Page 18 of Below Deck Billionaire
‘It was a coincidence.’
‘Or, you know.’ He shrugged. ‘The universe working in mysterious ways.’
Theo would have rolled his eyes at that had he not said something similar last night. Turning back to the water, he bent at the waist and braced his elbows on the top rail. ‘I don’t screw the crew.’
‘That’s a very good policy.’ Hugo clapped him on the shoulder then mimicked his stance, and for several moments they both tracked the jet ski antics before he spoke again. ‘Haven’t seen your face or your cock’ – he grinned broadly, obviously still amused at that picture – ‘in any tabloids lately.’
Theo tensed. Like he wasn’t already wound as tight as a fucking top. ‘I’m taking a break.’
Hugo burst into laughter then.Malakas. ‘I can tell from your mood it’s clearly working out well for you.’
Theo’s lips pressed together. ‘I need the goddamn paparazzi off my back.’
Shaking his head, Hugo said, ‘You always were all or nothing.’
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
‘Have you ever thought that if you stopped being the one-and-done guy and actually saw a woman more than once, they might lose interest?’
No. He’d never thought that, but maybe Hugo was on to something. Maybe that was the issue with Tiffany. Just because he’d never met a woman he wanted to see twice, didn’t mean she didn’t exist, right?
Maybe Tiffany was that mythical unicorn. Maybe she was the two-and-done.
And maybe, once he’d won this ridiculous no-sex dare, he could see if she was interested in one more roll between his sheets. Because maybe he just needed one more time with her and then he could be done. Maybe that could fix everything.
For the first time since Ari’s wedding, Theo could see a way out of this funk.
‘You know.’ Hugo half turned, leaning into an elbow. ‘Not all women are Angelika Konstantinides.’
It was delivered quietly and sincerely, the way only an old friend could, but it hit like a sledgehammer. Theo was trying to figure out how to respond when Irving called to them from the pontoon. ‘What the fuck are you two doing up there?’ he demanded. ‘Stop gossiping and get your asses down here.’
Theo, grateful for the interruption to the amateur psychoanalysis, didn’t need to be asked twice. He clapped Hugo on the shoulder. ‘Let’s go.’
7
Theo almost swallowed his tongue when he and the guys entered the saloon at nine that night. And it wasn’t because of how the wood-panelled room had been transformed into a casino thanks to Kelly’s superior event-styling skills but because of the woman waiting for them behind the roulette table.
‘Good evening, gentlemen.’
Tiffany – her hair pulled back into a tight, sleek bun, her croupier uniform the wholeCasino Royalewet dream – smiled demurely through lips that were a rich glossy red, like she’d just walked out of a Robert Palmer video clip. She looked prim and proper and untouchable. The perfect evening hostess. Like nothing could ruffle her.
Like a true professional.
Like she hadn’t opened her legs for him within two hours of their acquaintance and demanded he fuck her.
AndChriste,if that wasn’t hot enough to boil his eyeballs in their sockets.
Rufus whistled appreciatively. ‘Enchanté,’ he murmured. ‘You’re making me feel exceptionally underdressed, Tiff.’
Given the lingering warmth of the evening, all six men were still in their attire from dinner, which was variations of shorts and T-shirts.
‘Ditto,’ Fabian agreed.
Another demure smile. ‘T-shirt or a tux doesn’t make any difference to me, I’ll happily take your money.’
Everyone but Theo laughed. ‘Ah, fighting words, I like.’ Rufus cocked an eyebrow at Theo. ‘She is such a delight, isn’t she?’
Theo gritted his teeth at the devilment in Rufus’s eyes. The rate he was going he’d have ground them down to stumps by the time they returned to Athens. Ever since he’d snapped at Rufus this morning, the guys had smelled blood in the water, and in that unguarded moment, Theo had shown his hand. They were used to seeing him with women; they weren’t used to seeing him act like a dog guarding a juicy bone with any of them.
