Page 64 of The Grumpy Billionaire
“I know. That’s why you deserve a little spoiling. You’ve earned it.”
Reid lifted a wine bottle from a bucket stand next to the table and filled first my glass then his, continuing in a casual tone.
“In the course of my… research, I found out you refused to take your parent’s money and put yourself through college instead. Interesting choice,” he said. “Since then, you’ve been working your ass off, making it on your own with no help from anyone.”
I smiled at his unexpected praise—and his fishing expedition. He was digging, trying to figure out why I’d suddenly rejected my parents’ financial help.
“It’s no more than most people do.” I took a sip of the buttery sweet vintage, adding, “You’ve earned everything you have, too—and look at this—youhave itall.”
Lifting my other hand, I gestured around to the pricey apartment, the incredible view.
Reid studied my face for a minute, drawing his lips inside his mouth then rolling them out. The move left them slightly damp and very soft-looking.
“Not everything,” he said.
I gave a nervous laugh, dragging my gaze away from his mouth back to his eyes.
“What more could you possibly want? Your own island? A jet?”
He looked down and laughed, refolding his napkin in his lap.
“Oh my God. You have a jet, don’t you?”
He held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Just a small one. For work. But I don’t have an island, so I’m still a regular guy.”
He laughed, realizing how ridiculous that sounded.
“You were never a regular guy,” I said, then immediately wished I could suck the words back into my mouth like a popped bubble of chewing gum.
Reid’s alert gaze focused on me. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged and darted my eyes away, lifting the lid of one of the platters filling the table. “Nothing. Just—I always knew you’d do something great—that you’d be a success. Ooh… your chef made Chinese food.”
“No, actually, I had my assistant pick that up from Jacky’s downstairs. It’s a Pan Asian place. I remember you used to like that once upon a time.”
“Still do,” I said, digging in with the serving spoon.
Reid filled his own plate with stir-fried vegetables, rice, and crispy spring rolls. It looked like Lee had gotten some of everything on the menu. There were scallops with noodles, chicken teriyaki, steamed fish, even sushi rolls.
After a minute of eating, Reid spoke. “I’m surprised to hear you say that about me. I thought maybe you figured… I wasn’t going to amount to anything.”
When he looked up at me, his expression was marked with a vulnerability I hadn’t seen in him since the first time he’d admitted to liking me as more than a friend.
I set my fork down. “Reid. Why would you say that?”
Now it was his turn to shrug and act nonchalant. “I don’t know. I didn’t know what to think. You disappeared. I tried to fill in the blanks.”
Oh God. He thought I’d left him because I didn’t believe in him? That I thought he would turn out to be some kind of loser?
Nothing could have been farther from the truth, but it was a truth I could not allow myself to tell him.
“No, Reid.” I shook my head. “Please don’t think that. It wasn’t about you. You were wonderful. I did what I thought was best… what I had to do.”
Oh God—I sounded like my Dad. Wasn’t this almost what he’d said to me earlier today?
“So… what changed?” Reid asked. “Why did you ‘have to’ do it? You just… stopped loving me?”
Oh man. Here we were again. Back on the subject of our breakup. Reid didn’t seem even close to letting it go, and of course I couldn’t explain.
