Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

“Dinner?” Sam asked. “What? I mean, now? Already?”

“Mhm. Take your time. Wear whatever you want. The car outside will be ready to go in half an hour.”

Sam was very nervous. She came out of her room in this beautiful floral dress that sank off her shoulders and fluttered below her knees. She was wearing the matching sandals with straps that wound up her beautiful calves, accenting their strength as well as the dark color of her skin. Only a few minutes in the sun had done her wonders, which attracted me to her even more. Her skin glistened with beauty and strength. She was breathtaking, even though I knew she felt out of place.

But I was determined to show her how much she fit in here, at my side and in my life.

“You look dazzling,” I said to her across the table after we’d arrived at the restaurant for our reservations.

“You’re not so bad yourself. Didn’t take you for a linen pants-type guy,” Sam said.

“In this type of heat, a full-on suit isn’t very comfortable. Plus, if sand gets anywhere near my crotch, it’s impossible to shake it out.”

“And here I thought you liked it a little rough.”

“Is there anything I’ve done to give you the impression I can be rough?” I asked.

“Who said you had to be the one to do it?” she asked.

The two of us enjoyed a glass of wine as Sam gazed out over the ocean. But I couldn’t take my eyes off her, off the reflection of the ocean in her dark brown eyes and the way her strong fingers curled delicately around her wine glass. She was tough and rugged, but she slipped effortlessly into this role of a proud, silent woman with a grace and fluidity that matched the queen herself.

She was breathtaking, and I didn’t even try to hide it from her.

“Enjoying the view?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

“Always,” I said.

“If you’re not careful, your retinas might burn. Staring directly at something as bright as the sun has been known to cause blindness.”

“That might be a warning for my eyes, but it isn’t for my lips.”

Sam turned her heads toward me, a mysterious little grin ticking against her cheeks. Being around her was effortless. Without the threat of Jacob sneaking up on us, she was no longer my protector. My savior. My provider. Simply a woman whose company I was enjoying.

Our food arrived at the table, pulling Sam from her thoughts as her body turned back toward mine.

“Is it bad that I can see where Jacob is coming from?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“After all he’s put us through, is it bad that I can see this from his point of view?”

“Talk me through it.”

“I worked hard to get where I was, but I was also born into privilege. I want to tell myself I accomplished it all on my own, but I’m sure my last name and my father’s reputation had a bit to do with some of the deals I first closed. Not everyone is born into the kind of family I was. Jacob worked very hard to get to where he sat. Not everyone who’s born into his set of circumstances ever becomes anything great.”

“How does that make you feel?” she asked.

“I don’t know. A little wary. I wonder if I’m sympathizing with a man I wanted him to be instead of the man he really was. What do you think?”

“I think I don’t care.”

“Why don’t you care?” I asked.

“Jealousy of success is pathetic. It’s a weak-minded approach to whining about how the world isn’t fair.”

“But he did bring up some good points about how I was born into privilege and the skewed point of view that instilled in me.”

“Life isn’t fair, Derek. And it’s not always kind. I’ve seen that inside as well as outside of my career. Crying about fairness is simply a way of complaining about having to work.”