Aaliyah and the Billionaire's Lamp

by Catelyn Meadows

  What was Zayn expecting her to do? Make all the arrangements on her own?

  She glanced at her phone. The tone was set to silent, but maybe Zayn had tried calling. The least he should do was talk this over with her. He’d chatted it up with Papa, apparently. He couldn’t call her in the meantime?

  She supposed she could call him, but it felt like she was coming off desperate as it was. This was a move Zayn needed to make, especially since he’d snubbed her from the start.

  Zayn was probably clueless while her father worked the gears in the background.

  Clueless. Just like she was.

  Rebellion streaked within her as it never had before. Perhaps it was the hurt at being unashamedly denied the CEO position. Perhaps it was River’s drug-like proximity. His presence thrummed with energy, tempting her to touch him. A shoulder, an elbow, a hand; she found herself drawn to him, to the way he carried himself and the way he looked at her when she spoke.

  No one had ever paid attention to her like River. Not even her father. There was always something in her dad’s eyes, loving pride, but it was as though her father still saw her as a toddler learning to walk instead of a capable woman with thoughts of her own.

  But when she’d told her plans to River, he’d kept his gaze right on her. He’d asked questions, he’d offered insight and thoughtful comments. He’d listened to her—really listened, and then he’d pronounced his faith in her.

  She didn’t know how much she’d needed that until she received it from him. She was eager to talk to him today again, about wedding plans, about life, about anything, because she knew no matter what her thoughts were on the subject, he would hear them. She felt important with him.

  If Papa wanted her to spend time with him, she would do just that.

  River rested an ankle on the opposite knee and cracked open the first magazine on the stack. “This should be interesting. I can’t say I have ever looked through one of these before.”

  Aaliyah was tempted to scoot in on the open cushion beside him but remained where she was. “No? No wedding plans for you?”

  He flipped a page. “Nope, not even a girlfriend to plan one with.”

  “Shame. Here I thought one of these magazines would be your selection while waiting at the dentist or something.” She riffled through the options. They were each basically the same. Lovely women in stunning dresses. Words proclaiming ease with designers or flowers, promising tips or ways to avoid brides’ biggest mistakes or other false promises. Was this how a girl really went about planning a wedding? By flipping through a few magazines?

  She’d always wanted something simple and secluded, like on the resort’s rooftop. No cameras. No thronging guests only there for the prestige of it. Just close family and the man she loved.

  “Remember asking me about my addiction last night?” He lowered the magazine.

  “Yeah.” Her response sounded like a question.

  “I’m a mechanics magazine kind of guy. Show me pictures of fast, sleek cars, and how to fix them, and I’m a happy man. Recently, I got my hands on a 1964 Mustang and I’ve been slowly collecting parts to fix it up. It’s no high-end sports model, but it’s smoking.”

  Her interest piqued. A high-end sports model? “I have a car like that,” she said, setting down her own magazine. “Would you like to see it?”

  “Seriously?” The most adorable curiosity transformed his face into something boyish. It hooked straight into her.

  She nibbled her lower lip. “We can take it for a spin if you want.”

  “What is it?”

  “A Lamborghini Huracán Evo.”

  His jaw dropped, and so did the magazine he was holding. He scrambled to retrieve it. “You—what? How did you—did you pick it?”

  A shrug. “I’ve always had a thing for them. The car was a gift from my father.”

  He whistled. “I wish my dad would give me that kind of gift.”

  His praise, his admiration, his attention were all giving her butterflies.

  “Do you want to see it?” she asked.

  “Are you kidding?”

  She grinned. “Come on.” Abandoning the bridal magazines, Aaliyah grabbed his hand, guided the way out of her father’s suite, and scurried with River to the elevator where she used the same card she had to get to the rooftop. This time, however, she accessed a lower level most guests weren’t even aware existed. The elevator’s back doors opened instead of the front, throwing River off.

