Beauty And The Brooding Billionaire (South Shore Billionaires 2)

“Connecticut originally.” She reached inside the netting and handed Rose a ring with keys on it. The baby shook her fist and the keys rattled, making her even more excited. “He came here on business last summer and stayed at the Sandpiper. Two weeks later he was gone.” She met Jess’s gaze. “When he came back at the end of November, he discovered I was pregnant.”

“Oh, wow.” Jess sat back in her chair. “So you got married?”

Tori laughed. “If only it were that simple. But we did in the end. After we fell in love with each other. And now here we are. We’re going to split time between here and New York. Jeremy’s actually looking for a place for u

s on Long Island. He’ll commute in to work. And he has a flat right by Central Park.”

Three residences and all of them pricey. “I didn’t realize he was so rich.”

“Neither did I. He and Bran and Cole are all loaded. I call them the Billionaire Babies.”

Jessica coughed. “Did you say Billionaire Babies?”

Tori nodded. “You didn’t know?”

“I knew Branson was successful, but a billionaire?”

Rose started to fuss so Tori took her out of the playpen and sat her on her lap. She straightened her little dress as she chatted. “Oh, most of his money is family money. To be honest, I don’t think their childhoods were great. Lots of money, not much love and high expectations.”

A billionaire. A freaking billionaire. And yet he was living proof that money was no guarantee of happiness. He’d lost the people most important to him. No money could protect him from that. The conversation they’d had during their picnic came back to her. She’d teased him about servants...but she’d only been teasing. He’d been serious. Of course he’d had servants. Hot embarrassment slid into her cheeks.

“Does it change things?” Tori asked.

“What do you mean?”

Tori rubbed Rose’s back and a little burp came out, making them laugh. Tori cuddled her close but then leveled her gaze on Jess. “Knowing he’s rich. Does it change how you feel about him?”

Jess frowned. “Why would it? I couldn’t care less about his bank balance. Besides, I barely know him.”

Tori was quiet for a long moment, and Jess felt her cheeks warm. “Are you sure?” Tori asked.

“Sure about not caring about his money, or sure about barely knowing him?”

“About not knowing him,” Tori said. “I believe you about the money. To be honest, I found it a little intimidating at first.”

Jess sighed. She did, too. She did just fine on her own, and was successful in her own right. But she wasn’t megarich. “It doesn’t matter either way. He’s still grieving for his wife and son. Even if I were interested, he’s not.”

“So nothing’s happened? Nothing at all?”

Tori sounded so hopeful. And Jess had never been one to kiss and tell, but she hadn’t really had a girlfriend since Ana. She missed having someone to confide in, and Tori knew Bran better than most. Would it hurt to get someone else’s perspective? Was she overthinking all of this or getting it wrong? Because she certainly hadn’t been able to get him off her mind.

“We kissed,” she admitted, the heat in her cheeks now a burning flame. “But just one time, really. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

Tori leaned forward, her eyes flashing. “Oh, that’s wonderful news!”

Jess laughed in spite of herself. “How do you reckon? I mean, we’re not speaking.” Besides the text about writing again, she thought to herself. But that didn’t really count.

“Bran wasn’t even leaving the house. Jeremy was so worried. The fact that he kissed you? Major progress.” Suddenly her face fell. “Oh, I’m sorry, Jessica. I didn’t take into account how you were feeling about it. Are you doing okay?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay. I mean...it was pretty great. But I could tell he was mad at himself after, you know? So it didn’t really end well.”

“Well, something happened to him to light a fire beneath his butt. He told Jeremy he was going to Halifax for a few days to look into restoration of the lighthouse. He said it’s in rough shape, and he wants to fix it up.”

Jess sat up straighter. “Are you kidding?”

“Not at all.”

Jess was gutted. The lighthouse was beautiful as it was, strong and scarred. Granted, the platform at the top could use repairs, and it was dirty inside, but restoration? For what purpose? It would be covering up all its character. It would be as if he were erasing anything that smacked of the two of them together. And that stung. Even if it didn’t go anywhere, she could take a nice memory away from that afternoon. She certainly didn’t feel the need to paint over it.