Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,49

had been something missing. And now I knew why.

It was like I’d been waiting to be reunited with Rylee my entire life, even if I hadn’t known it was about her. My heart was untouched. Unblemished, for the most part.

As I lay there in the dark with the girl of my dreams in my arms, I realized that pressure was still there on my heart. It swelled and swelled, and no matter how much I rubbed at it, it didn’t ease.

Fuck. I actually need a moment. I also needed to check the alarms and all the locks before I could go to sleep anyway.

Moving carefully, I untangled my limbs from hers and slipped out of bed. Before I left her bedroom, I turned at the door and looked back at her.

Her hair looked black in the pale moonlight filtering in through the bay window next to her bed. It gave her skin a silvery sheen, making her look even more like an angel that’d been handmade just for me.

Wait a second. Since when do I get poetic after fucking someone? I shook my head at myself. That’s the answer, isn’t it? I didn’t just fuck her. She asked me to make love to her and I did.

Screwing my eyes shut, I padded out of her bedroom and dragged in deep but quiet breaths. That had been a mistake. I never should’ve given in.

I opened my eyes just in time to be faced with the display cabinet at the end of the hall. It’d never intrigued me the way it did tonight.

The cabinet was chock full of all kinds of awards, and for once, I stopped to study them. She had three Tony awards, one for Best Newcomer and two for Best Leading Actress, and a host of other, smaller acknowledgments of her talent.

A jolt traveled through me when I realized that a woman like her would never end up with an almost-thug like me. I’d been delusional to believe there could be anything more between us. I also still needed to tell her who the fuck I was.

She might flip her shit at this point, and I was still pretty sure I’d lose her if I did. Maybe it was better to just keep it on the down-low. What difference will it really make anyway?

None. That’s what.

Neither of us was that kid we used to be anymore. She was a star now, a shooting one that I wouldn’t want to hold back anyway.

It hurt like hell, but that didn’t make any of it any less true. The storm inside wreaked havoc on my soul, but by the time I’d checked everything, fed Max, and had climbed back in bed with her, I was somewhat calmer again.

“I wish I could tell you the truth, Ry,” I whispered, gently trailing my fingers along her cheek as I tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I wish things were different and we could be more than we are.”

When she didn’t stir, I continued to spill my guts into the silent bedroom. “I’ve known you my whole life and I’ve had feelings for you for most of it. I just lost track, and look at you now, baby. You became everything you wanted to be and now you’re so far away from who I could have that it’s not funny.”

Even though I was still whispering so softly that I could hardly hear myself, my voice still managed to catch. “You’ve outgrown me, and that’s okay. For now, sex and your attention are more than enough. I’ll always belong to you, but it’s okay if you never belong to me.”

I clenched my fingers into a fist and shoved it into my mouth, stifling a silent scream. God, if it hurts this bad now, what the hell is it going to feel like when it’s really over?

Chapter 18

RYLEE

“Max won’t bite him, right?” Tani asked, watching as Cash scratched Max’s stomach on the living room floor.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. From what I’ve seen, he’s really sweet. I got the impression from Carter that we’d know right off the bat if he doesn’t like someone.”

She kept her eyes on them but picked up her glass of orange juice and sat down on a stool in the kitchen. “Speaking of your delicious bodyguard, where is he anyway? He disappeared just after we got here.”

“He ran out to the store. I realized this morning that we were out of cream, so he waited for you,