The Billionaire's Forbidden Desire (32 page)

“No, the question is, what’s
believable
about it? Women don’t like him, not the way you mean,” Vanessa said. “I can’t help but think you actually, you know…
really
like him. And Dad too! I’m trying to wrap my mind around it.”

This was awkward, but at the same time this was Dane’s family. “Salazar was the first person who offered to help me when I was down and almost out. I’m sure you know my father left me penniless. As for Dane… I like it that he doesn’t treat me like some delicate breakable thing. He doesn’t sugarcoat things, but he’s surprisingly sensitive.”

The other women’s jaws dropped.

Ginger was the first to recover. “Sensitive? Does Dane have a long-lost twin?”

“Not that I know of,” Vanessa said.

“What do you really want to know?” Sophia said. “Are you worried that I’m a gold digger?”

“No. That’s what puzzles me. The women my brother tends to go for are all pretty easy to peg—the same for my dad—but not you. I—”

Just that moment, Dane burst in with the flustered housekeeper following him. “What the hell is the meaning of this, Josephine?” he demanded, his jaw tight.

Josephine blanched. “Dane, we—”

“I invited her over for lunch,” Vanessa said, her chin tilted defiantly.

“This is
not
what I asked you to do,” he said to Josephine, as though his sister hadn’t spoken. “You’ll hear from my lawyer.” His voice was eerily quiet, but tension rolled off him in ominous waves. Then he turned to Vanessa and the other women. “If you want to have a
real
lunch with Sophia, great. I’ll even pay for it. If you’re aiming for an inquisition, get in touch with my lawyer. You aren’t harassing her.”

Sophia put a hand on his sleeve. “It’s not like that. I’m fine.”

He pulled his arm until her hand fell into his palm. “You may be fine, but I’m not. They’ll show you the respect you deserve. And next time, contact me immediately when they pull this kind of stunt.”

Vanessa blinked a few times. “You’re actually serious.”

“As a cardiac arrest. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Don’t test me, Vanessa. You know what an asshole I can be.” His lips curled. “The only reason I’m not going to ruin you for this is because you’re my family, and Shirley asked me to be nice. But not even her dying wish will keep you safe next time.”

He led Sophia out, a protective hand on the small of her back. When they got back outside, her chauffeur jumped to his feet. “Mr. Pryce.”

“You’re fired. Consider yourself lucky that’s the only thing I’m doing.”

She stopped. “Dane.”

“He didn’t do his job right. It’s not his job to make things easier for my family to bully you.” He opened the door to his car. “Get in. We’re finished here.”

She did, then turned to him as soon as he was inside as well. “How did you even know I was at your sister’s?”

“The GPS system.” He looked straight ahead, driving away from the house. “It texts me your location every time the car’s parked.”

The nerve! “You were
spying
on me?” She crossed her arms.

“No. I was making sure you didn’t somehow convince Josephine to set a budget
you
were comfortable with.”

“I highly doubt I would’ve been able to do that.”

“You underestimate your powers of persuasion. Anyway, it was a good thing that I set it up. Otherwise who knows what those women would’ve done.”

“Dane, those women are your
family
—or practically—and they’re worried.” She sighed, uncrossing her arms. “And how can you blame them? You thought the worst of the situation when I first showed up in the city.”

His knuckles tightened. “Are you still upset about that?”

“Of course not. I’m just trying to show you how unreasonable you’re being.”

“You have no idea how patient and reasonable I am right now. You don’t know what I wouldn’t do to keep you protected.”

* * *

It didn’t matter what Sophia did, how much she cajoled. Dane wouldn’t discuss the incident. But she didn’t believe he would really sic his lawyers on Josephine…would he?

The only thing he’d done was buy her more clothes than she could possibly wear. After taking her home, he had somebody come to the penthouse to get her measurements and deliver twenty boxes of clothes, underwear and shoes within three hours.

“If you tell me what you’re going to do to Vanessa for real, I’ll keep them,” Sophia said, eyeing the piles with unease. They were excessive. On the other hand, he never did anything by half-measures. She should’ve expected this.

