Page 28 of Billion-Dollar Dating Game

He stared at her for a long moment. ‘All right, I’ll tell you about Reed Helberg if you answermyquestions.’

‘About what?’

He shook his head. ‘That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.’

‘Everything is a game to you.’

‘Not a game. A deal. In fact, this is abargainbecause it’s so easy. It’s merely some answers to some questions—how difficult can that be?’

‘Well, it seems to be very difficult for you.’ She watched him suspiciously. ‘You have to be honest about you and Reed.’

There was the smallest hesitation. ‘Sure, I’ll be honest if you are.’

Oddly enough, she actually enjoyed being brutally honest with him and not bothering with the cautious politeness she always maintained around everyone else. ‘Fine. Tell me what happened with Reed.’ The man had a summer residence not far from the same town as them. A compound that had been in his family for generations. He liked to offer the scholarships to the kids of the local school. ‘He must’ve thought you were amazing. Offered you the scholarship to end all scholarships.’

Zane hesitated again. Shadows flickered in his eyes and his features sharpened. That’s when the penny dropped. He’d been a student at her high school for all his schooling years. She’d assumed it was because of his injuries—he’d needed to remain at home. And then he’d not gone on to university because he’d already made his fortune.

‘Didn’t he offer you one?’ she whispered.

‘Clever, Skylar,’ he muttered steadily. ‘I wasn’t good enough.’

Never couldthatbe true. Never ever. Zane was a genius. And he’d had that shocking injury in the car accident that he’d fought back so strongly from. He’d shown strength and courage as well as intelligence. Whereas she’d worked so awfully hard just to be good enough for consideration.

‘How is that possible?’ she asked.

He chuckled but the bitterness touched her. ‘I guess I wasn’t the right kind of polite, malleable student who he could wheel out in front of guests to make him look good. He was pure egotist.’

Malleable?Well, the last thing Zane was, was malleable. He was his own person. A maverick who seemed to take little seriously—aside from making millions. ‘You were too much of a threat—’

‘My own ego was,’ he said. ‘I made my first million when I was still at school—’

‘But learning from home for half that time—’

‘Right.’ He blinked, disconcerted for a second. ‘Fool that I was, I wanted him to admit he’d been wrong about me. I was young and egotistical enough to feel pleased about the invitation to speak at the gala but Reed couldn’t have been more dismissive. Told me it was easy enough to make money. The real test was whether I’d be able to keep it. That he wasn’t a betting man but he wassureI’d fail.’

She stilled. Reed had rejected him. Repeatedly.

But now Zane smiled in reminiscence. ‘I’d had no idea you were going to be there, but you were that year’s scholar. As beautiful as ever. As well behaved as always. You wouldn’t even look at me.’

She felt her skin heat. Truth was, she’d not been able to meet his eyes initially because she’d not known what to say. The last time she’d seen him had been when her father had physically pulled them apart. She’d beenmortified. By her father. By her own silence. But Zane himself had said nothing—he’d just stalked off. And he’d stalked off from the dinner that night too. But he’d muttered as he’d passed her.

‘I believe you called me pathetic,’ she said.

He nodded. ‘It wasn’t polite of me. But you were.’

That stung. ‘For being grateful?’

He drew in a deep breath.

She waited.

‘It wasyourbrain that got your grades,’ he finally said. ‘Your work. You never needed that scholarship.’

He was wrong but she couldn’t tell him about the pressure her father had put on her—that both the school and varsity scholarships had provided something of a necessary escape. She felt too disloyal to her father to even think it, but sometimes she’d been caught between the contrary needs to please him and to have breathing space of her own...

‘I was just someone to take your annoyance out on,’ she muttered.

He shook his head. ‘I was pissed off that night but even more so when I saw you.’ His gaze roved over her face, settling on her eyes. ‘You were the perfect little protégée.’

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