Page 74 of The Billionaire Experience

She crawled up his chest. Nose to nose with him, she set a kiss on his lips. He was so handsome it hurt to look directly at him.

“I could watch you come all day long.” It wasn’t a romantic sentiment, but the pitch of his voice in the quiet room made it sound like one. “I’m glad you’re here.”

That raw admission, she hadn’t expected. So she opted to be equally raw and honest with him.

“I never thought I’d set foot in this house again. It’s better than I imagined. Because I’m here with you.”

Something serious crossed his face before he tugged her by the elbows and encouraged her to lie on top of him. Once she was settled, every part of her touching every part of him, he clasped his hands at her lower back and stared into her eyes.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“You make a passable mattress.” She smiled.

“You make the best blanket.” He smiled back. “Your chest on mine. Your hips on mine. Our knees almost line up. You fit.”

She fit. They fit. She tucked the idea into her heart, where fantasy had met reality in a blurry middle space. Then she rested her cheek on his chest and listened to the steady thump of his heartbeat until her eyes grew heavy.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Don’t get me wrong,” Kelly was saying. “It’s a positive change, but it also seems like you’ve been body-snatched.”

“Thanks a lot.” Reagan accepted her coffee from the barista. Since the weather was nice, she and Kelly made their way outside to a small metal table. She set her paper coffee cup to the right of a blue vase holding a single daisy. “I should come to the city more often. It’s strangely peaceful.”

“Matt and I are apartment hunting in the city.” Kelly blurted out the admission quickly, like if she didn’t say it fast there’d be no saying it. “I know you think I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy.” How could she think that when what she was doing with Brody was arguably unhinged? Fun, but still… “But I’ve been body-snatched, so what do I know?”

“Tell me what it’s like hanging out with celebrities? I cannot believe you were chillin’ with the Cranes. Hey, that’d be an excellent title for their reality show.”

Reagan had told Kelly about the housewarming party, though she’d left out the topic of conversation on the balcony. “I don’t know if I’d call one party hanging out. It was a different Friday night for me, that’s for sure. And it was Brody’s birthday.”

“Really? Did you give him a birthday gift?”

“I sure did.” Reagan waggled her eyebrows over the rim of her coffee cup.

Kelly clapped her hands in approval. “Yes, girl! I love you like this.”

“And I really like Chloe, Zander’s girlfriend,” Reagan continued. “She has a background similar to mine, as in she was raised in an average middle-class income bracket.” She swallowed a drink of her flat white with honey and vanilla as she considered what had happened to Chloe. Plucked out of her life by a billionaire to live a totally different one. Reagan would never want to totally abandon her life, though. She loved Merriweather Springs.

“Should I expect you and Brody to throw the next housewarming party?”

“Ha!” Reagan’s laugh was a little forced. After his non-admission that had sounded a lot like one, she’d had a stern talking-to with herself. The sex was great—really, really great—but no promises had been made.

I’m glad you’re here.

“We’re just having fun,” Reagan said, which was partially true. They had grown close—in more ways than sexual—but admitting that aloud was risky. His plan was to leave Illinois and go back to New York. If Reagan let herself build castles in the sky, where would that leave her?

Untethered, came the answer. She’d take a pass on a repeat of that, thanks very much.

“Hello?” Kelly pointed to herself. “It always starts with fun. I am getting back together with my ex because we decided to meet up for coffee which led us to meeting up for sex.”

“Your ex who didn’t cheat. You’re sure?”

“Sure enough to move in with him again.” Kelly shook her head. “I’m trying to square that with the accusations I hurled at him. I didn’t believe him when he said he hadn’t done anything wrong. He’s been telling the truth this whole time. I owe him for being willing to take me back.”

“No, you don’t. He’s as in love with you as you are with him, Kel. Count your blessings that it ended up working it out. You two were good together. Are you good again?”

“We’re good again.” Everything about her best friend softened. The lines on her forehead vanished, her rigid shoulders relaxed.

---