Page 60 of The Billionaire Experience

The moment Kelly found out that he was “allegedly” cheating on her, she packed up and left their house. She’d secured an apartment the next day. At the time, she refused to consider any possibility other than Matt lying to her.

“You backed me blindly the entire time. I love that about you.” Kelly shook her head.

“Ride or die.” Reagan hadn’t heard a side of the story other than Kelly’s. Naturally, she’d taken her friend’s side.

“I divorced him, Reagan. For nothing. I’m a lunatic.”

“You’re not a lunatic. What were you supposed to do? The evidence was there. At least, circumstantial evidence.”

Kelly finished her wine. “I need a second glass, and I need to hear exactly what you and Brody Crane have been up to, and how often, and how long.” She held up a hand to signal their waiter. She ordered two more glasses of chardonnay—one for each of them. When they were alone again, she cocked an eyebrow and clarified, “You know I meant long in two ways, right?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Alot could happen in two weeks. Brody knew this to be true since he’d traveled the States and had job-hopped for a stint. One month he’d lived in four different places, including spending a weekend at a campground. It had rained nonstop, and he’d had nothing but a pop-up tent and a bag of takeout. He had sworn to never repeat that experience, but right now he’d trade being dragged through the aisles of Target for camping hell.

“It’s not that bad!” Reagan said on a laugh as he grumbled for effect. They had been down every aisle in this damn place. And he did mean every aisle. He hadn’t counted but there seemed to be about 14,000 of them. “And you’re no help, by the way.”

“I have no idea what to buy Zander. He has everything!”

“According to you, everyone in your family has everything.”

“They do. We should ban gifts altogether. Start that tradition now, with this housewarming party.” He clasped Reagan’s hand and dragged her close. She was laughing when she bumped into his chest. He looped his arms around her waist and held her there. Even under godawful fluorescent lights and surrounded by bedding sets in plastic cubes, she was an absolute knockout. He stole a kiss that she returned, which instantly made this excursion better.

“You’re smiling. An improvement.” She patted his cheek.

“We should go home if you really want to see me smile.”

She laughed again.

Like he’d been thinking, a lot could happen in two weeks. He and Reagan had hopped into bed together every night since the morning they’d had sex. They slept separately, in their own rooms, which was fine with him. He was a late-night kind of guy, and she was an early riser. It made sense.

He hadn’t been exaggerating about them not getting much else done, but somehow, she found time to work on the house and visit her customers, and come with him gift shopping, apparently.

“You’ve put this off as long as possible. The party is tonight. We have to buy something.” She held up a pillow with an embroidered Mona Lisa on it. “He likes art, right?”

“Uh, no.” He stuffed the pillow back onto the shelf.

“Oh! What if we buy him a basket filled with home stuff. Like cleaning liquids and air fresheners. A candy dish and M-and-Ms.”

Brody didn’t have the heart to tell her that Zander likely had a cleaning staff that used environmentally friendly products, and that if he owned a candy dish it would be fine crystal and worth thousands, and likely filled to the brim with gourmet, handmade chocolates from Belgium.

“I’m ending this torture. We’re going to go across the street to the liquor store. I’ll pick out a nice bottle of bourbon and be done with it.”

“Fine. But we’re putting it in a basket with some of my favorite things.” She dropped the Mona Lisa pillow into the cart, and they walked to the basket section of the store. She added a sizeable basket and a fleece blanket before wheeling them to the candle display.

“Sage and mint.” She lifted a candle to her nose, closed her eyes, and inhaled. “I have one in my storage unit. I miss this smell. Kelly is allergic to strong scents, so I couldn’t bring it with me.”

When she turned back to the shelf, he grabbed two more sage and mint candles and put them into the cart. No reason she shouldn’t have what made her happy.

“What are you doing?”

“I figured these are a decent substitute for actual sage in case you utter my two least favorite words again.”

In the kitchenware section, she paused in front of a deluxe blender and stroked the box. “I miss my Vitamix.”

“What’s so special about a Vitamix?”

She placed her hand over her heart and gasped. “Don’t tell me your private chef didn’t outfit your bougie bachelor pad in New York with a Vitamix!”

---