Page 9 of How to Bang a Billionaire

“Excuse me, I’m incredibly sexy and— Oh my God.” The results of my image search had just popped up.

“You are such a letch.”

Peeping at Nik over the top of the screen, I gave him double eyebrows. “Shit. I invited him to the dinner as well. What if I have to talk to him and look at him at the same time?”

“I guess it’ll tear a rift in the space-time continuum and we all die.”

Okay—I deserved that. I laughed, blushed a bit at my own ridiculousness. “I bet you anything I end up making a complete idiot out of myself.”

“People like that are insanely busy. He probably won’t even make it.”

Yes. That was a good point. And it would save me a lot of embarrassment.

Except I couldn’t help feeling disappointed too. I mean, not just because he was gorgeous—I was shallow, but not that shallow—but because…Meh, I was probably reading too much into it.

But it would have been nice to meet him.

Hear that soft, unexpectedly shy laugh in person.

“So”—Nik broke into my daydreaming—“are you going to be working or do you want to watch Luke Cage?”

I checked the clock on my computer—it was past ten now. Hardly worth starting revision. Although, let’s face it, it was that kind of attitude that got me into this mess in the first place. “Is there room under that duvet?”

“Always.”

I settled the laptop on the table, fired up Netflix, and snuggled in next to Nik. “You’re not contagious, are you?”

“Only if I snog you.”

“Hey, it’s possible. You might be overcome by base lust and unable to keep your tongue out of me.”

He flung an arm around and pulled me closer—he smelled slightly like an ill person, but also cozy and familiar. “Yes. That’s definitely a real danger that you’re in right now. With Mike Colter right there.”

“You mean, you’re gay for Mike Colter but not for me?”

“Shhh.”

I’d had this …almost-maybe-actual crush on Nik for basically ever. It could have damaged our relationship, but in my experience, there were two kinds of straight boys in the world: the ones who were terrified that being liked by a gay meant getting bummed the moment they let their guard down and the ones who were comfortable enough to be into it.

Nik was in the second category.

And, honestly, there were probably two kinds of queer boys as well: the ones who had wholesome, healthy relationships with other queers and the ones who preferred to be in love with people they couldn’t have because they were slutty commitmentphobes.

I was also in the second category.

A friendmance made in heaven.

Chapter 3

Okay, how do I look?” I turned away from the mirror over the sink and struck a pose.

Nik’s expression was carefully neutral. “Honestly? Like a kid in his dad’s suit.”

The post-telethon dinner was black tie and I didn’t have the right kit, so I’d borrowed Nik’s. Not completely grasping the impact of Nik being six foot four and an athlete. When I was pretty much the opposite of that. “What if I rolled the sleeves up?”

“Don’t you fucking dare. That’s my best tux.”

As I walked across the room, the trousers slipped ominously down my hips. I tightened the rainbow canvas belt I’d hidden under the cummerbund and managed to stave off disaster.

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