I yell at my bedroom door.

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