The Billionaire's Beloved (Key to My Heart Book 4) (9 page)

Chapter Three

"How do you like the sushi?" Carlos asked quietly, his eyes scorching my flesh with the heat of the burning summer sun.

We sat together, tucked away into a tiny corner booth, the lights dimmed and candles surrounding us. When Carlos looked at me, I could see the fire of the candle dancing in his black irises, a literal flame trying to capture me.

The truth is, I'd barely even tasted the rice and fish. Even the wasabi seemed lackluster in comparison to the taste of the billionaire's fiery lips on my mine. Even after the limo had pulled up to the front of the glittering Asian fusion restaurant, we'd taken our sweet, sweet time detangling ourselves and climbing out of the limo. I felt like a teenager, making out in the backseat of our car between classes. I glanced at him, doubting my ability to just gaze. He licked a sticky grain of rice off his thumb with seductively I never thought was possible of finger tasting.

When he caught me staring, he moved one of his strong, supple arms around my shoulder, his finger dancing on my earlobe. I bit my lip, gaze narrowing on the half-eaten plate before me.

I didn't want any more sushi, what I wanted was to throw Carlos down on the table and pounce on him. I didn't care who watched or who saw, I just wanted to feel his body against mine once more. A shudder rolled down my spine as his fingers drifted, lazily tracing up and down the length of my neck. I leaned against him, pressing my ear into his chest. His heart thudded softly against his ribcage in stark contrast to the hummingbird like pace of my own rhythm.

Cool as a cucumber, this one. I was jealous of his ability to stay so calm.

"You ready to get out of here?" He asked, his tone low and gruff in my ear.

It was obvious where we would go, I realized, as his lips gently grazed the lobe of my ear once more. We'd go somewhere, just for 'coffee' perhaps. It'd been a long time since I tasted...coffee like the spicy flavor Carlos was no doubt going to offer.

Somehow, I managed to nod, eyes drifting closed as his mouth pressed hot against my temple, "...I'm just going to run to the restroom real quick." I breathed, "To freshen up a little."

"Of course." He hummed, reluctantly letting go of me to fish his wallet from his suit pocket, "Hurry back." He added with a smirking wink.

Smoothing my hands over my dress, I escaped around the corner towards the bathroom, leaning heavily against the wall and trying to catch my breath. My heart rammed jerkily against my ribs, threatening to crack them, my head spun with nerves.

It'd been so long since I did anything like this. Was this even real life? Making out in limos, going back to a billionaire's place to get frisky. Was this what I wanted? It was happening so fast, I never really got to wrap my mind around everything. When I woke up this morning, the last thing that I expected to happen was to go on a date. If it was anything like my typical Fridays, I would have just gone back to my place with a nice bottle of clearance wine and watched Food Network until I passed out.

This though, could not be happening. There was just no way.

Cautiously, I peered around the corner, wondering if Carlos would have taken my two second absence as a chance to escape. I wouldn't have blamed him. But no, alas, the poor man still sat, tapping the corner of his black credit card against the glass of the table. Did someone in the office dare him to take me out? Was I being so crazy around the workplace that they thought I needed a date to chill out a little? I was pretty sure I saw something like that on a TV sitcom once.

Was I watching too much television?

If Netflix wasn't so damn addicting I wouldn't have this issue. Or maybe I just needed more of a social life. I took a moment to scoff at that with a roll of my eyes, like hell that was going to happen.

I needed to calm down. My mind was racing a mile a minute, why was I contemplating the downfall of civilization due to Netflix when a sexy billionaire was waiting to take me back to his place?

I took a deep breath, finally walking into the bathroom. My reflection stared back, judging me. My hair was too frizzy, make up too light, pores too huge, body too fat. I whipped around, refusing to face myself anymore. I wasn't like this. I didn't tear myself apart just because I got nervous.

I'm a strong woman, I run a business, and for years I did that extremely well. There was no other reason for Carlos to be interested besides the fact that he's attracted to something about me, whatever that may be. And I better damn well not act like a looney toon and scare him away for real.

With a resolute nod, I turned back to my reflection, gently splashing some water to cool my burning face.

"You got this, girl." I whispered, giving myself a thumbs up. Mirror Miranda grinned back at me encouragingly as I lifted my chin and strode out of the bathroom.

