Page 18 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

“Actually, my first piece was about a boat race in a town called Portafino?”

“Boat race?”

“Well, it’s a flotilla. But still. I was pretty happy with it.”

“What did you do before you—before you moved there?”

“Not much, honestly,” said Laura. So she was cagey about her old days in Caluga Falls. Maybe if I asked her a bit more, she’d talk more openly. Maybe I could even understand why she’d left me so cruelly.

“Why did you move?” I asked, cursing my mouth for not shutting up.

“It’s a bit of a long story. And I know how you feel about long stories. What about you? What brought you to Caluga?”

It never failed to amaze me how Laura didn’t recognize me. I guess I looked and acted so differently. I was confident now, and strong. I wasn’t the kid from the roughest part of town, whose Dad always pushed him around. I wasn’t weak, and I sure didn’t put my trust in anyone but myself. And I wasn’t gentle anymore, didn’t mince my words. That was who she’d known. That was who Conor was.

“We’re here,” I dodged the question.

We pulled up on the sidewalk and I got out. I walked to Laura’s side, but before I’d put my hand on the door, she’d jumped out and was standing by my side.

“Come on then, Lucien Barnes,” she exclaimed with excitement. “Let’s eat.”

“Most women would wait for the man to open the door for them, you know.”

“Well, I’m not those ‘most women’. Come on, I’m starving!” Laura walked towards the door and signaled me to join her.

Inside the restaurant, the lighting was low, and it relaxed me a little. The less time Laura spent studying my face, the better. At the front, we were sat by a waiter.

“Lovely to see you again, Mr. Barnes,” he said. “May I interest you in a glass of champagne? On the house, of course.”

“Yes, thank you,” I said.

He disappeared. Laura was trying not to show the shock on her face. But if I was a closed book, then Laura was decidedly open. She wore her heart on her sleeve. I guess that hadn’t changed.

“So you don’t come here often?” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “Look, when you are who I am, people tend to remember you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. But they especially remember me here.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I own half the business.”

Laura looked around at the expansive private booth we’d been seated in. She eyed the dark dining room, which had been decorated in black marble and was lit by candlelight.

“Oh,” she said. “That’s crazy. I didn’t know you owned restaurants.”

“I own all kinds of things.”

“You have a private jet?”

“So they tell me. I prefer helicopter.”

Laura covered her hand with her mouth. “Bleh.”

“What?”