Page 27 of Black Tie Billionaire
Good Lord. That was some superpower.
He returned his attention to her and in spite of his glare, she hiked her chin up. “I’m helping a friend out. She needed me today.”
His gaze narrowed further, and he growled, “Open the door.”
Before she could reply, he stalked off and disappeared.But seconds later, a hard rap at the side door echoed in the truck. From the grill, Bridgette tossed her a “what the hell?” look, and, bemused, Shay shrugged and unlocked it.
The door jerked open, and Gideon strode through it. His big body and intense presence seemed to shrink the interior to that of a toy truck.
Bridgette stared at him, openmouthed and struck silent. Which wasn’t an easyfeat. With sharp movements, he jerked off his coat and suit jacket and hung them on a wall hook. Then he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and pinned both her and Bridgette with that dark glare.
“Well?” he snapped. “Where do you need me?”
Need him?What was happening?
Bridgette recovered first. “Can you cook?” At his abrupt nod, she handed him a knife. “You get an order of cashewchicken going, and I’ll get the green curry.”
Without a word, he crossed to the sink, washed his hands, then accepted the utensil and started chopping fresh vegetables and chicken like a pro. Bridgette again shot her a look, but Shay shrugged, still stunned and confused.
“You have customers waiting,” Gideon reminded her, without turning around.
Now the man had eyes on the back of hishead as well as cooking skills?
Again...what the hell?
Shaking her head, she returned to the window and the ever-growing line outside. For the next couple hours, the three of them worked like a well-oiled machine. Shay still couldn’t quite grasp that Gideon Knight was there in the cramped quarters of a food truck, cooking Thai entrées like a professional.
She tried to imagine Trevorjumping in and helping out and couldn’t. The image refused to solidify, because her brother would never have done it. Not many men of her acquaintance would’ve bothered getting their hands dirty. But then again, two hours ago she wouldn’t have been able to picture Gideon getting his hands dirty, either. And especially not for her.
As Bridgette closed the serving window and hung the Closedsign, questions crowded into Shay’s head. But before she could ask them, he turned, tugging down his sleeves and rebuttoning the cuffs.
“I’ll be by to pick you up at seven tonight for a dinner party. This time, be there and ready,” Gideon ordered, thrusting his arms into his jacket, then his coat, his tone warning her not to argue. And for once, she heeded it. “And don’t keep me waiting.”
With a brisk nod at Bridgette, he stalked out the door, leaving a weighty silence behind.
Bridgette was the first to break it.
“What in the hell just happened?” she yelled, voicing the same question that had been plaguing Shay since Gideon’s sudden appearance.
And her answer was the same.
Damned if she knew.
* * *
Hours later, Shay stood in the foyer and stared at thefront door as the ring of the doorbell echoed through her house.
Seven o’clock. Right on the dot.
Her pulse raced, and the roar of it filled her head, deafening her. Nerves. They waged war inside her, turning her belly into a churned-up battlefield. Any sane woman would be anxious about entering a charade and perpetrating a fraud on everyone she knew and cared about.
But she wouldbe lying to herself if she attributed the lion’s share of the nerves to their arrangement. No, that honor belonged to the man himself.
Who was Gideon Knight?
The attentive, protective and devastatingly sensual stranger from the night of the blackout? The aloof billionaire and brilliant CEO of a global tech company? The ruthless, revenge-driven ex-fiancé? The man who barged into a foodtruck, rolled up his sleeves and selflessly helped serve the Chicago masses?
Which one was real? And why did they all fascinate her?
