Page 9 of Kicking it with the Billionaire

Our gazes met and I couldn’t seem to make myself look away, my heart racing in my throat as I tried to think of the right words to say. “Green is my favorite color,” I blurted.

“Pardon?” He sat back a little, an amused smile on his lips.

I cleared my throat and took a sip of water. “Jade green, to be specific. Kind of like—” I stopped myself from saying something I knew I’d regret.Too soon, you idiot. Way too soon.

His eyebrows rose. “Like what?”

With a sigh, I finished my sentence. “Kind of like your eyes.”

A self-satisfied smirk formed on his face as he nodded slowly. “Do you like to travel?”

The conversational pivot left my mind spinning, and I furrowed my brow as I tried to keep up. “Travel?”

“Mm-hmm. Personally, I love to travel. I always have, even when I was a little kid. All I’ve ever wanted was to see the world. How about you?”

“Um… yeah, I guess I want to travel. I don’t exactly have a lot of time or money to do it, though.”

He hummed quietly. “Right. You’re an electrician?”

I combed my fingers through my hair, certain that I’d messed up the careful look I’d crafted earlier. “Apprentice. There’s not exactly a lot of paid time off in my world and any extra money goes to savings. I’ll travel one day, though.”

“And is being an electrician your dream job?”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Not exactly. I mean, I don’t hate it. I actually really love it, but it wasn’t what I grew up dreaming of or anything.”

Dex focused on me as we talked, so entirely that it felt like nobody else in the room mattered to him. “Whatdidyou grow up dreaming of?”

My cheeks heated a little as I took a sip of my drink. “You interviewing me or something?”

He shook his head and not a single hair fell out of place. He really seemed perfect. “Not at all. Just trying to get to know you a little better. Is… that okay?” His voice was quiet and sincere as he sat a little straighter, giving me some space. I immediately missed his proximity.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” I said softly, breath catching in my throat. My heart thudded in my chest. “Um, veterinarian.”

“Really?” His eyebrows rose.

I nodded. “College wasn’t in the cards for me, though. School wasn’t my thing.” It was the safest lie. I didn’t want to mention that it had been cost-prohibitive by a mile.

“That’s a shame. I bet you would’ve made an excellent vet. Do you have pets?”

“Oh,” I said, startled. A lump formed in my throat and I nodded again, not meeting his piercing gaze. “Uh… not anymore.”

“Understood,” he said, changing the subject with ease. Instead of pressing for details, he turned the conversation back to travel, asking me where I wanted to visit and what I thought I’d like about that place.

We continued to chat for the rest of the night until dinner was done and the event was wrapping up. Around us, servers were picking up plates and people were filtering out of the museum, shaking hands and waving to each other.

“I think we should probably get going,” I said finally. “It looks like we’re the last ones here.”

Dex looked around us, blinking, looking almost as if he had lost track of where we were. “Wow. I’m sorry I monopolized your entire night. I didn’t mean to keep you from being social with the sponsors and other award recipients.”

I shook my head. “It’s more than okay. I don’t mind at all. Actually, you kind of saved me fromhavingto be social.”

He laughed warmly and ducked his head. “In that case, you’re welcome.”

We were quiet for a moment and the realization hit me I was never going to see him again if one of us didn’t do something, fast. I grabbed a paper cocktail napkin from the table. “Can I borrow your pen?”

Dex raised his eyebrows but passed me the pen that was nestled in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Of course.”

In a hurry, I scribbled down my name and phone number before passing both the pen and the napkin to Dex. “Here.”

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