A Billionaire BWWM Romance 2: Jealousy and Trust (6 page)

“Really?”
he asked. Julie shrugged.

“What?
It’s a fair question and I’m a sucker for romantic
stories,” she winked. Steven shook his head.

“What
does seeing the queen and being a sucker for romance have in common?”
he asked.

“Well,
it goes without saying that even she has one of the best love stories
in the world, plus British people have great love stories,” she
said as they walked to the car. Terrence who had come with them
opened the car door for them. “Doesn’t Terrence ever get
some time off?” she asked when they both got in while Terrence
put their luggage in the trunk. Steven shrugged.

“He
does, especially while we are in London because I spend most of my
time with my family,” he said. “Plus, I have it on good
authority that he has a girlfriend here. He’s tried to keep it
hush, but I have my ways,” he added with a smile.

“See,
even Terrence found love here,” Julie said in a whisper. “By
the way, how come you only have one guy who works for you? You are
like some weirdly evil baron,” she said. Steven laughed and
looked at her.

“Terrence
has worked for me for more than ten years. I wouldn’t feel as
comfortable with anyone else,” he said. “But if you want
to meet the rest of my working fraternity, that can be arranged,”
he said with a smile. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

“Spoken
like a real baron,” she teased. Steven looked at her as
Terrence got into the driver’s seat and then took her hand in
his.

“So,
what were you saying about the queen’s love life?” he
asked. She looked at him surprised.

“You
don’t know how the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met?”
she gasped.

“Should
I?” Steven asked, looking a bit confused.

“Hell
yeah, they met when she was only thirteen and she fell in love. If
they had Facebook and Twitter then, I’m quite sure they would
have married sooner,” Julie said. Steven looked at her girlish
excitement and smiled.

“You
are a sucker for love stories, aren’t you?” he grinned.
She nodded and shrugged.

“Yeah,
I guess it’s because I never really thought I would have my own
story. That was the next best thing,” she said. He drew little
circles on the back of her hand with his thumbs as he looked at her.

“Trust
me, I will do everything to give you that happy ending you never
thought possible,” he promised. She smiled and felt her cheeks
getting hot.

“So,
are we going to drive by Buckingham Palace?” she asked. Steven
was not sure whether she was asking it genuinely or it was just a way
to change the topic.

“You
know that question is the same as me asking if we are going to drive
by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” he said. Julie gave him a
confused look.

“Huh?”
she asked.

“The
White House?” he said before he burst out laughing.

“What’s
so funny?” she asked.

“You
know so much about the queen’s love life, yet you don’t
know the address of your own primary building. Considering you are a
realtor, that is an epic fail,” he said. She smiled and shook
her head before she turned to look out the window. They were out of
the busy street and on a stretch of private properties. The landscape
was perfect, the kind of place she would have gone to if she were to
think of raising a family. The area was private and quiet…and
it looked safe. She was still admiring the area when they turned from
the main road and into a long driveway that led up to one of the
greenest places she had ever seen. The hedges were all perfectly
trimmed and the air proved one thing to her, they were definitely out
of her familiar territory. When Terrence pulled up in front of a huge
white property, Julie’s jaw almost dropped. That was not even a
mansion. To her, she was at a palace for all she cared. The only
thing missing was a courtyard.

“Just
how big is your family?” she questioned as they got out of the
car. Based on her real estate knowledge, the property had to be at
least five thousand square feet…or more. She was still staring
when a woman who looked like she was in her mid-fifties walked out
all smiles.

“Steven,
you made it,” she gushed as she walked over to Steven and gave
him a hug.

“Nice
to see you mother,” he said as he pulled away, a smile on his
face.

“Look
at you, so handsome. Living in the States must be agreeing with you,”
she said. Julie smiled at the way she was talking to Steven like a
ten year old. “And you must be Julie,” she said as she
walked over to Julie and gave her a hug. “I must say, Steven is
very poor when it comes to description. You are divine,” she
complimented when she pulled away to look at Julie.

“Thank
you, Mrs. Davenport,” Julie said blushing.

“Oh
please, call me Victoria. Mrs. Davenport is only used by strangers
and I don’t think we should be strangers to each other, or do
you?” Victoria asked. Julie looked at Steven and smiled.

