Love Your Moves: A Billionaire Valentine's Romantic Comedy

by Weston Parker

  “That’s only two days away.”

  “I know I’m putting you on the spot, but I’m playing for keeps this time, and I don’t want to waste any more time.”

  She stared at me for another long moment, rolling her lips into her mouth before popping them out again. “Valentine’s Day it is, but I’ve got one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “If it doesn’t work out, I can walk away and you’ll leave me alone. It won’t affect our working relationship, and you don’t go back to wanting to get revenge on me every second minute.”

  “I promise.” I squeezed both her hands, but deep down in my heart, I knew I could never walk away from her for good. I’ll just have to make sure I keep her happy then, because losing her isn’t an option.

  “Then you’ve got yourself a deal, Mr. Reed. I’ll see you on Valentine’s Day.” She stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and for the first time, flashed me that same soft smile I’d seen her giving others so many times before.

  My heart just about exploded in my chest seeing it aimed at me. “I’ll see you on Valentine’s Day, Tori. I hope you’re ready to get your world rocked because that’s what I plan on doing.”

  Stopping when she reached the door, she turned with her hand on the jamb and winked at me. “Actually, why don’t you try not rocking my world for once? I haven’t been on solid ground for a minute since I met you.”

  She walked out and closed the door behind her, hopefully leaving the metaphorical door open for me and that next chance she’d just given me. Collapsing back into the chair, I felt a grin so wide that it might crack my face open.

  I’ve done it. I’ve gotten Victoria to go out on a real date with me.

  I didn’t know what I’d done in this life or a previous one to deserve a last chance, but I planned on grabbing onto it for dear life. The next time that girl walked out of any room I was in, she was going to be doing it knowing she was coming back to me time and time again.

  She’d be doing it as mine.

  Chapter 31

  TORI

  The night before Valentine’s Day, I stood in front of my closet trying to figure out what to wear on a date with a billionaire I had every reason to hate. I couldn’t believe I’d agreed to go out with him, but even though it made me seriously question my sanity, I was really excited about it.

  Kari sat on my bed with her back against the headboard and her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms draped around them. “I’m still a fan of the blue dress or the red jeans. I liked the patterned skirt too.”

  I knew she was trying to help, but she was really only succeeding in confusing me further. Sighing as I pulled the blue dress in question out of the closet—again, since she’d already vetoed it twice—I held it up in front of me.

  It came to my knees with a scoop neck and long sleeves. Paired with tights, boots, and a scarf, it could work if we were going to be indoors, but not if he had anything fancy planned.

  My sister tilted her head to one side, her eyes narrowing as she looked me up and down. “Okay, I really am a fan, but it might be a bit casual.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about too. It’s kind of difficult to know what would be considered appropriate attire if I have no clue what we’re doing. Knowing Ben, it could be anything from laser tag to fine dining. The man is completely unpredictable.”

  “Why don’t you text him and ask?” she suggested, not for the first time. “Just asking for a hint so you know what to wear can’t possibly be considered needy or clingy.”

  “Probably not,” I conceded. I’d really hoped to be able to avoid contacting him before our date, but it was starting to look like it might be more foolish not to.

  It just seemed like contacting him would give us yet another opportunity to get into some kind of disagreement, and that would blow any truce we might’ve called right out the water. Even if dating him didn’t work out, I really didn’t want to have to go back to work for someone who was out to get me. It would be totally counterproductive.

  Another thing I was nervous about was the fact that I would be going back to work for him soon. That first time he’d come to my apartment, he’d said that with me not working for him, he was free to date me. Since I would now be working for him, didn’t that mean we couldn’t date?

  A big part of me felt like we were doomed before we’d even gone out. Not only didn’t we have a great history together, but there would also be the added complication of trying to start a new relationship in the workplace. With the big boss, no less.

  Kari’s brow furrowed with concern when she noticed whatever expression was suddenly on my face. “It’s going to be fine. Just text him and ask him what to wear. Focus on one step at a time.”

  “That might just be the best advice you’ve given me today,” I said, going over to the bed to pick up my phone from the nightstand. “Right. One step at a time.”

  After unlocking the phone, I tapped out a quick text and kept it as casual as I could.

  Me: Hi. Hope you’re well. I just wanted to find out what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. Take care. Tori.

  God. Hope you’re well? Take care? We really are doomed.

  My incoming message chime went off not a minute after I’d hit send, way before I’d gotten over the extreme lameness that was my texting skills. Kari pried the phone gently from my grip, groaning before reading his reply out loud.

  Ben: All good here. Just really looking forward to seeing you. Sorry, but I can’t tell you that. It’s a surprise. Hopefully, a good one. X

  “You even got a kiss,” she commented, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement when she handed the phone back to me. “Although we really need to talk about flirting via text apparently. Take care, Tori? Really?”

  “I know.” I buried my face in one of my hands before pulling it away again. “This guy has a thing for surprises.”

  “So do you.” She grinned. “That must mean you were made for each other.”

