Page 28 of Just Not That Into Billionaires

“Do you think that this puts me in the mood to help my wife with her problems?” I growl.

“I think your wife is wearing something pretty and stylish, just like you asked,” she breathes, leaning close. “That was our agreement, and I take my contracts seriously.”

She pouts theatrically, like she just got a new and distressing idea, and draws even closer. “Do you suddenly not like having a wife? I could see where having a wife isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in certain situations. You just never know what will happen. You can never tell what she’ll do.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask.

“More like frenemy…ish…ly advice,” she says. “As to what might be best.”

I can’t believe the way she’s pushing back. It’s been years since anybody has thought to push back against me, particularly when I hold all the cards. “Best for whom?”

“Best for you,” she says.

I breathe in her jasmine scent and whisper, “This is not a game you want to play with me.”

Something dangerous gleams in her eyes. She turns to the waiter. “Do you serve cheese fondue here, by any chance? I don’t get out much, and that’s the food that I’m accustomed to eating. Swiss cheese, ideally.”

Our dining companions go still.

I gaze at her, stunned, as the waiter assures her that they do not serve cheese fondue.

“There’s no fondue!” She turns to me. “You said there would be fondue, honey.”

Behind her, Aaron’s looking stressed, blinking too much, or maybe he’s squeezing out Morse code messages like a desperate hostage.

And I can’t help it—I just start laughing.

Suddenly Juliana’s laughing. “Swiss cheese fondue! I get it! Oh my goodness,” she exclaims. “Priceless! You two had me going!”

Her colleague Juan says something in Portuguese. She replies, also in Portuguese and Juan claps, saying something that I’m thinking is Portuguese swear words. He turns to the Texans. “A joke.”

All the Protech people are laughing now.

“We all kept hearing this bit about the Swiss chalet,” Gary says. “And here you come waltzing’ in here dressed like that! You could’ve knocked us over with a feather!”

I smile. “Well, that rumor is just so ridiculous. And really, why a chalet?” I beam triumphantly at Francine. “Keeping her in a chalet? Why would I?” I slide my arm around her shoulders. “I wouldn’t want my beautiful wife anywhere else but by my side.”

“Except when I’m on tour, of course,” she says.

“Of course,” I say.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” Juliana says. “I’ll confess that we had reservations about your being too serious and somber to fit with our engineering group. We didn’t think you had any sense of humor whatsoever!”

“Benny has an amazing sense of humor when you get to know him,” Francine says. “He loves practical jokes.”

I growl softly, tightening my hold on her.

She looks up at me. “And puns. If he’s in a crabby mood, a pun will always lift his spirits.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I say.

“You’ll see,” she says, grinning at everybody. “The more stormy he acts, the more he’s enjoying the pun. You’ll see.”

“The team loves jokes,” Juliana says. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

The team loves jokes.Grrrrreat.

“Coulda knocked me over with a feather,” the Texan says again.

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