Page 27 of The English Billionaire's Obsession

I want to tell him it sounds perfect, but I have to remember my mission.

“That depends,” I say. “Are we going to talk?”

For a second, I think he’s going to snap. He gets all fierce again, clenching his jaw, his eyes narrowed, but then the fire fades, and he lets out a shaky sigh.

“We’ll talk,” he says, “but I should warn you now. You might not like what you hear.”

“Jeez, Thomas—”

“You can call me Tommy if you like,” he says.

“Huh?”

“My friends call me Tommy, but it’s up to you.”

This shouldn’t make so much emotion whelm in me, but it does.

“You can call me Ami, then,” I tell him.

He grins, reaches over, and lays his hand on mine. “Okay, Ami.”

“Tommy, could you maybe just tell me now? I’m dying of anticipation here.”

“Just give me some time, all right?” he says. “I need to get ready.”

“For what?”

“Your reaction.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Thomas

We sit in the café above the swimming pool; the window lets us look down as Loki swims up and down, chasing his floating teddy bear. A couple of my security team play with him, calling to him from the pool’s edges.

Ami bites into her panini, dabbing a napkin at the corner of her mouth. She keeps aiming wide, expectant eyes at me, and I know I can’t put it off any longer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.

“How long have you been an artist?” I ask.

She tilts her head as if to say,Come on…

“I’m interested,” I tell her.

“How about this, then?” she says fierily. “One question each.”

I swallow. This could end badly, but I’ve gone too far to back off now.

“Okay, sure.”

She nods. “Since I was eight. I had a kickass teacher, Miss Núñez. She’d let me sketch in math class sometimes, and for English, she assigned me a task to draw pictures of the characters. I was lucky. I found what I love early.”

She glows with passion. Her ponytail begins to come loose, a few strands spiraling, giving her a slightly wild look, untamed as if she’s waiting for a man to tame her.

Notaman. Me, only me.

“My turn, right?” she says.

I look down at the pool, Loki’s head held high as he swims toward my security guard, tail poking straight up out of the water like a shark’s fin.

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