The Billionaire's Illicit Twins - Holly Rayner Page 0,50

But we’re not staying in the city. Now get in. I want to get on the road before traffic starts.”

I tipped my head back and forth as if I was actually considering it, maybe even looking for a way out of the whole deal, and then grinned back.

“Well, when you put it that way…”

I marched myself right to the passenger side door, threw it open, and slid into the cream, leather-clad interior of luxury.

Chapter 29

Ethan

I stole a glance at her face the moment we pulled into the Hamptons, and I wished I’d had the forethought to have a camera aimed at her so I could have taken a picture. Because the look on her face was so good, so insanely heart-expanding, that I almost pulled over and kissed her right then and there.

She looked… so shocked and excited that I was afraid her eyes might actually pop out of her head. And honestly, I couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t the official ‘season’ in the Hamptons, being early December rather than early June, but the place really went out of its way during the Christmas season.

The entire town was decorated like some Christmas-obsessed old woman lived here, every light pole and storefront done up in garlands and lights and bows, with fake gigantic Christmas boxes sitting around on the corners and actual carolers in the town square. At night, the entire place would shine with the white Christmas lights that were wound everywhere.

New York dressed up for Christmas, but the Hamptons put it to shame. It was also quieter than New York and therefore felt more like… home. And who doesn’t want to go home for the holidays?

Which was exactly why I’d brought Bella. She’d told me during one of our dates that Christmas was her favorite season—partially because she’d never really had a true Christmas when she was young, but had always enjoyed the decorations and the sense of warmth it brought to the city. The moment she’d told me that, I’d known that I had to bring her here once they put the decorations up. Because I’d wanted her to see it.

I’d wanted to see her face when she saw it.

So yeah, because I can already see that you’re going to ask, I’d come to terms with the fact that I had feelings for the girl. I’d come to terms with the fact that seeing her so excited that her eyes looked like they were going to explode did insane things to my heart, mind, and body. I’d come to terms with the idea that when she smiled at me, it got hard to breathe.

I knew she felt the same way. I knew she did. But I also knew that she was too scared about what might happen to really give in to it. This trip was my chance to convince her to give it a try, anyhow.

No, I had no idea how I was going to do it. But I knew I had to.

I’d tiptoed around the idea with her before. Brought it up—in the most passive, roundabout way possible—only to have her shoot me down again and again and again. Tell me that it was only a business contract between us, and that our worlds were too different for us to ever be anything more than friends.

I’d heard again and again how much she was endangering her own career even becoming friends with me. How much trouble she’d get into if any of the senior partners at her firm ever got wind of it, because it was such a conflict of interest. And no matter how many times I told her that the conflict was over, since we’d settled the negotiation and already carried through with the payment, she was never willing to give in.

It was getting to the point where I was pretty sure there was more at play than just her career. And I was going to find out what it was. Because over the last five months… I’d fallen in love with her. And I wasn’t even trying to deny that anymore. Somewhere in that moment at the top of the Statue of Liberty, somewhere during the thunderous applause at The Phantom of the Opera, somewhere in watching her try to eat three slices of cheesecake because she just couldn’t decide which flavor she wanted…

I’d given up my heart to her.

It wasn’t something I’d ever seen coming. It was something I’d actively fought against. Hell, I’d practically stopped talking to my family for an