A Billionaire Boyfriend For Christmas - Holly Rayner Page 0,46

phone.

What?

Why was Thea texting Ken that?

Adison closed her eyes, trying to slow her racing thoughts down. It was only an innocent text between friends.

Or was it? She remembered in Jackson Hole, how Thea and Ken had gone off alone almost right away. Adison didn’t know if they’d spent any one-on-one time together after that, but she’d been distracted with plenty of other things. She’d skied, soaked in the hot tub by herself, shopped in town with Trish, and, being an early bird, gone to bed before anyone else.

If Ken and Thea wanted to be alone, Jackson Hole would have been the place to do it.

The strength went out of Adison’s knees, and she managed to take a seat in the chair before she collapsed. Had her initial suspicions been correct? Were Thea and Ken romantically involved?

A sour taste filled her mouth, and she gripped the edges of the table. If she’d known Ken was seeing someone already, she wouldn’t have kissed him the night before.

There was also the possibility he wasn’t currently dating Thea, she realized. They could be on and off. Adison had been in that kind of situation more than once.

And then it hit her.

“Oh my God,” she gasped.

That was it! She’d wondered why Ken took her to Jackson Hole, and now it finally made sense. He’d wanted to make Thea jealous.

Her stomach lurched, and for a second she thought she might be sick. Fumbling for her phone, she brought up a rideshare app. Without a doubt, her car was still snowed in, and she couldn’t and wouldn’t ask Ken to try digging it out again.

She had to get out of that house, had to get away from him. For as long as possible, she would spend the day party planning away from his house.

And what about later? When she’d have to be there to meet the hired staff? What about that evening when Thea showed up?

Tears formed in Adison’s eyes, but she blinked them away. She could cry on the way home, quietly, in the backseat of a stranger’s car. Ken had played her, just like Danny had played her.

She’d been so stupid to not see through his game. One day, she’d forgive herself for it. Right then, though, she needed space. She needed to let her heart bleed for a bit.

And then she would need to dust herself off and throw the best Christmas party Buffalo had ever seen. She was down, but she sure as heck wasn’t out.

Her heart climbing into her throat, she walked downstairs. Ken met her in the front hallway.

“Breakfast is ready.” He smiled broadly, and she was overwhelmed by a jumble of feelings.

Longing. Pain. Regret. Anger. Confusion. They were all there.

“I have to go.” She waved her phone. “A party emergency.”

His face fell. “I thought you said you needed to be here this morning.”

“I will, um, later. Right now I have to go.”

She couldn’t come up with any more detail than that; her mind wasn’t working right.

“Okay. I’ll grab the snow shovel and—”

“It’s okay. I ordered a car. We’ll worry about mine later.”

“Oh. All right.” He blinked as if his eyes were adjusting, and she figured he suspected something was up, but he wasn’t sure enough about it to say anything.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Sure. Call me if I can help with anything.” He reached for her, and she froze. His kiss on her lips was warm, sweet…but it tore her up inside.

She could bring up what she’d discovered, but the time wasn’t right. The conversation would be an emotional one, and she had too much going on that day to be a wreck. Thea’s message had been enough of a blow already.

So she’d suck it up and get through the day. That night, after the party ended, maybe she’d confront Ken. That is, if he weren’t canoodled up somewhere with his real object of desire.

Adison’s phone beeped, signaling her ride had arrived, and she nearly sighed in relief.

“Bye,” she mumbled.

She felt his eyes on her as she grabbed her things and, without even bothering to put her coat on, dashed outside. Since the driveway hadn’t been plowed, the car waited at the gate’s entrance. Adison pulled her coat on as she trudged through the drifts.

How had she gotten herself into this situation yet again? She’d missed all the red flags with Danny, and apparently she’d done the exact same with Ken.

Except this time around, it hurt worse. She’d known Ken less time than she’d known Danny, but he’d taken up a