Page 5 of A Billionaire Rebel

“It’s a virgin.”

I almost choked on my spit. “What now?”

“The drink, sugar. It’s non-alcoholic. Virgin.” She winked at me. “Not me, though. I ain’t been one of those since junior prom night.”

I laughed, and the last little bit of darkness that had been hanging over me dissipated. It had always been like that for me. Even in the worst of times, I could find something to laugh about, to smile about. I’d always made Deklin and Grandad laugh. Mom too. Dad and Davin had been harder, but sometimes they laughed as well.

“I’ve got a room here,” I said as I held out my hand. “Want to join me? It’s okay if you don’t.”

She put her hand in mine and stood. A few people looked our way as we walked toward the elevators, but for the most part, they were all focused on whatever it was they were doing. One of the things I loved about this hotel was that they offered a level of discretion that I couldn’t always get in other places.

I wasn’t one of those musicians who did crazy stuff, but with my dad’s strict religious views, even something as simple as taking a woman to my room would get him riled up. I didn’t want to be woken up tomorrow morning with a call telling me how I’d disgraced the family name or some shit like that.

Ivy’s red curls bounced as she walked, and her steady stream of chatter made me smile. The simple act of watching and listening to her pushed thoughts of Dad back to Houston, where they belonged.

When we got inside my room, I closed the door and said, “Would you like me to order something? Champagne? Wine?”

“No, thank you.”

A shirt hit the floor even as I was turning, and by the time I got around to face her, she’d wiggled out of her cute jean miniskirt too, leaving her in a pair of pink cowboy boots and matching pink panties and bra, both showing off her curves to their best advantage.

“All right, sugar, your turn. Let’s see what you’re packing.”

I was more than happy to oblige.

Three

Jae

I steppedout of the shower and began toweling off, grimacing as the August humidity made my skin damp again almost immediately. The building’s air conditioning was ancient and pretty much just kept us from having heat stroke most of the time.

On days like today, when South Houston’s temperature was already ninety and promised to reach double digits before noon, the best we could hope for was that nothing broke down. It’d be miserable trying to sleep tonight if the air went out.

I wrapped my towel around me and reminded myself that it wouldn’t do any good to worry about what may or may not happen. I couldn’t do anything preemptively, and anxiety would only distract me from what I had to do today. Fortunately, I was good at compartmentalizing.

My sister was waiting on the other side of the door, her short curls still a mess, and her light blue eyes sleepy. She nodded at me and yawned as she went into the bathroom, the usual extent of our morning conversations. Neither one of us were natural morning people.

I changed into my work uniform, such as it was, and ran a comb through my hair. I’d cut it to my shoulders a few months ago to make it easier to manage and found that I liked how it looked. I pulled my still-wet hair into a ponytail, dabbed on some lip gloss, and then scowled into the mirror.

I had one of those faces that made people think I was barely eighteen instead of my actual twenty-two. A little bit of makeup helped with that. Too much, and I didn’t feel like me.

I chose eyeshadow nearly the same pale blue color as my eyes, and when I was done, I barely glanced at the finished product. I wasn’t trying to look older to attract attention. I just needed customers to see me as someone capable of handling whatever they needed rather than a student with a summer job.

By the time I went out into the tiny kitchen slash dining room that made up the main area of the apartment, I could smell the coffee Jamie had already started. When she’d first moved in with me, we’d set up routines that allowed us to accomplish everything we needed to in the most efficient ways possible. For example, whichever of us woke up first would shower while the other made the coffee we both needed to function.

Having her for a roommate had been more enjoyable than I’d expected it to be.

“Bre’f’st!”

I smiled as Kevin came running into the room as fast as his little legs could handle. At two-and-a-half, he was a bundle of energy and far too smart for his own good.

And I loved him to pieces.

He launched himself at my legs, cackling that wonderful laugh of his. I ruffled his dark brown hair, so much like mine and Jamie’s. Add in those big blue eyes of his, and he was the spitting image of his mother at his age.

“Want cakes, Aunt Jae,” he demanded.

“Oh, you do, do you?” I laughed and set down my coffee to pick him up. “What did Mommy say?”

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