Page 44 of A Billionaire Gentleman

The man who took us to our table was polite, but I felt the eyes of the other patrons on me. Maybe I was just imagining it, or maybe everyone else could tell how much I didn’t belong here. Either way, the joy I’d found in the car had faded away, leaving me with only determination to complete the task I’d been brought here to do.

Deklin pulled out my chair, then pushed me in after I sat down. Two glasses of water with lemon appeared on the table as he moved around to the seat across from me. I picked up my menu just to have something to do with my hands, cringing when I saw that nothing was in English.

Mead had always loved telling me how stupid I was, pointing out all the ways I couldn’t measure up. Maybe if I’d taken French in high school instead of Spanish, I would’ve felt a little better, but that ship had sailed years ago. What was the saying: no use crying over spilled milk?

“Want some absinthe?”

The teasing tone caught me first, and then the rest of what he said sunk in. I flushed, then laughed, letting some of the tension ease out of me. It didn’t matter what all of these people thought of me, not even if they knew who Deklin was and thought I didn’t deserve him.

It wasn’t like I was going to be here long. Once I was done here, I was heading back to Vegas, and I’d never be back here again. I’d never see these people again, and they’d never see me. Even if they did happen to show up in my city, the chances of anyone in Deklin’s social circle coming to Diamond Star Lounge were slim.

Then again, if things went well, I wouldn’t be at the lounge either. I’d be working a nine to five job, a good one where I wouldn’t be ashamed to tell people what I did for a living. I’d never be a teacher or a doctor or the kind of person who was responsible for big things. I’d never make a lot of money or make a difference in the world. But my son would never have to be embarrassed of me, and that was enough.

“See anything you like?” Deklin asked, studying the menu in such a way that told me he was actually reading it.

I smiled at him and set the menu down. “What do you recommend?”

“Want me to order for us both?” he asked as the waiter came over. I nodded, and he rattled something off in French.

This was going to be interesting.

“I like your dress,” Deklin said after the waiter had stepped away. “You look nice.”

I blushed. “Thank you. You look good too.”

Well, this wasn’t awkward at all.

Thankfully, our waiter returned with coffee that probably cost as much as what I would have paid for a full meal back home, and we chatted over that. It was nice, feeling like we were on a date, talking about normal things. I could almost pretend it was real.

“After we’re done here, I’ll take you around the city, show you the sights,” he promised. “How does that sound?”

“Are you sure your grandad said we didn’t need to go to the office today?” Deklin’s gaze slid away from me, and I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“My dad knows,” he admitted, his hands gripping the delicate coffee cup. “About me breaking up with Aurelia.”

“He knows about me?” I didn’t know how I was supposed to respond.

“No, just that I ended things with Aurelia. He wasn’t happy about it at all. I think Grandad told us to take today off because he wanted to give Dad time to get used to the idea.”

The salad that was placed in front of me looked good, but the reason I dug in right away was to avoid having to talk about the fact that Deklin’s father wasn’t going to be pleasant once he realized who I was.

Well, who I was pretending to be, anyway.

“I’ll probably stay at Grandad’s tonight too, if it’s okay with you. It doesn’t have to be in your room. I don’t want to crowd you. I just don’t want to go home yet either.” Deklin sighed as he stabbed something in his salad. “I really need to get a place of my own.”

“Your family doesn’t have a ton of random properties all over the place? Apartments and houses that you all can choose from?”

His eyes narrowed, and he pointed his fork at me. “You’re mocking me.”

“A little,” I admitted, stabbing a tomato as I grinned.

My throat tickled, and I reached for my water. I sipped some, but it didn’t help. The tickle turned into something else, and I coughed. Then gasped. A thin whistling sound told me I was in trouble even before my lungs started to ache.

“Sofi, are you okay?” Deklin leaned toward me. “Your face looks red.”

Shit.

“What – was – in – the – salad?”

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