The Billionaire's Final Stand (Billionaire Bachelors 7)

“Look, Penny…” Katherine started to say when Penny’s eyes widened as she looked over Katherine’s shoulder. Katherine decided she didn’t want to turn around and find out what was causing the stunned look on her neighbor’s face. Joseph was probably back. He tended to have that effect on women.

“Holy mackerel, how in the heck do you get all these gods beating down your door? I’ll pay you to teach me your secrets,” Penny reverently muttered.

“Penny, I explained to you already that Joseph is just an old friend,” Katherine snapped, losing all semblance of patience with the woman.

“Well, you may have been a lot more believable if it weren’t for the fact that Zeus number two is currently walking toward us with an earth shattering smile plastered on his face. Oh my gosh, you have to give me the number.”

Katherine felt a chill run down her spine. There weren’t many men she knew who could inspire that kind of reaction in women. The drop to your knees, strip naked, and roll over look that had come into her neighbor’s eyes. She had a really bad feeling…

She slowly turned, her eyes rising up the custom fitted slacks and button up shirt, open at the neck, showing a glimpse of his smooth chest. As she finally met his eyes, her heart pounded and rage took over her temporary shock.

George.

How dare he show up. He saddled over to her and leaned in for a hug. Without conscious thought, she raised her arm and slugged him square in the jaw.

His smile faltered as he looked at her with astonishment. It took about three seconds before Katherine felt a searing pain shoot from her knuckles all the way up her arm. His jaw felt solid as granite.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped her hand and jumped back.

George’s eyes immediately looked down, concern radiating from their deep blue depths.

“Katherine, you should be more careful,” he uttered as he reached toward her.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” she snarled. He seemed amused because the corners of his lips turned up. It seemed she wasn’t as intimidating as she wanted to be.

“Hi,” Penny said as she gained back the ability to speak. She crept up right next to George, her barely clad breasts rubbing against his arm as she introduced herself. “I’m Penny.”

Katherine looked on in shock as the woman actually batted her eyelids. She shouldn’t be shocked. When she’d dated Joseph, and thought George was her friend, she’d seen countless women throw themselves at the two men. George had always shamelessly flirted back, but she’d been so impressed when Joseph had seemed to not even notice them. She guessed it had all been an act for her benefit, though.

Without even acknowledging Penny, George took Katherine’s arm and pushed his way inside her apartment. He shut the door in the face of her stunned neighbor. It was almost comical enough to make Katherine laugh. Almost.

“I’ve missed you, Katherine. I think it's long past the time for me to explain my actions,” George said as he led her to the couch. He walked away, making her wonder what he was doing. She heard some noise from her kitchen, then he was back with ice wrapped in a towel. “Put this on your hand and it will feel better soon. It doesn’t look broken, you most likely just bruised it.”

He acted as if her punch had done nothing to him, which wasn’t fair, considering that her hand was throbbing.

“What are you doing here, George. I think you’ve done enough damage already.”

“I’ve missed you, my friend. There are a lot of misunderstandings from our time five years ago, but if you give me a half-hour, I can explain…”

“There’s nothing to explain. You and your brother like to play games with innocent girls. No problem, I get it. I was just stupid enough to think you were my friend, and even more stupid to believe Joseph loved me. Good job,” she said with sarcasm.

Katherine was barely hanging on to her anger. If she let it go, she’d internally combust and be nothing but a pile of ash. The temporary Band-Aid placed over her emotional wounds had been quickly ripped off, leaving her hurts fully exposed to the elements around her. Seeing Joseph, and then George, was almost unbearable. It was like looking at that coveted toy in a store window, only a thin piece of glass separating her from it, but having it be just out of reach. She knew the men were out of her reach. She couldn’t ever trust George to be her friend again, and certainly couldn’t trust Joseph with her heart anymore.

He’d abused it too badly.

“Katherine, I’m here to beg for forgiveness.”

“Really? Do you and Joseph have another bet. Which of you will I forgive first? The lover or the friend?”

George leaned close to her, and took her uninjured hand in his. When she tugged, he refused to release it. Reluctantly, she finally looked up and met his pain filled eyes.

“I was a fool. You truly were my friend, really my best friend. I was arrogant and immature, and now Joseph and I barely speak. Everything’s changed,” he said, his voice filled with so much emotion, she couldn’t pull away from him. Was he actually speaking the truth?

Katherine was silent as her gaze raked over him. Even though, he and Joseph were twin brothers, they weren’t identical. Both men were superbly good-looking, but she’d never once felt desire toward George.

She’d felt love, the kind of love one would feel toward a sibling. He’d become her best friend, and the betrayal of the two men had wounded her to her very center. She’d not only lost the love of her life, but also the best friend she’d needed so badly to help her make it through.

