Heart of the Billionaire (Taming The Bad Boy Billionaire 7)

“You knew I couldn’t run from you here. You wanted to separate the general from his army.”

“I’m so sorry. If you want to call your army, and tell them you’re down in enemy territory, you can.”

“You are forgiven, Granny. And I would never consider you the enemy, not in a million years.”

I decided to leave and give them some space. They were both so emotional and upset by the loss of somebody so wonderful in their lives. I knew it left a huge hole.

I went back to the beach and explained everything to the others, then relaxed on the white sand. I knew James needed his crazy granny. And I knew how much she truly loved him.

Chapter 19

THE NEXT MORNING, JAMES couldn’t have been any different from the man he was the day before. From the second I opened my eyes, he seemed determined to make every tropical dream on my bucket list come miraculously true.

“Out of bed, Princess!”

I opened my eyes to see him sweeping toward me with a silver tea service. Upon it was an assortment of Caribbean fruits, along with something that smelled like delicious piña coladas, complete with little umbrellas in the slices of pineapple wedged against the top.

“We’ve got a busy day ahead of us,” he declared, kissing me on the forehead while pulling me to a sitting position.

I blinked slowly, trying to get my bearings as he bustled around the room.

He threw open the curtains and tossed our wet clothes from the night before into a basket, then delved into the closet. Soon, he emerged triumphant with an emerald-green bikini, along with sunglasses, a pair of sandals, and a sheer cover-up dress. “I am no fashionista, but will this do?” he asked.

A grin widened on my face, and it grew ten times bigger when I took my first sip of the frosty drink. “So I take it today’s not the day we’ll make our daring escape?”

Ignoring that remark, he continued going through the stash of new lingerie he’d found, examining it piece by piece. “Not today...and probably not tomorrow either,” he said as he ran his thumb across a satin corset. He glanced over his shoulder with a bright smile. “Drink up! We’re wasting daylight!”

I didn’t need to be told twice. The drink was gone in five big gulps, and I shed my pajamas and donned the bikini a moment later. I probably could have been out the door a moment after that, if not for the fact that James insisted on catching me by the arm, all his elaborate plans vanishing in the blink of a bikini-dazed eye.

“On second thought, I’m sure we have a little time.” His eyes dilated as they swept over me, lingering on every exposed inch of skin. “Perhaps you should hop back into bed, and the two of us can—”

“James!”

The door burst open the next second, and James Cross’s official cock-blockers burst in, this time sans scones. It was quite clear from the sunny look on her face that Abby had been similarly plied with a piña colada with one of those fancy umbrellas.

“We’re killin’ daylight, boys and girls!” Nick said, inadvertently repeating what James already noted. “Are you two ready to go or what?”

James’s hand lingered on my bare shoulders, and his face tightened with a look of mock concern. “Actually, Della’s not feeling all that well. Poor thing came down with a fever late last night. Give us an hour, and we’ll meet you out there.” His eyes betrayed

him and swept over me once more. “Maybe two.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Nick grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him forcibly from the room. “This island is too damn beautiful for you to spend the whole day inside fucking your girlfriend. You can do that back in London, that city known for its rainy weather. They have coats named after their fog, for goodness sake. That’s the place to stay indoors for a fuck-fest, not here.”

James flashed a helpless smile my way as he was swept out of the room, but he was almost immediately yanked to an abrupt stop when Nick paused suddenly at the edge of the hall. Moving at a glacial speed, he cautiously poked his head around the corner and peered both ways. When nothing happened, he ventured tentatively toward the front door, pushing James out in front of him like a shield.

“This is about the corgis, isn’t it?”

“What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t say their names. You’ll summon those demons sure as shit,” Nick hissed, his blue eyes darting nervously around the house. “I swear, those dogs are on crack or something. Not only that, but I’m sure your wicked Granny keeps a sweater with my scent on it and makes them sniff it every day, the vicious little beasts.”

I cast Abby an incredulous look, and she shrugged casually and said, “Stranger things have happened, especially with that woman.”

As if on cue, a door opened somewhere near the kitchen, and the air filled suddenly with the sound of a dozen scurrying paws. Nick cursed in ten different languages and leapt onto the couch, but James fell to his knees, laughing uncontrollably.

“Well, good morning,” James cooed in that high-pitched voice I often noticed men slipping into when they spoke to babies or animals. Ignoring the look of furious betrayal from his friend, he kissed and cuddled the dogs as they scampered gleefully across his lap. “You’re not so bad, are you? No, you’re adorable, a lot like your Uncle Nick, just smelly and misunderstood.”

“Just be thankful Nick doesn’t walk around naked, in nothing but a dog collar,” Abby teased, earning her a scorned look from her terrified husband on the sofa.

Nick was about to come back with a scathing response when the clickety-clack sound of a cane smacking the floor made him lift his head.