Page 52 of Billionaire Unreachable: Wyatt

But I couldn’t let myself hope for anything more.

I’d been an idiot once, but I wasn’t as naïve as I used to be, and I didn’t want to get my heart broken.

Sadly, considering the way I already felt about Wyatt, I knew he’d have the power to shatter me if I let myself believe we could be anything more than friends.

I was an optimist, but in this case, I had no choice but to be realistic.

Tori smiled as she picked up her bag. “I’m ready. I think I look as good as a woman with freaky amber eyes is going to look.”

Her eyes were beautiful and unique, but I knew they made her self-conscious. “You look amazing, Tori. Your husband will be ogling you all night, just like he does every single day.” I hesitated before I added, “Thank you for today. I had an incredible time.”

It had been a long time since I’d had a friend like Tori, and I was more grateful for our friendship than she’d ever know or realize.

I’d isolated myself for a long time after Justin’s arrest. I’d wrapped myself up in a cocoon so I could make it through that horrible period of time it had taken to prosecute my former husband. I’d been so incredibly lonely that it made me really appreciate the fact that I now had a friend who I could trust here in California. And this friendship had led to several others that I now valued, too.

She reached out and hugged me without hesitation because that was just the kind of warm, genuine person she was, and it made my eyes well up with tears.

How long had it been since anyone had cared about me outside of a family who was over a thousand miles away?

I blinked those tears back, knowing that I’d screw up my makeup if I didn’t.

When she finally let me go, she said, “I had a great time, too. But Wyatt is still going to be pissed off that you wouldn’t let me pay for anything. He was pretty adamant that he’d cover all of the expenses for this charity gala.”

“I’ll talk to him about it,” I promised her. “He can’t just demand something and expect to get it every time he does.”

“He usually gets exactly what he wants,” Tori said drily. “Most people fear him.”

“I don’t,” I informed her. “I can handle your brother.”

“Thank God,” she said jokingly. “Other than myself, you might be the only woman who can.”

Wyatt

“Ithink she’s danced with every man under the age of ninety at this event except for me,” I griped to Chase as we waited for our drinks at the bar, my eyes locked on Shelby as she danced with yet another man at the charity gala.

Christ!She was beautiful, and it wasn’t like I could fault any man for asking her to dance, but every single time it happened, it annoyed the hell out of me.

Shelby had knocked me on my ass from the moment I’d seen her at Tori’s earlier.

Granted, she always made my cock stand at attention, but there was something about the way she looked tonight that stunned me.

It wasn’t just that damn dick hardening, sexy dress, either, or the way those silky, endless curls fell loosely down her upper back.

It was the sensuality that she was throwing off tonight.

Hell, I loved it, but it pissed me off that I wasn’t the only guy who noticed it.

I’d barely had a chance to speak a few words with her since we’d arrived at the gala. I’d made the mistake of going to get some drinks soon after we’d gotten here, and some bastard had swooped in for her first dance.

I’d lost track of how many men had caught her near the dance floor after that for another dance, but I was damn sick of watching her with other men.

Yeah, I’d told her to enjoy herself when we’d had dinner before the event, but I could sense that she really wasn’t enjoying every dance.

Knowing Shelby, she felt obligated to accept any male who asked because she didn’t want to offend anyone I knew or anyone who donated generously to this charity event.

She was currently in the arms of Jonas Meredith, a very wealthy, older entrepreneur that I’d always gotten along well with…until tonight.

“It might help if you’d ask her to dance yourself,” Chase suggested as he handed me a whiskey. “She’s been so busy that I’m not sure that anyone even knows that she came with you.”

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