“Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I had a rough night last night; I decided to take the day off.” I didn’t bother lying.
“Everything okay? Is it about that new guy you’ve been seeing?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m just not feeling great.”
“You … you’re not pregnant, are you?”
“No!” I didn’t think I was at least. “I’m just not feeling awesome. I’m not pregnant; I’m not anything—I just felt like taking a day off.”
“And you’re still with that guy, right?”
I groaned. “Yes Mom, I’m still with Dean.” I’d told her about him over a quick phone call when I was explaining to her why I couldn’t talk.
“So, you’re still with him.”
“Yes, I’m still with him.”
“Oh, good! I want to meet him.”
“Uh, isn’t it a little soon for me to make him meet my parents.”
“No! I wanted to meet him, can’t you guys come over at the weekend?” Normally I had a hard time saying no to my mom, so I was thrilled that I actually had an excuse. “Sorry Mom, we can’t. I’ve got some big thing at the casino.” I hadn’t told her yet that Dean owned the casino, and I wasn’t quite ready to tell her that.
“Oh.” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“I think we’re going to try to do something just the two of us the weekend after that, but maybe we can do dinner on Sunday or something; how does that sound?”
“Well? You think we could do that?” I could hear the hope return to her voice.
“Yes.” I couldn’t say no to her. “I’ll see if we can make it work.”
“Alright. Good. I’ll make your favorite.”
“Well, you know I’ll be there for sure then.” I grinned.
Knock. Knock. Knock. My brow furrowed.
“Hey, I’ve got to let you go; there is someone at my door.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later!”
“See ya Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up as I jumped off the couch and headed for the front door. My fingers curled around the handle. I knew it wasn’t Katie; she didn’t knock unless the door was locked.
I pulled it open to see a man staring at me.
“Miss Kyle?”
“Yes?” I stared at the man in front of me; obviously a delivery man, but I didn’t see any packages. He was middle-aged with graying hair.
“I’ve got something for you.” He bent down and picked something up. I gasped, staring at the huge bouquet in his hands. It was so big I actually couldn’t see him behind it. “These are for you.”
“Are … you sure?”
He laughed softly. “Name on it says Rebecca Kyle, that is you right?”
“Yea.” I reached out and took the flowers tentatively as if they might not be real. “Thank you,” I said taking the flowers from him and looking them up and down. I spotted a note on the top of the bouquet. “Have a good day.”
“You too, ma’am.”
Closing the door with my foot, I made my way to the kitchen, laying the flowers down on the counter. I grabbed the note and tore it open.
Get better soon.
Xoxox
Okay, so that probably meant they were from Dean, but they could also be from Melina, knowing her. I smiled, still looking them over, my smile growing wider. My boyfriend sent me flowers. My heart skipped a beat, and for a split second, I felt like I was 14 years old again and had my first crush.
Why did he bring out these feelings in me? I grabbed the phone out of my pocket and sent him a quick text.
Love the flowers. Thank you so much.
My fingers hovered over the screen as I froze realizing what I’d just been about to type. I hit send. I was going to tell him I loved him. The thought scared me more than I was willing to admit, but I didn’t dare think about it anymore.
It was just a reaction to getting the flowers, to knowing that there was someone who cared about me. And now it’s time to get to the bottom of who Amanda is, I thought, crossing over to my computer and opening it. Jessica Bright was her name. I’d taken a picture of it on my phone, but I didn’t need to look. I knew that name, for some reason, it was burned in my head. My heart raced as I typed her name into my search engine and hit enter. Although my computer was pretty fast, it suddenly felt like it wouldn’t load fast enough.
The first things to pop up were news reports. Oh, that’s not good.
I clicked on the first one I saw; something about a death. I closed my eyes. Every inch of me wanted to know what the deal was, but I was so scared it would be bad. What if he’d killed someone? What if he was some sort of billionaire serial killer?
If I confronted him, would I be his next victim?
Deep breath, I told myself. Just see what it says, and then we will take it from there. I knew that was the rational thing to do, but really, how often do we actually do what we know is rational?
I forced my eyes open and stared down at the news article.
Jessica Bright died over a week ago today, and the police are still looking for her killer. After speaking to a source close to the case, I have the fullest story you will get.
The source close to the case says that one man is being watched closely in connection with the murder.
This man was her business partner, and co-owner of a casino they owned together.
I’d figured all that out from the ones I’d read before—well except the part about them owning a casino together, maybe. I mean, who else could it be? What I wanted to know was her connection to Dean. So, I typed something else into my search engine. Both their names.
My heart dropped into my stomach as I saw results popping up. The ones that caught my attention weren’t actually news. They were from blogs, blogs about billionaire couples.
My hand shook as I moved the curser over to the link and clicked on it. I scanned the article quickly trying to read as fast as I could.
I froze when I got to the picture.
It had been from a few years ago, but it was still obvious to tell it was Dean. He was in a hospital bed, and the caption read that he’d been attacked in the middle of the night on his way out of work. My heart dropped into my stomach.
