“Hardly.” He motioned for the maître d’ and handed over enough cash to cover their bill twice over. “Sorry, but we have to leave early.”
“Of course, Mr. Worth. Shall I have the food prepared to go?”
“No need.”
He stretched out a hand to Lillian. “Come with me.”
The confusion on her face was almost endearing as she hesitantly slipped her hand into his.
He wasted no time pulling her out of the restaurant.
“What are you doing?” she asked when they hit the sidewalk.
“Changing things up.” He took off, leaving the pretentious restaurant behind them. Strangers strolled along the bustling street, no doubt enjoying the summer evening. Rounding a bend, he headed down one of the residential roads, leaving the sounds of the traffic behind as they walked by the shadowed houses.
“Are you taking me home?”
“Not unless you want to go. Do you?” He glanced back at her.
Silence stretched before she gave the smallest shake of her head.
“Good.”
“Where are we going?”
“I know a great little burger joint a few blocks over. Sound better to you?” he asked.
Fingers tightened on his. “Yes.”
“You could have told me you didn’t like the restaurant.”
“You didn’t ask.”
That stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see his companion watching him carefully.
She does that a lot.
During their brief acquaintance, Lillian always seemed to be taking in everything around her with those clever, cautious eyes. When she did speak, he found himself wanting to know what insights she’d derived from her study.
And now with three little words, he realized the mistake he’d made tonight.
“I’m sorry,” he said honestly. “I should have.”
In his defense, he wasn’t used to answering to anyone. His social circle was limited, at best, and those he did engage with knew the rules. He was a busy man with no time to waste. The other women he’d entertained had no problem with him making the plans. But then again, they were happy to be whatever he wanted so long as their birthday presents sparkled.
I can’t imagine Lillian letting me use those tactics.
If he gave her diamonds, she’d probably just stare a hole through him before quietly asking him why.
Who needs simple? I’ve always preferred complicated.
And Lillian Abbott was shaping up to be exactly that.
“I did my research before approaching your father,” he said, hardly believing he was explaining himself to anyone. “I knew the ins and outs of both our companies before I ever made this move.”
Her eyes danced away from him again, and he found he didn’t like the loss of connection.
“I admit it was a cold strategy, so let me make up for it. Forget the businesses and the mountain of information we both have on each other.” He caught her other hand and pulled her closer. “What do I need to know about you, Lillian?”
She glanced up at him. “Probably more than we can cover in a single conversation.”
“At least give me a tidbit or two to tide me over.”
Her rosy lips tipped up into a small smile. “I don’t know what to say. I’m a born and bred New Yorker. Most of my life has been spent in this city.”
That’s a historical fact, not a personal one.
“I was born upstate. Never made it to the city until I was old enough to go to university.” He’d been far too busy trying to survive the foster system to explore his state.
“I love the city. The culture, the energy—there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
“John said you were active with fundraising for the MET.”
“I pitch in now and then.”
“That’s not the only organization you support, is it?” he said.
Her eyes snapped back to his. “What—”
“When I looked into your background, I was surprised to find you and your sister support several shelters in the city. Why are your donations anonymous?”
“My father,” she said, the words soft.
“Ah. I guess he prefers your activities to be firmly vested in the socialite world.”
“Yes.”
He tugged her a step closer.
“I’m not him.”
It took her a long time to meet his eyes. “I never said…”
“Didn’t you?”
She glanced away.
Looks like I’m not the only one with trust issues.
“I mean it, you know. I don’t want you to pretend to be something you’re not.”
A wry smile twisted her lips. “I see.”
“It doesn’t do either of us any good to lie to each other. This marriage is going to happen unless you have a change of heart.”
“And if I did?” she asked, her eyes returning to his. “What if I wanted to call this off?”
He swallowed. “Do you?”
She was silent.
Does she want to get out of this?
Something close to dread unfurled in the pit of his stomach, but he chalked it up to losing all the work he’d put into the merger so far.
Be human. Think about something other than business for a second.
He cleared his throat. “If you ask me to, I’ll tell your father tomorrow I’ve reconsidered.”
She blinked. “You’ve already made moves to merge. That would derail everything you’ve worked for.”
He shrugged. “Better than forcing you into a relationship you don’t want.”
She studied their clasped hands before those captivating eyes rose back to his. “What happened to the owners of the inn upstate that you bought?”
He arched a brow at the non-sequitur. “What?”
“Why did you buy the inn?”
Looked like her investigators had been thorough. He sighed. This wasn’t a story he wanted to tell tonight.
“They’re still there.”
“You didn’t kick them out?”
“Why would I? Pete and Judy are like family to me. They hit a rough patch and would have lost their business had I not stepped in. I would have handed it back over, but they refused to take any charity, so now I’m a silent partner. Honestly, I didn’t expect any returns on that investment, but they’ve managed to turn things around quite nicely for us all.”