“I
guess not,” she admitted.

“Terrence,
always good to see you,” Victoria said, smiling at Terrence who
smiled back at her. “Come on in, you two. The girls are dying
to meet you,” she said as she led Steven and Julie into the
huge house. They walked down a long hallway that led to a spacious,
well lit lounge where four women were. Julie guessed that they were
all in their early to mid-twenties. She had always thought of Steven
as the oldest of his siblings for some reason. Julie watched as they
one by one hugged Steven, squealing in excitement.

“So,
you are the reason why we rarely see our brother anymore,” one
of the women said. Julie’s smile immediately faded. She had not
expected a direct attack so soon. “Relax, I’m only
pulling your leg,” the blond haired woman said laughing. Julie
smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m Amber,”
she said with a smile. “And that’s Lory, Joanna and
Leanne,” she said, pointing at each woman as she called out
their names. Julie smiled as she said hi to each of them.

“Nice
to meet you all,” she said with a smile.

“Now,
girls, why don’t you show these two to their room. I’m
sure they would like to rest up before the party,” Victoria
said. Steven looked at her surprised.

“Mother,
I said no parties,” he groaned.

“It
was out of my hands. When the Smiths heard you were coming over, they
insisted on having dinner together, the same way we used to do before
you all grew up,” Victoria said smiling. “It’s
nothing big. Just us and the smiths,” she said before walking
away. Steven looked at Julie and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’
to her but Julie just smiled. By the time they got to their room,
Julie had already noticed that Amber was the bubblier sister. Lory
and Leanne were a bit reserved while Joanna looked more like a
problem child, the kind who made the parents on edge every time they
heard her name. After a quick nap and a shower, Steven and Julie made
their way downstairs to the lounge where the rest of the family was.
Julie had worn the blue dress she had bought with Meg earlier that
week and a pair of silver, red bottomed peep toe heels that showed
off her perfectly manicured toe nails. She wore her hair up in a
tight bun and matched her outfit with a silver chain and a pair of
silver earrings. Her makeup was ever so light, just enough to give
some accent to her eyes and lips. When Steven saw her, he smiled and
breathed a long low whistle.

“Are
you trying to give me a hard on?” he winked as he looked at
her.

“Is
that Steven talk for ‘you look good’?” she asked
with a smile.

“Forget
good, you look so damn sexy I’m almost tempted to take you
right now. We could always be late for dinner,” he said. She
smiled and shook her head.

“I’m
not sure I want your mother to hate me so soon,” she said. “And
you don’t look so bad yourself,” she added as she looked
at his dark gray pinstriped pants and the burgundy shirt he had on.
He smiled and spun around.

“So,
you approve?” he asked.

“Oh
I will show you just how much I approve after dinner,” she
teased stepping closer to him. He smiled when she kissed him lightly
on the lips. “Shall we go?” she asked.

“Wait,
there is something I have to tell you before we go down there,”
he said. She looked at him and wondered why he was suddenly so
serious.

“What?
What’s going on?” she asked.

“The
Smiths,” he started.

“What
about them?” she asked.

“Their
daughter Stephanie and I used to date,” he said. Julie pulled
away and took a long breath.

“Okay,”
she said in a quiet whisper. “When?”

“It
was a long time ago. We were both in college by then. I just thought
you should know before we go down. I wouldn’t want you to hear
it from someone else,” Steven said. Julie looked at him for a
long minute before she shrugged.

“We
all have a past, right?” she said with a smile. Steven smiled
back at her and gave her a kiss.

“Did
anyone ever tell you, you are perfect?” he asked. She looked at
him and smiled.

“Come
on, we don’t want to keep everyone waiting,” she
demanded.

As
they walked downstairs, Julie could hear the soft music, music she
would normally not listen to. Some kind of Mozart thing. Steven took
her hand in his as they walked into the lounge where Victoria and
Steven’s sisters were, as well as five other people she did not
know.

“Hey,
mind if we steal her away?” Amber asked as she pulled Julie
away from Steven.

“Hold
your horses, Amber. Julie, this is my father Ian Davenport,”
Steven introduced as Ian gave Julie a kiss on the cheek.

“It
is finally time he settled down and I think you are just the woman
for the job,” Ian said with a smile. Julie laughed and looked
at Steven.

