Billionaire Behind the Mask (Texas Cattleman's Club: Rags to Riches 5)

Sebastian nodded as she continued to talk, although he wasn’t certain why a lady who owned food trucks was coming to see him. She certainly wasn’t hunting down investors, or if she was, she hadn’t done her homework. The Wingates were not the honeypot they’d been only a few short weeks ago.

“...none of that is really important—” she stopped at last to take a breath “—I’m actually here because you and I, um, met at the party Saturday night.”

Sebastian met a lot of people at the party Saturday night. But judging by the way the woman was looking at him expectantly, this had been no ordinary meeting.

“You and I—” she hesitated again “—slept together.”

Now it was Sebastian’s turn to be wide-eyed with surprise. Saturday night had been amazing. One of the most incredible nights of his life. But he hadn’t anticipated the mysterious woman to just show up on his doorstep. That was a gift he had never expected to receive.

“Oh, wow,” he said, anxiously running his fingers through his hair. “Please come in.”

Lauren stepped into the house, waiting as he shut the door and escorted her inside to the living room. “I know you were on your way out, so I understand if you can’t talk right now.”

“No, no,” he insisted. “I was just going to get out of the house for a little while. I have time.” Nothing but time, actually. Especially for the vision in red that had been on his mind since s

he walked out on him that night. “Please have a seat.”

She chose the armchair, so he opted to settle into the couch beside her. “Can I get you a drink or something?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you. I just came here to talk to you for a moment in private. I didn’t realize who you were until I saw your photo in the newspaper the next day. When I saw your name there, I knew that I needed to come see you and explain—”

“Explain what?” he interrupted. As far as he could recall, what had happened between them was the textbook definition of one thing leading to another. They couldn’t have stopped it from happening if they’d tried.

“To explain to you that everything I did that night was out of character for me. I don’t want you to think that I’m the kind of woman that normally acts that way.” She shook her head as the embarrassed pink returned to her cheeks.

“That’s not the kind of thing I normally do either,” he admitted. “I leave the escapades to my brother. But with everything going on, I was out of sorts and acted uncharacteristically. Under normal circumstances, I’m more of a gentleman. Considering that we didn’t take off our masks and I didn’t even get your name... Well, that’s very unlike me.”

Lauren sighed, seeming to relax a little bit. “I just wanted you to know that, in case people started talking about seeing us together and tongues started wagging.”

“People are always talking about me, so I’m used to it,” Sebastian replied. Though it was worse than normal lately. “But like I said, I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. It sounds like you aren’t either, so what about going out again?”

It hadn’t been what he thought he would propose when they sat down in the living room, but faced with the prospect of this fetching woman walking out the door again, he realized he couldn’t bear it. “What about dinner? We can get to know each other better. Maybe Saturday night can turn into more for us.”

Lauren seemed a little stunned by his proposal, but she recovered quickly with a smile and a nod. “That would be nice. My trucks don’t run Wednesdays, so that’s one of the few evenings I have free.”

“Okay. Wednesday night it is.” He reached for his phone and they exchanged numbers. “I’ll see if I can get us reservations at The Glass House around seven and then I’ll text you to confirm the time. Send me your address and I’ll be by to pick you up.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lauren insisted.

“Of course, I do. It’s a date. We may have put the cart before the horse, but I intend to correct that and do things right this time around.”

“Alright, if you insist.” Lauren stood up suddenly, prompting Sebastian to do the same. “I guess I will see you Wednesday night, then.” She thrust out her hand toward him to say goodbye.

It seemed a ridiculously awkward and distant gesture between two people who had been as intimate as it gets, but as they’d said, they were both different people that night. They were starting over without masks and alcohol to muddy the waters. While a friendly hug or a kiss on the cheek might be more appropriate, he wasn’t going to push her for more and run her off a second time. He reached out and shook her hand softly, and then escorted her out the door.

As he shut it behind her, he looked down at his hand and frowned. Something wasn’t quite right.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something had changed between them since Saturday. At the club that night, he couldn’t stop touching her. There was something magnetic between them that drew him closer every time he tried to pull away. Every graze across her bare skin sent sparks through his whole nervous system. He’d never felt something like that with a woman in his entire life.

That couldn’t all be chalked up to alcohol and the novelty of masks. That was chemistry, plain and simple. And chemistry wasn’t something that was there one day and gone the next. It pulled you back again and again, even when you knew you should stay away. That was the kind of passion and desire he’d felt for the dark-haired beauty he’d held in his arms that night.

And now it was all gone. Kaput.

He hated to admit it, but Lauren might as well have been a random stranger at the office or the store. Pretty, no doubt. Personable, albeit nervous. But when he’d shaken her hand, there had been no tingles, no chills. Her hands were soft and nicely manicured, but if he had closed his eyes and touched her, he wouldn’t have said she was the woman from the party.

And yet she’d shown up on his doorstep insisting that she was the one. No one else knew about what happened that night but the two of them. So if Lauren said she was the woman he’d shared the evening with, it had to be true.

Sebastian hoped perhaps the chemistry would return once they became more familiar with each other and she could finally relax. Maybe a glass of wine would take the edge off and their attraction would flow freely again. He’d been given a second chance and he wanted more than anything for his masked beauty to be back in his arms.