  “Whoa,” he said, rotating. “I didn’t know they did that.”

  “The cleaning crew uses these in the middle of the day when most of the guests are out. It gives them access to the laundry facilities and custodial closets, but it also gets me to my favorite parking lot.”

  “You guys have your own parking lot?”

  She fought a smile. “We own this hotel, Mr. Yevin.”

  He laughed, bobbing his head. “Seriously, call me River. I think we’re friends now, aren’t we?”

  The words and his warmth made her tingle. “I’d like that. Yes. Then you have to call me Aaliyah.”

  “Your name is beautiful.”

  She twirled her keys. “Just wait until you meet Roxy.”

  He swallowed a chuckle. “You named your car?”

  They stepped directly into an oven. Or, what felt like one. With the cement ceiling enclosing and trapping in heat and blocking airflow, it was cloying, to say the least. Aaliyah shrugged and passed Security deeper into the garage.

  A series of both impressive sports cars and other more standard cars were contained in here. Aaliyah wove her way through, stopping at her lime green Lamborghini. Sitting low to the ground, its angles were carved in ways most other car models left smooth.

  Gritty and sleek, her car sparked that same sense of rebellion that had ignited earlier. A desire for escape, to explore, to vanquish the ties holding her down and just soar overcame her. She thrilled at its tapered headlights, at its body designed only for speed.

  River gaped at it. He circled it with so much admiration he was practically drooling. Completely transfixed, he began rattling off details. “Lamborghini’s notorious craftsmanship. Dual-clutch gearbox, electronically controlled four-wheel drive. Look at these titanium wheels, and this transparent engine bonnet. Can I touch it?”

  She laughed. “Please.”

  He stroked his hands across the lime green paint. “Iconic design,” he said. “Look at these proportions. Even these tailpipes.”

  “I know.” She did love her car. “V10 engine with some serious torque.”

  “Impressive,” he said, and from the way his glance flicked toward her, she got the feeling he wasn’t only referring to the sports car.

  “I like to know how things work,” she said dismissively. “Especially something with this much power. It’s so seamless. But it’s not something my father fully understands.”

  “He doesn’t like you getting your hands dirty.”

  She dusted her hands as if they actually were. “That he doesn’t. I was allowed to go to business school as long as I didn’t start a business. I was allowed to get my favorite car as long as I let it sit in the garage. I’m allowed to live in the resorts as long as I don’t try to help with maintenance or management.”

  “Sounds pretty controlling,” River said. “I’m surprised he even lets you drive this bad boy.”

  She petted the green, pearl finish. “In his mind, I’m his princess and should be pampered. I shouldn’t be the one out working alongside people.”

  “And you want a different plan.”

  She peered at the oil-stained cement. “It doesn’t matter what I want, I guess.”

  River wove around the car, his shoes coming into view before he tipped her face up to his with a single finger. The touch was a firework exploding beneath her skin.

  “I think it does,” River said. His gaze flickered to her lips.

  The air between them thickened, promising a cushion of protection, of comfort, the minut
e she closed the distance between them. She was tempted to move in, to have him hold her.

  She couldn’t give in. Aaliyah drew a step away.

  “This car,” he said with an exhale. “It could take you anywhere you wanted to go.”

  “And what if I don’t want to go anywhere?” she asked, her voice soft in the gasoline-infused air. “What if what I wanted was right here?”

  What was she doing? The words came all on their own, grabbing hold of the same rebellious streak that had planted itself within her after her conversation with her father. She knew how foolish this was, how impulsive, but just like her car, maybe here with River was exactly where she wanted to be.

  “You promised me a ride,” River said.

  Aaliyah pushed away the impulse to be closer to him and twirled her keys. “Then a ride you shall have.”

  The doors floated open, sliding first outward, then scissoring upward like wings. The scent of leather instantly struck her as it always did. She hadn’t had the car for very long. It’d been a gift from her father at her recent twenty-sixth birthday. She’d suspected it was to convince her to remain at the resort he’d chosen since this was where the car was being kept.