Surprise lit her face. “You saved them?”
“I helped them,” he hedged.
“Without expecting anything in return.”
“I don’t need to turn a profit on everything. Sometimes you just need to do what’s right.”
“My father wouldn’t agree.”
“I know.”
Those slender fingers tightened on his. “Don’t tell him you’ve reconsidered. Not yet.”
An odd hope lit within him. If she cried off, there were half a dozen others he could ask in her place.
But he didn’t want to. Why?
It wasn’t a question he wanted to examine too closely. He’d told her the truth when he’d said he wasn’t sentimental. Business always came first, and that’s what this was.
Except I wasn’t thinking about business when I pulled her out of the restaurant.
That had been instinct.
And it unsettled the hell out of him.
He ran his thumb over her fingers. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
She took a small step forward, closing the distance between them. Her gaze dropped to his top button as she murmured, “Okay.”
He stared down at her bowed head. Who was this woman who could level a gaze cold enough to put him in his place one moment and then be too shy to say two words to him the next?
He hadn’t expected to like his fiancée. Emotional connections weren’t a necessity for him to achieve the success he craved. Yet, now that he was here, standing in the dark with her, his vision of separate lives seemed ridiculous. He wanted to spend more time with
her. Figure out which woman she was. Strong and confident or quiet and shy?
A smile started to form. Maybe she was both.
“Hey,” he said, causing her head to lift.
He released her hands so that he could cup her face, Slowly, giving her the chance to draw back, he lowered his lips toward hers.
Her eyes fluttered shut.
“We can make this work, Lillian,” he breathed against her mouth.
She jerked back as if she’d touched a live wire. Before he could protest, she’d wiggled out of his arms. “Come on,” she said over her shoulder. “Let’s find that restaurant. I’m starved.”
What just happened?
She’d been warm and willing in his embrace. He was sure of it.
What did I say?
Nothing that should have set her off. Shaking his head, he jogged to catch up with her.
My own personal enigma.
He’d unravel the mystery of Lillian Abbott if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter Five
“You gave up a Michelin starred restaurant just to impress a woman?”
Julian sighed. “Not just any woman. I’m marrying her.”
His friend rolled his eyes.
Shaking his head, Julian turned his gaze away from the two men beside him. Jason and Ryan had been his only confidantes for years now. They’d met in business school and had never quite been able to shake each other. Now Jason ran his legal department, and Ryan had built up a successful hedge fund all his own.
“Why do I tell you two anything, again?”
He should have known better than to bring up his date. It’d been a week since he’d seen her, but Lillian was never very far from his thoughts.
It’s because this is new.
Their relationship would no doubt settle into a comfortable pattern eventually, and then she’d likely be the last thing on his mind.
Ryan laughed. “Ignore him. You know his idea of a serious relationship is seeing the same woman twice.”
He raised his glass to that before tossing back the last sip of whiskey.
The night air ruffled his hair as he looked around the rooftop patio of the most exclusive lounge in the city. This was where the elite came to kick back with designer liquor and wealthy clientele. He’d been a member for years.
“I still think this is a stupid plan,” Jason said. “You don’t need marriage to succeed. How many billions do you have, anyway?”
“The Abbott name will open doors faster than anything else,” he replied. “You know that. There’ll be no stopping us once we’re united.”
“Still, there must be better ways to accomplish this goal,” Ryan said, his voice quieter. “Getting married is extreme.”
He shrugged. “I need to marry eventually, and this way I get something in return for my freedom. Win, win.”
“We’re talking about real people here,” Ryan said. “What does Ms. Abbott think of your logic?”
“So far she has no objections.”
Jason snorted. “Why would she? You’re a walking, talking piggy bank.”
An anger he had no business feeling burned low in his gut.
“She’s not like that.” The defense was out before he could stop it.
What the hell am I doing?
Both men stared at him, curiosity in their eyes.
“I mean, this isn’t about money. The Abbotts aren’t exactly hurting in that department.”
“That’s nothing compared to you, and you know it. Besides, no woman marries a stranger just because she’s told to.”
“I’m sure she has her reasons.”
Jason rubbed his fingers together. “Yeah. Cha-ching.”
“Wonderful. Of my two best friends, one of them thinks my future wife is a gold digger and the other thinks she’s a mistake.”
“I’ll bet you a thousand bucks one of us is right,” Jason said.
“How about I just buy everyone another round and we forget about a wager?” he asked, holding three fingers up at the waitress.
“When are you seeing her again?” Ryan asked.
“Not sure. I need to figure out a time to bring her over to the house so she can check it out.”
“And if she hates it?” Jason chimed in.
