One Night With a Billionaire - By VickiLewis Thompson Page 0,10
“But I don’t expect you to go. You helped me this morning instead, so you probably have work to do this afternoon. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“I’m sure you would be fine and dandy.”
And that statement was the biggest gift he could have given her. A lesser man would have reminded her that on her own she’d managed to get mugged. But the thing was, and this almost made her laugh, she had nothing left to lose. She wouldn’t be a target because she wouldn’t be carrying anything of value, except maybe a little bit of money if Western Union came through.
He continued to study her. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather take a nice long nap?”
“I thought I would, but now I’m excited again. Sleeping in the car was probably like a power nap. Now I want to get out there and make the most of my time here. Besides, all the guidebooks tell you to stay up until bedtime to get over jet lag.”
He nodded. “That’s a fact. It helps if you can, but not everybody’s built that way. How about lettin’ me come along? I didn’t get my art fix today.”
“You can spare the time?”
“I won’t promise not to take any phone calls, but if you can put up with that, I can spare the time.”
“Then I’d love to have you come.” She was secretly relieved that he’d invited himself along. Although she’d sounded brave and self-sufficient, her recent experience had made her a little nervous about setting off on her own. “But please know that I intend to pay my own way. If the money hasn’t arrived, I’ll gratefully accept a temporary loan, and I’ll be reimbursing you the minute I get some money.”
He started to say something, but stopped and cleared his throat. “All right.”
She’d bet anything he’d wanted to tell her to forget paying him back. But he’d recognized that she had her pride and needed to stand on her own feet, financially. Swallowing his argument was the second biggest gift he could give her.
“Take the phone up to your room so y’all can have a private conversation. You can bring it back down after you’ve showered and changed.”
She hesitated, torn between making off with his phone when he probably needed to have it, and thinking of the info she could share with Astrid if he was out of earshot. “All right. I won’t be long.” Turning, she hurried down the hall.
“Take the elevator,” he called after her.
“I like the stairs,” she hollered back. Then she wondered if hollering was appropriate in a house with museum-quality furnishings and live-in servants. Oh, well. She was a gym-shoe-wearing Texas girl, not a sophisticated French woman. So far, Drew hadn’t seemed to mind.
The minute she got to her bedroom, she closed the door. Then she dialed Astrid’s number and walked over to the window that looked out on a quaint residential street lined with buildings much like this one. Window boxes filled with flowers brightened the view, and a man wearing a beret rode past on a bicycle. Yes, she had to get out there. Paris was waiting.
Astrid answered on the third ring, but she sounded suspicious. That’s when Melanie remembered that the readout would seem really strange to Astrid, like a voice from the past, maybe, because this was Drew’s phone, not hers.
“Astrid, it’s me! I’m in Paris but I lost my phone, so I’m borrowing Drew Eldridge’s.”
Astrid was silent for a beat. “Are we talking about Drew Eldridge, of the Dallas Eldridge family?”
“I hope so, because that’s what he told me. He said you two were at camp together and he stopped your runaway horse. Did he?”
“Oh my God. Yes, he did, but how in hell did you hook up with him in Paris, of all places?”
“It’s a long story, but I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Panic edged Astrid’s voice. “Why are you reassuring me? Did something happen?”
“I was mugged.”
“Oh my God! Oh, Melanie, no.”
“But Drew came to my rescue.” Melanie explained what had happened. “So I’m staying in his townhouse, at least until I get my new credit card, but if you have any reservations about me doing that, then—”
“Absolutely not. He’s terrific. At least he was when I knew him, and from what I hear from my parents, he continues to do good deeds. He’s big into charity events.”
“I’m not surprised, after the way he’s insisted on helping me out.” She didn’t like to think of herself as a charity,