  She lowered herself into the seat, relishing its leather and high-quality design. River joined her in the passenger side, stroking every surface he possibly could, including the embroidered Lamborghini shield on the headrest behind him. He was flipping down the visor, inspecting the display on the dash.

  He gestured to the air freshener dangling from the rear-view mirror. It was shaped like a flower. “A lily?” he guessed.

  “My favorite flower,” Aaliyah said with a shrug.

  “Nice. Did you have this customized?” he asked.

  She’d done her fair share of research and test driving before a purchase like this, though she’d also had some help from the dealership. “Yeah. This body kit increases aerodynamics. Or so they told me.”

  River laughed. “She’s astounding. I never thought I’d sit in one of these.”

  Aaliyah braced a hand on the shifter between them. It pointed toward the digital screen on the dash. “If you play your cards right, I’ll even let you drive her.”

  He stared at her for a few drawn-out seconds. “Your wish is my command,” he said.

  CHAPTER NINE

  River’s hand rested close to hers. She could feel his energy, sense his breathing. They were seated so intimately together in here, and he seemed to be as affected as she was.

  Her voice was timid. “I just have to be the one to drive it past Security. Then she’s all yours.”

  “Fair enough. Although...” His hand slid to hers and squeezed. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to share.”

  She swallowed and slipped out of his grasp to press the ignition. The car rumbled to life, purring beneath them and winning a grumbling noise from River.

  He stroked his seat again. “Like a kitten,” he said.

  “Nah,” Aaliyah said, checking her mirrors. “She’s fiercer than that.” She shifted, gingerly tapping the narrow gas pedal and letting the car roll through the lot and past the security guard’s station. Miguel tipped two fingers to his hat before lifting the gate. “She’s a lioness.”

  Once Aaliyah serpentined through the garage’s labyrinth to the ground level and out onto Clearwater’s streets, she enjoyed weaving in and out through openings in the traffic. Ahead, the freeway entrance beckoned her on. She was itching to give this baby some acceleration.

  “Let’s see what this lioness can do,” River said.

  Aaliyah tipped her tongue to her upper lip, shifted, and boarded the overpass. She gave the pedal a harder push, and they were off like a shot. The acceleration thrust her back in her seat, and she grinned at the thrill of it. The rebellious creature inside her moaned with delight as if being scratched behind the ears. This was escape and freedom, exactly what she’d been craving.

  River whooped like a bystander at a basketball game. Aaliyah fed off his energy, his enthusiasm, wishing she could really crank it and knowing she had to be practical and stay slow. Or, slower.

  “It’s so hard to keep in range of the speed limit.”

  “Bummer,” River said. “Being limited to a freeway and traffic laws when you have a speed demon like this.”

  “True, but we can still have some fun.”

  Aaliyah pressed the gas, gearing up to take things a little faster. River rested his arm on the window frame. “What I wouldn’t give for a car like this. Where are we going? Not that it matters, just curious.”

  “Crazy.” She grinned. “It’s what my mom always said when I asked where we were going,” she said to answer his perplexed expression.

  “Where is she?” River asked. “Your mom?”

  “She passed away four years ago. Heart failure. She was the one who convinced my dad to let me go to business school and get my MBA. She died right after I finished my undergrad.” Speaking of her mom added a lump in her throat as it always did.

  She could feel River’s gaze on her. “I’m sorry to hear that, Aaliyah. I’d be devastated if I lost my mom. She’s been the rock of our family for as long as I can remember.”

  Hearing him speak of his mother like that was heartwarming. “Tell me about her,” Aaliyah said, gripping the wheel and passing several cars on the right who failed to move aside for her.

  “She’s the hardest working person I know,” River said. His voice shifted, taking on a level of adoration and respect. “My dad left, and she raised all three of us on her own. She’s the reason I’m trying to start my own business, to give her a better life.”

