More Than a Billionaire (23 page)

They were going to have to talk about him going overboard because he obviously had no clue. “I don’t think you can top this surprise.” She kissed him before walking with him across the room.

“We can change whatever you want. The place was recently painted, but if you don’t like it, we’ll have it redone. I thought I’d make this into a home office and use the room across the hall as a guest bedroom, but we can do something else with it if you want. Maybe another guest bedroom.” He pushed the door open into another room.

“I think one guest bedroom is enough unless you expect a lot of overnight visitors.”

“We could skip guest rooms altogether, and then no one will visit. It’ll be just us.”

They left the room behind and walked toward the kitchen.

“I like the sound of that,” Kiera said.

The kitchen looked as if it had come straight out of a magazine. Top-of-the-line appliances gleamed among the endless counter space.

“Oh, my god. I see why you left this room until the end.” She could picture herself experimenting in here while Gray sat at the island, waiting to sample what she made.

“I knew you’d like it. Have a seat.” He pulled out one of the stools at the island.

Gray retrieved a bottle from the built-in wine refrigerator. Then, he popped open the bottle and filled the two glasses which were on the counter.

Champagne was her second surprise; well at least he hadn’t gone too overboard on that one. She’d keep her lecture short later. Kiera accepted the glass he held out and waited for him to sit on the stool next to her.

He didn’t. Instead, he put down his own glass and then dropped to one knee as he reached for her hand.

“Kiera, I considered waiting until our anniversary to ask you, but I don’t have the patience. I love you more than anything and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

She looked at him, then at the ring he held near her finger. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

“What’s the matter? We can wait if you’re not ready. I know we haven’t been together that long.”

“I’ve known you all my life, and I love you. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

Gray slipped the ring on her finger. “I hope you like it.”

She set her champagne down then hugged him. “It’s beautiful.”

“You didn’t even look at it.”

She didn’t care what it looked like. He’d asked her to marry him. Nothing else mattered at the moment. “It’s perfect. So is this apartment.”

“I’m glad you think so and once we finish this champagne we’ll head out on vacation. We can share the news with everyone when we get back.”

***

The sunlight glistened off the rolling waves. A few early risers lounged on the beach. Every once in a while, a jogger ran along the sand, getting in some exercise before it became warmer. It looked like today would be a perfect continuation of the previous day.

Yesterday turned out great despite the delay in their plans. They spent much of their time inside their suite yesterday making love. When they hadn’t been occupied doing that, they discussed wedding dates and decorating ideas for their new place. After a late night swim they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms, which had been a perfect ending to the day.

Warm Caribbean air washed over him as he walked outside, and he inhaled. Maybe if he focused on something else he’d shake the growing dread in his stomach. It had kept him from falling back asleep and sent him out of the bedroom.

Gray stayed outside for another thirty minutes. No matter what he thought about, the unease remained pressing down on him. Perhaps he needed some exercise. Maybe he had restlessness confused with unease. A short run would get rid of some pent up energy. He’d do that before he woke Kiera up in the most pleasant way possible.

“How long have you been up?” Kiera asked when he walked into the bedroom.

He pulled a t-shirt from a drawer before he answered. “An hour or so. You don’t have to get up. It’s still early.”

Kiera sat up covering herself with the sheet. “Why don’t you come back to bed?”

My run can wait
. Gray dropped his t-shirt on the floor and sat down on the bed. Then, he yanked the sheet down. “You’re so beautiful.” He kissed her lips and then her breasts. “I love you.”

“Why don’t you show me just how much you love me?”

“I can do that.” Gray took one nipple in his mouth as his hands moved down her body. Once he’d given that breast enough attention, he moved his mouth away. “How am I doing so far?”

“Keep going. I’ll let you know.”

This was much more fun than a run. “Whatever you say.” Gray gave her other nipple some attention before he kissed his way down her stomach and past her navel.

Kiera moaned when he his tongue slipped inside her. “Later, I show you just how much I love you.”

