Page 66 of The Billionaire's Cinderella

“I’m saying that you’ve got ten million dollars and some other odds and ends coming. Like maybe a stack of these old photos, because I don’t know if you even have a picture of dear old Dad. So I’m going to need the name of your lawyer. And you’d better start thinking about how you want to use the money.”

I’d love to say that I manage some decorum at that crucial moment, but I’d be lying. I squeal like a high school freshman receiving a text from the most popular guy at school asking her to the homecoming dance.

“Ten million?”

“Ten million,” he says, grinning. “Your half of his fortune when he died.”

I think it over, my brain spinning out fantasies. A vacation home in Capri. New car. New apartment. A farm upstate with a barn for horses. Charitable donations. No, a foundation. For, I don’t know, needy children who love pets. Clothes. Jewelry. Shoes. Books. Dinner at every five-star restaurant in New York.

In the end, though, there’s one big thing that I’d really love to accomplish.

“I want to expand Valentina’s,” I tell him. “We’ve never had the extra money to invest, but we need a bigger dining room and an updated kitchen. And I want to hire students from cooking school as apprentices. Maybe do some teaching and training. And when the time is right, we might get into online sales as well. And wedding cakes.”

“Impressive,” he says, eyeing me with unmistakable pride. “You’ve given this some thought.”

“Who hasn’t wondered what they’d do if they won the lottery one day?” I say, laughing.

“Fair warning. This is a lot of money. I’m going to hold some of it in trust for you. I have financial advisors you can use, or you can select your own. And you’ll need a prenup when you get married.”

Another memory shakes loose.

I can’t wait to tell you how I feel.

I can’t wait for us to make a few things official around here.

Oh my God, I think with a sudden and jarring burst of clarity.

The man who has basically worshiped me since the day we met mentioned our future and I pushed him away. He really can do better than me, can’t he? It shouldn’t be that hard to find a woman with a functional brain and half an ounce of common sense.

I need to see Ryker. I need to tell him that my head is now firmly straight.

I need to go back to the vintage store and grab that dress. Like, now. See what magic Aunt Gilda can help me work with it before the ball on Saturday.

“Don’t worry,” I tell my brother. “The only person I hope to marry is rich. If he’ll have me after the way I tried to screw things up the other day. So I’m guessing that a prenup is in my future no matter what.”

He gives me a pointed look. “Here’s some brotherly advice. I plan to give you plenty of that from now on whether you want it or not, by the way. If you love him and he’s good for you, straighten things out. We don’t want to turn out like dear old Dad, wasting time when he could’ve been with the love of his life.”

There’s suddenly something wistful in his expression that catches my interest. I watch as his attention drifts to the large photo on top of the stack on the desk. It’s him at about twenty, with his arm slung around the waist of a beautiful woman. They stare into each other’s eyes and laugh, oblivious to the camera. A sexy moment in the lives of young lovers who can’t get enough of each other.

“You sound like you know something about a lost love,” I say.

He catches himself as bright patches of color rise over his cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says gruffly.

“Sure you don’t. Who’s she?” I say.

He opens his mouth. I brace for a stern none of your business. Which is why I’m so surprised when his expression softens into something vulnerable.

“No one special. Girl I used to date in college,” he says. “It, ah, ended badly.”

“You should get her back.”

“I don’t want her back,” he says flatly.

“If you say so,” I say, not fooled for a second.

“You need to get Ryker back. ASAP.”

“Don’t you worry. I plan to,” I assure him, thinking that I’ve got a dress to get and a ball to attend. I’ve got a lot to do between now and this weekend. But at least I already have the shoes.

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