Page 74 of The Billionaire Is Back

“Did you hear that, Grady? That right there was the sweetest thing your father has said to me all day.”

“Oh, here we go…” my father says with an audible grin.

I could hang up right now and they would just keep bickering through their phones even though they’re in the same room. But they didn’t raise me to hang up on people. That’s a little-brother move. “Sounds good. Listen, it’s time for us to head out. Text me if you need anything, and have a wonderful night.”

Now I hang up on them.

I can hear the clicking of high heels against the hardwood floor upstairs. I stride over to the mirror in the gallery to make sure I look as sharp as I did fifteen minutes ago in my bespoke dark green tuxedo jacket with black silk lapel, white shirt, black bow tie and pants. It’s certainly not my favorite color combination for a tux, but I am definitely pulling it off.

Casually leaning against the handrail at the bottom of the staircase, I await my date.

I’m sure I’ve appeared calm, cool, and collected on the outside every time I’ve been around Claire. But I was a boiling cauldron of desire and longing for her on the inside. I’ve just perfected my resting sexy I-don’t-care face over the years.

The churning of emotion and passion inside me intensifies when she appears on the stairs above me. I thought that evening gown I had made for her and the diamond jewelry were beautiful when I first saw them, but they only serve to enhance Claire’s beauty now that she’s wearing them. Her hair is up, her skin is glowing,the plunging neckline and sway of the dress somehow highlight her curves without putting them on display. There’s a mischievous grace in her expression and the way she’s moving, like a girl playing dress-up, but she is all woman underneath that dress. All my years of sexy-I-don’t-care-face training have not prepared me for this moment. She is taking my breath away.

She looks like all the money I haveandall the really important things in life you can’t buy with it.

She has paused her descent to allow me to gape up at her. Her incandescent smile tells me that she knows exactly how good she looks, and that makes me even happier than the fact that I get to be the man by her side tonight. Lifting the skirt of her dress again, she keeps her chin up as her blue eyes remain fixed on the stairs the rest of the way down. Jake and I always hogged the TV in their family room when I slept over, so I never watched any girly movies with Claire when we were growing up. But I bet she’s watched about a hundred scenes in films and TV shows where the heroine descended a staircase in a gown before attending a gala event. I am determined to make this night so much more memorable for her than anything she’s ever streamed on Netflix.

“Hi,” she says, two steps up from me.

“Hi,” I manage to say. “You look…” My gaze unapologetically sweeps up and down her gorgeous form and back to her pretty face. “Stunning.”

She blushes, and I don’t know how it’s possible but she’s even more intoxicating. “Thank you,” she says, genuinely. “For everything,” she adds, touching her diamond necklace.

“You’re welcome.” I grin, trying to gather myself. This is going to be a long night if I can’t get myself under control. “Shall we?” I offer her my arm.

She raises an index finger. “Just one sec.” She gives me her little handbag to hold, kicks off her heels, lifts up her skirt, skips down the rest of the stairs, and twirls around the gallery, humming and giggling.

I’ve already enjoyed being with Claire more than I ever did with all the other women I ever dated here combined, and this evening has barely begun.

Exhaling, she says, “Okie doke,” as she slips her feet back into her shoes and retrieves her handbag from me. “Had to.”

“Loved it.” I offer my arm again, and she takes it.

We exit my building and step inside my limo like a king and queen. She might still think we’re pretending to be a couple tonight, but we capture the attention of everyone who’s passing by, and we will own the charity gala event. It’s a short drive to the Plaza from my place, but Ted has been instructed to drive around the park first.

Claire is quiet for a couple of minutes, staring out the tinted window, and I let her get in whatever zone she needs to be in. “So. What do I need to do tonight?” she finally asks.

“Just be you.” I smile.

She rolls her eyes, and damn, I love it.It. I loveit. The way she rolls her eyes. That’s what I love.

“It would be helpful to have a little more information.”

“Fair enough. Aston Pembroke is chairman of Harrison Lynch’s board. Lynch’s company is the one I’mtrying to acquire. I need a majority of the board to sign off on the deal, but they follow Aston’s lead. I have Aston on board, so the board is on board, as it were. I need your help to make sure it stays that way. And the way we’re going to get to Aston is through his wife. They’re a very traditional family, and they’re both hosting tonight’s fundraising event.”

“Right. And we win them over by pretending we’re a couple.”

“That’s right,” I say. “Or by actually being a couple, if you’d prefer.”

She doesn’t even blink at that. “I gotta be honest—I’m a little nervous.”

I look at her, really take her in. “I’m not. They’re going to love you. Besides, you faced down Peter Broadway today. You can take on the world.”

That gets a grin out of her.

“I got a handshake,” she informs me, bursting with pride.

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