  “She sounds remarkable,” Aaliyah said, checking her rearview mirror. “I had no idea you’re trying to start a business. A business in what?”

  “Not necessarily anything that can offer a product. Investments, mostly. I’m trying to better my situation.”

  “That’s great. Does Zayn know?”

  River glanced out the window. She heard the scowl in his tone. “To an extent, but he doesn’t know everything I’m investing in.”

  “If you’re investing in stocks, you should look into Elir’s. I don’t fully understand it all, but from my understanding, our stock has done really well for investors.”

  “Really? I hadn’t thought of that, but I’ll definitely look into it.”

  An exit shouted for her attention. On impulse, Aaliyah signaled and took it, veering to the right. The exit crested at an incline, and Aaliyah turned into what appeared to be overlooking parking meant especially for tourists and sightseers. Clearwater was definitely teeming with sights to see.

  “These doors take some getting used to, don’t they?” River said as he pulled the handle to exit once they’d parked.

  “That they do.” Aaliyah did the same, and her door scissored upward. She closed it again and ambled around the car to stand beside him. A welcome breeze filled with salt and seductive suggestions tangled through her hair, urging her closer to him.

  River didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t move away, but crossed his arms over his chest and stared out at the widespread ocean, at the banks of sand, at the gulls swooping through the transparent sky.

  “This is really beautiful,” Aaliyah said.

  “It is,” he agreed. “You know, I’ve always wanted to—”

  River’s phone pinged at him, interrupting his thoughts. With an apologetic glance, he swiped it open and skimmed the screen. “Hang on. I’ve got to reply to this.”

  “Zayn?” she guessed.

  “Yeah.”

  He took a minute to finish typing before putting his phone back into his pocket.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” Aaliyah said, tossing her head, welcoming the continued breeze.

  “You mean keep up with Zayn?”

  “And manage your own life in the process.”

  “Really now, what makes you think I have my own life?” he joked.

  She rotated, sinking a hip against her car. “Don’t you
?”

  River exhaled and squinted out at the ocean beyond. A pair of gulls swooped at something in the sand. “My schedule consists of making sure Zayn’s schedule runs smoothly. I fret over his appointments, his laundry, his housekeeping, whether or not his home in southern France is being kept up on the off chance he decides to fly there tomorrow, getting him from point A to point B, and then C, D, and E after that.”

  “And yet you still manage to feed yourself, look after your mom, lay down investments for your business, and fill in for him as a wedding planner as well. So I ask again. How do you do it?”

  River shrugged. “Luck, I suppose.”

  Aaliyah exhaled and bent one knee, propping the heel of her shoe against the tire. Luck. With her father’s failing condition, her movement away from CEO, and this wedding she wanted nothing to do with, luck was in short supply. “I could use some of that right about now.”

  She knew she had no room to complain. From anyone else’s point of view, she had it pretty good. Okay, amazing, and she knew that. Living in an expensive resort with impeccable surroundings, a closet full of designer clothes, amenities at her fingertips, and dollars in her bank account. Poor little rich girl. She wondered if River was thinking the same thing, after hearing about his family’s situation.

  He stayed silent for several seconds, staring at the horizon. “All right, then,” he said as though making some kind of decision.

  Reaching in his pocket, he removed a small, brass lamp from his pocket that looked like it might contain a hidden genie inside.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “My good luck charm,” he said. “You said you needed luck. So here, take it.”

  “Seriously?” He had a good luck charm? How cute was that? “I can’t take this.”

  “I insist.”

  “What if you lose all your luck?”

  The kink of his lips had the most incredible effect on her insides. “I won’t.”

  She took the lamp, turning it one way, then another. It was about the size of a miniature candy bar and just as light. The handle curved toward its spout, which jutted like a teapot’s, though it was much thinner and longer than a teapot.