The Billionaire's Masquerade Page 0,50
in a while?
They were the first customers to the restaurant so they had their pick of tables. “We’ll sit outside,” Emerson told the hostess. Rachel was irritated with the starry eyed look the woman gave him and shoved away from his side to find her way out onto the deck. It was very pretty, but she was miffed that the woman had tried to entice Emerson. He’d had his arm around her shoulder! What was she thinking?
“I didn’t encourage her,” he said, taking the chair opposite her.
“You didn’t discourage her either,” she told him, picking up the menu and hiding her face behind the paper.
“Are you jealous?”
“Absolutely not!” she snapped, the menu falling onto the table. “If you want to hit on every woman we come across, go for it. It’s none of my business. We finished as soon as I found out you weren’t who you portrayed yourself to be.”
“And is that the only issue you have with our relationship?”
She shifted in her chair, still so angry and hurt she could barely keep the tears at bay. “You made a fool of me,” she said softly, hating the fact that her chin started to quiver.
He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “I didn’t make a fool of you. I’m known as Jack in this area. Everyone calls me that.”
It was a valid point, but she’d been very clear about her intentions from the first moment they’d met. Okay, well, not from the very first moment. She’d been too obsessed with his magnificent chest to state her objective clearly. Any woman would be excused from that issue if they’d been in the same situation. Her chin went up a notch defensively. “But you knew from the very first moment we met that I was looking for Emerson Watson!” she hissed.
The waitress arrived at that moment and Rachel was doubly irritated that it was the same woman who had been acting as the hostess. Apparently, they cut back on staff until more customers arrived and everyone pulled double duty.
Emerson seemed completely oblivious to Rachel’s irritation. He was looking at the menu and giving his order to the young, blond woman. “We’ll have the sampler platter and two beers.” He named some brand of beer she’d never heard of, nor did she even care about. Though somewhat mollified because he completely ignored the waitress’ come hither glance, she was still too hurt that he was oblivious to why she was angry with him. Even after all this time, he still didn’t get it.
Thankfully, the waitress didn’t have any reason to linger and flirt, so she quickly left the sun-filled deck area. There were no other customers around them, although Rachel saw the ferry making its way back across the harbor, probably bringing more guests to the island.
When they were alone again, he leaned back against the black, metal chairs and surveyed her in the sunshine, finally answering her question. “You wanted the experience. You got the experience. What more do you want from me?”
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nothing. Just tell me what to do as your latest trainee and I’ll be happy to oblige. If the training is finished, then I’ll go on my merry way and we’ll never see each other again.”
There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. Not without a fight at least. “We’re not finished,” he growled. “You have so much more to learn.”
Their beers arrived at that point and the waitress heard, and obviously felt, the tension at the table. She quickly put the drinks down in front of each of them and moved back into the main restaurant.
Rachel ignored her beer and glared across the table at him. She’d put her confusion aside during the bike ride, but she simply wasn’t the kind of person who could go around without a purpose. “You never explained why we’re here.”
“You’re right. You’re going to have to figure that one out for yourself,” he came back at her. “And for the record, what if I didn’t like being hunted for my knowledge when we first met? What if I’d spotted a beautiful woman and I wanted to get to know her without my infamous reputation to impede our conversations?”
He was probably justified in the “hunting” term, but she wasn’t giving in. She was too hungry and too hurt to be fair at the moment. “You still should have told me who you were.”
“Possibly. Or maybe I