Ruth Cardello - Bedding The Billionaire

I hope it’s the color that says, “I mean it, I’ll sue you.”

Mrs. Lawson said, “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Lil, but it’ll be nice to see you. What if I make you lunch? Just like the old days?”

“I won’t be able to stay. I’ve got to get to the station early if I’m going to stop this from happening.”

“I’ll brown bag it for you.”

“You don’t have to go to any trouble.”

Mrs. Lawson was insistent. “No trouble, Lil. Aaron wouldn’t have made it out of high school without you. If you won’t marry him and make me happy, the least you can do is let me feed you.”

“You know we don’t feel like that about each other.”

The older woman sighed. “I know, but a mother can dream.”

No, they can’t, Lil wanted to say. Mothers have to put their dreams aside and start making responsible decisions.

Mrs. Lawson knew Lil well enough to sense her real distress. She made a sympathetic sound and said, “It’ll work out, Lil. You just get yourself together and come on over early. You’ve got a big day head of you.”

Lil agreed, hung up and carried Colby to the bedroom with her. She tied her hair up in what she hoped was a serious looking bun. Her confidence increased as she layered on the armor of her business attire.

A stranger stared back at her in the mirror. What did people say? “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” In this case, she was dressing for the person she wanted to be. If the shoes were too tight and the skirt felt restrictive, well it was something she was determined to learn to love.

She gathered Colby’s supplies.

Bottles. Check. Diapers and wipes. Check. Puff snacks. Check.

A big day.

She slung a diaper bag over her shoulder and secured Colby into her portable car seat.

That’s one way to describe it. All I have to do is get by the reporters, get the letter and convince a station manager that pulling an interview and receiving flack for doing it will be preferable to whatever litigation Aaron chooses to threaten them with.

Completely do-able.

As long as the day doesn’t hold any more surprises.

Making it to the car wasn’t as bad as Lil had anticipated. With a hand shielding Colby from the flashes of cameras, Lil had rushed through the press, refusing to respond to the questions they’d thrown at her.

“How much did they pay you for the interview, Lil?”

“What’s your big confession?”

“Are you doing this because you’re jealous of your sister’s recent publicity?”

After securing Colby in the back seat, Lil hastily slid into the driver’s seat of her little, red Ford Focus and breathed with relief. Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to get anywhere very fast with those reporters blocking her driveway. She considered simply backing up and forcing them to scramble. That’s what the old her would have done in a heartbeat and she wouldn’t have given a thought to possible consequences.

The new her was trying to figure out how not to give them another reason to feature her on the news tonight.

Her cell phone rang.

Jake.

Great. That’s the last person I want to talk to right now.

When she didn’t answer, he merely rang again.

Impatiently swiping her phone to connect, she said, “What do you want, Jake? I’m a little busy right now.” She’d given up trying to impress him.

“Where are you going?”

The hair on the back of her neck rose. “How do you know I’m going anywhere?”

“I’m parked across the street.”

A quick turn confirmed his claim.

“Shit.” Lil quickly checked her daughter in the mirror. “Don’t worry, Colby, Mommy is going to stop swearing after today. Don’t remember any of this.”

“Are you talking to me?” Jake asked.

“No,” Lil shook her head. “Sorry. I was-.” Lil stopped herself from sharing what would only make her sound crazier than she already felt. “What are you doing here, Jake?”

“I wanted to see you.”

If only that were true.

“You mean Dominic sent you.”

“Does it matter?”

It shouldn’t, but it did. There could never be anything between them; he’d said so himself. Those words still stung even all these weeks later.

“Not at all.”

“Why did you give the interview, Lil?”

“I didn’t-” Once again, she stopped herself. She didn’t owe him an explanation. “You can tell Dominic that I have the situation under control. The interview won’t be airing.”

“Did you have a change of heart?”

“Think what you want, Jake, but think it in New York. I’m having a bad enough day.”

Jake hung up.