As if I care.
He shrugged. “Then we’ll move.”
Jason scoffed, falling back into his chair.
“That’s very…husbandly of you,” Ryan said, ever the peacemaker.
He rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t care about things like that. Let her make our home however she wants.”
“All you care about is the business,” Jason said.
“Exactly.”
“That’s no way to live a life,” Ryan added.
He rubbed his jaw as they waited on their drinks. Compromising any aspects of his life after marriage had never been the plan, but if they were going to live together, he’d have to learn to do exactly that.
Can I do that? Do I even want to?
But then again, would it be the worst thing in the world? Lillian had lit up when they’d entered the little burger joint that boasted ten tables at most, with plastic tablecloths and fluorescent lights. It’d been a far cry from the evening he’d planned, but the smile on her face had made his chest tighten.
He’d even gone one step further and ordered every appetizer on the menu, an action that had been more than worth the price when it had earned him a delighted laugh from his intended.
She’d been relaxed in a way she hadn’t been at the restaurant he’d originally chosen. And as much as he’d been looking forward to the meal, he’d given it up in a heartbeat to make her happy.
It was logical. I’m trying to win her over.
Except when he’d ushered her from the first restaurant, he hadn’t been thinking about furthering his plans or winning her favor. He’d just wanted to erase the resignation on her face.
Was that what compromise got him? More honest smiles and shy touches?
Maybe I need to learn the art of it, after all.
“Things won’t be anywhere near as bad as you think,” he said, taking his glass as the server brought it over.
“You like her?” Ryan asked.
“She’s not what I was expecting,” he said. “The opposite, in fact.”
Jason took a deep drink. “And that’s a good thing?”
His lips twitched into a smile. “Yes.”
His files had painted Lillian Abbott as bright yet biting. She was rumored to be ruthless when it came to protecting those she loved. While he could easily see his fiancée cutting someone down to size if needed, there was a softer side to her.
While the woman in his research would be the perfect candidate to be his wife, he preferred the living, breathing version of her.
What is it about her?
He’d never had a fiancée before. Maybe it was just the novelty.
Or was it something else?
“You don’t have that long to get to know her,” Ryan pointed out. “You’re the one that didn’t want to meet her more than a couple of months out from the big day.”
Yes, he had. He’d wanted to focus on the business aspects of the engagement, not the personal ones.
Not one of my finer decisions.
They could have had more time to build the foundation Lillian clearly wanted in her marriage. One she didn’t think she could have now.
Should I try to make it up to her?
He rubbed his jaw at the foreign thought. Taking other people’s needs into account didn’t come naturally, but if he was going to get married, he supposed that would have to change, too.
I could rearrange my schedule. He’d only booked a few appointments to spend time with her, but there was no harm is clearing out more. He was a man about to get married. It was high time he started acting like it.
Saluting his friends with his drink, he tossed back the liquor while his mind whirled with possibilities and more than a few questions. She’d
been skittish about the marriage, but he couldn’t afford for her to back out now. Normally he had no problem taking charge of a situation, but romance was often the last thing on his mind, and that avoidance was coming back to bite him. How the hell did a man win over his wife?
…
It was easy for Holly to get lost in her work. In fact, it had been her safe haven for years. It wasn’t as if her father could criticize her for working late or putting endless hours into his own company.
No, this department was a safe space. Here she could be herself. Make friends. Work on campaigns she believed in.
But today, the words blurred before her eyes. She’d typed the same sentence twice trying to find the right words for some new copy they needed. Her focus was shot, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why.
He’s not what I expected.
Since she’d seen Julian, the date had been on repeat in her head. She’d been so certain he was just like her father, but he wasn’t. Her father would never have taken her away from a restaurant she didn’t like or have reordered his plans to make her smile.
He wouldn’t have saved that B&B out of the goodness of his heart.
Nor would he have offered to take the blame if she wanted out of this engagement.
Why did he have to be…
Decent.
Everything would be so much easier if he’d been another version of her father. That man she wouldn’t have minded deceiving. Hell, he’d probably deserved it.
But Julian was a different story. He seemed to genuinely want the merger for the good of their companies. And he appeared actually interested in trying to find a way to make this marriage work.
And all I’m doing is lying to him about who I am.
What did that say about her?
Nothing good.
Perhaps there was more of her father in her than she’d ever believed.
I’m putting people’s lives first. I have good reasons to lie.
Still, guilt tugged at her. The same guilt that had reared its head on her date when he’d moved to kiss her.
Lillian.
That’s what he’d called her.
The name had turned her veins to ice. A stark reminder that his kindness was for another woman. She had no right to that kiss, even if it was all she’d been able to think about since.
Does the damn man taste as sinful as he looked?
Betraying the Billionaire Page 4