Page 48 of A Billionaire Gentleman

He raised an eyebrow. “How about some sympathy here? I didn’t get like this all by myself. I seem to remember you doing your fair share of groping.”

My pussy throbbed at the memory of having that thick shaft buried inside me. If we weren’t in public, I would’ve gone to my knees right then and there to give him more than sympathy. Honestly, I was tempted, anyway.

He glanced at the dress on the hook. “Wear that one, and I’ll let the girl outside know to ring it up too.”

As he slipped out, I reached for the dress and wondered how I was going to keep from dragging him into bed again. I supposed I’d have the entire concert to get myself under control. At least it was a symphony and not a romantic movie or something like that.

Except, when Deklin and I walked into the concert hall, my arm entwined with his, it felt like just sitting next to him was going to wind me up. The dress was like nothing I’d ever owned before, clingy and sexy and far too expensive for me to ever wear back home. His clothes weren’t new, but they were tailored to him, anddamn, they looked good. He smelled wonderful too.

I loved music, and I would’ve enjoyed the concert no matter what, but having him next to me made it all…more. His knee touched mine, and he laced our fingers together. There were other people around us, but I was barely aware of any of them. It felt almost like the concert was only for the two of us.

The surreal feeling stayed with me through the entire performance and followed us to the car. Neither of us had spoken much, and we were halfway back to Jude’s place when Deklin finally broke the silence, though what he said wasn’t anything I would’ve guessed was coming.

“Grandad is having a birthday party for Cynthia tomorrow.”

Oh. Well, I could find somewhere to be for a few hours, and I opened my mouth to say as much, but he kept going.

“I’d love for you to be there. I know Grandad and Cynthia would like that too.” He glanced at me. “I’d really like you to meet my family.”

Shiiit.

He wanted me to meet his family. This was all moving insanely fast. If it had been for real, I might’ve panicked, but because it wasn’t, I was able to tell myself that this was for the best for all of us. The faster this pretend relationship went, the faster I’d be able to tell Jude to end things so I could go back home and get my son.

Twenty-Eight

Deklin

With the wayDad had been looking at me for the last quarter-hour, I was starting to wonder if I’d made the right decision, inviting Sofi to the party. Grandad and Cynthia were happy that she was here, but they were the only ones. Davin and Damon were both here too, but they’d both been overly polite so far. The sort of polite that came with being unsure of a situation.

“Maybe I should leave for a little while,” Sofi whispered as her grip on my hand tightened.

“No.” I kept my voice low, but not a whisper. “You’re with me, and you have every right to be here.”

Then Dad came back into the main sitting room with Ronall and Aurelia following him, and I started to doubt my own words. Ronall glared at me, putting a protective arm around his daughter and saying something in her ear that I assumed was more derogatory to me or Sofi than it was supportive of Aurelia. Next to me, Sofi had gone stiff, and I hated myself for putting her in this situation. I hadn’t even imagined that the Kanes would be here.

I was saved from having to decide how I should handle things by Grandad calling for our attention. As he gave a small speech about how much Cynthia meant to him, I couldn’t help glancing over at Aurelia. I had accepted that our relationship had been more about me pleasing my father and wanting to take care of her than it was actually wanting to marry her, but that didn’t mean I’d wanted to hurt her. When we’d talked, she hadn’t sounded upset, but seeing me here with Sofi looked insensitive at best, uncaring and cruel at worst.

She didn’t deserve that.

As if she’d felt me watching her or even guessed that I was thinking of her, she turned to look at me. She smiled, that same sweet smile that she’d given me when we’d first met, and guilt struck me hard enough to make me wince. That just made it worse because now she looked concerned. I almost wished she’d come over and make a scene, yell at me for what I’d done. If she did that, maybe Dad would think I’d been punished enough, and we could all move on.

“All right, I’ve talked enough,” Grandad finished up. “Let’s eat.”

Sofi and I hung back for me to talk to Davin and Damon for a minute, allowing the others to go to the dining room first and avoid any unpleasantness for a little while longer. Delicious food allowed us to eat without anything more than a few snide comments by my father, but I knew a confrontation would happen sooner or later.

Before dessert, Sofi excused herself, and I watched everyone else watch her leave. When eyes turned back to me, I waited to see who’d be the first to start. Before anyone could, Grandad cleared his throat and asked Dad a question, his tone such that no one was going to dare to bring up anything that might upset the balance. With everyone distracted, no one but me noticed Aurelia slip out of the room. After a moment, I followed.

I was at one end of the hall when the bathroom door opened at the other end, and Sofi stepped out. Aurelia was between us, and I saw the guilt flash across Sofi’s face when she realized Aurelia was coming toward her. When Sofi’s eyes flicked up to meet mine, Aurelia looked over her shoulder and smiled at me.

“May I speak to both of you?” she asked, her voice calm and friendly as ever.

How was I supposed to deny her after all I’d put her through?

“Of course,” Sofi said. “Deklin, where’s the best place for a private conversation?”

I gestured to the room across from the bathroom. One of the several libraries in Grandad’s house, it’d work for whatever Aurelia wanted to say to us. If it got too bad for Sofi, I’d ask her to leave and let Aurelia yell at me alone.

The fact that I actually thought Aurelia was going to yell at us was evidence of how little I actually knew my former fiancée.

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