*
“So basically, to sum it up … some girl died—his girlfriend at the time—and then a couple months later, he got attacked so bad he was in the hospital for a couple weeks.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I sat down. Katie stared at me with wide eyes.
“Wow.”
“Yea. And I have no idea if I’m supposed to bring it up or how I’m supposed to.”
“Are you going to bring it up with him?”
“No! I’d have to admit that I was snooping through his stuff.”
“Why not just make something up, like you got a tip?”
“Really?” I raised my eyebrows at my friend in disbelief. “I highly doubt he would actually believe that.”
“You never know. How else are you supposed to talk to him about it?”
“I have no clue.” I let out a deep breath, closing my eyes. Why did the first guy I date in ages have to be so dramatic? Why couldn’t it just be nice and simple like he wasn’t suspected of killing someone?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Katie jumped to her feet. “I’ve got it.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as my eyes opened and I watched her go over to the door. I heard it open.
“You must be Dean.”
“And you must be Katie.”
I jumped to my feet and rushed over to the door, suddenly aware of the fact I probably looked dreadful. “Hey.”
He looked past Katie, letting go of her hand as he stepped towards me. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m … alright.”
Katie cleared her throat. “I um, was just heading out. I’ll see you later Becca, and it was nice to meet you, Dean.”
“Nice to meet you too.” H
e smiled then turned his full attention to me, but he didn’t say anything until Katie had left my apartment. “So, I’m guessing you’re not actually sick, are you?”
“I … no,” I admitted.
“So, do you want to talk about what is actually wrong?”
I stepped away from him, paced over to the couch and took a deep breath. How did I say it? Would he even understand? I exhaled and turned to him. He’d followed me to the couch and sat down.
“I … I’m just going through some stuff right now, and I needed to take the day off. I’m sorry if that’s not alright with you, but I’m doing the best I can.”
“What kind of stuff? Does it involve me? Or a woman that showed up at my house last night.”
“Yes,” I admitted. I valued honesty, and I was going to be honest. “I have no clue who she is, and you’re not telling me.”
“Because I don’t know.”
“Then we should go to the cops.”
“I’ve already spoken to someone who is going to look into it for me.”
“What kind of shit are you into?” It came out without me realizing it. I gasped. “I mean, I just … there are strange women showing up at your house, and you don’t trust the cops … it doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I just don’t trust cops.”
Well, if they thought he was responsible for his girlfriend’s death and he wasn’t, I could see why, but I didn’t say it.
I made my way over to him and dropped down. “I …”
“I’m sorry if I’m dragging you into something and you’re not happy, or if I’ve stressed you out. I promise it’s all going to be wrapped up soon.”
*
The truth is, I’d stopped by to see how she was doing and to make sure no one had been harassing her, but I realized how much stress I was causing her.
“After this weekend, we’re going to get away for a little while. I already told Melina to book us a vacation. I um, hope that’s okay.”
She stared at me with wide eyes. “I’m not going to lose pay, am I?”
“No, you’re not.” I smiled touching her hand. A wave of relief washed over me when she didn’t pull away. Instead, she moved closer to me, letting out a deep breath.
“It would be nice to get away,” she said with a soft laugh. “Oh, and uh … my mom wants to meet you.”
My heart did a back flip as I processed her words. It had been a long time since I met someone’s parents. I grinned. I couldn’t believe how much I actually liked the idea of that. “Sounds perfect; I can take you two out to dinner sometime, how’s that sound?”
“Sounds good to me.” She sounded so much more relaxed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me.
“It will be sorted out in no time,” I promised.
I’d already spoken to someone who was going to look into my situation, and they were going to get back to me about it and the price tomorrow.
God dammit. Why did this have to be happening now of all times? It wasn’t fair. I was finally thinking that maybe I was going to be able to put it all behind me, not Jessica but the pain the whole thing caused me. The pain of losing her and being blamed for something I didn’t do. I thought I was going to be able to move on and maybe actually be happy with Becca. I took a deep breath and glanced down at the girl in my arms. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing deeply. Was she asleep? Already?
She must have been tired. I pulled her closer to me and leaned against the back of the couch, letting out a deep breath before I closed my eyes too. I must have been tired because I don’t even remember falling asleep.
Chapter Four
I woke up the next morning with arms around me.
My heart skipped a beat as I pulled away and looked down at the couch. I took a deep breath, trying to remember last night. Dean had stopped by and we talked, and then … then I’d fallen asleep.
I looked down at the couch where Dean lay snoring quietly. A smile touched my lips. I really liked him; I knew that much, but I still wasn’t sure what was going on with him, and I had this feeling that there was something I didn’t know, or maybe that was just because of what I’d found out last night.
Either way, I padded into my kitchen, flicked the kettle on, got us a little bit of my latest blend attempt. Salted caramel. It was still a work in progress, but I wanted to see what he would think of it, so I measured us each out a little bit and then made my way into the bedroom to get dressed while the kettle boiled.