Lil watched him exit his silver BMW, every bit as immaculately groomed as the last time she’d seen him. He towered a good foot above the reporters, but Lil was sure that wasn’t what made them take a step back as he approached them. Jake wore wealth and influence like some people wore an old coat, with comfortable indifference. He didn’t doubt for a moment that people should respect him and wasn’t surprised when they did.

Whatever he said to the reporters was tempered with a smooth smile. The combination worked, they responded by reorganizing their cameras on the opposite side of the road with seemingly no complaint.

No one should be that good looking and that powerful.

Life should bestow one.

Getting both was just plain unfair.

She fought the impulse to drive off while he was otherwise occupied.

He strode toward her car and she caught her breath. No wonder I threw myself at him. I mean, look at him.

Damn.

She’d almost convinced herself that she’d exaggerated his attractiveness in her memories. No, it was all there-the classically square jaw, perfectly styled dark brown hair, expertly tailored clothing that accentuated his muscular frame and golden brown eyes that sent shivers of excitement down her spine as they seared through the distance between them.

Could any woman be blamed for wanting to believe that lightening could strike twice in one family? Her sister had gotten her own fairy-tale ending, why couldn’t the universe have sent Lil one?

In retrospect, the possibility lacked precedent.

Even the Grimms knew- one Prince Charming per village.

That made Jake the wolf?

More like a crappy narrator who breaks in to remind you that none of it is real.

He yanked the door open and slid into the passenger seat. The subtle scent of his cologne teased and tempted.

Okay, an incredibly sexy, crappy narrator.

She gripped the steering wheel and focused on the dashboard.

Gorgeous men who don’t want to be with you shouldn’t be so difficult to avoid.

To fill the silence she said, “Thank you for whatever you just said to the press. Now I really have to go. I’m already late.”

“For?” The click of his seatbelt being secured echoed in the small car.

“If you must know, I’m seeing my lawyer this morning. He’s writing up a gag order for the interview which I will then deliver to the station manager and this whole thing will hopefully just go away.”

“So, you didn’t sell the story.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Of course you will, Lil thought, but said, “I don’t suppose you’ll believe me if I tell you that I can handle it myself?”

Those beautiful eyes stared blandly back at her.

Lil turned away from him again.

“Lil,” he commanded softly with just the use of her name. Lil reluctantly met his eyes again. “You have no reason to be embarrassed around me. I wanted to take you up on your offer that night, but it would have complicated an already difficult situation.”

What the hell did that even mean?

“I didn’t offer you anything,” she denied hotly.

“Then you have even less of a reason to feel awkward around me.”

“I don’t-” Heat rushed up her neck. What was the use of denying what was blatantly true? “Can we leave that night in the past? This is about today. I don’t need your help. And I’d like you to get out of my car.”

“You know I’m not leaving until this situation is resolved.”

Her heart flipped in her chest. There was nothing about the situation that needed to be resolved. She’d let the emotions of the weekend overtake her common sense. A man like Jake could have his pick of women; he didn’t need the complication of a young mother. And he’d said as much, rather clearly, when he’d explained that he didn’t see how there could ever be anything between them.

As her embarrassment ran its course, a more painful realization came to her.

He wasn’t referring to that situation.

This was about the interview- nothing more.

She lashed out at him. “Because you do everything Dominic tells you to do?”

The bastard didn’t even flinch, just inclined his head slightly and said, “When it suits me. And right now I need to know exactly what you said in that interview.”

No, you don’t.

Lil ground the engine when she started the car for the second time. “It doesn’t matter what I said because the interview is never going to air.”

“Finally, something we agree on.”

His unflappable calm sent a wave of angry adrenaline coursing through Lil. She backed out of her driveway with too much force and heard the crunch of her garbage can beneath her rear tires. She had to pull forward, back up, and pull forward again to dislodge it from beneath the vehicle.

She looked at him quickly, daring him to say a word.

Quite wisely, he didn’t.

Another man would have needed to drive, but that wasn’t how Jake operated. Very rarely was the figurehead of any situation the one who was actually in control. By charging forward, most people limited their potential. Few took time to analyze and take advantage of the spectrum of possible outcomes to any given decision.