Page 95 of The Billionaire Experience

“I didn’t expect you to be here.” Brody blinked hard, his brain struggling to shift gears. He’d connected with Reagan in a deep physical and emotional way, which had him feeling tender and contemplative. In his father’s unexpected presence, he shored up, pulling his shoulders back and shifting his focus. It was a radically different plane from the one he’d been on. “I thought you were in Rome. Or…India?”

“I was in Egypt. Too dry.” O plunged his hands into his pockets. “Why are you hanging around the commode? There’s a stuffy party in there your brother is running. I don’t know why he likes that sort of thing. I mean, yeah, Zander is stuffy, but his stuffiness is more kingly in nature. Dante’s is more like he’s been burying his feelings for a decade and can’t function in normal society any longer.”

“He’s working a charity event, Dad. Give him some credit.” Their father had always been resistant when it came to formality. Where Uncle Alex had gone full-on corporate mode with Crane Hotels, Octavius had preferred leaping from business to business without any real commitment, or as he’d referred to it, “Chasing the adventure where it led.” He’d never settled down, and he had it all: money, a business, a family… Fragmented at times, but they were family.

Brody had emulated him.

“Normally you’re not this prickly. Bowtie too tight?” Brody asked.

“I prefer less limiting clothing, for sure. Board shorts and an ice-cold Corona. But this is nice. Crane hotels always feel like stepping into a parallel universe. This could have been my empire.” He gestured around at the stark white and black interior, the only splashes of color the paintings on the walls.

“No way. After two hotels you’d have jumped ship to start something else.”

“Yeah.” His father’s hazel eyes took on a far-off look, like he’d briefly glimpsed that parallel universe in his mind. Then he blinked and turned his head. “Hello there, young lady.”

“Hi.” Reagan looked from Brody to Octavius and then back again before recognition dawned on her face. “Is this your father?”

“Octavius Crane, meet Reagan Palmer.”

“O,” he corrected. He shook her hand and then kissed it; a move Dante had copied and Brody had perfected.

“This exquisite creature is with you? I don’t believe it.”

Reagan’s smile was cautious. Brody took her hand, and she sealed herself to his side. The light scent of her perfume tickled his nostrils—it was soft, with a hint of sweetness, and reminded him of kissing her body moments ago.

“I’m going to go in and find Jaylyn,” she said. “Find out how many people bid on her ring.”

“She has a ring in the auction?” Octavius’s shoulders snapped back. “That’s my girl. She’s been hiding for too long. She’s damn talented.”

“Yes, she is,” Reagan agreed.

Octavius pulled a wad of cash from one pocket and flipped out a few thousand dollars. “I’m bidding at least three grand. There’s no way it should go for less than that.”

“Dad.” Brody sent an apologetic look Reagan’s way, but she only smiled. “If she catches you stuffing money into an envelope she’ll be pissed.”

He frowned. “Reagan could do it for me.”

After Reagan had accused Brody of making her a charity case, his dad offering her three grand was bad timing. He pushed his father’s hand aside. “You can sneak over when the crowd builds.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask you to do my dirty work.” O grinned at Reagan, who eased at Brody’s side. That was a close one.

Arm around her waist, Brody said into her ear, “You okay going in without me? I should remind my father of his manners before I walk him in there.”

“I’ll leave you two to catch up.” A twinkle lit her eyes, one he’d seen before. After they’d slept together that first time, and each time thereafter. His heart thundered, a familiar thickness in his throat returning.

She gave him a brief kiss before walking into the ballroom. A sheen of sweat prickled his forehead.

“Congratulations.” His father wore a know-it-all grin.

“For what?”

O folded the cash and stuck it back into his pocket. “I never thought you’d fall in love, yet here you are.”

Brody laughed, but it sounded forced. “I’m not in love. We’re?—”

“Living together. Jaylyn told me.”

“She’s buying the house when I move out. She grew up in it.”

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