by Noelle Adams
“Hey,” he interrupted softly, using his finger to tilt up her chin. “I don’t want a five-star lunch. I want to eat this. What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was just, for some reason, thinking about…” She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, so she switched gears. “You really don’t act like a billionaire, you know.”
He still looked a little confused, but he laughed at this. “How are billionaires supposed to act?”
“I don’t even know.” She was feeling better now—he felt more like her dear, familiar friend—so she reached out to squeeze his arm.
“All I can be is me,” he said in a slightly different tone. He lowered his eyes and then raised them to hers again in an almost tentative expression that made her chest clench. “I’ve never been the kind of person who wants to be the center of attention.”
She knew this was true. It was another thing she loved about him. So many men she knew were always trying to act like top-dog, as if they needed to prove it to themselves as well as the rest of the world.
Logan had nothing to prove.
“You do have a nice car,” she said, stroking the shiny paint of his Mercedes.
He gave a huff of amusement. “Yes. I guess so. Do you think I should drive an old clunker instead, to go with my personality?”
“No. I like your car.” She studied his face. “And your personality isn’t an old clunker. It’s…”
“It’s what?”
She had no idea how to finish her statement, how to finish her sentence. All the words she might be tempted to say—amazing, brilliant, incredible, warm, deeply human—all felt too earnest and sentimental.
“It’s not a clunker,” she finally said. “There’s no one like you.”
His smile deepened, and he leaned forward. For just a moment she thought he was going to kiss her on the mouth, but he ended up just brushing his lips against her cheek. So lightly they gave her a shiver. “Good night, Katie,” he murmured.
She had no idea why her knees felt so weak. What was wrong with her anyway?
She watched him drive away and finally decided she was probably just tired.
She’d feel more like herself in the morning.
***
You can find out more about this novella and the whole Billionaires on the Beach anthology here.
About Noelle Adams
Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she writes full time, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out her website: noelle-adams.com.
Books by Noelle Adams
Tea for Two Series
Falling for her Brother’s Best Friend
Winning her Brother’s Best Friend
Seducing her Brother’s Best Friend
Balm in Gilead Series
Relinquish
Surrender
Retreat
Rothman Royals Series
A Princess Next Door
A Princess for a Bride
A Princess in Waiting
Christmas with a Prince
Preston’s Mill Series (co-written with Samantha Chase)
Roommating
Speed Dating
Complicating
Eden Manor Series
One Week with her Rival
One Week with her (Ex) Stepbrother
One Week with her Husband
Christmas at Eden Manor
Beaufort Brides Series
Hired Bride
Substitute Bride
Accidental Bride
Heirs of Damon Series
Seducing the Enemy
Playing the Playboy
Engaging the Boss
Stripping the Billionaire
Willow Park Series
Married for Christmas
A Baby for Easter
A Family for Christmas
Reconciled for Easter
Home for Christmas
One Night Novellas
One Night with her Best Friend
One Night in the Ice Storm
One Night with her Bodyguard
One Night with her Boss
One Night with her Roommate
One Night with the Best Man
The Protectors Series (co-written with Samantha Chase)
Duty Bound
Honor Bound
Forever Bound
Home Bound
Standalones
A Negotiated Marriage
Listed
Bittersweet
Missing
Revival
Holiday Heat
Salvation
Excavated
Overexposed
Road Tripping
Chasing Jane
Late Fall
Fooling Around
Married by Contract
Trophy Wife
Bay Song