The Billionaire's Princess - Ava Ryan Page 0,61

some beautiful and wealthy ex-fiancée and started talking about renewing his friendship with her.”

“Percy and I were engaged for about ten minutes,” I say hotly. God knows I have no other leg to stand on here. I shudder to think what sort of rampaging Godzilla I’d turn into if I thought I had competition for Damon’s affection. I can’t get him to tell me he loves me as it is. And if another woman entered the picture…?

“That’s your defense?”

“Oh, whatever,” I snap. “The bigger issue is Damon’s jealousy and my bad reaction to it. He acted very controlling. Very alpha.”

“I’m sure you don’t complain about how alpha he is in bed,” she says, her brows creeping higher.

Since this is perfectly true, I decide to ignore it.

“You want me to listen to you? This is your time to give me some good advice before Damon and I ruin our relationship over nonsense. Don’t blow it,” I tell her.

“Fine. Is Damon truly controlling? Because, I gotta tell you, that’s not the vibe I’ve ever gotten from him. Which makes me think he’s insecure. You need to get to the bottom of that.”

This has the ring of good common sense. Which is one of the reasons I keep Michele around.

“Speak of the devil,” she says before I can answer, her voice dropping. “Here comes Percy. You might not want to look too happy to see him. I’m out.”

“What?” I say with a vague note of alarm. I greeted Percy earlier when he first arrived, but I’m not sure I’m ready to have any sort of substantive conversation with him under Damon’s watchful eye. “You just going to leave me?”

“You’ll be fine,” she says blithely as she sails off. “And if I spend any more time with him tonight, I’m going to fall asleep standing up.”

I’d love to read her the riot act, but there’s no time. Percy arrives looking cautious. Hopeful.

I decide to just plunge in. Get it over with.

“I’m so glad you came,” I tell him, excruciatingly aware of Damon’s hard stare from across the room. I feel as though I’m being watched by Sauron’s evil eye from all the Lord of the Rings movies. To make matters worse, my father also hovers on the periphery, no doubt hoping I’ll be able to snatch a few thousand-dollar bills from Percy’s deep pockets before the conversation is over. “It means the world to me.”

“And me,” he says, his expression brightening. “Didn’t feel right for us to not talk.”

“I agree.” I take a closer look at him, noting his sparkling eyes and something else that seems new about him. It’s not his clothes or hair. But there’s something unidentifiable about him that makes him seem more…energetic. Alive. “You look great, by the way. How are things at home?”

This is evidently the cue he’s been waiting for. He breaks into a wide grin, all sunshine and hearts, and suddenly I know.

“Percy, you’ve met someone,” I cry, delighted.

“I’ve met someone,” he says, laughing as his face floods with color. “And she’s been under my nose this whole time. She’s the large-animal veterinarian in the village. Loves nothing better than mucking about in the stables and taking long hikes with me. She’s not a redhead like you, sadly, but I plan to keep her around indefinitely.”

“See?” I can hardly contain my excitement. He deserves the absolute best. Truly. He’s always been such a class act. “What did I tell you? Why would you want me hanging around when you have someone like that? You’d better marry her, Percy. She sounds like your soul mate.”

“That’s the plan. In good time. If she’ll have me.”

“I’m sure she will.”

“She pushed me to come tonight, to be honest,” he says, leaning in and switching to a conspiratorial tone. “Wanted me to see you. Make sure I’m completely over you. No offense.”

“None taken,” I say dryly. “Glad to be of service.”

“Anyway…” He ducks his head. Tugs an earlobe. “I just wanted to tell you. And to let you know I expect you to come round for dinner the next time you’re home.”

“That’s a date.”

We beam at each other for a wonderful second and it feels like old times, only a million times better. And a moment like that can only conclude with a hug and kiss.

We pull each other in for a tight squeeze that puts the final few nails in our mended fences.

“Give her all my best wishes,” I tell him, squeezing his forearms when we pull apart.

“And you have mine,”