Page 83 of The Grumpy Billionaire
Reid was perhaps evenmorepowerful than my father had ever been. The fact was, you couldn’t predict what another person might do. Even a person as good as my dad had once been. Even a man as wonderful as Reid.
The question was where to go from here? I’d already proved I couldn’t resist him.
“Can I see you later?” he asked.
I stopped rubbing shampoo through my hair. My self-protective instinct screamed, “No.”
My mouth said, “What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking dinner and a movie.”
So… he was dropping all pretenses of preparing for the interview. Tonight, we’d be spending time together, both fully aware of our reasons. An actual date.
Not willing to acknowledge how big this was, I mentally rehearsed my answer a few times before speaking. “Sure. Sounds good.”
The shower curtain swished open, the room’s cooler air rushing in around me.
“All right then.” Reid smiled and leaned in for a wet, soapy kiss. “I’ll pick you up at five.”
He took one last sweeping glance over my body before closing the curtain.
“Feel free to wear what you’re wearing now. It looks great on you.”
TWENTY-NINE
As You Wish
Mara
By the time Reid was supposed to pick me up that night, I’d figured out how to handle him, or us, or whatever you wanted to call this thing we’d begun.
I’d thought of little else all day, except for during the short time I’d been able to spend with Mom at the clinic.
She already looked more like her old self, more rested, healthier. And her doctor there said she was right on schedule to be discharged Sunday.
Driving away from the place, I breathed a sigh of relief over that and then immediately resumed fretting over my new problem.
Many women wouldn’t consider a relationship with a hot young billionaire a problem. But for me… it was like that Indiana Jones treasure Reid had jokingly mentioned.
Being with him was beautiful and sparkly and exciting and valuable… but it was also rigged with booby traps and danger. I could so easily fall back in love with him—maybe I’d never even stopped loving him.
Okay, I still loved him. Admitting that just made it worse.
As long as he wanted to spend time with me, I would find it just about impossible to say no. To anything.
But there was still the very real possibility that everything Mom had warned me about was true—that it was too dangerous to be with a powerful man I actually loved.
I finally decided I’d keep seeing Reid but be realistic. Expect the worst. Look at him like one of my himbos—okay, he wasn’t dumb in the least, but hewasbeautiful, and definitely temporary, just like they all were.
This thing between us would eventually end, and I would face that with my eyes wide open. I wouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t be hurt.
As long as I could hang onto at least one little piece of my heart.
My entire heart surged as I heard the sound of Reid’s car stopping in front of the house. When I opened the door, he was already there on the sidewalk, carrying a gorgeous arrangement of tulips—my favorite.
“Thank you,” I said, ridiculously pleased, my grand plan already in severe jeopardy. How exactly was I supposed to maintain any sort of control over my heart with this guy?
He drove to the Cliffhouse in Eastport Bay, a charming ocean-front home that had been converted into a world class restaurant and inn years ago.