He couldn’t wait.

Showered and dressed for the first time in hours, Kiera sat down and turned on the television. Gray remained in the bedroom getting dressed while he talked to his father. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but she’d heard enough to know his sister had been taken to the hospital.

Kicking off her sandals, she flipped through the channels, looking for either
The Star Insider
or
This Week In Hollywood
. Both aired on Saturday nights.

She found
The Star Insider
first and put down the remote as the camera panned in on host Aimee Trainor who sat next to her weekend co-host, Trish Simmons.

“I thought we were going for a walk on the beach.”

Gray appeared calm despite the phone call. “Everything okay with Allison?”

“Seems to be. She got into a car accident. The hospital is keeping her overnight for observation. Jake and Charlie are with her now. My dad and Abby are on their way to Virginia.” Gray sat next to her. “So are you ready to go?”

“Welcome to the weekend edition of
The Star Insider
. Tonight, we have all the details from Friday night’s awards show, as well as the latest news on all your favorites.” Aimee Trainor’s voice came through the speakers.

“Please tell me you don’t watch this.”

“Only sometimes. I missed the awards show Friday night. Stephanie and I bet on who would win the Best New Male Actor Award. I wanted to see who won, so I turned it on.”

“What kind of bet?” He kissed her neck.

“If I win the bet, Stephanie has to clean my apartment for two weeks. Well, now she’ll have to clean our apartment. It’ll will be so clean, we’ll be able to eat lunch off the kitchen floor.”

“What if you lose?” His hand cupped her breast.

“I have to cook her two weeks’ worth of dinners.” Kiera straddled his lap. A walk could wait until later.

“Before we talk about Friday night’s awards show let’s check out what our other favorite celebrities have been up to this week.” Aimee Trainor’s voice once again filled the room as Gray squeezed Kiera’s ass. “Trish, why don’t you get us started?”

“Well, Aimee, on Wednesday afternoon, Anderson Brady and Selena Cruise were spotted exiting her apartment building in New York. Friends close to the couple say their relationship is heating up and there has been talk of them moving in together.”

If she could turn off the television without getting off Gray’s lap, she’d do it.

“And I must admit, they did look cozy together when I spotted them at Nikki Reese’s birthday party,” Trish said to her co-host.

“Speaking of parties… Some of the world’s sexiest let loose Thursday night at the grand opening of The Illusion Resort and Casino in Atlantic City,” Aimee said.

“Among those I saw there were the always-delectable Mark Walden, and my personal favorite Gray Sherbrooke, who spent most of the night alongside Nadia Danilova. Viewers may recall that Nadia’s father is the current Prime Minister of Russia and one of her cousins owns The Illusion.”

She froze and looked over at the screen, which showed a snapshot of Gray and Nadia looking intimate inside the party. The hosts continued their discussion, but Kiera couldn’t hear it over the blood pounding in her ears.

Gray had told her he’d been in New York all day Thursday. He’d arrived at her place late because of a work emergency he’d had to straighten out. He couldn’t have been in Atlantic City with Nadia or anyone else.

What about the picture? Could they be old ones? Maybe they were pictures taken the previous fall? Could they be Photoshopped? People could do anything with pictures and a computer.

She swallowed as her mind raced. The media had no reason to say he attended the grand opening of The Illusion. Not only that, but it had no reason to state he’d spent the night alongside Nadia Danilova.

“Kiera look at me.” Gray’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Try to take some deep breaths.”

Kiera moved off his lap and took in one deep breath after another. A hand stroked her back as she tried to get enough air into her body.

“That’s better, love. Calm down.”

Rather than calm her, Gray’s voice sent rage through her. “Don’t touch me.” She pulled away and stood, almost tripping over the coffee table.

“Please, sit down. It’s not what you think.” He walked toward her.