  “Oh, yeah. We both secretly love surprises. Match made in heaven.” I studied his reply for another minute before finally responding, digging out at least a tiny bit of sass.

  Me: Come on, all I need is a hint. Indoors, outdoors, my murder… Just trying to figure out what to wear.

  Ben: You don’t need to worry about that.

  Me: Does that mean you intend for me to come naked?

  I hadn’t even put my phone down again before his next message came through. It was a laughing emoji, immediately followed by a drooling one. Three dots danced below his name before another text appeared.

  Ben: Unfortunately, no. Wear whatever you like. There’s no dress code.

  I pouted at my screen before sending him an angry face emoji, to which he responded with a kiss. Although I was annoyed by the lack of information, I liked this more playful side of him. I never would’ve taken him for such an emoji guy. Much less an emoji guy who used the drooling and kiss faces.

  “It’s useless.” I tossed my phone down on the bed. “He’s an enigma, and he’s not an enigma who’s going to give me any clue whatsoever.”

  “Well, I think that’s a good thing,” she said. “Look at it this way, at least you’ll never get bored with him.”

  I laughed, but that didn’t make her comment any less true. “You’ve definitely got a point there. Ben sure has a way of keeping me on my toes.”

  It took us another hour before we gave up for the night, eventually deciding to sleep on the choices and trying again in the morning. I didn’t even know what time he was picking me up, just that he was, in fact, picking me up from our apartment.

  After barely getting any sleep, I decided on something between casual and formal. A maxi dress with a purple, turquoise, and emerald paisley print against a black background that made my curves stand out. I was too tired and groggy to put much more thought into it.

  With soft leather boots on my feet and a scarf and jacket over my arm, I left my room wondering what time he was going to show up.
I considered texting him to ask, but then I remembered how very unhelpful he’d been last night.

  Kari was still sleeping when I got to the kitchen, and I was just about to put on some coffee when the doorbell rang. Dumping my jacket and scarf on the counter, I went to the door to sign for whatever delivery she was getting this time.

  During my time at home, I’d discovered that my sister adored online shopping. Since I also benefited from it if she bought cute clothes or accessories, I was joining her rather than trying to beat her.

  When I opened the door, however, it turned out I was wrong. Once again, it wasn’t a delivery person at my door but Benjamin Reed waiting for me.

  My breath caught at seeing him in jeans and a long-sleeved, black Henley. It had a shallow V-neck, and a woolly scarf was arranged around his neck. Sunglasses sat on top of his jet-black, damp hair, and the blues and golds in his eyes were competing for which was brighter this morning.

  A wide grin spread on his lips when he saw me, and he surprised me by rocking back on his heels and sliding his hands into his pockets like a nervous schoolboy.

  “Hey, you ready to go?” he asked, his expression uncharacteristically open and excited. “You look beautiful, by the way. I’m glad I didn’t give you any clues.”

  “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself. Who knew you owned anything other than designer suits?” I joked, smiling as I motioned for him to come inside. “I wasn’t expecting you quite this early, so I haven’t had breakfast yet. Come on in. I’ll whip something up for us to eat.”

  “I’ve already got breakfast waiting for us.” He followed me in, keeping a respectable distance between us while I gathered my things.

  Kari had been excited to meet him when he came to pick me up, but she’d have to wait until some other time. She’d hate me if I dragged her out here with her bedhead and in her pajamas anyway. Quickly scribbling a note on the pad we kept on the fridge, I let her know we were leaving early and told her I’d call her later.

  When Ben and I hit the sidewalk a couple of minutes later, there was an actual limousine waiting for us at the curb. I turned toward him when the driver climbed out upon seeing us emerge from the building.

  “Are you kidding me right now? A limo?” My eyes were wide, my heart racing. “That’s… wow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.”

  “We’re off to a great start then.” I’d never seen him smiling the way he did when he opened the door for me himself, shaking his head at the driver when he moved closer to do it.

  The smile didn’t fade when he settled into the soft leather seat next to me and started making small talk as the car merged with the traffic. It was surprisingly easy to chat to him about everyday stuff like how his week and mine had been, the weather, and which sports teams we were fans of.

  We were in the middle of a good-natured debate about the pros and cons of hiking for fun when the limo came to a stop. I hadn’t been paying much attention to where I was being whisked away to in the fancy car, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I finally realized where we were.

  “Isn’t this an airport?” I asked. “This is an airport.”

  “It’s a municipal airport, yes.” He leaned closer to me, his arm brushing my shoulder as he pointed out the window at a helicopter on the runway. “See that one right there? That’s ours.”

  “A helicopter?” My head turned to face him, and when he did the same, my heart skipped a beat at how close together our mouths suddenly were. “You do realize I’d have been happy with pancakes at a diner followed by a walk through a park or something, right?”

  “Yes.” He held my gaze for another moment before I felt his hand on mine. Gently wrapping his fingers around it, he lifted our joined hands and brushed a whisper-soft kiss against my knuckles. “I have a lot to make up for with you, so I really wanted this to be special, but it’s not just that.”

  “What else is it?” I asked, my voice soft. Something about this tender moment between us felt too fragile to raise my voice.

