Page 112 of Luxe

He comes closer, lowering his voice. "You know what they call him, right?"

"You mean the Blond Billionaire Bachelor?" I say, letting out a little snort.

"Yeah, you don't just get that name."

Despite him having a point, it still irks me that Kylian’s own best friend has this impression of him, and I feel instantly protective of him. "Come on, he's a rich, not ugly, blond Englishman who lives in Hong Kong who speaks Cantonese, or at least tries to. He’s always going to get way more attention than ugly Jason Lim."

Nathan rolls his eyes. "He's a dog. He could have any woman he wants."

"So, you're asking why he would want me?" If that’s what he really means, then that hurts.

"Come on, Keeks, you know that’s not what I meant. But while we’re on the topic, you’re not his type.”

I wave my hand at him. "Go away, Nathan. You're an asshole."

"I'm just saying to be careful!"

"And I’m telling you, there’s not reason to be giving me that warning. Unless you just can’t help but interfere in my life.”

“Fine. Don’t listen to me, but I hope you don’t get in a situation that you can’t get out of again.” As soon as he says it, he clamps his mouth shut. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

But it’s gone too far. He’s acting like a fucking idiot and it’s been made clear even to me how he’s going to react when he finds out about Kylian and me.

I take a breath and try not to let the rage take over. “I’m not the only one who need to know when to take myself out of a dangerous situation. For example, I suggest you quickly extract yourself from this situation where I want to kick you in the fucking balls." For dramatic effect, I do a flip that’s just as high as his.

His breath hisses but he doesn’t respond, just turns and storms up the stairs.

"Hey, your dad wanted me to come in and see what was taking Nathan so long with the meat,” Kylian calls out to me as he comes back into the kitchen.

The anger is still building inside me, but if I’m honest, it’s because somehow there’s this tiny edge of doubt, something I thought I'd managed to get rid of.

"Um, he went upstairs to get something. The meat's probably in the butler's pantry fridge." I busy myself with straightening up flowers on the table.

"Everything okay?"

I give him the brightest smile I can summon. "Everything. I'm just trying to forget that this family loves you more than me."

"What can I say, I'm a charming fucker." He grins.

"You heard me?"

"Heard what?"

I throw a cushion and it hits him on the ass as he runs toward the kitchen.

The dinner turns out to be both delicious, relaxed and fun.

Kylian is, annoyingly, a perfect addition to my family, equal parts intelligent, funny and sarcastic. Nathan, once he stopped sulking, joined us, and the two of them shot off insults back and forth like a tennis rally.

Dad mostly sat back, watching with a smile on his face. I made it a point not to attract any attention, because each time they remembered I was there, they ganged up on me.

"Kylian, I heard the Chen Group won the Heracles chip deal," my father says when Nathan goes inside to take a call.

Kylian's jaw tenses; it’d probably by imperceptible to everyone except anyone who’s favorite hobby is watching him. He hasn't said anything to me about it, so it’s news to me. "Ah, well, yes. I guess there was something about their deal that they preferred to ours."

Dad doesn’t say anything, just stares at him. "I heard that they might not have actually received an offer from you. Did Jason Lim go under the table again? I wouldn't be surprised. Dirty business man. It’s a pity his R&D is second to none." He doesn't actually spit, but I feel like he did.

"What happened?" I lean over and ask him. The tension in his jaw still there, and its traveled up to his eyes. He just shakes his head, forcing a smile on his lips, not looking at me.

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