Page 20 of My Billionaire Casino Boss

The next weekend, I dress in another suit and look in the mirror. I haven’t talked to Lily too much, but I plan to take her to a steakhouse on the lake for dinner tonight at the other end of the strip. The view is amazing and the food is some of the most talked about in the area. I’ve been paying attention lately. We can watch the sunset again, but I’ve made bigger plans for the end of the night.

I fill her in on the place it is so she can plan her outfit and tell her I’ll pick her up at seven. She opens her door in a lace vintage dress, this time in a pale-yellow color with heels and a light gray cardigan.

“When did you buy these dresses? I remember you wearing jeans all the time,” I tell her as we walk to the car.

“Ally is big on thrift shopping and consignment stores. We went all the time, and you don’t know every little thing about me. I changed my style a little over the years.” Lily slips into the car and I take in her curves with a swallow. “It’s nice to have a place to wear it,” she says.

“You looked good at the club that night, too,” I say. I hadn’t meant to say it, but the comment slipped out.

“Thanks.” Her voice is quiet, and I glance over to see her staring forward.

“Are you dating that guy?” I ask, unable to resist.

“If I was, I wouldn’t be here. I met him that night and it was fun, but I always planned to go home alone,” she tells me, and I hear the strain in her tone. “Even if I did plan to talk to him again, I’m sure Eric ruined that with his immature behavior.”

“I didn’t enjoy seeing him with you, either,” I tell her, regretting it immediately. I keep saying stupid things.

She throws her hands in the air. “It wasnothing. I just danced with him a little bit because Olivia was into his friend. And why do you even care?” I know I said the wrong thing. “You’ve slept with half of Tahoe,” she hisses. “Isn’t that why we’re doing this in the first place?”

“I haven’t slept with anyone recently,” I admit, and she’s quiet until we pull up to the restaurant.

We walk in and get seated with another incredible view, but Lily won’t look at me. I feel something bad growing between us and I feel helpless to stop it. She orders wine and I ask for a beer before Lily looks at the menu.

“Talk to me,” I urge her, and she looks at me, green eyes full of fire.

“About what?” she asks and looks down to scan the menu.

We get through the meal with scattered conversations, but nothing that Lily allows to stick. The food is great, but she pushes it around her plate, distracted by her thoughts. We’re sharing dessert when the sun slips below the horizon before turning dark and I swallow nervously.

I pay the bill and we walk outside, and I thank Mother Nature for the full moon. There’s a pathway along the water where a few people are looking at the picturesque view and I pull Lily over, near a streetlamp.

“What are you doing?” she asks, looking at me as I cup her face. “Thomas?” she whispers, gripping my waist with trembling hands.

I kiss her softly, feeling everything, I felt before. Heat washes over me as she moans, gripping my suit jacket to pull me closer. Lily wraps her arms around my neck, and I let her, sliding mine around her waist to tug her against me. Our mouths crash together again, and I feel her tilt her head, urging me to deepen the kiss.

I meant to keep this sweet and short. Just a peck under the moon, but here we are making out like the first and last time I ever kissed her, and I’m not letting go.

Eventually, we pull away to catch our breath and stare at each other. I saw Hillary at the window of the restaurant, looking broken, so our plan worked. I should be thrilled about that, but I’m not thinking of that. It’s not why this kiss turned out like that.

I am in so much trouble.

eight

A Little Lie - Lily

IfeellikeIneed fresh air when I wake up. I decide to walk to work. I feel tired from my mind running around in circles all night. The walk wakes me up but the whole day at work is a blur. I can’t stop thinking about the kiss, the way Thomas held me, the way his lips felt against mine. It was supposed to be an act, but it felt so real. Too real. I need to talk to him, to clear the air and see what he’s thinking. When my shift is done, I head to his office. I knew he was there because Olivia said she’d seen him in there earlier. I find him pacing in his office, looking at his phone.

“Why do you care who I date, Thomas?” I blurt out when I reach him, crossing my arms over my chest. He looks up, surprised to see me. “Our relationship is fake, remember?”

He looks taken aback; his blue eyes wide. “What are you talking about, Lily?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” I snap. “You were jealous when you saw me with Brian at the club. Why?” He looks like he wants to run out his office door.

“I wasn’t jealous,” he mutters, but his eyes shift away from mine. “Do you want to go somewhere more private?” he asks. The other people in the office are politely looking at their own things, pretending they aren’t listening.

“Then why did you kiss me like that?” I challenge, ignoring him, stepping closer to him. “Why have you been acting differently toward me?”

“I haven’t been acting differently,” he argues, but there’s a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

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