As much as I didn’t want to, I had to go to work today, so I slipped into a pair of gray tights, along with a black skirt that would look adorable with my uniform top. In the meantime, I slipped into a green long sleeve top and made my way back out to the kitchen where the kettle had popped. I poured the hot chocolate and watched the steam rise from it for a couple seconds before heading into the bathroom where I ran a brush through my hair and applied a small amount of makeup. I couldn’t stop thinking about that girl who had showed up at Dean’s house the other day. She didn’t look like she’d worn any makeup except a little mascara. I bit my lip wondering if I would actually look good or feel pretty with that little amount of makeup on. I frowned. Had Jessica worn much make up? I knew it was wrong to compare myself to his ex, but I couldn’t help it.
I took a deep breath, decided to go with a little nude lipstick, and then headed back to the kitchen.
“Well, good morning, gorgeous.”
He sounded like he was still asleep as he sat up and looked me over.
My cheeks flushed. “So you like it?”
“Have I ever told you that you have amazing legs?”
“No, I don’t think you have.”
“Well, you do.” His eyes roamed over every inch of my body. “I like when you wear heels to work, it gives me something to look at during the day.”
“Well, maybe I’ll wear heels with my skirt today.” I raised an eyebrow. “Just for you.”
“You shouldn’t tempt me too much.” He grinned, standing up and coming over to me. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close to him, and his lips touched mine.
“I made you some hot chocolate.” I knew we shouldn’t kiss too much; otherwise, neither of us were going to be leaving this house all day.
“What kind?”
“Salted caramel.”
“Sounds yummy; is that a new flavor?”
“Yup. Still not down pat, but I want to know what you think.”
“So far I’ve thought every flavor I’ve tried is amazing.” His lips touched mine softly.
“You’re just saying that.”
He pulled away. “No, I’m not. I know the value of honest opinions when you’re starting off; I’d never lie to you. Like for example, if this is disgusting I’m going to tell you. I’ll try to find a nice way to tell you, but I will tell you.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
He walked away from me, thank God because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to push him away if he came back for another kiss. I did actually mean what I’d said. I wasn’t being sarcastic or snarky; I thought it was kind he would tell me the truth because I needed someone to do that for me. I followed him into the kitchen and took the mug he hadn’t. I took a small sip. I’d already tried this batch, but no one else had; I didn’t think Katie had gotten around to trying it before Dean showed up last night, or at the very least she hadn’t told me how it was.
I watched Dean carefully. He mulled it over after he took a sip.
“Honestly, it’s a little bit sweet for my liking, but it’s good.”
“Thanks.” I smiled widely, taking a sip of mine. I could see why he thought that. I was still trying to decide if it was good enough or not, maybe taking out a little bit of the sweetness would be good. I could always try it.
I gave Dean a smile. “So, ready to head to work?”
“Just give me a couple, and I’ll drive us.” He grinned as he put his mug down and strode towards the bathroom.
&
nbsp; True to his word, he didn’t take long, and when he came out of the bathroom, I could smell the mouthwash on his breath. He pulled me into a quick kiss and touched my butt gently before he pulled away, and we headed for the front door.
“Hello.” Jake stared at me as soon as I stepped out into the hallway.
“Hey. How are you doing?”
“Not too bad, yourself?”
“Good.” I turned to Dean. “Dean, this is Jake. Jake, my boyfriend, Dean.”
The two men nodded to each other as the three of us headed to the staircase.
“So, are you off to work?”
“Yea, that friend of mine helped me find a job.” He turned to Dean. “Recent break up.”
“Oh, ouch. I’m sorry man.”
Jake shrugged. “It happens. But at least, I know she’s fucking my best friend now.”
“Ohhh, that’s shitty.” Dean sounded like he did actually feel bad about it too.
The rest of the walk down the stairs was in complete silence. And I was okay with that. For some reason, it felt odd to have Jake and Dean together. Maybe it was because Dean knew who Jake was, or maybe it was because Jake didn’t know who Dean was—or maybe I was just finding stuff to stress about that wasn’t there. But either way, it felt good to get in the car with just Dean.
“So, that was the guy you spent your night with, right?”
I let out a deep breath. “You make it sound a lot worse than just sitting around watching chick flicks.”
“Sorry.” He gave me a soft smile. “I just … wondered.”
“Assessing your competition?”
“Yes.” He gave me a grin, but I wasn’t so sure he was joking.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that you don’t have any.”
“I don’t?”
“Nope. I like you and only you.” Actually, I really like you. But I didn’t say it. I didn’t want him to think I was going to drop the love bomb on him right away and scare him off.
My heart twisted into a knot. I was beginning to think that maybe I did actually love him. It’s too soon for all that crap. It’s just puppy dog love. Love as in I’m still trying to get to know him. And I really like him, and he’s interesting and cool and hot. Even if I did love him, it wasn’t the right kind of love. It couldn’t be—right?
The Billionaire's Casino - The Complete Collection: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 10