Page 27 of Off Limits Billionaire

The following morning, there was a series of sounds, banging and clanging coming from outside of my room. Nina hated cooking, and hated being awake before nine in the morning unless absolutely necessary.

It wasn’t until I glanced at my phone and messages from bed that I saw Nina’s text that she was going out of town for an emergency dealing with a Steinway. So … who was in my kitchen?

My mind retraced my steps from the previous night. I'd come home, settled in, and I was positive I'd locked the front door. Still, I grabbed the nearest weapon. It was a perfume bottle, carved out of heavy glass in the shape of a diamond with a lavender liquid swirling around inside. Whoever it was, they’d smell fabulous as I bludgeoned them until the cops could arrive.

I took a deep breath, tiptoeing to the kitchen to see a stocky guy scouring the cabinets. There were pots and pans going on the stove and the scent of dark roast coffee permeated the air.

The shaggy sandy-brown hair falling over shaved sides gave away my brother’s profile before I actually saw his face.

“For god’s sake, Hunter, I almost nailed you with this thing,” I huffed setting the perfume down on the counter. My brother tossed a grin over his shoulder before sliding a mug across the island countertop. He filled it with coffee and went back to work cooking breakfast. “What are you doing here?”

“Not looking to get knocked around by Chanel No. 5.”

“It’s not Chanel, it’s Lancome, La Nuit Tresor.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged. “I got your message and got here last night. Let myself in since I was doing security at that club down the street.”

“What if I had company?” I asked him, my imagination automatically thinking of Marcus waking up beside me, inside me.

He snorted. “Ha! Didn’t you spend the weekend withMarcus Adler?”

“Yeah, and it was exciting. We won the Godschalk at the auction and I plan on starting work on it today. As a matter of fact, I need a goldsmith.”

He stopped cooking to narrow his gaze at me. “You want Paul mad at both of us at the same time? That’s not good.”

“Paul will have to get over it because we need this influx of cash. Unless you have a better idea? I mean, I can tell one of the richest men in the country that he shouldn’t hire you at triple your rate because it will make our older brother mad at us.”

“I want him to pay ten times my rate,” Hunter replied.

“After what I went through to get this clock back to the states, I’m sure he wouldn’t have any problem paying that. Besides, I just need you to smelt some numbers—”

“That’s not what that word means.” Hunter’s hazel eyes were damn near the same color as his light brown hair as he swept it out of his face to place a plate of food in front of me.

I moaned with delight and did a little shimmy in my seat for having breakfast made for me. I didn’t care what he thought about my word usage.

“Hunter, I need the gold dial fixed and the roman numerals are wonky. You can come with me to take a look at it before you give me a quote to pass off to Marcus.”

“Okay, I’ll come take a look. Now tell me what you meant by what happened this weekend.”

I wanted to gloss over the scary details, but Hunter wasn’t short fused like Paul. He listened. He actually listened quietly without interrupting me, which made me nervous. Of course, I left out the part about us sleeping together, but the henchmen and automatic rifles were described in great measure.

When I finished, he grunted, then paused to give it some thought. He sighed as he said, “Paul told me you got into some trouble because of him. How do you know none of that trouble followed from across the pond?”

“Listen, Marcus did everything in his power to protect me and to keep me safe. He was willing to send me back home by myself if it came down to it. I’ve already been paid. The money’s scheduled to clear escrow as soon as the banks open this morning. We can catch up on so many bills with it.”

Hunter huffed out a breath, shaking his head. “All of that just to end up back at square one. I’m grateful that you’re back home safely, Anabella. I’m even grateful for this cash, but what happens after the job is done?”

“He wants to put me on retainer—” I told him.

“You got that in writing?”

I huffed. “No, because I haven’t decided whether to take the position or not.”

“What would you being on retainer entail?”

I raised my shoulders and eyebrows, “I don’t know. I only know the rates and requirements forthisjob. The Godschalk and that’s it. Will you just come with me and give me a decent quote for the gold? You have some time this morning, right?”

“I’ll make time for you and then I’ll go open the shop. I can’t believe we’re back to being screwed by the Adler family again.”

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