Page 32 of Forking the Billionaire

Ah, there was thebut.He didn’t approve of my life or my choices. He was temporarily accepting the current arrangement until I came to my senses and returned home like a good little girl.

“Well,” I said. “This has been nice. But if you don’t mind, I still need to shower before breakfast, so….”

“I’ll let myself out,” he said with a small but warm smile filled with genuine affection, because after all of our troubles, he was a good brother who loved me.

“See you at breakfast.” I waved at his back as he left. And when I heard the front door click shut behind him, I collapsed onto the bed.

I really did need to take that shower. I was going to do it, and I would make myself up like a smokin’ put-together woman capable of running her own life.

And I would see Gabe and not care what he thought. And I would see Jasper, too. Ugh.

I wouldn’t think about the confident way Jasper carried himself. I would not think about the way we’d actually gotten along for a little while during the night. I would not think about the way his green eyes sparkled like stolen emeralds when he broke the rules, almost like we were playing a forbidden game that he perversely enjoyed.

And I definitely would not think about the way he twisted those locker knobs or the scandalous resulting photograph he had on his phone.

My belly got all warm and swimmy as I didn’t think about Jasper.

But I’d nicknamed him The Disaster for a reason. No way would I let him charm away my defenses or forget that deep down, he was the same boy who betrayed me long ago.

I couldn’t avoid him completely, obviously. But there was safety in numbers. And I could make good decisions. I’d prove it to myself and to Gabe.

No chance was I going anywhere alone with Jasper Carrington again.

ELEVEN

JASPER

I woke up in bed with a woman I had absolutely no interest in. Jules was completely naked, her head on my chest, her arm and leg draped over my completely clothed form.

She started to stir, eyes still closed, tilting her face up toward mine. She was objectively beautiful, intelligent, and great fun for meaningless sex. She hadn’t tried to string me into a commitment. She didn’t kick puppies, make racist comments, or belittle servers at restaurants.

There was nothing wrong with her. Still, I had no interest. So then, what was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I enjoy a no-strings-attached, fuck-around week with her?

It wasn’t just the fact that I didn’t want to sleep with her, either. I didn’t want her as my date for this trip. I didn’t want her here in my room.

The scars my dad had caused ran deeper than I’d realized, I guessed.

None of my feelings were fair to Jules, obviously. What was I supposed to do now? I’d already brought her halfway around the world. My only choice was to shove down these pointless and unfortunate feelings, and make the best of our situation.

I slipped out from underneath her and off the bed. I went to the corner of the room where I’d left my luggage. Except it wasn’t there.

I ran a hand over my face. It didn’t help wipe away the tiredness that penetrated deep into my bones. It also didn’t help my bag magically appear where it was supposed to be.

Had I put it somewhere else and forgotten? Had Jules moved it? I checked the closet, the dressers, every nook and cranny of the room. I checked the balcony and the ground below. My bag was gone.

A small knot of worry formed in my chest. Clothes were replaceable, but the one keepsake I’d brought along for the trip wasn’t.

“Hey.” I poked Jules in the shoulder.

“Ungh.”

“Do you know what happened to my bag?”

“Why would I know what you did with your things?” She rolled over and buried her head under her pillow.

Was she pissed at me for leaving last night? Did she do something to my bag because of it?

“Jules.” I walked around to the other side of the bed and peeled the pillow from her arms.

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