Escorting the Billionaire - Part 3

“Of having a relationship?” Audrey asked.

“Of loving someone more than I love myself,” I said. “Even though she’s a parent, I don’t think she knows what that means.”

“Your mother and my mother deserve each other,” Audrey said. “They should be prison roommates.”

“I might work on arranging that,” I said.

* * *

I’d never been so relieved to be back in Boston. Audrey must have felt it, too; she relaxed next to me as soon as we landed. Kai was waiting for us at Logan. He smiled at me and, as per my previous instructions, averted his eyes from Audrey.

“Kai, it’s good to see you,” I said as we slid into the back of the SUV.

“You too, sir, ma’am. Did you enjoy your trip?”

“We did. We mixed business and pleasure. It was productive,” I said. “Did you miss us?”

“Of course,” Kai said. “You two are my favorite clients. Especially you, Mr. Preston. No offense, Miss Reynolds—but you know how he is about you.” He cracked a smile, and Audrey had a laugh at my expense.

“Ha ha. That’s nice, Kai,” I said, leaning back and pulling Audrey to me. “I’m not a favorite with a lot of people right now. It’s nice to know I’m still capable of being liked. But you can let Audrey be your favorite—you can even smile at her from now on. Everyone likes her better than me, anyway. For good reason.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“You’re not a total prick,” I said and grinned at her.

Audrey

“I still like you,” I whispered to James. “Barely.”

“Gee, thanks,” he said, kissing me on top of my head. “Do you need to go to your apartment? To get anything?”

“I’m going to have to. And I need to go to New Horizons, and also call Elena. There’s a lot I need to take care of. But I think I’d like some coffee first.” I blew out a shaky breath. “I have to go see my mother, too. To make sure she understands the financial incentive/blackmail package we’re offering her.”

“It’s a day of reckoning,” James said, looking at his watch. “My parents are flying back tomorrow afternoon. Everything needs to be in place before that.”

I looked at him, still not completely understanding what he had planned. “What do we need to do?”

“I’ll call Danielle’s parents, to see what they’ve done in terms of contacting the police. I’ll probably have to follow up and give the detectives a statement. They’ll want to speak with you, too. You’ll have to tell them how my mother threatened you and exactly what she said with respect to Danielle. And then we’ll go from there. I need to speak with my brother, to tell him what’s happening. This is going to be very hard for him. And I have no idea if my father was involved or not.”

James ran his hand over his face. He suddenly looked tired. “I don’t know if they’ll have enough to arrest either of them. They need probable cause—I don’t know if the information we’re going to give them will amount to that.”

My head was spinning. “What if it doesn’t?” I asked. “What if it does?”

“I don’t know,” James said. “But we’ll be prepared either way.”

“You’re methodical. And smart,” I said. “I’m just pointing that out to you.”

He laced his fingers through mine. “That’s what you’re here for, babe.”

* * *

When we headed into the lobby of The Stratum, it felt as if we were coming home. I was so comfortable with James now, it was the opposite of the first time he’d brought me here. The attendants greeted us warmly, their faces open and familiar. When we got into the elevator, I started to laugh.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m just remembering the first time I was in here with you,” I said. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you—and your big hands.” James lifted his hands up and examined them, as if for the first time. “And I kept wondering what you had going on underneath your suit.”

“Well, you ought to know,” he said. He leaned down and kissed me. “You’re the expert in that department now.”

“I was so annoyed that I was attracted to you,” I said. “I thought it was inconvenient. Especially since you said you didn’t want to sleep with me.”

“Oh, I wanted to sleep with you,” he said and tucked my hair behind my ear. “As soon as I saw you, I wanted you.”

“It sort of took you a long time,” I said, pretending to pout.