Page 69 of The Billionaire's Princess

18

Carly

I hurry after Damon,propelled by a sense of urgency bordering on panic and struck by an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Another party. Me following him down another deserted hallway. Another high-stakes conversation to follow. Only this time I feel as though my entire life is on the line. Probably because it is.

“Please don’t make me chase after you,” I call after him, teetering in my heels as I try to keep up with his long strides. “We need to talk.”

“This isn’t the time,” he says, turning into a small lounge area where we left our coats when we arrived at the gallery earlier. The end table lamp throws harsh shadows across his face, making him look even more forbidding. “Go enjoy your success. You don’t need me around for that.”

“Of course I need you around for that.”

“I don’t want to ruin your big night for you. Let’s do this later.”

“This is far more important. There’s no way I can enjoy myself when I’ve hurt your feelings and I didn’t mean to,” I say, shutting the door behind me. “We need to get this straightened out.”

“Not much to straighten, princess.” A muscle flexes in his jaw. He finds his coat on the rack and slides his arms into it, his movements choppy. Slings his scarf around his neck. A better option than using it to strangle me, which he would probably love to do. “I think we’re pretty straight.”

“No, we’re not,” I say, sidestepping to block him when he heads for the door again. “I know what you think you heard—”

“Correction: what I heard.”

“—and I admit my father wouldn’t care if I married a ninety-five-year-old man on death’s door as long as he was a billionaire. But that’s not me.”

“Sure sounded like you.” He meets my gaze for the first time, forcing me to recoil. There’s so much hurt and anger in his flashing brown eyes. So much reproach in his face and quiet voice, even though it’s rough with emotion. I’d almost prefer that he yell at me. Smash that lamp. Anything other than this deathly stillness. “I’m almost positive I recognized your voice when you said you’d be a fool not to marry a billionaire. I’m guessing that’s why you brought Percy back tonight, right, princess? It’s always healthy to play both ends against the middle. Spark a little competition between potential rich husbands. I’m sure your father’s taught you that.”

“No,” I say, frustration making my voice pitch higher. “I keep telling you. I don’t want Percy. I could’ve already married him by now if he’s what I wanted. We just exchanged pleasantries and wished each other well. That’s it. You saw our whole conversation. He even told me he’s met someone else. He seems excited about her. And I’m excited for him.”

For one arrested second, this information seems to interest him. His vague frown of consternation makes me wonder if I’ve broken through some of his pain to reach the man underneath this forbidding figure in his dark suit and topcoat. But then his lips tighten into a sneer and I know it won’t be that easy. It could never be that easy with Damon Black.

“Touching. By the way, before this conversation goes any further, you should know that my deal fell through. Seven months wasted on my pipe dream. So I’m not a billionaire after all.”

“So?” The non sequitur throws me for a loop. “I mean, I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but who cares?”

“You and your father, clearly. I thought you should know. It might figure into your grand scheme.”

“There’s no grand scheme and I don’t give a damn about your net worth. I’m busy working on my own. Which you might have noticed tonight if you weren’t so busy being angry at the world.”

We stare at each other in a poisonous silence. I’m desperate to clear up this misunderstanding, but I’m terrified to open my mouth and somehow make things worse. I’m not doing very well at following his train of thought at the moment.

“Fascinating,” he finally says. “So what was all that about your big plan to marry a billionaire?”

“Not some random billionaire, you blind idiot,” I shout, knowing it’s a bad idea to lose my temper and pour gasoline on this raging fire. But I can’t help myself. Long weeks and months of pretending I only feel so much for him and no more have already worn down my reserves of self-control. Honestly, it’s a relief to open the taps and let it all gush out. “You! I’d have to be a fool not to marry you!”

Something shifts in his expression, wiping out all the turbulence and leaving what looks like bland curiosity. The kind you might see when a stranger on the street asks you the time.

But I know him well enough to see the intensity burning in his eyes. There’s no mistaking it.

Damon’s not indifferent to what I just said. Far from it. He’s all but holding his breath in his eagerness to learn more.

Even so, he hangs on to his stubborn pride and bravado like James Bond dangling over the ledge of the fiftieth floor of some skyscraper and holding on by his fingertips. He hikes up his chin and hits me with a hateful little hitch of his shoulders that passes as a shrug.

“I’m having a tough time keeping up, princess. I’m not a blue blood. Not a billionaire. You understand my confusion.”

“Well, let me clear it up for you.” I get in his face, my curled fingers itching to smack the nasty smirk off his face. It’s bad enough when the woman says the L-word first and risks driving the man off, screaming, never to be seen again. Worse for me to hurl the news at him like this, in anger, but what choice is there? I can’t let this wound fester and ruin our relationship. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening. Even swallow my pride and face my biggest fear. “I’d have to be a fool not to marry you because I’m in love with you. At moments like this, it gets hard to remember exactly why I’m in love with you, but I am. I don’t care what color your blood is. Couldn’t care less about your zeros or lack thereof.”

He says nothing, but I detect a small tremor in his chin. A slight chink in his armor. That’s all the encouragement I need. Now that I’ve opened the door, the words can’t fly out of my mouth fast enough.

And even though he’s never mentioned words like love, marriage or children, I suddenly can’t wait to share my feelings with him. He’s worth the risk. I know he is.

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