Page 112 of More Than a Billionaire

She hadn’t expected this. She was letting go, moving on, and now, he was suddenly here, telling her sweet things, making her hope. “I can’t do this anymore, Franky. We can’t be friends.”

“What? Why not?” The look of devastation on his face nearly broke her.

“It’s too hard.” She stared at her hand, afraid to look at him, afraid she would take it back.

He tilted his head, trying to make eye contact, and she finally gave in. “I don’t want to be friends either, Sky.”

Her confusion was at an all-time high. “I don’t understand.”

“I love you, Skylar, and I’m tired of ignoring my feelings for you. I’m tired of pretending I haven’t wanted to kiss you since that night in your pool all those years ago. And that night in the wine cellar, I wasn’t drunk. I kissed you because I was so jealous of you and Luca, I could barely see straight.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as her hand fell to her side.

“I’ve been lost for the past eight months, and I couldn’t figure out why things felt so wrong. Then I realized it was when our friendship started to crumble, that I lost my touchstone, the bright spot in my days, my best friend. You’re everything to me, Sky. It took you disappearing from my life and the thought of losing you to someone else to wake up and see I already had everything I ever wanted in you. ”

He stepped closer to her and softly touched her cheek with his fingertips. “I don’t want to be just friends anymore … because I’m in love with you, Skylar. I have been for a long time, but I never let my heart go there with you. Because of Sebastian. Because of our friendship. Because of my crappy track record with women and my relationship fears. But I’m here now. And I want to be with you.”

Skylar couldn’t find her words. This was the most unexpected thing that ever could’ve happened. Tears filled her eyes and a sob escaped her, and Franky took her in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. His words were everything she’d needed to hear, and in all those moments she thought she’d read too much into, she felt completely validated. It hadn’t been all in her head after all.

“Is this real?” she whimpered.

He let go and took her face in his hands. “Real as sunshine and summer breeze, fireworks and ice cream …”

She giggled as he recited lyrics from the song he’d written her.

“Road trips and wineries.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I thought ice cream and wineries even came close to rhyming.”

She chuckled, and he gave her an adoring smile.

“Do you want to be with me, Sky?” he asked.

A smile was all she could reply with, and it must’ve been answer enough because Franky slid an arm around behind her waist and pulled her close to him. Her heart raced as she was enveloped in his warmth, and his breath softly whispered across her face as his lips approached hers. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening, but then it did.

Franky’s lips pressed softly to hers, and at once, everything clicked into place. It felt more right than anything ever had. She sighed as he kissed her again and again, until they were carried away in the most perfect kiss she had ever experienced.

And then Skylar remembered … and she jerked back.

“What about Ivy?”

Franky leaned back to look her in the eye. “We broke off our engagement.”

A slow smile spread across Skylar’s face.

“And you were right, Sky. I can’t stay at the firm. I would be settling for something I don’t want.”

“So, you’re leaving then?”

“Dad won’t be happy, but it’s time.”

Skylar attacked him with a gigantic hug, and he laughed. “I’m so happy for you and so excited to see what you do next.”

He squeezed her tightly and brushed his lips against her cheek on the way to her ear. “I think I’ll do this next.” He kissed her neck. “And this.” His lips touched below her ear and caused her to giggle. “I was wrong, Sky,” he whispered. “Nobody gets me like you do.”

Chills ran up her spine as he planted soft kisses across her cheek on a return trip to her mouth, but then he paused, causing her to look at him.

“Why did you leave town, Skylar?”

Now that he’d told her his feelings, she needed to be honest about hers. “I couldn’t be around you and Ivy. It hurt too much. I had to come here to get over you.”

---