As I turned the corner to the booth, empty seats welcomed me. I stopped, confused, glancing around for my missing date. As I lifted up onto my tiptoes to inspect the bar across the restaurant, I heard a voice behind me.

"Miranda?"

The deep tenor tones were familiar, but did not belong to Carlos. In fact, I couldn’t quite place where I recognized it at all.

I turned, jaw nearly dropping to the floor as the tall, muscled frame of my college boy toy, Paul Harris, smiled hesitantly at me.

It had been years since I last saw Paul. His eyes, so pale of a blue it reminded me of frozen glaciers, crinkled around the edges. His soft blond hair was as perfect as a Vogue ad. He'd always been tall, but I could have sworn he'd grown even more. His trip overseas had been kind to him, and apparently he'd had a bit of time to work on his figure. His arms were strong, rippling underneath the fine fabric of his black suit. His perfectly manicured fingers held a scotch glass with delicate grace. I bet if a gale force wind blew over Paul right at this moment, not a hair would move out of place. He was an Adonis, and I was a hot mess with a missing date.

We'd never really said goodbye, I realized. We'd always known that he would have to leave after graduation, and never spoken about it more than once. I'd cried a little that first night after his departure, and a little every night after that for quite some time, though I never admitted that to anyone and certainly wouldn't start now. He'd been my best friend throughout our college years. I came to him when I struggled with homework, when I was overjoyed about an internship, when my grandmother had passed away. Every time, his warm arms had embraced me, his mouth had kissed mine, and his hand was the only one I dreamed about holding.

We seemed so young back then, so young and naive about how the world worked. Even with his impending exodus, we stayed in our own little fantasy world, pretending that it would never end. That last night together had been magical, and we’d never said goodbye.

"You got the dress." Paul said with a shockingly stunning grin, "You look beautiful."

Chapter Four

"You did this?" I gasped, my hands smoothing over the front of the dress that fit me so perfectly. More questions rippled through my mind, though mostly just a haze of confusion muddled everything. How could Paul have possibly done this?

"Of course I did." He said lightly, chortling.

His smile caught me off guard, gentle flutterings of butterflies swirling in my tummy. He'd always had the most beautiful grin I'd ever seen in my life. It was one of the things that had attracted me to him. That wide, toothy smile had caught my attention across English Lit 101 so fast I thought I was struck by lightning. He smiled easily and often and genuinely. I always told him it was what made him such a good businessman, everyone felt like his best friend by the end of a negotiation.

"Why?" I finally whispered with a frown, not reciprocating his friendly smile. It'd been years since we’d even spoken, what made him think of me now? How had he gotten my dress size, or my address no less? I'd been living there less than a year. Was he stalking me? Should I be running away right about now?

"I'd love to sit and talk about everything," He began, one his hands casually resting on my elbow, drawing me into him. Instantly, the flesh of my arm tingled like it was being set on fire. His warm hand so gentle on my skin, so familiar. It was like he'd never left.

"But I'm in the middle of a meeting. I never thought I'd run into you here. I'll call you, we can catch up, we can grab coffee."

Coffee. Uh oh.

I nodded quickly, patting his hand absently as I stared around the restaurant. Still no sight of Carlos.

"I'll talk to you soon." I mumbled, pulling away from the blond billionaire with more reluctance than I would have liked to admit.

Those feelings meant nothing, I chided myself. It was only due to the lack of closure of our relationship so many years ago. That's all. Nothing more. I'm on a date, and no self respecting lady is going to go all googly eyed over some other man while she's on a date. Especially not while she's on a date with a sexy Latino billionaire who can just about make you melt into a puddle with his oh so talented lips.

Where was that sexy Latino billionaire hiding though?

Finally, I stepped outside, wrapping my arms around myself. It'd been so warm earlier, but now the chill of the evening had set in.

"Ms. Malone?" Echoed a voice from across the valet lot.

I turned, watching as a young man approached me. It was kind of nice to have someone his age come up to me and not shake in his boots. Though, I preferred scaring my interns over random young men.

"That's me." I said lightly, "is Carlos waiting somewhere?"

I glanced around with a frown, but his limo was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Malone, but he told me to let you know that he had an urgent matter to attend to and deeply regrets having to leave so quickly."

That's all that I get from this man? He couldn't wait five more minutes for me to come back from the restroom? I felt my hands clenching in irritation, humiliated blush burning from my chest to my cheeks. He'd gotten tired of me, he hadn't wanted to spend more time with me after all.

