The Billionaire Matchmaker Test (Billionaire Online Dating Service #5) - Elle James Page 0,60
find someone else to love. I think he would have approved of my choice.”
“What about Joe?”
She smiled up at him. “Joe who?” Then she blinked. “Oh, dear.” She looked past Tag to the yellow rose draped across the table on the patio. “I’m supposed to be with Joe tonight. I need to tell him I can’t.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Tag said.
Leslie shook her head. “I can’t let him think I stood him up.” She stepped around Tag and started through the door. “I’ll be right back. It will only take me a minute.”
Tag followed her. “Really, Leslie. It’s not necessary.”
By then, she’d rounded the potted plant and reached the table. The rose was there, but there was no man seated in the chair.
“I don’t understand,” Leslie said. “Do you think he saw me kissing you and left?” Leslie looked up into Tag’s eyes. “I would hate to think I hurt that poor man.”
“I can tell you with absolute certainty, you didn’t.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why? Did you tell him to leave?”
Tag shook his head, his lips twisting. “There’s something else I needed to tell you.”
Leslie tipped her head. “Is it about Joe?”
He nodded. “There never was a Joe Fox.”
“You know who he was?” Leslie asked.
Again, Tag nodded.
“How do you know him?”
“I’m Joe Fox,” Tag said. “I was your final match. I wanted you to get to know me without being biased by our friendship.” He took her into his arms, a frown pulling his brow low on his forehead. “I hope you’re not mad. I treasured our messages to each other. It helped me to see you from another angle as well.”
She shook her head, her frown deepening. “You tricked me?” She pressed her hands against his chest. “Why would you do that?”
“I wanted you to fall in love with me. I thought we were too close as friends for that to happen. I wanted you to see me as someone who could be your friend and more.” He tipped her chin. “But you fell in love with me as me. Not Joe. And that’s even better.” Tag kissed the tip of her nose, her cheek and finally her lips. “Please, don’t be mad. I couldn’t lose you. If you loved me as Joe, I would have changed my name to Joe Fox to make you happy.”
Leslie stared up into his face. “I have to admit, Joe intrigued me. If I hadn’t been so in love with you, I might have gone for him.”
Tag sighed. “Sweetheart, you can have both of us. I’ve waited so long to say I love you, I can share you with my alter ego, gladly.”
Leslie relaxed in his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I wasn’t sure that you loved me, and I couldn’t declare my love and risk losing you as a friend. One way or another, you would always be a part of my life. I wanted you to love me, but I never wanted to lose you.”
She cupped his cheek. “That’s what I was afraid of, too. You’ve been such a big part of my life. I didn’t want to risk losing you either.”
He lifted the yellow rose from the table and handed it to her. “To new beginnings?”
“To new beginnings.” She took the rose and smiled up into his eyes, her heart overflowing with emotion. “Can we go home now?”
“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.
“I have food in my refrigerator.” She took his hand and led him toward the exit. “We can eat later. I’ve been dying to finish what we started the other night.” She stopped and looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Why did you stop that night?”
“I didn’t want to be a one-night stand. I wanted you to love me for me, not just for a quickie. And I didn’t want you to regret it later.”
“Darlin’, you’re not getting out of it tonight,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had any regrets that night. My only regret now is that we’ve wasted days we could have been together.”
“I like the way you’re thinking,” Tag said. He gripped her hand and led her out of the restaurant. Soon, they were running for their vehicles.
“It’s not a race,” he warned her.
“The hell it’s not,” she said with a grin. Though she wanted to speed all the way home, she kept it barely above the posted limit, pulling into her driveway fifteen minutes later.
She had the door unlocked by the time Tag caught up with her.