The Billionaire Player (In Too Deep)

Mom’s going to love it. This is totally her room. The bedding and billowy drapes were white, but the accents and pops of color she’d added made it feel warm and homey. All I’d need to do was bring a few of my mom’s photographs in here, and it’d be perfect for her.

“What do you think?” Larisa asked again, breaking into my thoughts. “Why does it look like you love these more without the personal touches?”

“I was just thinking about my mom,” I replied, trying to be as honest as I could without hurting her feelings by telling her what I thought about said personal touches. “She’s going to love this room, especially being able to have her own space while still being here with me.”

She seemed surprised. “You’re planning on bringing your mother out here to stay with you?”

I shrugged. “Sure. Of course. She won’t live here permanently either, but I’ve already told her there’d be a room for her whenever she wanted it.”

“Oh.” She frowned, turning away from me so fast that I wasn’t sure if she’d wanted me to see it. “Let’s go upstairs. Shall we?”

“Looking forward to it,” I said, once again feeling excited. If the rest of the bedrooms followed this trend, it would be easy enough to change the bit of décor in the living areas that made the house feel like something I didn’t want it to.

All the other bedrooms and bathrooms were perfect, too. Some almost lightweight, more quirky personal touches had been added to the guest rooms there, and it was clear that they’d been designed with my friends in mind. Which, for now, was awesome.

There was a big desk in one room with plenty of plug points for Bart’s computers and paraphernalia. A poster of one of Shawn’s first ads hung in another, and in the bedroom that was obviously supposed to be for Jeremiah and Stephanie, she’d provided closet space for two by bringing in an extra wardrobe, and the bathroom had his and hers vanities installed now.

The master bedroom was where my spirits sank again. It was my room, also obviously, but once again, it felt like a tastefully done place to fuck. There was another nude on the wall. It was very masculine, and even though it also had two vanities in the bathroom, it was pretty clear that she only expected one side to be used.

There was another gaming console stowed away beneath the giant flat-screen TV on the wall, just like there was downstairs, and a shower big enough for two. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d opened the nightstand to find a bowl of condoms stashed in it.

My heart sank again. So this is definitely what she thinks of me. The eternal bachelor who wants his room to spell out that women aren’t welcome to stay.

After the tour, I did my best not to let my emotions show. We got back to the entrance hall, and I forced a grin as I handed over her final check. I’d written it out before I’d met up with her earlier, but not because I’d wanted to get rid of her as fast as I could. I’d done it so we could get this project out of the way for good and hopefully celebrate the house together.

Now, I was one hundred percent sure that wouldn’t be happening. She already had her car keys in her hand, and as she took the check from me, she must’ve noticed that I wasn’t entirely happy despite my best efforts to keep it hidden.

Her face fell as she stuck out her hand, swallowing hard and clearing her throat while she waited for me to shake with her. After everything, she wants to just shake my fucking hand?

“Uh, so take all the time you need to go through it by yourself,” she said, sounding as unhappy as I felt. “If there’s anything at all you don’t like, just let me know and I’ll fix it. Goodbye, Tanner.”

I put my hand in hers, but before I could pull her to me and beg her to stay so we could talk, she gave it a quick pump and yanked her hand away. She was already striding toward the door by the time I managed to get a word out.

“What about my idea? You’re going to think about it, right?”

She opened the front door, not turning to look at me as she gave me her dismissive answer. “I’ll call you sometime.”

After that, she practically started running, heading as fast as she could toward her car. She climbed in and started it at the same time she slammed her door. Then she gunned it out of there.

As I watched her disappear down the driveway, I felt a sudden certainty that this would be the last I’d see of her. Larisa was gone. Again. And this time, I really didn’t think she’d be coming back.