Hot New Neighbor (Alphalicious Billionaires 11)

Lu-Anne stares at me blankly, and I know I went too far. I take a deep breath and struggle to get my annoyance—which is quickly turning into anger—under control.

“I’m sorry. That was rude. I’m also sorry you found out this way. I don’t know what or when I was going to tell you because we barely know each other. I thought we had something good. I was into you. I am into you, but it’s been all of thirty seconds. I don’t feel like your anger in me not telling you is justified. I had no intention of disappearing on you, and I’m not the kind of guy who uses someone. I don’t expect you to know that, though, because as I said earlier, we hardly know each other. I think you’re angry and overreacting. You should go home and sleep on it, and maybe things will look differently in the morning.”

“Sleep on it?” Lu-Anne’s nostrils flare. “Everything about this was just temporary! With three billion dollars, you obviously have bigger and better things to do than me. And like, prettier women. When you finally figure your shit out and decide what you’re going to do with your life now, you could have anyone. Models. Artists. A doctor or lawyer. God. Whoever the heck you want. You could buy their lives, for god’s sake.”

“Which is something I would obviously never do.”

“I’m just saying!” She stamps her foot for emphasis.

“What you’re saying isn’t well thought out. It’s reactionary—”

“Well, you obviously think this isn’t a big deal. I guess it’s a good thing I found out about everything right at the beginning. It saves us both a lot of trouble. It for sure saves me from getting hurt when you decide to move on to loftier pursuits. Even if you let me down gently or whatever, you’d still be letting me down. A little pain now is worth saving us all the trouble of later.”

My heart, which had already been beating at a harsh pace, starts hammering my ribs. It’s beating all over the place. I realize if I can’t talk Lu-Anne down and make her understand something I don’t even fully understand yet, I might never see her again. Despite what I said about not knowing each other well, I do indeed know that never seeing her again would be a freaking tragedy. It would hurt. A lot.

“I can see you’re hurt, but I really think—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lu-Anne hisses. “I’m not interested in hearing what you think. I hope you get your life figured out and that you make it a good one. You got handed a chance most people would give anything for. I just hope you can figure out how to use it for good. And if you’re worried about me telling people you’re hiding here, don’t be. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

I wonder who might know. Did she find out alone, or was her brother or her friend or someone else over with her when she randomly decided to look me up? I’m hoping she was alone. I can only imagine how fast word will spread. I should start packing my shit right now or just leave it all, get in my car, and drive to a place where I can hide out and lay low.

“I—well—my friend knows too,” Lu-Anne hesitantly says like she can read my mind. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t tell anyone. Well, she won’t. I can promise you that. If someone finds out you’re here, it didn’t come from us. I actually do care that you know that.”

“So, you’re giving up on us? Just like that?”

Hurt sparks in Lu-Anne’s eyes, but she nods. “It’s not like that. I guess if you want to see it that way, you see it that way. I can’t change your mind, but I’m not giving up. I’m just sure this wouldn’t work now that I know you’re in an income bracket I could never, not in a thousand lifetimes, aspire to. Money can be used for some really great things, but it ruins a lot of things too.”

“So, you’re actually bailing not because you’re hurt I didn’t tell you or because you think I’d just up and leave but because you don’t have enough faith in me not to drop you or because you think I’ll become a different person because I inherited some money I never even wanted.”

“Do you realize how stupid that sounds? How could you not want money?” Lu-Anne hisses. “Everyone wants money. Like I said, you landed a one in a million chance. Or should I say, a one in three billion? Of course, you’re going to change. Of course this wouldn’t work. We were just at day one. We have zero foundation for anything. I don’t even know who you are, and you know even less about me. Sex is one thing. Everything else about life is a completely different thing.”