Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Oh, I’m so glad.” His mouth twisted with suppressed amusement. “It also indulges my Pretty Woman fantasy.”
“That’s a movie, right?” I didn’t get all of his references. I knew for a fact that he didn’t get all of mine. “From like, a million years ago?”
“From like thirty years ago. Don’t be dramatic,” he mock scolded me.
“I’ve never seen it. It’s like a rich guy falls in love with a sex worker, right?” I guess I could see why that would be Matt’s fantasy. “I guess the fairy tale is appealing both ways?”
“I’m not sure how appealing it would be for a sex worker to have a client fall in love with them, but from the billionaire perspective, it’s nice to think that someday I’ll be able to fall in love with someone who isn’t expecting me to,” he said. Then he pointed at my half-empty juice glass. “Need a refill?”
I shook my head and refrained from calling out his redirect. I was more than happy to get off the subject of falling in love. I was teetering on the edge of future heartbreak at the moment, as it was.
Realizing how much I liked Matt hadn’t worn off because I’d banged an extraordinary number of strangers the night before. I’d hoped that it would, but then he’d come into the bathroom and told me about his random hook-up and I’d gotten weirdly emotional. About my birthday, of all things. Which wasn’t coming for months.
“Are you into astrology?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I’m aware that I’m a Cancer. And I’m aware that it’s too damn hot this time of the year to have a birthday party in the Caribbean for a Cancer,” he said, reaching for the butter dish.
“You’re a Cancer, and I was the one crying last night.” I laughed at my own joke, even though he wouldn’t get it.
“Am I supposed to be a crybaby?” He was intently focused on buttering his toast.
“A little bit, yeah. It’s what your sign is known for.” When I had my phone again, I would look up his full chart. “Do you happen to know what time you were born? We could find out your ascendant and all sorts of things.”
“Don’t tell me your side gig is as an online psychic,” he teased.
“I can barely keep a regular gig,” I reminded him.
“Speaking of, how did you manage to get so much time off?” I hoped she hadn’t quit the job she liked to be at my beck and call.
“I told my boss that a billionaire wanted to fly me to his private island, and she was okay with that.” I tapped my temple. “Women know what’s up.”
“She’s probably imagining you down here with some liver-spotted old man.”
“Well, you are about to turn forty,” I teased him.
“Hey, forty isn’t old. And I don’t feel old.” He glanced at his cane. “Well, I didn’t feel old yesterday. Today…”
“Must have been some hook-up.” I reached for another chocolate croissant from the three-tiered patisserie tray. “I shouldn’t make fun of you for being forty. You probably achieved more in your life by my age than I have.”
“The only thing I’ve ever achieved was being born into a rich family.” He took a sip from his coffee. “And I can’t take credit for that either.”
“What was it like, growing up that rich?” I blurted the question before I considered it might be a little rude.
“It was a childhood,” he said with a shrug. “I knew we were rich, but I didn’t have a concept until I grew up and went out into the real world for college.”
“Ivy League isn’t exactly the real world.” Even my parents’ amount of financial comfort wasn’t the “real world.” But I wasn’t there to lecture him about his money.
“It’s not the real world, but at least I learned about it,” he said. “And that shaped a lot of what I do, how I run my businesses.”
I wondered what kind of impact one could have on economic inequality from the hospitality sector. “Oh, yeah?”
“Most of the resorts are certified green. I know it’s not much, but I like to think that if people are flying to get there, we need to offset that carbon emission. Our family-friendly resorts sponsor camps twice a year for underprivileged kids. I know it doesn’t sound like much—”
“It’s more than other people do.” Of course, at the end of the day, he was still a billionaire. “And I assume charity…”
He nodded. “My mom has always been into that kind of thing, but it was always about raising ‘awareness,’ so it was a lot of check writing and fancy parties. I’m not into the parties, but I do write a lot of checks.” He paused and cocked his head. “Why are you so interested?”
Because I need to know that the guy I’m falling for isn’t a horrible person. Even though billionaire status is an instant qualifier for horrible person. “I guess I’m looking for skeletons in your closet that are too big to ignore.”