“It’s
really nice to meet you. You have a beautiful house…home,”
she said, quickly correcting herself. There was no way she could call
a property of this magnitude a mere house.

“Actually,
it was all Victoria’s doing. I just paid for it,” Ian
said with a smile. “Anyway, I would like to introduce you to
Patrick and Rebecca Smith, their son William and daughter Stephanie,”
Ian said as he introduced Julie to the Smiths. She noticed that
Stephanie didn’t give her a very friendly look, but then again,
she was not there to impress her. As soon as the introductions were
over, Amber took her away from the group and led her into the living
room.

“I’m
sorry to have to drag you away, but believe me, you don’t want
to be around that Stephanie,” Amber said.

“Yeah,
I kind of guessed that she didn’t like me very much,”
Julie said with a smile.

“About
that, maybe you should talk to Steven,” Amber said. Julie gave
her a smile and shook her head.

“Don’t
worry about it. I already know about him and Stephanie,” she
said. Amber smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh
good, that saves me a lot of awkward silence then,” she said
with a smile. “And trust me when I tell you we are better off
in here than out there. Besides, that bitch Stephanie always made me
uneasy. I just don’t trust her. I’d rather stay away from
her unless I most certainly have to,” she added with a smile.
Julie smiled.

“Crazy
eyes?” she asked. Amber raised an eyebrow.

“Crazy
eyes?”

“That’s
how we Americans describe someone with a look you don’t trust,”
Julie explained. Amber smiled and nodded.

“Nice
name,” she said with a smile. “Crazy eyes,” she
repeated as she made a face. Julie laughed as a uniformed young woman
walked in holding a tray on what looked like juice and champagne.
Amber picked a glass of champagne and handed one to Julie. “Or
are you more of a juice person?” she asked, holding the glass
back briefly. Julie shook her head and took the glass from her.

“Thanks,”
Julie said to the woman before she walked away.

“So,
you must have given my brother something to make him so into you,”
Amber said, looking at Julie who was looking back at her surprised
and confused.

“What?”
she asked with a smile.

“Well,
Steven has never brought anyone to meet my parents. We only knew
about Stephanie because we are family friends,” Amber said.
Julie took a sip of her champagne and smiled.

“Really?”
she asked. Amber nodded.

“Let’s
just say, Steven isn’t exactly used to meeting reputable
women,” she said. “So, last time we talked with my
brother he told me you are a property agent?” she asked.

“A
realtor,” Julie corrected her. “Yeah, that’s what I
do. It’s actually how we met,” she said with a smile.

“Oh
really?” Amber asked. Julie nodded.

“Yeah.
I was tasked with finding him a house in Minneapolis. And he was
really particular with what he wanted. But we worked something out,”
she explained before taking another sip.

“You
must be really good at what you do. Steven is not easily…satisfied,”
Amber said and then suddenly blushed. “You know what I mean,”
she added quickly. Julie laughed and smiled.

“I
do,” she said. “And yes, I noticed, but…he is not
that hard to deal with. In fact, he is one of the best clients I have
ever worked with,” she said, a faraway look in her eyes. Amber
looked at her and smiled.

“And
I can see that he’s had the same effect on you,” she
said. Julie looked at her with a smile before she took another sip of
her drink to hide the fact that her cheeks were crimson.

The
more Julie talked to Amber, the more she felt comfortable around her.
Amber was like Steven, exactly like Steven, the only difference being
that she was female. She did not even realize that the time had flown
by before Victoria finally called everyone to the dinner table. When
Amber and Julie were walking to the dining room, the most unsightly
thing caught her eye. Stephanie was standing uncomfortably close to
Steven, whispering something in his ear. She stood at the doorway and
watched as Stephanie brought her hand up to hold Steven’s neck
before he took a step back. Julie could feel her heart beating faster
as she looked at Stephanie trying hard to physically get closer to
Steven. She felt angrier than ever when she saw Steven take both of
her hands in his and then tell her something in low tones. Given the
music playing in the background and the chattering of people in the
dining room, Julie had no idea what they were saying. All that time,
Amber had been walking towards the dining room alone, oblivious of
the fact that Julie was bearing the scene all by herself. When she
realized, she quickly walked back to where Julie was.