Kiera took several steps backward. “So they made up that story? You weren’t in Atlantic City when you said you were in New York? Did they Photoshop those pictures?” Her body vibrated as wave after wave of anger washed over her. “You told me you were working. That some project had hit a snag and you needed to take care of it before we left.”

“I
was
working on a project. Once I got it done, I came straight to you.”

“And just what were you working on? The best way to sleep with Nadia and not have me find out?”

“There’s nothing between us. We’re business associates, that’s all.”

She walked to the other side of the couch. “Business isn’t my thing, but I know that people don’t finalize international projects at a party like that, Gray.”

Gray raked a hand through his hair, drawing Kiera’s attention to his expensive watch. Right away, the picture of Nadia getting out of a limo in California came to mind. In it, a well-dressed man wearing an expensive-looking watch had been helping her.

“You were with her in California, too, at the fundraiser.”

“We did talk that night, but that was work too.”

“Why? If you wanted to see her you could have ended our relationship. I wouldn’t have hated you.”

She would have been crushed, but not pissed like she was now.

“My project involved her father, Kiera. Nothing has happened between us.”

“And you couldn’t work on it in your office?”

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s all you can say? You’ve been lying to me and all you can say is, ‘It’s complicated?’” Kiera shouted the last few words. “What else have you lied about?”

“I love you, Kiera. For now, I need you to trust me when I say nothing is going on. When I can explain everything, I will. I promise.”

Fury built inside her. “Trust you? Do you even know what the word means?”

Kiera pulled the engagement ring off her finger. Her first instinct was to throw it at him, but she didn’t want to be childish so she dropped it on the coffee table.

“Save that for the next woman you manage to fool.” So far, she kept back any tears. She hoped her anger held them back a little longer. When she fell apart, she wanted to do it alone behind a closed door.

“I’ll go as soon as I pack my stuff.” She started walking away, but didn’t get far as Gray leaped over the couch and landed in front of her.

“Don’t do this. Please, Kiera. I know you love me.” He grabbed her upper arms, his fingers biting into her skin.

“I did love you, but I guess that wasn’t enough for you. I should’ve known better. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

Gray’s eyes darkened with pain. “You don’t mean that. You’re upset. I understand that, but we can work this out.”

The pain and anguish she heard in his voice stabbed her already aching heart. Every fiber of her body wanted to accept what he said, but she couldn’t. Not only had he lied, he had cheated on her.

“There’s nothing to work out, Gray.” Grief and despair tore at her as she walked away.

She held it together just long enough. When she locked the bedroom door, her teeth began to chatter as her body trembled.

Why? Why bother acting like he loved her? Why sneak around with someone else? There had been nothing holding them together; he could have said goodbye at any point. Was he the type who found it more exciting to sneak around behind someone’s back? And why bother trying to convince her otherwise now? Was one woman not enough for him? Did his male pride require a whole harem of women lusting after him?

The door handle rattled. When Gray couldn’t open the door, he knocked on it. “Let me in so we can talk.”

Kiera swallowed the sob that rose in her throat. She needed to pack. When she got home, she’d give into the despair. Right now, she needed to get as far away from Gray as possible.

Crossing the room, she grabbed her suitcase from the closet.

“Kiera, I know you can hear me. Don’t leave like this.”

Her hands shook as she grabbed her clothes and stuffed them into her suitcase.

“Please say something.” Gray’s voice cracked.

He wanted her to say something? Fine she’d say something. “Get me a separate room for the night.”

A thud echoed through the door as if he’d slammed his head against it.

“Give me a chance to explain.”

Kiera pulled the door open and Gray pitched forward into the room.

“Some things you can’t fix.”

Damn it to hell.
This wasn’t happening. Now, more than ever, he wished he could tell her the whole truth about his job with the Agency. Since he couldn’t do that, he had to make her believe him some other way.

“You mean the world to me. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Tears glistened in Kiera’s eyes, the sight increasing the pain in his chest.

“You really expect me to believe you? I’ve caught you in lies twice now and you’ve been photographed with someone else.”