He even told me he’s met someone else. He seems excited about her. And I’m excited for him.”
For one arrested second, this information seems to interest him. His vague frown of consternation makes me wonder if I’ve broken through some of his pain to reach the man underneath this forbidding figure in his dark suit and topcoat. But then his lips tighten into a sneer and I know it won’t be that easy. It could never be that easy with Damon Black.
“Touching. By the way, before this conversation goes any further, you should know that my deal fell through. Seven months wasted on my pipe dream. So I’m not a billionaire after all.”
“So?” The non sequitur throws me for a loop. “I mean, I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but who cares?”
“You and your father, clearly. I thought you should know. It might figure into your grand scheme.”
“There’s no grand scheme and I don’t give a damn about your net worth. I’m busy working on my own. Which you might have noticed tonight if you weren’t so busy being angry at the world.”
We stare at each other in a poisonous silence. I’m desperate to clear up this misunderstanding, but I’m terrified to open my mouth and somehow make things worse. I’m not doing very well at following his train of thought at the moment.
“Fascinating,” he finally says. “So what was all that about your big plan to marry a billionaire?”
“Not some random billionaire, you blind idiot,” I shout, knowing it’s a bad idea to lose my temper and pour gasoline on this raging fire. But I can’t help myself. Long weeks and months of pretending I only feel so much for him and no more have already worn down my reserves of self-control. Honestly, it’s a relief to open the taps and let it all gush out. “You! I’d have to be a fool not to marry you!”
Something shifts in his expression, wiping out all the turbulence and leaving what looks like bland curiosity. The kind you might see when a stranger on the street asks you the time.
But I know him well enough to see the intensity burning in his eyes. There’s no mistaking it.
Damon’s not indifferent to what I just said. Far from it. He’s all but holding his breath in his eagerness to learn more.
Even so, he hangs on to his stubborn pride and bravado like James Bond dangling over the ledge of the fiftieth floor of some skyscraper and holding on by his fingertips. He hikes up his chin and hits me with a hateful little hitch of his shoulders that passes as a shrug.
“I’m having a tough time keeping up, princess. I’m not a blue blood. Not a billionaire. You understand my confusion.”
“Well, let me clear it up for you.” I get in his face, my curled fingers itching to smack the nasty smirk off his face. It’s bad enough when the woman says the L-word first and risks driving the man off, screaming, never to be seen again. Worse for me to hurl the news at him like this, in anger, but what choice is there? I can’t let this wound fester and ruin our relationship. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening. Even swallow my pride and face my biggest fear. “I’d have to be a fool not to marry you because I’m in love with you. At moments like this, it gets hard to remember exactly why I’m in love with you, but I am. I don’t care what color your blood is. Couldn’t care less about your zeros or lack thereof.”
He says nothing, but I detect a small tremor in his chin. A slight chink in his armor. That’s all the encouragement I need. Now that I’ve opened the door, the words can’t fly out of my mouth fast enough.
And even though he’s never mentioned words like love, marriage or children, I suddenly can’t wait to share my feelings with him. He’s worth the risk. I know he is.
“Damon—”
He clears his throat. “Let’s finish this later.”
That’s when it hits me that he’s more scared than I am. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?
“No,” I say. “You need to hear this right now.”
“Carly—”
“The only thing I care about is that I feel like I’m glowing when I’m with you.” I feel myself lighting up even as I say it. That’s what he does to me. “Like I could do anything as long as you’re in my life. Even my hair comes alive when