Page 25 of The Billionaire's Kiss
“Mum left her purse in the room and asked me to come and fetch it for her. And what do you mean, why do I care? Wearetravel mates. We’re supposed to look out for one another. And I’m worried about you. It looks as if you and Warner are a thing.”
“A temporary one,” I let her know. Mostly so she’d stop flirting with him.
“He’s very handsome. Aren’t you afraid it’ll be hard when you have to leave?”
“He and I have discussed that, and we’re both happy to only spend the week together. With that said, you probably won’t be seeing much of me, it seems.”
“Have you told your mum and pop about what you’re doing?” she asked.
“I have not, and I don’t intend to tell them either. They don’t need to know everything about my love life. It would be nice of you to keep this to yourself.” I knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. But I had to try.
“Mum won’t be mute on this. You can be sure of that. She saw you two holding hands as well. For all I know, she might be on a call with your mother as we speak.”
There were pros and cons to living in a small town—and traveling with your neighbors. This was unmistakably a con. Someone would surely tell my parents about Warner, and that was a headache I didn’t need. “I’ll call her myself. Let your mother know that.” If anyone was going to deliver this news, it would be me.
Leaving her, I went to the room and began pulling off my clothes as I dialed Mum, putting the phone on speaker so I could change while talking to her. “Orla? Is that you, dear?”
“It is me, Mum. I’m calling to let you know what I’ll be doing while I’m here in Texas.” I grabbed a thin sweater in case the temperature dropped. The Texas winter weather was nothing compared to the cold of Ireland’s winter season, but better safe than sorry.
“And what is it that you will be doing?” she asked with no concern in her voice.
I thought that was a good sign that she wasn’t worrying about me. “One of the resort’s owners and I hit it off yesterday. He’s going to take me to see the sights this week, so I’ll be going about with him some. I just wanted you to be aware of that. You know how nosy some of the people in this group are—I just wanted you to hear it from me first.”
“Ah, yes. I’m glad you called to tell me. Some people love to stir the pot. I trust your judgment, and I’m sure this man will keep you safe while you’re away. That’s what matters the most.”
“Yes, he will keep me safe.” And I hoped he’d keep me warm as well. “How’s Pop’s back doing?”
“Awful. He’s laid up in his easy chair, watching horrid comedies and laughing, then moaning when his laughter is causing his back to spasm. I told him to watch something that doesn’t make him laugh so much, but he told me he wants to be cheered up.”
“Silly man.” With things all taken care of with my parents, I felt much better. “Well, I’m about to head out to a park with Warner now, and then we’ll get something to eat for dinner.”
“Have fun, dear. Bye now.”
“Bye.” I gave myself a thorough look over in the full-length mirror. Jeans, a light sweater, and sneakers would work for the park. But I knew they wouldn’t work for dinner if Warner was trying to go all out—and based on our conversation earlier, I knew he would be planning something special. “This is impossible.”
Looking through my clothes, I couldn’t find anything that would work for both occasions. With a shrug, I knew he’d have to bring me back here to change clothes before we set off for the restaurant.
I was a different person with Warner than I was in any of my past relationships. It was easy to be open with him. Everything was just so easy.
If I learned anything from Warner, I wanted to learn how to have experiences that would somehow shape me. I’d never looked at my previous relationships as opportunities to grow. There wasn’t one instance I could recall where I felt that I’d either learned something about myself or the person I was with.
It hadn’t occurred to me that I hadn’t really been open with any man in my past. I’d been relatively closed off, keeping my opinions to myself. And I didn’t argue with any of the men I’d seen either. My motto wasyou do you. But now that I thought about it, that attitude seemed pretty insensitive and shallow.
It made me realize that I’d been an uncaring partner in all of my romantic relationships—worrying more about myself than the relationship. I was a much better friend than a lover, it seemed.
Perhaps my attitude resulted from being an only child. I’d never had to focus on anyone in my life. And I’d never had to share my parents’ attention either. The one thing I knew for sure was that I had to practice doing the things I hadn’t ever had to do. At least, I would have to if I ever wanted to have a long-lasting and happy relationship.
Looking at Warner’s issues had made me want to discover some of my own. So far, the temporary relationship we were on the verge of having had already opened my eyes to my own faults. Which I found to be a good thing.
A person can’t grow if they think they’re perfect. We all have imperfections that could use some working on. I was just glad that it had finally come to my attention.
Just as I stepped off the elevator in the lobby, I saw Warner coming out of his office with a slight frown. Going up to him, I had to ask, “What’s with the frown?”
“The place I wanted to take you to has been closed down due to some health code violations.”
“We can go somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be fancy, Warner. Anywhere will be fine.” I looped my arm through his as we headed for the door. “Less fancy would actually be even better. It’ll mean that I don’t have to come back here to change clothes before we eat.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” He looked at his suit, then nodded. “I’ll have to stop at my place to change too. I can’t possibly walk around the park in this.”
