Page 45 of Faking It with my Small Town Billionaire

“It matters to me,” she comes back. “For years, I watched those kids bully you, mock you, torment you. I always wished I could do something, but I was just a kid myself. Your mom and dad could have done something. Instead, they just let you suffer.”

I can hear her voice breaking, and I stop and turn to look at her. When she looks back, there are tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Lily,” I gasp.

I take her by the shoulders and pull her into my chest, wrapping my arms around her tightly. Her body shudders as she sobs a little, and while every instinct in me wants to stop the tears, I let them flow.

Being a friend of a psychologist teaches you about the human mind, not least of which is a bit of knowledge about relieving stress. I know Lily is upset about what happened to me as a kid, but I think the other part of these tears is the pressure I’ve put her under tonight.

“I’m sorry you had to do this,” I say softly. “I shouldn’t have asked you to come.”

“Why?” she sniffles.

“Because I’ve asked too much of you.”

Lily shakes her head and steps away. She retrieves a tissue from her purse and dabs her eyes. “But then I wouldn’t have been able to wear this ludicrously expensive and equally fantastic dress,” she says, laughing through the last of her tears.

I smile down at her. “That’s true. And it does look rather fantastic on you.”

She gazes up at me, and I gaze back. My heart is thumping like a drum, and my pulse is racing. I want to kiss her so badly, but I don’t know if it’s what she wants. And yet, as we stand here, not a foot apart, I can feel the sparks flying between us.

Just ask her, you idiot.

“Would you mind if I kissed you?” I say, my voice even deeper than normal.

Lily continues to gaze up at me, and without words, she shakes her head.

Taking hold of her cheek, I lower my lips to hers. They feel soft beneath mine, and as she pulls me in closer, every cell of my body sparks. My heart races, my blood pumps through my veins, and in this serene moment, there’s clarity.

The lines have been getting blurry for the last couple of weeks. What started out as a business contract has morphed into something more, and now, the lines are nearly erased altogether. I’m a man who hasn’t made time for relationships. I’m a man who has always been too busy for such complications. At least, I was until Lily came along.

Slowly, I pull away from her, and I hear a slight gasp leave her lips. I’m feeling breathless myself, and even now, I can’t stop looking at her. She really is the most beautiful thing in my life.

I take her hand in mine, and we turn and begin walking again. Neither of us speaks for quite a while, and then I hear Lily heave a huge sigh.

“That bad, huh?” I joke.

She grins up at me and shakes her head. “This just feels so surreal. I wish my father were alive. He’d freak to know that I came to a gala at the Donovans’ estate.”

“He didn’t like my family either then?”

“Actually, Dad wasn’t like that. He was a simple man, a smart man, but he liked simplicity in his life. He had his bakery, his family, and his cabin up at the lake where he went fishing, and that was all he needed.”

“Did you always want to take over the business?” I ask.

“Since I was about ten years old.”

I smile. “I remember when Jenny used to come into the bakery on a Saturday. If I was with her, I’d always see you helping your dad.”

“I remember that, too,” Lily says excitedly. “I always thought that was your mom.”

I shake my head. “No, that was my nanny when I was younger.”

“Did you always want to go into the family business?” she says, asking me the same question.

“No. When I was a kid, I wanted to…” I hesitate, and Lily looks up at me.

“What?”

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