Page 97 of The Billionaires

“It’s not a problem. It’s just reality.”

“What reality?” she demands.

“I like her,” I say, and voicing it makes something tighten inside my chest. “A lot. Maybe more than a lot.”

Gram chuckles. “Darling, I saw you together. You didn’t need to tell me that.”

I don’t meet Gram’s gaze. “I don’t think she likes me, though. Not in the same way.”

“Are you crazy?”

I blink, startled, and look at Gram.

She sighs and lays her hand over mine. “Listen. Like I just said, I saw you together—and that girl is head over heels for you.”

“It was just an act.” The words taste bitter in my mouth.

She scoffs. “Not an act. It’s a fact. Trust me, I’m never wrong about these things.”

I absentmindedly pick up my sandwich and take a big bite.

Could Gram be right?

I replay all my interactions with Juno—the date-like meals, the plane ride, Gainesville, the phone calls, meeting each other’s families, and then that transcendental sex yesterday. And maybe it’s my blood sugar stabilizing, but I’m starting to feel more hopeful.

At the very least, Juno seems to want me in bed. Her actions yesterday proved that much. Maybe not as much as I want her, but it’s a start.

Maybe if I apply myself, I can make her want me more.

Make her love me.

I drop the unfinished sandwich onto the plate as an idea solidifies in my mind.

Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

I will make Juno mine. I’ll approach her like I do any business deal: with fortitude and determination. I will do whatever it takes to make what we have real.

Yes. This can work.

Maybe I acted like an idiot yesterday, but I can fix that.

I will fix everything.

Without meaning to, I jump to my feet.

Gram arches an eyebrow. “Leaving already?”

I pat the phone in my pocket. “I gotta go see about a girl. Or in this case, a Roman goddess.”

CHAPTER 37

JUNO

I wake up to the smell of Lucius on my sheets and an ache in my chest.

Jackknifing to my feet, I rip the offending linens off the bed and toss them into a pile. If I want to stay sane, I’ll have to do emergency laundry.

When does the laundromat open again?

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