Page 31 of Marrying a Billionaire

Suddenly, her entire mind went blank. How does one forget every country in a continent? “Oh, you know. All the major cities. It was an art museum crawl so to speak. You know, like a pub crawl.” She wanted to smack her forehead. Who says that?

Mr. Williamson studied her and then slowly began to smile. “I like you.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“I like you. You’re not like the girls that Reed used to bring around. You’re different, and that’s refreshing.” He smoothed the blanket that was draped over his lap. Then he brought his gaze back up to Lillian. “You will still need to get married. I can’t make any changes to that. If Reed doesn’t, he will lose the company to Mason.”

Lillian nodded. If only his grandfather knew that she was contractually bound to marry him, he probably wouldn’t have said that. But the more she was getting to know Reed, the more it felt like an opportunity instead of an obligation.

His grandfather sighed and leaned back on the pillows. “Once it becomes legal, I’ll sign the company over to him.”

Relief flooded Lillian’s body. She hadn’t screwed anything up. Reed was going to get exactly what he wanted and that made her happy. Then thought of what that meant for her poked its way into her mind. Once Reed got the company, would he still want anything to do with her?

She mentally slapped herself. What was wrong with her? Of course not. He wasn’t going to want to stay married. She wasn’t his wife, and he wasn’t her husband. And they most certainly didn’t love each other.

When she glanced back over at Mr. Williamson, she saw that his eyes were closed. Not wanting to disturb him anymore, she tiptoed from the room. She shut the door quietly behind her and turned, yelping when she saw Reed standing inches from her.

His eyebrows rose expectantly. “So?”

She let out the breath she’d been holding and took a step back. She needed to calm her mind and her racing heart. There was an expiration date to their relationship. She needed to remember that. He wasn’t here for the long haul. As soon as he got what he wanted, he was going to leave her. Just like everyone else in her life. Just as the baby inside of her would do.

But she couldn’t say anything. The last thing she wanted was for Reed to stick around because he felt guilty. So she forced a smile. “He approves. As soon as we get married, he’ll sign the company over to you and we are through.”

Reed’s lips spread into a wide grin, and before she could stop him, he wrapped her up into a hug, pulling her off the ground and spinning her around.

When he set her down, he kept her close as he glanced down at her. Her heart hammered in her chest. Why was he this close? Didn’t he know how confused he made her feel?

He hesitated before he dropped his lips closer to hers. Was he going to kiss her again? Her mind screamed at her to back away, but her heart begged for him to lean down, tell her he wanted her to stay forever, and then kiss her.

Her heart sank when he brushed his lips against her cheek and then whispered, “You’re amazing. Thank you,” into her ear. Then he pulled back and clapped his hands as he blew out his breath. “Best news ever,” he said, grinning at her.

She nodded, forcing her confusing feelings down into the pit of her stomach. “Of course. It’s in the contract. Get you the CEO spot so we can move on with our lives.” She forced a smile even though the words she just spoke tasted bitter on her tongue.

Reed hesitated as his expression grew serious. A look passed over his face and he parted his lips.

Lillian wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he was going to say. She didn’t need him to tell her that she was a great girl and as soon as she became single, she’d have her pick of men. She didn’t need him to assure her that the perfect guy was still out there. Right now, she needed some fresh air.

“I’m feeling a bit nauseous. I’m going to go outside.” She turned and started down the stairs.

When she got to the bottom, she breathed a sigh of relief. Reed had not followed her, and she was grateful for that. Right now, she needed a break from all of this. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts and stifle her feelings. If not, by the time this was all over, she was going to find herself alone with a broken heart, and she wasn’t sure she could survive that again.

Chapter Twelve

The next morning was Saturday. Reed stretched out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The early morning light was peeking through the slits in his drapes. He rubbed his face and glanced over at his clock.

Seven-Thirty.

After their intimate conversation at his grandfather’s house, they kept the topics light until they needed to leave. On the boat, Lillian spent most of the time with her arms wrapped around her chest, staring out at the ocean. When they got to his apartment, she said she was tired and slipped into her room.

Reed had watched her retreat before he made his way to his room where he dove head first into work. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep until midnight. As much as he wanted to say that it wasn’t because of Lillian, he knew that would be a lie. It very much had to do with how confused he felt about her.

Now awake, he groaned and sat up. This was not what he should be dwelling on. Right now, he needed to focus on marrying her, and that was it. Leave all the thoughts about feelings at the door.

He pulled off his covers and stood. Then he made his way over to his bathroom and flipped the shower on. Fifteen minutes later, he emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked over to his phone only to find that he had twenty missed calls from his mom.

Which didn’t surprise him. He swiped his phone on and hit play to one of the many voice messages.

“Reed, it’s your mother. I heard you went and visited your grandfather. He seems in good spirits, so I thought we might as well get this wedding over with.”

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