Page 20 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

My mom always used to say the funniest thing about my dad, that talking to him was like trying to get blood out of a turnip.

I thought about that while I sat in the restaurant with Lucien, while plate after plate of delicious, beautifully presented food arrived and we ate and talked. He was impossible to talk to during work. He stonewalled me at every opportunity. And yet, now that we were alone, he started to say the most wonderful things.

“Of course,” he told me, “Caluga Falls was famous for its mining back in the day. But I think it could be prosperous again.”

“What’s it going to take for it to change?”

“The town needs its amenities,” said Lucien. “That hospital, for a start.”

“There’s always Freetown.”

“But it’s not the same. Let’s say you’re a wealthy senior citizen, or a family man—the exact sort of person who can invest real money into Caluga Falls. Would you pick somewhere with no hospital to live?”

“I guess not,” I said. I worried about it too—if Kyle got sick, we’d have no option but to drive forty miles down the road. But I guess I’d just accepted it. After all, the town’s hospital had been closed before I was born.

“I guess that’s why I acquired the land,” said Lucien. “Hoped I could find someone to do something with it.”

“You’re smart as hell,” I said. “And you’ve got ideas. You should run for mayor.”

“Well, I appreciate the compliment,” said Lucien. “But I think I can get more done as a private individual than a public servant.”

He wasn’t half as big-headed or arrogant as I’d thought him to be. He might be reserved and distant, but there was a genuine warmth and depth to him that I hadn't seen before.

By the end of the meal, I was actually enjoying myself. I’d assumed that Lucien would be his usual rude, gruff self while he took me out. That he’d make every moment feel like a waste of his precious time. But I was laughing with him by the time Lucien got the bill and we headed back to the hotel in the car.

“I can’t believe you actually hung out with Leo DiCaprio,” I said.

“Well, you’d better believe it,” said Lucien. “Made him a lot of money, too. If you’re lucky, you can meet him in a few months.”

I smiled. “So you’re not firing me after the end of this week?”

“We’ll see,” he said, and gave me an outrageous amount of side-eye from the car.

When we pulled up at the hotel, I was almost sad that it was over. I didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to say goodbye to the oddly charming man who’d shown me an odd moment of luxury.

“It’s odd, being away from my family,” I said. I still hadn’t mentioned Kyle to Lucien. I didn’t want to know his opinion about my son, or my single parenthood. Or have to explain that it was the reason I’d cut and run from Caluga Falls in the first place.

“Family,” said Lucien. “Odd concept, don’t you think?”

“Wow,” I said. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”

“Well, let’s get some coffee at the bar,” said Lucien.

I felt thrilled that he still wanted to spend time with me, even if I didn’t understand his odd remark about family.

But when we got to the bar, it was closed.

“Oh,” I said. I guessed that we’d bid each other goodnight. “Guess no chance of some coffee.”

“We could get it on room service,” said Lucien. “Why don’t you come up for a bit? See this incredible view you booked me.”

“All right then,” I said softly. Going to Lucien’s hotel room felt exciting and interesting. It also felt dangerous.

I was aware, as we rode the lift up to the top-floor suite, that I’d been growing steadily more attracted to Lucien over the course of the evening. Little things he did, like the way he put his hand on mine to help me out of the cab, heightened the feeling. My chest had begun to rise and fall, my pulse elevated. In his company, the rest of the world seemed to be blocked out, and I’d forgotten that this whole evening was like somebody else’s life, not mine. I didn’t get wined and dined by billionaires. I didn’t stay in gorgeous hotel suites. I didn’t feel this way about people. But something about Lucien was familiar and comforting.

As we entered the hotel room, suddenly it was just the two of us together. I hadn’t drunk much at all, but the room was spinning. Was it the food, or was it the evening? Was it the soft lighting that switched on automatically as we entered the open balcony, as I stood by the side of this astonishing man while the city lights gleamed around us?

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” I said.