Fury rattled through me. I was angry at Carlos for suddenly leaving, I was angry at Paul for suddenly appearing, I was angry at myself for believing that Carlos actually wanted to take me out. Whatever purpose he'd intended for the evening, he'd gotten, and he'd left.

"Um, Ms. Malone?" That comfortable little warble of his uncertainty made me feel a little better. His use of my surname gave me an excuse to direct my anger, even a little bit, at the poor unsuspecting boy.

"It's Miranda." I snapped, glaring at him with the full force of rage.

He flinched, unused to the wrath of a woman scorned.

"The gentleman already paid for a taxi to take you back home, if you'd like?" The young valet asked timidly, "Or we could arrange something else for you?"

He wasn't even sure what other options existed, but I'd scared him enough for him to personally carry me home on his back if I was so inclined.

"There's no need, Timothy." A friendly voice suddenly said, "I'll make sure Ms. Malone gets home safely tonight."

I whipped around, ready to chew out the secondary party for the use of 'Malone' once more, but Paul's grin caught me off guard.

"You." I mumbled.

This night kept getting worse and worse. First, Carlos abandoned me, now Paul gets to witness my raging aftermath.

The world wasn't fair.

Timothy nodded jerkily, escaping away to hide behind his booth, where he pretended to work on paperwork with the urgency of a fireman saving lives.

"Come with me, Miranda." He said gently, sliding out of his jacket and lightly dropping it over my shoulders, "Let's get you back to your place."

I wanted to sulk, I wanted to whine, I wanted to be a petulant child who stomped their feet and cried because things weren't going my way. In the end though, I mustered all the grace and dignity I still had and slid my arm into his waiting one with a heavy sigh, allowing him to lead me back down the sidewalk away from the restaurant.

I didn't live far, and I'd always loved walking to places when able. I enjoyed the scenery, the quiet thinking time, the sound of my feet on the pavement. Paul remembered, quite fondly, several of the long walks we'd taken, with more than few stops on the way.

"I thought you had a meeting?" I finally said, casting a slight glance up at my tall companion. His eyes glimmered in the night, reflecting the stars and passing headlights on the road.

He shrugged, patting the hand that rested on his arm, the warmth of his body practically rolling onto me in warm, comfortable waves.

"What kind of man would choose a stuffy old meeting over spending time with you, Miranda?"

Chapter Five

I flinched at his words, casting a glare up towards Paul. He knew, he always knew, "Apparently my date tonight." I sighed heavily.

The blond billionaire nodded, patting my hand once more, his fingers lingering over mine with warm familiarity, just where they had so many years ago, "Well, I would say that man has made the worst choice of his life." Paul murmured, his tone holding more knowledge than I could handle at the moment.

I wasn't sure I wanted to think about what had happened after college. I wasn't sure I could handle a rehashing of one of the most painful times of my life. My best friend, my partner, my lover had vanished from my life, just like that. The pain was bittersweet, like when you eat a chocolate bar too quickly and you never even realized it was your last one.

Yes, I truly love my chocolate.

"So, Miranda." Paul began, breaking the lull of silence that began creeping in on our conversation, "I hear you’re quite the business woman now."

"Wait just a minute." I suddenly said, stopping in my tracks and withdrawing my arm from his to plant my hands firmly on my hips, "I'm not answering any questions until you answer some of mine, mister."

If Paul had been stalking me, he might be leading me to some death trap right now. I needed to make sure it wasn't the case. That beautiful smile of his could convince a vegetarian to spend all night chowing steaks.

"How did you get my address, my dress size? Did you know I'd be at Chez Meng tonight? When did you get back into the country? Why didn't you just call instead of following me around?"

Paul would have been on the receiving end of more and more interrogation if he hadn't held up his strong, smooth hands, cutting me off.

"I just came back yesterday evening. It's been much, much too long. I never thought I'd taste another cheeseburger in my life. I just asked your secretary, Yolinda?"

Lucinda. That woman was going to be the death of me. She never told me anything, just handing out my address like the MnM’s she kept in a bowl on her desk.

"How'd you know where I worked?" I threatened with a poke into his chest, "So you are following me!"

"Miranda, you're a widely known editor. I've been reading your magazine for some time." He smiled at me, grasping the hand that I poked at him, pulling me in closer to him.