Usually when you went through heartbreak, you at least had your friend to turn to. In her case she’d been doubly devastated because she’d lost both in one day.

“I don’t deserve it, and if I was a better man, I’d stay out of your life, but I can’t. I’ve missed you and I need you to know what happened,” he said.

She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she’d missed him, too. Missed him so much it hurt to sit there with him in her tiny apartment and try to hold onto her resentment. Her fragile emotions were about to splinter into a million pieces. She had to let him say what he needed to so he’d leave and she could have a breakdown.

“Fine, George, go ahead and speak, but I’m telling you now that if I detect even the tiniest piece of deception in your story, I’m going to find something a lot stronger than my fist to hit you over the head with,” Katherine warned.

George laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She had to remind herself how he’d deceived her, because it would be too easy to fall back into her old routine with him. He’d always brought laughter and joy to the forefront, wherever they happened to be.

“I deserve your anger, Katherine. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that you somehow found out about the bet,” he stated, cringing as he said the last word.

Katherine glared at him, not even bothering to respond to his statement. Of course she knew about the bet. It had nearly destroyed her.

“I’d like to explain…”

Katherine held up her hand, stopping him mid-sentence. It felt like she was back at that day, finding out all over again how little they thought of her. She didn’t think she could listen to him, resurrecting those old feelings of hurt and betrayal. Her chest hurt as she looked at him, anger and humiliation seeping from every pore.

“Don’t try and tell me you didn’t have a bet. Don’t even try and insult my intelligence like that, George.”

“Sadly, I can’t deny that. But, please listen. You promised to give me a few minutes. Let me explain what happened, though it will never excuse what I did,” he pled.

Katherine sat back, her arms folded across her chest. She was on the verge of tears, only her shear will was keeping her from releasing them. It hurt so much worse to silently listen as he explained how little he’d thought of her. He needed to relieve his conscious, though, even if it meant tearing her apart.

“I was resentful of Joseph. There were a few years that I actually hated him. He made everything look so easy. He just seemed to have the Midas touch. If he decided he wanted to do something, then it was almost done before he even finished the thought. He was better at sports, academics, and women. Every single thing he set out to conquer, he conquered.”

“What does any of that have to do with this?” she interrupted.

“I’m getting there. But to fully understand, you need to know the history. When we were young, I adored Joseph. He grew faster than me, and instead of looking at him like a twin, it was almost as if he was an older sibling. Even at a young age, Joseph was taking the world by storm. I was content to follow behind in his shadow. At least for a while,” George said as he sat back. Katherine wasn’t sure if he even realized she was in the room anymore.

“All siblings’ fight, that’s nothing new.”

“Yes, all siblings fight, but then they make up. I remember the moment I stopped idolizing Joseph and started to resent him. We were in the seventh grade. A new girl moved into our school, and I fell hard for her. Yes, I know, I was only a kid, but to me it was true love. She was shy, and sweet, and so pretty. A Valentine’s dance was coming up and it took me a week to work up the courage, but I finally decided to ask her to be my date. I picked her out a nice necklace, and decided to wait until after school. I’d told Joseph I had a crush on her, but I hadn’t gone into many details. At lunch that day, he asked her to the dance, and she said, yes. I was devastated. Looking back, I had barely said anything about her to Joseph, so he didn’t really know, but to me he’d just stolen the only thing I’d asked to keep for myself.”

Some of the tension left Katherine’s body as George talked. She could hear the confusion and hurt from so many years ago, and she found herself wanting to comfort him. She had to make herself keep her defenses up, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult.

“He took her to the dance, and they decided they wanted to be friends and nothing more, but she was tainted to me after that. I didn’t see her the same way. She tried to talk to me the following Monday during lunch as we’d been doing for months, and I snubbed her. I don’t think she ever realized why I suddenly stopped being her friend. She ended up moving two years later and I never did explain it to her.”

Kinsey felt bad for the shy teenager. She’d been the exact same way, too afraid of rejection to put herself out there. It was silly when she thought about it, but one thing she hadn’t figured out how to do was go back in time and slap herself upside the head.

After that, I pulled away from Joseph. He was so popular and always busy so he didn’t notice until the bond was severed beyond repair. In high school he asked me if we had a problem, and I acted like there wasn’t one. I told him I was busy with school and different activities. He believed me, but he started pulling from me as well. We continued drifting apart. To this day, we hardly ever talk. I miss my brother. He was my best friend and I let jealousy tear us in two.”

George choked as he spoke the last sentence. Katherine couldn’t hold the tears off any longer, and one fell from her eye, slowly sliding down her cheek. He looked at her and gave her a semblance of a smile before carefully lifting his hand and wiping the lone tear with the soft pad of his thumb.