Page 13 of The Grumpy Billionaire
And then Reid walked past us out the front door.
“Not if I can help it,” I muttered to myself, my face still burning from the casual insult he’d delivered in that nothing-personal tone of his.
“Well—that was interesting.” Sheldon blew out a loud breath. “I can see why you broke up with him. That guy’s kind of an ass.”
“Yeah,” I agreed as we left the restaurant and headed toward the news car parked a few blocks away.
Except he wasn’t. Reid Mancini had been the best guy I’d ever known.
“And, for the record, dude,” Sheldon continued, “No matter what he said—he was blown away by seeing you. No guy looks at a girl like that unless—”
“I know,” I interrupted, not wanting Sheldon to finish his thought. It didn’t matter. I knew it anyway.
When we’d last seen each other eleven years ago, I would have bet everything I owned, would’ve bet my mother’s life that Reid loved me.
I knew that because I had loved him, too. Madly, passionately, with every fiber of my seventeen-year-old being.
That was why I’d made sure after our high school graduation night I would never see him again.
FOUR
You’re in Luck
Mara- Eleven years earlier
The deep, wraparound porch had always been my favorite feature of my family’s waterfront home.
Today the space felt suffocating in spite of the continuous ocean breezes. It wasn’t the fault of the summer day but the situation that made me feel trapped.
Cricket and Brianna, my mother’s closest friends, were here for lunch, and Mom had asked me to sit down for a few minutes and tell them about my college plans.
The two women were usually pretty harmless, chattering about their latest exotic vacations, property acquisitions or shopping trips.
Unfortunately, today the conversation had turned to another topic.
Reid.
He was mowing the lawn, one of his duties here at the estate. Each time he drove the lawn tractor past the porch, the conversation paused, and their eyes followed his shirtless form until the tractor moved out of sight. I could almost see, feel, and smell the lascivious things they were thinking.
It made me feel like tearing my hair out—or better yet, theirs.
Admittedly, he did look amazing. Years of tennis matches and manual labor around the property had layered his lean body with muscle. His tanned chest, shoulders, and back gleamed in the bright sunlight, as did his sweat-soaked dark hair.
“That boy shouldneverwear a shirt,” Cricket said before literally licking her lips.
“Amen,” Brianna agreed.
She stroked the underside of her neck and her chin with her long, manicured fingernails. “I’ve never considered myself a cougar, butthatwould turn any woman feral.”
My mother looked embarrassed. “You two are terrible. He’s Mara’s age for God’s sake.”
Cricket winked at me. “Well then maybesheshould tap that. There’s something to be said for hot, simple men.”
My gut boiled with protective fury. Reid was brilliant, a literal genius. But this socialite couldn’t see that because to her, he was just a “simple” poor guy.
I didn’t say all that, and I didn’t mention the fact Reid and I had been carrying on a secret love affair for the past year, starting with the night I’d finally persuaded him to kiss me on the beach.
I simply said, “He’s my friend.”
