Page 52 of The Billionaire and I

I reached for her hand. “It’s a shame her mother’s like that.”

“It is.” Jenny nodded solemnly. “Dre doesn’t deserve that.”

We were quiet for a minute. I wanted to ask Jenny about her own family, but I hesitated. After a moment, I asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I have a brother. Don’t talk to him, though. He’s a drunk.”

She said this matter-of-factly as if she was talking about the weather. “Oh. What about your parents?” I asked.

“Um…” She stared out the window. “I never had a lot of parental guidance, I guess you could say. I was pretty much on my own.”

“Oh,” I said again, lamely.

“Yeah, you know,” Jenny said. “People with solid backgrounds don’t usually end up hooking, if you know what I mean. It’s not exactly aspirational.”

Another awkward silence stretched out between us. I wanted to ask her so many things, but I didn’t know how to phrase my questions without sounding like an ass.

“I was a waitress before I was with the agency,” Jenny offered. “At the Sizzler in the Theater District. Real classy.” She winked at me.

“Did you like it?”

“It fucking sucked,” she said immediately. “You ever wait tables? No, of course not. You make, like, two dollars an hour plus tips. I never coulda lived on that.”

I put my arm around her. “I’m sorry if things have been hard.”

“Nah, you don’t need to be sorry, Coley. I’m takin’ care of myself. I have a little apartment, and I’m doing just fine, thank you.” She sounded a teeny bit defiant.

“Okay, Jenny,” I said.

“Okay, Coley,” she said and nestled against me. “I’m looking forward to our trip tomorrow. I just hope Audrey makes it, ’cause it’d suck to be the only person there who’s never been to the Caribbean before, you know?”

“I know.” I kissed the top of her head. I most certainlydidn’tknow since my family had vacationed in St. Bart’s every winter since I’d been born. “But you’ll have the bridesmaids—they adore you. And you have me.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” She settled against me, and my heart swelled. “And you’re pretty good.”

“You’re pretty good too, Jenny.” I pulled her closer against me, inhaling her coconut-y scent.

I wondered what I would’ve done in James’s position had Jenny run off and left me. But then I reminded myself that I wasn’t prone to introspection, and I thanked God for that.

CHAPTER 25

Jenny

I pulledmy fedora down artfully to the side as I checked myself in the mirror. The black jumpsuit Shirley had bought me was luxurious, and the hat was the perfect accessory. I looked like one of those rich women I saw periodically driving a Range Rover around town. Hot, wealthy, and in charge. I would fit in just fine with the five-star resort crowd. I hoped. With a nod of approval at my reflection and a reminder to fake it until I make-d it, I grabbed my carry-on bag.

Audrey still hadn’t texted me by the time Cole and I headed to Logan Airport. It made me feel funny worrying about my friend; usually, it was the other way around. And that wasn’t the only thing making me feel weird.

All of a sudden, things were slightly off between Cole and me. No one would notice it but me. Maybe not even Cole. On the surface, everything appeared fine. Actually, it seemed to be great. We’d still had sex when we got home from the reception. I still did the thing with his balls. We both orgasmed, yelling and grunting in pleasure and held each other while we fell asleep. Still, something was amiss.

Something wasn’t right.

I’d felt oddly comfortable with Cole from the beginning. It shouldn’t have been that way. We were from two different worlds, but somehow, the billionaire bachelor had immediately put me at ease. The attraction had been instantaneous. The sex made me feel like a million bucks—scratch that, a billion. Same thing whenever Cole put his arm around me and when I woke up next to his big, warm body. I was proud to be next to him. Real proud, like I was being rewarded for good behavior, and everyone could see it.

But now, as we headed to Logan for our flight, another awkward silence stretched out between us. I wondered if it was because the vacation was the last part of the assignment. All of a sudden, the end of our arrangement was in sight. The party was about to be over. Instead of crying about it, I vowed to enjoy myself. Maybe the trip wouldn’t be the end of us after all. Maybe Cole would decide to “buy” me and put me up in a condo or something. Maybe he’d become a regular.

Or maybe pigs would fly.

Again, I promised myself I wouldn’t think about it. I had plenty to be happy about. We were flying to the Caribbean! Shirley had gone shopping for me, dropping off a week’s worth of designer resort wear in addition to the things Elena had already packed. I had the hottest billionaire alive sitting beside me, holding my hand. We were going to go swimming in turquoise water and drink rum out of coconuts. I should enjoy my dreams coming true, not cry about whatever happened next. Or whatever didn’t happen next.

---