Page 318 of Billionaire Temptations

“Fine. One more it is.” She smiled.

“Why don’t you trust men?”

Her brow arched as she stared into my eyes.

“Why don’t you trust women?”

“I asked you first,” I spoke.

“I’ll tell you when you tell me.”

“Well, I’m not ready to tell you. So I guess you can keep your secret as well. Besides me not trusting women, what else do you want to know?”

“Tell me about your childhood,” she said.

“My father started Carter Capital a few years before I was born. My parents raised me with the intention that I would take over the family business when my father retired. Last year, on my thirty-first birthday, my father had a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry, Wes.”

“Thanks.” I smiled. “It was pretty serious. He had to undergo a quadruple bypass, and I took over while he was recovering.Once he had fully recovered, he told me that he and my mother had talked about it, and he was going to retire and leave me to run the company. He said his heart attack was a wake-up call and that he had a lot he wanted to do and see before he died. So my parents decided to travel the world, and they have been doing it for the past seven months. In fact, I had just seen them when I was in Paris.”

“Wow. Just the fact that your parents are still together is amazing,” she said.

I let out a chuckle. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Let me guess. You’re a Yale man.”

The corners of my mouth curved upwards. “No. I graduated from INSEAD.”

“In France?” she asked with surprise.

“Yes.” I lightly laughed. “They have an excellent Executive MBA program.”

“So I’ve heard. I’ve just never actually met anyone who has graduated from there. Congratulations, Mr. Carter.” She held up her glass.

“Why thank you, Miss Young.” I lightly tapped my glass against hers with a smile.

“So,” she took the last sip of her martini, “why don’t you trust women?”

“Why don’t you trust men?” I raised my brow.

“Oh, come on, Wes. Humor me. Tell me your dirty little secrets. I know you have some. There’s no way a rich, corporate, sexy man like yourself is still single for a reason.”

“Is that all that matters to you? Rich, corporate, and sexy?” I asked.

She studied me with a narrowed eye for a moment as she brought her fork to her mouth. She was trying to figure me out just like I was trying to figure out her. She had mommy and daddy issues big time. That much, I could tell. She was gorgeousand very smart. But there was something off about her, and it was something I was going to find out.

“No. Maybe the sexy part.” She smiled. “What’s really important is what’s inside. I like a man who is sweet but not sickeningly sweet. I hate ass-kissers. A man who works hard and isn’t afraid to take risks. He must be sensitive, but not too sensitive. That’s just fucking annoying. He must be kind and have a heart of gold.”

“Was your ex all of those?” I daringly asked.

“He was just annoying all around.”

I let out a chuckle as I slipped my credit card into the billfold. After I signed the receipt, Anna and I walked out of the restaurant and climbed into the back of my town car.

“When we get back to my apartment, would you like to come up? Franco made this amazing cheesecake for me, and I have yet to cut into it.” She smiled.

“I’d love to.” I grinned.

---