Page 19 of The Billionaire's Fortunate Accident
She rolled down her window. “Stone, what in the world?”
“Your phone number. That’s why I came here in the first place. Can I have your number?” My heart beat so hard, making me realize that I was very nervous. “Please.”
“Stone, what if you call and I’m too busy to answer, and then you get annoyed with me?”
Chapter Ten
Jessa
“Jessa, have you ever noticed how many times you’ve asked me questions that begin with what if?” Laughing, he shook his head. “What if youaretoo busy to take my call? I’ll tell you the answer. I’ll understand. And just so you know, I’m never too busy to take a call or a text from you. Just hearing your voice or knowing that you’re thinking about me will bring a little ray of sunshine to my days and nights.”
“I’ve thought about you,” I didn’t know why I said it. I hadn’t meant to.
“And I’ve thought about you. I’ve thought about you a lot. I know you’re busy. I can see that.” He leaned on the window, bringing his face close to mine. “You can trust me to respect your time, Jessa.”
“It’s not you, Stone. It’s really not. I genuinely like you. I’ve explained my time restraints to you. I just don’t think you’re fully comprehending them. I’ve got so much on my plate, and it won’t be ending anytime soon.”
“You should be graduating in a couple of years. Sounds like your time will be freed up after that,” he sounded optimistic and remarkably patient. “I can deal with that.”
Shaking my head, I had to let him in on how many more years there would be with me being short on time. “After grad school, there’s residency. And that can take anywhere from three to seven years before I become a real doctor. I’ll be making money, and I won’t have to make any more payments. But the thing is that I’ll be working between seventy and eighty hours a week, much like I do now. So, not much will change.” I knew that sounded daunting, and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d just walked away.
“Jessa, let’s just exchange numbers and see how that goes for now.” He pulled out his cell. “Put your number in here.”
I didn’t have time to argue, so I put in my number and he took the phone, calling me right away. “I’m right here, silly. Why call?”
“So you can put my name to that number, silly.” He laughed. “It’s that easy. Now go home and get some sleep.”
I added his name to the number, a bit worried about how this would impact my life. I felt like it would make a huge impact, and I wasn’t sure I could really deal with that. “You do the same, Stone. Thanks again for all your help.”
He took a step back from my car, waving while smiling sexily. “Not a problem at all. Night, girl.”
“Night.” My heart sort of sputtered in my chest as if it didn’t want me to leave. But I had no choice. I had to get home and get some rest.
My head was in a fog, thinking about Stone and how he’d helped me out in a jam. I didn’t know many men who would do such a nice thing for someone they barely knew. It seemed that he was somewhat of a miracle man.
Pulling into my parking spot at the apartment complex, I saw the screen on my cell light up. Picking it up, I already knew who would be texting at this early hour in the morning.
- You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, and I feel lucky just knowing you. Have sweet dreams. -
Holding the phone against my chest, I went inside my little efficiency apartment like I was walking on a cloud with stars in my eyes and fireflies filling my mind. I couldn’t recall a time I’d felt so light, free, and happy.
One text, and he’s made my day already.
Pulling my clothes off as I walked into the apartment, I thought about what I should text back. Still on the fence about whether I should give in or hide away from the man, I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling as if waiting for an answer to magically write itself out on it. “Tell me what to do, Mom.”
I’d never even heard the sound of my mother’s voice, not that I could remember anyway. I was sure that I’d heard it while still in her uterus, but other than that, I knew there had been no other chances for that to have happened.
My sister, Lily, would’ve told me to stop being so stupid and go for it already. My father would’ve told me that it was my decision to make, and mine alone. But what my mother would’ve told me was a mystery that could never be solved.
It began to bother me that I’d made no real friends since coming to Austin. I had the people I took classes with and the ones I interned with. But I wasn’t close enough to any of them to ask what I should do about a man who’d stumbled into my life, my head, and even my heart.
Back home, in North Carolina, I’d had friends. But not the kind that I trusted much. The social circles my family was a part of dabbled in rumor spreading, and gossip was the key topic of any conversation. I didn’t dare speak my mind in front of any of them. And I certainly didn’t think there was even one of them who I could call to ask for advice about Stone.
The very first thing any of them would do would be to Google his name. That was what they did. They had to find out every little deep dark secret they could. And when they were through with search engines, they’d take their search to social media. It was as if they were all a bunch of nosy reporters who worked for some gossip television show.
I was on my own in deciding to try and incorporate this man into my life or shut him down. And whichever I chose, I would have to make even more decisions about how I would follow through.
There were more than a few ways to get him to stop pursuing me. The obvious one was that I could simply have sex with him, thus ending his campaign to get into my pants. It would most certainly be over if I did that.