My eyes were level with his chest. His strong, manly chest, musky scent of his body intoxicating me more than the sake at Chez Meng.

"You read my magazine?" I mumbled, tipping my chin to stare up at him, "Really?"

Paul nodded, one of his hands smoothing over my hair, resting lightly on the back of my neck, "Every issue. You're amazing, you know."

I blushed, shaking my head and glancing away, "It's struggling. We probably won't make it another year."

I didn't want to tell Paul that. I didn't want him to know that I was failing, I didn't want him to hear that I wasn't as amazing as he thought.

The tall man grasped my shoulders, eyes narrowing on my own. Something deep inside my core trembled just slightly at the intensity at which he stared into my eyes, like he was looking into my very soul. I didn’t want him to see my fears, my worries, how much I dreaded losing my magazine.

"You can figure this out, Miranda." He whispered urgently, "You've figured out everything before, it's only a matter of time before you get your next breakthrough."

How did this man have so much confidence in me? He didn't know me anymore, he couldn't just stand here and pretend to read me like some open book. Paul hadn't spoken to me, he hadn't seen me, in years. He had no right to act like he knew me so deeply.

"Maybe not this time, Paul." I hissed, irritated that he took such liberty with my character when he had no room to do so, "Maybe not this time."

I jerked away from him, unsure where this hostility suddenly brewed from within me.

Perhaps I was angry that he was gone for so long, suddenly appearing like a ghost to haunt to me. Maybe I was angry that he never wrote me a letter, never picked up the phone. We’d known before he left that whatever we’d shared together was over the moment he stepped onto that plane, but maybe I’d been secretly holding out hope for us, that he would contact me, that he would rush off that plane and swoop me into his strong arms and we’d spend the rest of forever cuddling and eating tacos. Maybe I was angry that emotions for this man still swirled inside of me like a hurricane.

"I'm right." Paul said quietly, watching me walk in front of him, "I'm always right."

With a frown, I kept my eyes forward, listening as his heavy steps synched in with my own. Though we marched along in solemn silence, he didn't leave me until we'd safely reached the steps of my apartment.

"Good night, Miranda." he said gently, "Good evening, Jordan." He added with a smile at the doorman.

Jordan glanced at Paul as he opened the door for me, and for a second, I thought I saw the apathetic man flash a smile back at the blond billionaire.

There was nothing I wanted more than to curl up in my bed and go to sleep. Apparently, my body didn’t agree. Even after my shower, a snack, and a glass of wine, my mind still would not calm down enough to let me sleep. I tossed, I turned, I hid underneath my pillow, but still, I stayed awake.

Thoughts of Paul and Carlos continued flashing through my mind. I wasn't sure if I was willing to forgive Carlos for up and leaving me. It was my first date in forever, and Carlos hadn't even bothered to kiss me goodnight. Paul had the nerve to show up unannounced, showering me with gifts and walking me home. I'd hung the dress in the very back of my closet, so I wouldn't have to look at it every day. The gardenias I'd shoved in a vase and placed beside my bed. Even my current state of vitriol for the blond billionaire didn't dampen my love for the flowers. It wasn’t their fault, after all.

As I was just beginning to finally fade into slumber, I wondered if tonight had been the last time I'd see Paul. He knew where I lived, sure, but I didn't know how long he was in the country for. I didn't know where he was staying. I had no card or phone number or hotel to reach him at. Did I even want to reach him? Did I want him to vanish into the night the same way he had five years ago? Honestly, I couldn't be sure.

And Carlos, how was I going to face Carlos on Monday? I had to remember to be calm, to be business like. I couldn't let our work life get awkward just because he hadn't enjoyed himself on our date. I definitely couldn’t let the staff know that I'd been on a date with the sexy Latino and completely messed it up, that would just add a whole other dimension of humiliation.

It would be back to business as usual, I nodded resolutely against my cool pillow.

I resigned myself to letting go of both billionaires in my life for now. Neither of them deserved my attention or my affection, and I definitely wouldn't be sharing any coffee with either of them, no matter how wealthy or intelligent or hunky or maddeningly sexy they were.

Both of them were confusing men, deliberate in their actions but holding so little regard for my feelings. Enough was enough, I was done being walked all over, I was done spending nights lying awake and wasting time I could be sleeping, thinking about them.

I was done being between the billionaires.