Taming the Carefree Billionaire - Marie Higgins Page 0,50
times. Another tear trickled down her cheek. Thomas reached up and wiped the tear away, careful not to smudge her make-up.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I just don’t know why you’d do this for me.”
“There is something about you that makes me want to be a better man. Believe me when I say I want to help you. Please, let me help you.”
He moved closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. He gazed over her soft lips that he so eagerly wanted to kiss again. He watched as her lips parted and then she sucked in her bottom lip with a little nibble. Thomas leaned in and kissed her cheek, only because he worried that kissing her passionately might cause a big scene.
“Let’s look at more works of art,” he said pulling away and once more taking her hand in his.
A sigh escaped her throat and she nodded. She entwined her fingers with his as they continued walking. Even though she never agreed to accept his help, he knew she would eventually.
MORGAN GLANCED AT THOMAS as they moved to the next piece of art on display. Why was it so hard to be mad at him? His kind, deep blue, sensual eyes made her melt every time. Now that he knew her weakness, she worried he would always play that hand. If she didn’t stop her heart now, she was going to fall in love with him and he would eventually break it. Yet, how could she stop something that was already in motion?
After an hour of wandering around the art gallery, they finally returned to sit comfortably in the limo. It was nearing midnight and they still had another two hours before reaching their homes, but she didn’t mind. This had undoubtedly been the best night of her life.
Thomas wrapped his arm around her, and she automatically snuggled against him as the limo took them to the airport. He didn’t talk much, for which she was relieved. There was a lot on her mind that she must figure out. Of course, being cuddled in Thomas’ arms made her thoughts more jumbled.
One thing that she kept thinking about was how did his so-called friend get her picture? She was nervous to ask because things were going so well, she really didn’t want to ruin the evening by causing an argument. Her life was private, and she really didn’t like people snooping into it. Thomas would understand that.
“I hope you don’t mind that I kept you out late on our first date,” Thomas said softly as his hand caressed up and down her arm slowly.
“It has been a long day,” she said, “but I’m no stranger to staying up late.”
“I can’t believe I actually made it through the day without doing something embarrassing which would get my picture in tomorrow’s newspaper.” He laughed.
“Do you ever get tired of it?” She looked up, meeting his gaze.
“Tired of what? Screwing up my life?”
She chuckled. “No, I mean do you get tired of the paparazzi following you around? I understand, because that is what I do, I’m a photographer and I’m always looking for that perfect picture.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but paused. One of his eyebrows arched higher than the other. “Are you saying I’m a perfect picture?”
Although the car was dimly lit, she could still see him grinning widely. She rolled her eyes. His ego was still quite large, and telling him what she really thought might make it increase in size.
“You are a celebrity, so yes, you are the perfect picture. And when you mess up, they are right there to slam your face all over the tabloids. You really should be more careful in the things you do.”
“How do you suggest I be more careful?” He moved his hand over her cheek softly.
His touch was so warm and exciting. Shivers of joy covered her body.
“Um.” She stumbled over her words. “Just don’t get caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing in public, like losing twenty-thousand dollars on a casino game.”
He laughed, and she smiled, loving his deep laughter.
“It was rigged, I tell you,” he said. “I had been on a winning streak, but people just kept pushing.”
“You shouldn’t have given into peer pressure.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. After all, I had been up for forty-eight hours straight.”
“And that, again, is where you should be more careful. Look, I’m not your mom. I won’t tell you what to do, but you do get distracted a lot.”