Page 29 of Faking It with my Small Town Billionaire

“How about we meet for dinner in an hour and a half?”

Lily nods. “That sounds great.”

I turn and head to the door, and as I’m about to walk through it, Lily says, “Orson?”

I turn to look at her. “Yes?”

Her face is glowing, and a soft smile dances on her lips. “This is amazing. Thank you so much for this.”

I gaze at her for a second too long, drinking the moment in. “You’ll always be more than welcome, Lily.”

That night, we enjoy a fantastic three-course meal. After such a long time on the road, we are both famished—though, as I guessed, Lily doesn’t manage to finish hers.

The next morning, we meet for breakfast, and while we wait for the food to arrive, I slide an envelope across the table.

“What’s that?” she asks, eyeing the envelope curiously.

“You won’t know if you don’t open it.” I smirk.

Giving me a side-eyed look, she takes it and tears the seal open. She pulls the card from inside and gasps again. While she’s reading about all the spa treatments on the gift voucher, our breakfast arrives.

“You didn’t need to do all this, Orson,” she breathes, staring at me in astonishment.

I shrug. “You looked like you needed sprucing up, and I figured, while we’re here…”

She slaps my hand in a playful reprimand, but she knows I’m joking.

“It’s amazing. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, eat up. You have all morning to relax. I want you on that beach in a half hour. No work, no burdens, and no worries.”

She gives me a salute. “Yes, sir.”

Half an hour later, I’m lounging in a beach chair, the clear blue water lapping across the sand not twenty feet away, reading a book I bought at a store inside the main building.

While I’m engrossed in my book, a movement to my right catches my eye, and I lift my head to look. At that second, the book drops from my grip as fast as my jaw falls to my chin.

Lily is tiptoeing across the sand in a two-piece, heading towards the water’s edge. The towel she carries is dropped onto the beach as she ventures further before finally dipping her toe in.

Frankly, my eyes are not looking at the water. They’re transfixed, zoned in, engrossed, spellbound, and any other word that means that I can’t move in my stupor. I’m tucked away behind a tree, partly for shade, partly for privacy, and I’m grateful that she can’t see me.

It’s not that I was unaware that she was such a beautiful woman. I just have never seen her with so few clothes on, and I’ll be honest; I’m struggling to control my body’s reactions. It takes all the strength I can muster to pull my eyes to my book, and let’s just say, I read the same paragraph more than a few times.

In the afternoon, I relax while Lily goes for her spa treatments, and then we meet again for dinner. I wait until we have finished eating before I produce two ring boxes from my pocket.

“I figure we’re going to need these,” I say, opening them up to reveal two gold bands.

“Yes. I suppose we do,” Lily says. She sounds a little nervous.

Taking her left hand, I slip her gold band on and then do the same with my own. Lifting the champagne-filled glass from the table, I clink her glass.

“To us, Mrs. Donovan. May we live a long and prosperous life.”

Lily giggles, and with both our glasses in hand, we down our champagne.

12

Lily

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