Page 59 of Heart of Stone (Dark Billionaires)

“Okay,” he reaffirmed, kissing her forehead. He shoved another canapé into her hand. “Now be a good girl and eat.”

He looked up with a grin to see Mattie and Saffron each carrying a small tray of drinks down the carpeted gangway.

“Where did you two disappear to?” Mattie exclaimed.

“I had a bit of a headache,” Kate’s eyes flicked to Warren’s momentarily. “Sorry Mattie. I didn’t mean to abandon you.”

“Not to worry, Saffron has been keeping me company. Did you need me to go get you some painkillers?”

“Rhys has just given me some. Thank you though, Mattie.” Kate swiped the drink nearest to her. “Whose is this?”

“That one’s Warren’s, Kate,” Saffron said quickly. “I got you a Coke, I thought you didn’t like alcohol.” Saffron pushed a glass brimming with condensation towards her.

“You have it if you want it, kitten.” Warren’s hands worked her shoulders without pause as she swallowed the paracetamols and a gulp of whisky.

Instantly, she scrunched up her face. “God, that’sdisgusting.” She looked outraged. “How can you drink that?”

“It gets better with every sip.”

Her eyebrow illustrated her doubt as she put the whisky down, electing for a sip of Coke to swallow the second tablet.

Warren’s chest puffed out with pride when Kate leant back against him, resting her head against his throat.Mine.He tapped the glass of Coke with a meaningful look.Drink.“Who’s that dancing with Alison?” he asked Rhys, just as the waiter arrived with yet more drinks.

Rhys tore his eyes away from Kate. “Hmm?”

“The silver fox grinding against your mother.”

Rhys spun around frantically, like a meerkat sighting a predator. “Don’t ask,” he grumbled. “Some oily property developer.”

Warren caught Rhys’s eye with a grin. “Aren’t they all? Smug pricks who’ve paid thousands for unlicensedcourses.”

“All on a propertyjourney,” Rhys volleyed back, “to lose their money before they’ve even started, that is.”

Jensen interrupted them with a cough. “I hate to break it to you, but Euan was a nurse back before he was a property developer. Plus he’s perfectly nice. They’ve actually got a lot in common, with Auntie Alison being an ex-midwife.”

“How the fuck did he afford to start investing in property then?” Rhys wondered.

“His wife died. He used her life insurance policy to create a nest egg for their daughters.”

Rhys sighed. “Well now I feel like an arsehole.”

“You are one,” Warren clapped him on the shoulder with a smile.

It wasn’t long before Euan and Alison joined them, having exhausted themselves on the dancefloor. Alison looked positively delighted at the attention, and even Warren had to admit that Euan looked smitten.

She deserved it. Rhys had filled him in on his upbringing whilst they shared a cell, and the woman was a saint. Alison had worked full-time to raise Aldous and Rhys alone after their worthless father scarpered with a barely legal secretary. Not to mention that Jensen’s visits frequently increased her number of dependents to three. Then Jensen and Rhys had been sent to prison for murder, leaving a traumatised Aldous behind for Alison to care for alone.

Even so, Alison was always wreathed in smiles when visiting the prison, having taken Warren into her heart as well.

It was Warren’s good luck that afforded Alison the lifestyle she enjoyed now, coupled with Aldous’s determination and Jensen and Rhys’s hard work.

For so many reasons, Warren thanked his lucky stars that he’d invested in Bitcoin when he had. Aaron had heard of it first, convinced they would become millionaires overnight if they sunk their lifesavings into the currency. The lifesavings of two adolescent boys hadn’t been much, but with the astronomical rise in the price of Bitcoin, it hadn’t needed to be.

He clenched his jaw, holding Kate close. Would she still want him if she knew the truth? That he’d effectively stolen Aaron’s share of the Bitcoin purely to spite Paul Charlton?

All the hardships she’d endured these past few years could have been avoided if Warren had returned Aaron’s share to them.

Before Braxton had taken Kate from her house, he’d have called it collateral damage.

---