Tell Me You're Mine (The British Billionaires #1) - J. S. Scott Page 0,67

smile she had on her lips.

I was only able to relax again once Mum had drawn Nicole into a conversation about what she wanted to see while she was in London.

“Everything,” Nicole said with a sigh.

My mother smiled fondly at Nicole. “Do you like the theater, dear?”

Nicole’s eyes sparkled like precious gems. “I love it. Especially musicals. I get to Los Angeles as often as possible to see the latest shows. I saw that The Phantom of the Opera is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre, but I’m here to work, and I doubt I can get a ticket at the last minute.”

Dammit! Why hadn’t I ever asked if she’d like to see something in London? “I’ll get tickets for Friday night,” I said, before my mother could offer to procure them. “You’re done working, Nicole. We’ve accomplished our mission, and it certainly won’t hurt to be spotted around town with me.”

She turned her head and made me the sole recipient of her gorgeous, joy-filled smile.

I went from rage-filled savage beast to feeling like the luckiest bastard on earth in less than two seconds.

Being responsible for making this woman smile just felt like complete euphoria. I couldn’t explain that if I wanted to, and I really didn’t want to.

I felt like her damn hero for offering her something as simple as bloody theater tickets.

At some point, Nicole Ashworth had decided to move me from wanker to the good guy category. Maybe I didn’t deserve it, but I was going to try my best to be worthy of it.

“Thank you, Damian,” Nicole responded breathlessly. “I’ve always wanted to see that show.”

Of course she did. It was a romantic tragedy. There hadn’t been a dry-eyed female in the theater when I’d seen it years ago. I’d never quite understood why since Christine was rescued from the Phantom, and all was well in the end when she sailed away with Raoul.

Good guy wins.

Bad guy loses.

The end.

What in the hell was there to cry about?

Thank God there had been a lot of decent music in between the beginning and the end.

“It’s really short notice,” Nicole said anxiously. “Do you think we can still get tickets?”

“I have some connections.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. If everyone will excuse me, I’d better go make sure everything is packed.” She looked at Leo. “I won’t give you a goodbye hug right now since I’ll be seeing you at Bella’s gala.”

“I’ll take one anyway,” Leo teased.

“Ignore him. Go on,” I encouraged Nicole as I stood.

Nicole flitted out of the dining room, apparently eager to start her London adventure.

I sat back down. “What in the hell was that all about?” I asked my little brother in a furious tone once I knew Nicole was out of hearing range.

He lifted his brows. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Flirting with Nicole. It’s not…normal for you.” At the age of thirty-one, I highly doubted that Leo was a virgin, but I’d never seen him personally take much interest in any particular female. He’d been much too busy trying to save the world.

He shrugged. “I like her. Is that a problem for you? It’s not like the two of you are in a real relationship.”

“It’s a problem,” I answered. “If you touch her with anything less than brotherly intentions, I’ll have to kill you, Leo. You won’t be around to save a single threatened species in the future. Think about that before you do it.”

My little brother’s fist slammed down on the table. “I knew it! You’re crazy about her. I could see it, even if you don’t really want anybody to know. Why in the hell don’t you just tell her? It’s pretty obvious she adores you, too. Tell her the truth, Damian. Tell her about Dylan. If you do it yourself, and come clean, it will go over a lot better than her finding out from somebody else.”

My gaze shot to my brother’s smiling face. He had been needling me just to get me to admit how much I wanted this show with Nicole to be real.

My indignation and anger flowed out of my body. No matter how misguided Leo’s actions might be, he had been trying to find out how I really felt. “Don’t do that again,” I advised him. “I’m likely to lay you out on the ground, with that pretty face of yours completely rearranged.”

Unlike Dylan and me, Leo was a blond-haired, blue-eyed male with perfect features. His muscular build was all from physical labor,