Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,86

us with a grin so big I’d have sworn he’d just hit the jackpot. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Billy Naples and Rylee’s mysterious boyfriend day-drinking together.”

Billy rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, Biles. We don’t have anything to say to you.”

“I might have something to say to you.” He placed his palms on our table while my hands clenched into fists on my thighs.

Deep breath, Carter. Deep breath.

Nathan’s gaze swung to mine, his smirk growing. “You know she’s never going to be happy with you, right? That girl will open her legs for anyone for a short while.”

“You’re still salty because she turned you down,” Billy retorted, a vein below his jaw suddenly bulging.

I stood up, getting in Nathan’s face. “You better get the fuck out of here before I ruin that pretty face of yours.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” He winked at me. “You think I’m pretty, so you went after my sloppy seconds? That’s low, dude.”

Red flashed in my vision, my brain fogging up as rage simmered inside. “You had to have had her for that, but keep dreaming.”

“I will. In fact, I do every night. She’s going to be mine someday, you know? I won’t keep her, of course, because she’s a has-been now. A tainted, broken slut—”

My fist slamming into the asshat’s face shut him up. He grabbed his jaw and howled, bending over as he spat blood on the floor.

“Take a picture of that and post it in your paper, you pussy.” I jerked my thumb at the door. “Let’s go find somewhere that doesn’t spy for pathetic pricks, Naples.”

“I’ve already taken a picture, asshole,” he yelled after us when we got to the door, motioning at the camera in the hand of a man who’d walked in a few minutes before him.

He got it on camera. Fuck. My. Life.

Chapter 30

RYLEE

“It’s looking great, Ry!” Jules cheered from the first row. It was just the two of us in the performing arts center this afternoon. He had insisted on running through everything by ourselves before I went back to rehearsing with the rest of the cast.

“Thanks.” I beamed at him. “Feels great, too.”

Having this opportunity to practice by myself, to literally stretch my legs without having an audience, meant the world to me. I’d been telling him so all afternoon.

“Should we go through it one more time?” I asked, using my hand to shield my eyes against the few lights that had been left on for us.

My heart leaped when I realized it was no longer just the two of us. There were two other figures sitting a few rows behind Jules, silently watching me with their arms crossed protectively over their chests.

What the hell are Carter and my brother doing here? I waved at them, moving toward the side of the stage, but Jules interrupted me. “Where do you think you’re going? I thought we were doing it again.”

I hesitated. I wanted to talk to Carter more than anything, to throw myself into his arms and apologize for freaking out on him. I was completely in love with him and it felt like everyone knew it but him by now. It was way past time for me to be honest about how I felt—and about everything else.

While I had been honest with him about it before, I hadn’t quite opened up about the extent of my fears or how they might affect him in the long run. We needed to have that conversation.

After I apologize.

On the other hand, getting the center to myself like this didn’t happen often. Jules had pulled some serious strings to close the place down for us for the afternoon, and he’d gone through the effort of compiling a recording of everyone else’s parts in the show.

I couldn’t just put a stop to it now, especially not because I felt my confidence returning with every line I sang. There were no tingles in my legs when I danced, and everything was coming more and more naturally.

When I met Carter’s gaze, even across the distance and even though I had to squint to get a proper look at him, I saw the nod he gave me. Billy shot me a thumbs-up by his side.

Inhaling deeply, I brought the microphone back to my mouth. “Don’t you dare move before I’m done.”

Jules spun around, finally realizing we weren’t alone anymore. He laughed before turning back to me. “Show off a little, will ya? Billy hears people singing for a living and Carter