Page 10 of Billionaire Devil

“You’re driving toL.A.?” My brain is working in the background behind this slightly shocking piece of information.Who drives to fucking L.A.? And the spin of my thoughts is taking me into brand new territory.This could be your opportunity to spend time with the most beautiful woman you’ve ever met. To convince her you’re not a serial-dating villain. To show her that instead, you’re the man of her wildest dreams.“By yourself?” I’m not even going to acknowledge that last thought. I don’t know where the fuck it flew in from.

“Yeah, well, I have this phobia about flying.” She laughs lightly, and the sound does weird things to me. Those invisible fists gripping my heart and my cock squeeze tighter. “It’s lame, I know, but it’s a hang-up I have. So I figured it could be a chance for me to check out a few places I’ve always wanted to go, along the way.”

Her voice is angel-soft but with a light smoky husk to it.

I wonder what it would sound like moaning my name. I have a sudden, feral need to find out.

“Like where?”

“Nashville. I’ve always wanted to go there. Aspen, maybe for a night or two, but I hear it’s super expensive. The Grand Canyon’s on my bucket list and it’s sort of on the way. So maybe I’ll try to fit that in too. And Vegas, believe it or not. I don’t even gamble but I feel like I should at least see it once in my lifetime.”

Against my will, my brain is continuing to concoct a plan.

A bus. One of those super-sized tour buses with lounges and upstairs bedrooms. I could show her these places in total style. I could blow her mind with how much fun she could have, and howmuch luxury I could lay on. For a whole week, she could be all mine.

“Are you sure you don’t just want to fly, honey?” Sloane asks. “I used to hate flying too, but I just take a sleeping pill now and it knocks me right out.”

Lila admits something she’s clearly been holding back from Sloane. “I’m actually thinking of going back to L.A. for good.”

“No.” Sloane takes Lila’s hand. “You can’t.”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, but things aren’t really working out for me here like I’d hoped.”

Which means you’ll never see her again if you don’t act on it. She’ll slip right through your goddamn fingers and you’ll always wonder.

Sloane is upset by the news. “But it’s so sudden, Lila. You can’t leave forgood.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, Sloane. I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while. L.A. is home and I’m…” She glances at me briefly but then overrides whatever hesitation is holding her back. It might be the combination of the champagne and the fact that Sloane’s warnings have made her decision to steer clear of me resolute. She tells us more than I might have expected. “Well, the guy I’ve had a crush on forever is going to be at the wedding. And my best friend from college—the one getting married—has offered me a room in her soon-to-be new husband’s house in Malibu, not that I’ll probably take her up on it, but it’s nice to have the option short-term. So it feels like the timing might be right.”

“What guy?” Sloane asks. “You never told me about a guy you’ve had a crush on.”

“Honestly, he’s no one. Just a guy I used to basically be in love with even though nothing ever happened between us. I’m kind of dreading seeing him.”

There are a few things I can use here. She’s single. She’s pining for a man who must be the biggest fucking idiot on the planet. And if nothing happened between them and she’s been pining for him all this time, that could mean…any number of things which I trynotto fixate on or over-analyze.

“I’m hardly fantasizing about a romantic reunion with my old unrequited crush,” Lila laughs again, but there’s regret in it. “It’s probably going to be totally awkward.”

“Or,” Sloane gushes, “he’ll realize what he’s been missing out on all this time and he’ll fall madly in love with you.”

The idea of it makes my blood turn hot and it’s an unfamiliar sensation. What the hell? Is this…jealousy? Whatever it is, it’s intense. I want to kill the fucker.

Lila shrugs lightly. “Highly doubtful.”

“All you have to do,” Sloane insists, “is to turn up all super-hot and outrageously sexy, like in this insane dress you’re wearing right now or one of your other designs—like that catsuit on your Instagram, oh my god. The guy won’t stand a chance.”

Of course he won’t. And neither do I.Note to self: look up Lila Bailey’s Instagram.

“It’s extremely unlikely,” Lila says. “Compared to Mr. Hotshot Lawyer in Pasadena, with my two minimum wage jobs and tumbleweeds rolling through my love life, I’m definitely not looking like the best option on paper.”

“Girl, those details are irrelevant,” Sloane insists. “Don’t you dare sell yourself short. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You could have any man you wanted. You just haven’t met the right one yet.”

The more I watch her the more mesmerized I become. The girl is absolutely stunning.

“That’s the thing,” Lila says. “Maybe Ihavemet the right one but he just didn’t want me. I know it’s ridiculous. I really should have moved on a long time ago. And I thought I had, but then as soon as I heard he was going to be there…oh, god, why am I even talking about this? The whole thing is ridiculous.”

So she’s never dated because she was waiting for some asshole from her past to notice her.

Sloane looks around, whispering conspiratorially to Lila. “You know, if you wanted to let off some steam before you see this guy again, to take the edge off those nerves, you could…you know, have a little fun tonight. We’re surrounded by hot, rich assholes. Any one of them could be yours for the taking.”

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