His expression remained bland. “If you don’t keep the clothes, I’ll sue my sister for sure.”

“At least hire the driver back.”

“Absolutely not. I don’t pay people who can’t complete their job to my satisfaction.”

“It was an honest mistake. He probably had no idea what they were going to do and just took me to the address Josephine gave him.”

“So you do admit it was her fault.”

“
No!
”

“The discussion’s over, Sophia. They knew what they were getting into.”

She snapped her mouth shut. Knowing why he was doing this made it harder for her to stay angry with him for refusing to discuss it further. On the other hand… “You can’t sue people every time you don’t like what they do.”

“Sure I can. Why else do you think I have a law firm on retainer?” He placed his credit card on the counter. “I have to go back to the office, so take this and treat yourself to something nice. A spa or massage or something. And sorry about my asshole family.”

Her arms crossed, she glared at the credit card. Like she was actually in any mood for a spa treatment!

Maybe he’d be more amenable after work. If nothing else it’d give him some time to calm down.

But he remained impossible. Not even a fabulous Chinese dinner could change his mind.

“You’re so unforgiving. Are you always like this?” she asked.

“When it involves you, yes.”

“Argh!”

She plopped down on the couch and turned on her tablet. There was no point anymore. She was going to read and see if it helped her relax.

Dane didn’t try to talk to her. Instead he reviewed work documents.

When she changed and crawled into bed a few hours later and put her arm on his chest, Dane cocked an eyebrow.

“What?” she said.

“Sex isn’t going to work.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t planning on it. I want us to have sex because that’s what we want, not for some…ulterior reason.” She put a finger over his mouth as he moved to kiss her. “I’m not finished. Our bedroom shouldn’t be a battleground. You’re going to know when I’m upset with you or disagree with you, but I’m not going to turn that into some kind of fight here too. This should be our safe place.”

Something eased in his gaze, and he pressed his lips against her finger. “Thank you.”

“Now.” She pulled the finger away, giving him a soft smile. “You may kiss me properly.”

Sophia kept herself busy for the next few weeks. She’d thought it’d be difficult without a full-time job, but doing all the paperwork she needed to start at UCLA kept her occupied. She didn’t know what strings Dane had pulled, but somehow she was allowed to start from the next semester. Then there was the job search. She was determined to begin working as soon as possible.

Still… It was frustrating to look for a position when almost every listing she was interested in required a bachelor’s degree. What mysteries of the universe was she going to learn in the final two semesters of college that would make her so much more qualified than she was now?

Since she didn’t have to dress to be seen, she wore comfy clothes every day—loose t-shirts and cropped jeans. If Dane was in the mood to go out, he called her at least an hour in advance to let her know. The purported opera outing was beginning to take on a mythical quality, and she was starting to suspect that it had been a sham all along. Regardless, it was impossible to hold that against the man who made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world every day. She buried her nose in the bouquet of pale pink roses that had arrived earlier that morning and smiled.

Her phone rang. “Hey!” came Libby’s exuberant greeting. “Got a minute?”

“Sure. Nothing but time these days.”

“That sounds so weird coming from you. You were always so busy!”

“Well, you know… I’m not competing anymore.”

“Do you…uh…miss it?”

Sophia considered. “No. I mean, I did, but now there’s other stuff.” Like finishing college. A future with Dane. Although they’d never talked about it, she couldn’t help but think…

“That’s great. I’m so happy for you. So how’s Geraldine’s nephew treating you?”

“Oh my god,
fabulous
. He makes me feel so special. I can’t describe it. It’s like he really appreciates everything I am, not just the parts that are sort of convenient, or make him look good, you know?” She sighed.

“Was that a sigh? After describing The Perfect Man?”

“No. Well, it was, but—

“Yeah, I think it was. And it wasn’t a good sigh. Which is a little weird.”

“Well… I don’t know. You’ve had more experience with relationships, so maybe you can help.”

“Of course. Just tell me.”

“There are times I feel like he’s being a little strange.”

“You mean, like…in bed?”

Sophia laughed despite herself. “Uh,
no
. All that’s fine. Better than fine.”