  “I’ve been out of the dating game for so long that I don’t really know how to do it anymore. I figured pulling out all the stops had to be the only way to go for a first date nowadays. Especially since I’m trying to score a second date off the back of this one.”

  “Still playing for keeps, huh?” I repeated his words from the other day back to him.

  He nodded, pressing another kiss against my hand before letting it go. “Let’s see if I’m finally going to be able to impress you, Ms. Mitchell.”

  The atmosphere between us was instantly light again, and I rolled my eyes as I laughed and pulled away from him. “Is our breakfast on the helicopter? Cause I should warn you, I get mean if I don’t eat early enough.”

  “Sorry, but nope.” He chuckled, reaching past me to open the door. “It’s still about a half hour away, but I promise you won’t even notice your hunger with the views you’re about to witness. Ever been on a helicopter?”

  “I’ve hardly even been on a plane, so no.” I climbed out first, then held out my hand to help him out.

  He laughed again, looking so much younger and more carefree than I’d ever seen him. He nodded in thanks and took my offered hand. “Who knew you were such a lady?”

  I smirked. “I’ve got moves, but only if you’re a gentleman.”

  “Fair enough.” He guided me to the helicopter with one hand resting lightly on the small of my back, then helped me get strapped in before taking his seat.

  Excitement swirled around in my stomach when he took off, and I could hardly sit still as I glued my eyes to the view. It was just as magnificent as he promised, and before I knew it, Manhattan was appearing in the distance.

  In that moment, I felt like a character in a romance novel. It felt completely unreal that any of this could be happening. I grabbed Ben’s hand when we started descending, preparing to land on a tall building right there in the city.

  I was still in a haze of amazement and disbelief when he led me down to street level in an elevator, then across the street to a restaurant that looked closed. It turned out that it was but not for us.

  The hostess opened the door when she saw us coming. Ben grinned when I raised a questioning brow at him. He shrugged, squeezing my hand. “What? I rented it out. There’s an entire breakfast buffet waiting for us. Worth the wait, right?”

  My stomach brought me crashing back to reality when it grumbled so loudly that it was audible in the silence of the empty dining room. Ben laughed, thanking the hostess before dragging me over to the food.

  “Come on, let’s get you fed. I’d hate for your mean streak to come out right now. Our date is only just getting started.”

  Chapter 32

  BEN

  Ecstatic wasn’t a word I used to describe my state of being very often, but it sure as hell reflected how I felt today. My Valentine’s date with Tori was going better than I’d even have dared hope for, and there were still more surprises left to come.

  After breakfast, a horse-drawn carriage had shown up at the restaurant to take us through Central Park. It had been chilly, but we’d had heavy blankets to keep us warm. There hadn’t been so much as a moment of awkward silence between us, and even though we hadn’t talked about anything too deep or personal, it was fun just getting to know Tori’s likes and dislikes.

  Once the carriage ride was over, we had a quick tour of a famous, local art museum I’d had shut down for an hour just for us. She’d teased me about buying a Benjamin Reed wing with what I must’ve paid for the privilege, and she wasn’t wrong, but it had been worth it just to see the look of wonder on her face.

  We’d stopped for a late lunch at a bustling food cart cooperative I liked to frequent when I was in the city. Tori glanced down at the burrito in her hand, a small smile raising the corners of her lips.

  “I’m surprised you even know this place exists. I assumed you only liked high-class gourmet food.”

  “Oh, you know, I do but I can
eat among the common people sometimes,” I joked.

  She cracked up laughing. “The common people thank you for your sacrifice. I’ll admit that I was a bit worried about where you were going to take me to eat. I can’t read or speak French, and I’m not sure what to do if there’s more than one fork at the setting in front of me.”

  “It’s a good thing I don’t know what to do with more than one knife at the setting in front of me then.”

  A flicker of surprise illuminated her eyes. “Really? I guess I just assumed you were born in a gold-plated highchair with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

  “Not even close.” Where I came from wasn’t exactly a secret, but I didn’t talk about it too often. I wanted to get to know her, though, which probably meant I had to let her get to know me too. “My folks weren’t terribly well off when I was born. My mom worked as a typist to put my dad through law school, and he had a part-time job until he passed the bar. After that, she started a business and he became a partner at a medium-sized law firm.”

  She linked her arm through mine as we wandered around the cooperative while talking between bites. “How did you get to where you are then?”

  I snorted lightly. “Sheer dumb luck. Some hard work, and a talent for spotting risks that are worth taking.”

  “I sense a story there,” she said, peering up at me through those thick lashes of hers. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me just yet.”

  “Nah. It’s not that I don’t want to tell it. It’s just refreshing that you don’t already know it. I don’t talk about it much anymore because people tend to read up on me the minute they find out who I am.”

  “Oops.” She shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips. “I guess I haven’t really had much time recently to cyber-stalk you.”

  I laughed. “Even if you had, you wouldn’t have found anything truly shocking. I just worked hard, made some good moves, and discovered I had a penchant for turning businesses around.”