A Billionaire for Christmas

“I heard it,” she said again, “and it was so romantic.”

The swoon in her voice made me chuckle. God, she was young. Younger than whatever ridiculous young age she actually was. Who the hell even believed in romance anymore?

“I don’t understand,” Weston muttered, combing his hand through his hair. “I’m Donovan’s best friend. I knew he was sleeping with her, but I didn’t know he was her boyfriend. I didn’t know he was into her. I was supposed to be into Sabrina. When did this happen? Where have I been?”

Oh. That was right. Weston King believed in love and relationships.

He turned his head to look at both of us in the backseat. “I’m seriously asking here.”

I glanced at Audrey. Her expression said that she had been in the know, but her lips were sealed.

That left me to console my partner. “You’ve probably been too distracted with that Dyson pussy you’ve been banging,” I was definitely still intoxicated. I didn’t normally use such crass language in front of a lady. Especially such a young lady.

“Hey,” Weston said, pointing a stern finger in my direction. “Elizabeth is not just some pussy I’ve been banging. I’m going to marry her.”

Never mind that their engagement was part of a business ruse. Despite the fact that it counted for nothing, Weston seemed to have grown fond of the girl—even as he bemoaned the loss of Sabrina.

It was exhausting.

“You’re exhausting,” I told him.

“I’m exhausting?” He seemed baffled by the idea that he would exhaust anyone.

“The entire lot of you. More exhausting than the flight across the pond. All of you are intelligent creatures normally. I wouldn’t have gotten into business with partners who gave in to the whims and fancies of human nature. It takes a clear head, your feet on the ground, your priorities straight, to be as successful as we have been with our company.

“But now the lot of you have gone and eaten some fruit from the tree of temptation. Drank the potion number nine. Watched one too many Netflix Christmas specials, because you’ve suddenly all descended into the ridiculous camp of men who fall in love with women.”

“Wait,” Weston halted me. “I never said I was in love with Elizabeth Dyson. I only said I was going to marry her.”

“You spent the entire dinner pining after her. Pining, Weston King. Surely pining is a sign of love.” I turned to the audience member that I knew would be on my side.

“Yes, indeed,” Audrey nodded, with a bob of her head that was somehow both girlish and sexy as hell. “Pining is Love 101. If a girl came to me and said the guy had told her he was pining after her? That’s like popping the question.”

“Exactly like,” I said straight-faced. I was being sarcastic, of course, but the girl did make me want to smile.

Among other things.

I stretched my arm across the back of the seat bench, casually, making myself comfortable. Not making a move. No, not that.

“I am not in love with Eliza—”

“And on top of your pining…” I said, speaking loudly over Weston. His denial, which he was surely about to deliver in full, was infuriating and, frankly, patronizing, and I refused to listen to more than a second of it. “We have Donovan, who declares a relationship with a woman on a public street, for crying out loud, in front of his partners. I thought for sure that man, of all of you, had reason.” He must have forgotten how miserable he’d been the last time he’d given his heart, albeit ten years ago.

Soon enough, he’d remember.

“And then we have Nate,” I continued. A man of varied sexual pleasures and interests, Nathan Sinclair had been another fly I’d never expected to drop. “When I’d had drinks with the man last night, he was talking about one particular woman like she hung the moon. Soon it will just be me and Cade.”

I leaned closer toward Audrey, since she probably didn’t know anything about our fifth partner who headed the Tokyo office. “No one will ever love Cade, even if he goes pansy on us. That’s a man that even a mother wouldn’t love. He’s one of my best friends. I ought to know.”

Weston harrumphed from the front seat, completely indignant, but I noted a hint of optimism, as though he hoped I were right about his future, and that he’d be leaving the bachelor life for good.

He really had gone bananas over that Dyson girl. Poor sucker.

I stole another glance at Audrey, curious at how badly I’d offended her with my speech, love-cheerleader that she was.

But when I turned in her direction, I hadn’t expected that she’d already be staring at me. The flush in her round cheeks as she looked quickly away sent a jolt to my todger.

I should have been ashamed of myself.