“Oooh, lucky girl. Okay, so strange how?”

Sophia searched for the right words. “Like, I feel this odd vibe of, I don’t know…desperation or despair or something like that from him. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like he’s expecting something horrible to happen.”

“To him?”

“I guess. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s afraid I’m going to leave him…except that’s crazy.”

“Maybe he thinks you’re going to pull the same stunt he pulled on you in Mexico. Revenge. Tit for tat, right? But if that’s the case I’d say he’s not the right one for you. He should know you better by now.”

“No, that’s not it. If he thought that, we wouldn’t be together.” That much, Sophia was certain of.

“Then I don’t know what to say. Why don’t you, you know, ask him? Get a couple drinks in him first and make him talk.”

She snorted. “He can drink like a fish. He could drink an ice rink full of liquor and still be sober.”

“Then why don’t you wait until we see each other in person? Bring him along so I can do the Best Friend Inspection. I’m in L.A. right now actually.”

Sophia sat up straight. “Really? Awesome. When do you want to meet?”

“Don’t know yet. I have to check with George. He’s in the city, too.”

The news hit Sophia like a brick. Sweat slickened her hands, and something sour flooded her mouth. She breathed through her nose audibly. “What’s he doing here?”

“Some kind of a new business deal with a guy named Starling or something. I wasn’t paying attention. He’s been here for a couple of weeks.”

“He doesn’t have to come.” There was no way Sophia was going to see Libby if George was tagging along.

“But he’s going to want to see you, too.”

“You know what? I really need to check with Dane. He’s so busy, he’s always got all these meetings and presentations and everything, but maybe he can find some time, you know?” Sophia clicked her mouth shut when she realized she was babbling.

“Sure! Text me with a time.”

“Actually why don’t you text me with a few time slots that are good for you and we can go from there?”

“Will do, this afternoon. Love ya!” Libby signed off with a loud kissy noise into the phone.

“Love you too.”

Sophia tossed the phone on the counter and buried her face in her hands. It didn’t matter where Libby was now. Sophia couldn’t see her best friend, not when George was around. But she still didn’t know how to tell Libby the truth without hurting her.

Someone started knocking at the door. Sophia jerked around, almost falling off the stool she was sitting on. Her heart hammered with a spike of adrenaline.

It’s not George
.
He doesn’t know where I am
.

Fingering her necklace, she took a quick peek through the peephole and opened the door. On the other side was Vanessa. Her red hair fell around her face in loose curls. She’d gotten even bigger. The yellow maternity dress she had on made her look like she’d swallowed the sun.

“What are you doing here?” Sophia asked.

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Can I come in or are you going to make me stand out in the hall?” A small smile punctuated the question.

Sophia stepped aside. Vanessa walked in, her two-and-a-half-inch heels clacking on the hard floor. It was amazing she could still walk in those shoes.

“How far along are you?”

“Eight and a half months. Two more weeks!” A giant huff of breath. “God, I can’t wait.” Vanessa went to the couch and sat down with an audible sigh. Her ankles were thick, her feet visibly swollen.

“Want to put your feet up?”

“No.” She put a hand to her back and bit her lower lip. “Actually, yes. If you don’t mind.”

Sophia put a cushion on the low coffee table. “There.”

“Thanks.” Vanessa sighed. “I used to have nice ankles and feet. Now they look like I’m part elephant.”

“You should see mine. Skating is terrible on the feet.”

“Nothing’s worse than cankles.”

“Yeah, but another month or two and you’ll get your body back.” Sophia gestured at the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I can’t even have a sip of water without having to run to the bathroom in ten minutes. I know, I know, TMI.”

Sophia sat in an armchair. “I don’t think it’s that bad. At least you’re honest.”

Vanessa studied her. “That sounds awfully like something Dane would say.”

“Maybe his good qualities are rubbing off me.

“Ha. This is the point where I think I’m supposed to give a hollow laugh.”

“So, does Dane know that you’re here to see me?” Before the redhead could get any wrong ideas, Sophia raised her hand. “I’m only asking to see if I want to keep your visit quiet or not. I don’t want him trying to sue you or something.”