Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,102

in the hospital than out of it, although that might also be as a result of the abusive relationship she’s in.”

Spots of fury flashed in my vision. Nathan paused when the crowd drew in a collective breath, nodding at them like he agreed. “It really is tragic, but I’ve been on the receiving end of her boyfriend’s wrath myself. It’s not pretty. I have no idea why a woman like her would stay with a man like that.”

“It’s devastating,” Phil said. “She deserves so much better.”

As if any woman—or man for that matter—deserves to be in an abusive relationship. My heart was pounding, my fingers curled so deeply into my palms that my short fingernails dug into my skin. It was all I could do not to jump onstage and put an end to this bullshit.

Knowing it would only add fuel to the fire was the only thing that kept me rooted to my spot. Millions of people were watching this bullshit interview. Nathan kept talking about Rylee’s private life and illness like he owned them, lying through his motherfucking teeth, and there was nothing I could do about it right now.

A murmur than through the audience, and suddenly I understood why. Rylee marched onto the stage with her chin up and her head held high.

What the fuck is she doing?

She was supposed to pop up from the floor when her performance began, yet there she was, already dressed and striding onto the stage like she belonged there. Phil let out an audible gasp when he spotted her and Nathan’s head jerked around as he tried to see what was causing the disturbance.

An eerie smile spread across his face when he saw her. “Well, if it isn’t Ms. Naples in the flesh.”

Phil pressed a finger to his ear, trying to be discreet while no doubt receiving instructions from his superiors about how to proceed. He gave an almost imperceptible nod before flashing Rylee the brightest smile I’d seen from him yet.

“This is a surprise. Thank you for joining us, Rylee.” An assistant ran over to him, handing him another microphone before disappearing again.

She took it, and my heart dropped. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What is she doing?

Was she going to tell everyone she was done? She’d seemed ready for her performance when I’d left her just a few minutes ago, but now I wasn’t so sure.

She looked magnificent up there, her eyes piercing even from a distance. The cameras zoomed in for a closeup of her face, and my heart changed direction from dropping to China, lodging itself in my throat instead.

God, she’s beautiful. She hadn’t so much as said a word yet, but she was already captivating the attention of everyone in attendance. Her presence seemed to reach out and tap people on their shoulders, demanding their attention.

As I stood there looking up at her with God only knew how many other people, I realized I was in love with her. I loved her so fucking much that every fiber of me belonged to her. I didn’t know when it’d happened, but it had. I’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for my childhood best friend’s little sister, for the stunning woman she’d become.

There were so many facets to her. She was strong and brave but also vulnerable and uncertain. To the world, she was a celebrity, but to me, she was everything. I loved every part of her. Her playfulness, her confidence, and even the part that had pushed me away.

I loved the sexy smirk she gave me at least a few times a day. I loved how she, like me, went after what she wanted and didn’t stop until she got it. But I also loved her softness. How she’d stayed with her feet planted firmly on the ground despite the fact that she was revered by so many.

I’m going to marry that woman. I was going to ask her to be my wife and the mother of my children. It wouldn’t happen tonight but soon.

For the first time in my life, I wondered about the business hours of jewelry stores. We would be here until at least midnight when the ball dropped, but was there somewhere I could buy a ring even after that?

As these thoughts ripped through me, coming hard and fast and unrelenting, Rylee lifted the microphone to her mouth and everything went so quiet I’d have been able to hear a pin drop. Even my mind finally went still to hear what she had to