Page 31 of The Billionaire and the Runaway

“What?” she asks.

I quickly fill her in and she listens with the occasional, “OMG!” or “Holy shit!” or “That’s fucking hot!”

When I finish, she’s quiet for a beat. “So?” I ask in a lowered voice.

“So, you need to get him out of his head. He clearly realizes he’s about to cross a boundary and is scared shitless. You need to, like…woo him or some shit,” she says.

“Wait? Isn’t that, like, the guy’s role?” I ask in confusion.

“For the love of…it’s modern times here, Jane Austen. Just…I don’t know…” She trails off. “I got it.”

“What?”

“Snerdling,” she states and I know she’s grinning.

“But…I’d be by myself,” I state as I take in the old term for lying in bed doing nothing but reading and curling up under the covers all day. We found that term while researching for a paper when we were younger and it became our favorite.

“No, get him to snerdle with you. You know…in bed,” she says and I can practically see her winking at me.

“I don’t know. You think he’ll go for that?” I ask as I look down at the sweatpants and T-shirt he brought me.

“Yes. And make sure you have on zero underwear or bra,” she adds.

“But…the girls! He’ll, like, notice,” I murmur as I look down at my sports bra.

“Duh! That’s the entire point!” she says as if I’m stupid. “Geez! We need to get you out more often. I feel like I’ve failed you as a bestie.”

I giggle. “OK. I’ll give it a try.”

“And then call me after! I need all the deets!” she says.

I roll my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah. I know. That’s why you love me. OK. Bye!” she says, drawing out the “bye.”

I hang up. “I’m ready for breakfast,” I call out as I curl up on the bed. I wish I had my makeup and a cute outfit. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I hope I can get Eric to admit he likes me. I hope he likes me. Mostly, I just hope that I’m not about to make this situation ten times worse.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Eric

I try to forget what I just saw…what I just did.

“Fuck,” I mutter to myself as I make some eggs and toast for Ariana, grabbing a bite of it while I plate hers. Barkley looks over at me as if to say, “What’s your problem?”

I can’t remember ever wanting someone this badly. When I got with Tori, we were in high school. It wasn’t like this. We were teenagers. Of course, I was horny back then, but this…this is a whole different level. It’s been months since I’ve been with a woman at all. I’ve hooked up here and there over the years, but I keep it to one-night stands and hookup buddies. I’m sure a therapist would tell me that I’m trying to protect myself by never getting into a place where I have a relationship or feelings again. And that’s not wrong. But the way I feel about Ariana is…different. I have this need to protect her. She’s like a wounded butterfly. I see her improving each day, starting to spread her wings and fly on her own. I see her confidence building and the true Ariana coming out to show herself. She’s so amazing and she doesn’t even know it.

I hear her yell for breakfast and I place the food on a tray and walk up to the bedroom, hoping it’s not awkward after what just transpired between us. I want her. I want her so badly, but I’m not sure I should act on that…at least not yet. I need time to process what I’m feeling. I can’t just fuck her and forget her, as Earl once called my…what did he name them…right,escapades.I shake my head at his vernacular as I push open the bedroom door and step inside.

Ariana is curled up in bed with a book she must have found on the shelf. I want to groan when I read the cover. It’s a romance book. My sister loves romance books.

“Hey,” I say tentatively as I set the tray on the bed.

She looks at the food and smiles. “That looks amazing. Thank you.”

“Of course. Eat up, doctor’s orders,” I say as I push the tray closer to her.

She looks at me with such intensity, I have to look away. I cough a little and walk over to the window, pushing back the curtains as if that’s the most important task in the world. I wish I hadn’t done the morning chores before making breakfast. I need an excuse to leave this room before I do something I might regret.

---