Page 24 of A Billionaire Gentleman

Damon was the black sheep in the family, choosing to become a musician instead of being part of the family business, but he wouldn’t have been suited to real estate anyway, so Dad didn’t actually mind.

The moment he saw me, his face lit up, and he gave me a hug. That was Damon, all exuberance and good humor.

“You look good, little brother.” Damon sat back down, and I took the seat next to him.

“You too.” Between me finishing up at school and Damon’s concert schedule, we hadn’t seen each other since Christmas. “How did last night’s concert go?”

“Good,” he said, sipping his drink. “No surprises. Everyone doing their jobs.”

I frowned at his bored tone. “I thought you loved what you do.”

“I do,” he said. He was smiling, but there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn’t being completely honest. “Now, how about you tell me why I had to hear from Davin that you’re engaged?”

I waved over the bartender instead of answering the question. After giving her my order, I turned toward Damon again. “It was a…spontaneous thing.”

One eyebrow shot up. “You’re not exactly an impulsive person, Dek. I’ve never even heard of this girl, and you’re ready to marry her?”

“She’s a sweet woman, Damon.” I pointed at him. “And you’re not exactly in a position to be giving me advice about dating.”

He grinned. “I’d never dream of it.”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Please tell me you’re not going to make this harder for me. Grandad is already working overtime to keep Aurelia and me from spending much time together.”

“Why’s that?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. Dad practically threw me at Aurelia, and Grandad keeps pulling us apart. I don’t know if it’s Grandad not liking the Kane family, or if he thinks Dad shouldn’t have set me up with her or what.”

“You haven’t asked him?”

I gave Damon a look, and he laughed.

“You’re right. That was a stupid question.”

“Ronall said that you and Davin loved the Kane boys. You would’ve only been a few years old when they moved.”

“I don’t remember them.” He drained his glass and motioned for a refill. “Doesn’t it strike you as weird that we’d never heard about these ‘old family friends’ until they suddenly show up?”

“Do you think they’re up to something?” I asked, surprised.

“Don’t you?”

I took a small drink and shook my head. “I think it’s more likely that it’s just one of those things that Dad never told us.”

“Possible,” Damon agreed. “Now, tell me what it is about Aurelia that made you fall so madly in love with her that you decided you just had to marry her.”

“Dad actually suggested it to me,” I admitted. “We were taking things slow, but Dad told me that Ronall wanted to make sure Aurelia was taken care of before she left for grad school.”

“Wait a minute.” Damon turned toward me, his drink forgotten. “You proposed to this woman because Dadtoldyou to?”

“It’s not like that,” I insisted. “I like her. She’s easy to talk to and sweet. Shy, but not stand-offish.”

“You like her.” The way Damon said it made me narrow my eyes. “Dek, you said youlikeyour fiancée. Like, not love.” He picked up his glass and drained it before setting it back down. “Do you love her?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t matter. People marry for all sorts of reasons.”

He snorted and grabbed my arm. “Come on, Deklin. You know this is too fast.”

“It’s not.” I pulled my arm away from him. “Nothing about Aurelia and me is too fast. We can have a long engagement. I mean, it’s not like we’ve even slept together yet.”

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