Wild Open Hearts (Bluewater Billionaires) - Kathryn Nolan Page 0,89
might be the most adorable moment of my life,” I mused.
His lips lifted. “Well, I think you’re adorable too, sweetheart.”
Swoonsville, population: Me.
“It’s ten at night and you came over here to see if I was… up?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Sure. Is that okay?”
“I believe the kids call that a booty call, Mr. Mason. Next time text me an eggplant emoji.”
“A what?” he asked, brow furrowed.
I laughed. “Never mind. Come in. I need a break anyway. A billionaire’s job is never done but a girl’s gotta eat. I’ve also got kombucha, your favorite. And also leftover noodles with lemon-pepper tofu—”
He dropped the plate on the island and pulled me in for a dramatically passionate kiss — bending me over backward and tangling his hands in my hair as our mouths moved together hungrily. After long, sensual minutes, we both came up for air.
“I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day,” he said.
“Same,” I panted.
He placed me back on my feet and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll have some of that kombucha.”
“Excuse me, what?”
Beck shrugged. “I’m trying new things. Vegan things.”
“Interesting,” I mused. I opened up my refrigerator and cocked my head inside. “Check out what I had in here in case you ever showed up unannounced.”
It was a six-pack of ice-cold Heineken, backlit by the fridge light like a beer commercial.
“I’ll have that, please.”
I winked. “Excellent choice.”
We smiled at each other with fucking hearts coming out of our eyes probably.
I watched Beck move through my house, touching the plants, examining the framed, funky art pieces. There was a huge wall of photos that he paused next to, stepping back to take it all in. The photos were mismatched: in between cute pictures of me with Cameron, Emily and Daisy were family shots with my parents and grandparents, trips to see extended family in Mexico and Italy. Volunteer work both here and in other countries. That magazine article I had hanging in my office, declaring Wild Heart’s ability to change the world.
I was also currently standing in my mansion wearing a very simple outfit that still cost thousands.
“Does it make you hate me?” I asked Beck, completely out of the blue. “Seeing, you know, all of this?”
He gave me a rueful smile. “Still processing, I’m guessing?”
“Kind of,” I said, pulling my right leg up into a tree pose. “I was working on research to start the foundation, that’s why I’m asking. I’ve got money on my mind.”
“I’m happy to hear it,” Beck said. “And no. It doesn’t make me hate you. I do still feel uncomfortable with it.”
This was open Beck. Vulnerable Beck. I let that truth sit for a minute in the air between us. Gave it space to breathe.
“The difference between how much money you have and how much I have is like… it feels as huge as the ocean,” he admitted. “You just… have it. I don’t.”
“I get it,” I said. “I really do. But this is my home, my life, and I want you to feel okay here. Comfortable. We could work on it. I want… I really want to work on it for you. Maybe you won’t feel entirely comfortable now, but… eventually?” There was a note of hope hanging at the end of eventually.
It was also the first time either one of us had verbalized anything beyond the current moment.
“I think I will feel comfortable eventually,” he said. “I’d like to work on it.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, suddenly shy. “That makes me happy to hear.”
He kept staring at the wall of photos. “Now that I know you better, this is who you are, Luna.” He tapped an old picture of me. “You’re the girl in these photos and the CEO standing in front of me. Didn’t you tell me we all get to love what we want in this world?”
“Sounds like me,” I said, laughing a little.
“You should love what you love.”
Beck turned around, continued to stare at all the pictures while I ate cookies and admired the lines of his shoulders.
He tapped a photo of me. “Where’s this?”
“At an elephant sanctuary in Thailand where my parents and I stayed for a bit.”
He pointed to the next one. “And here?”
“A bike fundraiser for literacy programs in Miami schools,” I said.
He tapped the famous one—me holding that million-dollar check.
“Businesses can do right by the world,” I said, looking at the picture. “I’m starting to believe that again. Believe in our mission.”