The Dating Game (Alphalicious Billionaires 5)

The hairs on the back of Muffy’s neck stood up and she was pretty sure the hair on her arms was doing the same. She didn’t look down to check. “I- well…”

She closed her eyes. She could either be stubborn and hurt them both, or she could take a chance and maybe still get hurt. Maybe… maybe she could just take a chance and actually believe that things might work out for once. Or she could tell Alex to leave, because what he’d done was shitty and he didn’t deserve a second chance.

Maybe… maybe she was done with being stubborn. She was done with being hurt too, but Alex was looking at her with those beautiful eyes, perfect eyes. She could tell that he was being absolutely sincere, and she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever had the courage to open their heart to her. Never. No one had ever looked at her like that. And he was right. He’d looked at her like that right from the first minute.

“You’re a shit head,” she mumbled. “If I give you another chance, you don’t have to make this up to me, because I’ll accept your apology and we can move on, but don’t lie to me again. I’m so tired of people making me feel like I don’t matter.”

“You do matter.” Alex’s hand came to rest on her cheek, and she leaned shamelessly into his touch.

“You never made me feel like I didn’t,” Muffy admitted as she closed her eyes. “I wish I could hate you. It would be easier.”

“Would it?” Alex’s thumb caressed her lips, his touch so gentle that it definitely broke something inside of her.

“I don’t know. Just… just kiss me and don’t stop and maybe I’ll give you a second chance. Only one. You get the normal amount of dumb guy passes that piss me off, but don’t ever take me for granted, or I’m gone.”

“I’ll never take you for granted. All those idiots before, they didn’t deserve you if that’s how they made you feel.”

“And all those girls who couldn’t see past your money- they were straight up bitches. If they were getting mugged in the park, I’m not sure I’d help them.”

“Yes, you would.”

“Yeah,” Muffy agreed, her eyes still closed. “I probably would.”

Alex leaned in so that his breath tickled her lips and they both stopped talking. Stopped thinking. Stopped everything. They just let themselves feel. Rich or not, Alex was right. He still felt the same. Sounded the same. Acted the same. He was the same, at the heart of him, and the heart was what truly mattered.

And when he finally crushed his lips to her, he kissed the same. He kissed amazing. He kissed her breathless. It was heaven and she couldn’t help but smile into the kiss and twine her hands around his neck and pull him closer. Sometimes people didn’t deserve a second chance, but sometimes- sometimes they did, and she was pretty damn glad that theirs was just getting started.

EPILOGUE

Alex

Alex walked into the room, his tie hanging at his neck, undone. He’d never mastered the skill of getting them done up right. “How the heck is this thing supposed to…” his words died a hard death when he actually took in the hurricane that had apparently just ripped through their bedroom. “Jesus. Muffy?”

She stalked out of the bathroom, her face red with either anger or frustration, he wasn’t sure which, her eyes huge and glistening with unshed tears. Her lush lips trembled.

“I- I look like a whale. Nothing fits. I can’t… I won’t- oh my god. People are going to talk about how your wife is so freaking huge and ugly and all like… puffy. That’s the world they’ll use. Puffy! Maybe it’s better that I don’t even go.”

Alex sighed. He slid the tie out of its confines. Who wore them anymore anyway? He let it drop to the floor as he sidestepped over piles of rumpled clothes here and there.

Muffy was wrapped up in a fluffy blue robe and he was pretty sure that she didn’t have much on underneath. Given they had less than half an hour to actually get to the wedding, which wouldn’t start without them given that it was a tiny affair and they were supposed to witness it, he unfortunately didn’t have time to pursue that thought any further.

“If we weren’t already super late, I would seriously lift that robe up and throw you down on the bed and prove to you that you aren’t puffy at all.”

Muffy offered him a watery grin. She swiped at her eyes and sniffled. “God, I can’t cry. I can’t cry. I spent like a million years on this makeup and I’m terrible at it and it looks like shit anyway, but it will look extra shitty if I cry and get it all over the place.”