Page 54 of Meet Jon, the Billionaire

“I… guess that I did.”

“I’m not hurt that you bought Acme Bread and are trying to get the lot, Jonathon. I’m hurt that you chose not to tell me until now.” Her scowl faded. “But I do appreciate what you told me. And that you told me how you feel.”

“So you’re not upset?”

“Not really. And as far as that corner lot bid goes, well… may the best woman win.”

I laughed and shook her hand. “Deal.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Amelia

I had expected far more of an explosion when Jonathon finally came clean to me on the bridge of his yacht. But it had all seemed anti-climactic. I had thought that maybe our little relationship would implode.

Instead we just kind of… settled into the new normal. The secret was out. We were competitors, and that was that.

Any hopes I’d had that we would return to the way we’d been on that first, fiery night of passion soon dissipated. Even though we’d admitted there was an elephant in the room, there was still an elephant in the room. It was standing there, eating grass and defecating all over the carpet while we were trying to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Jonathon and I talked and laughed. We drank champagne and cruised about in his yacht until well after dark. But neither of us could deny that things had changed. I was feeling as if it were less and less likely we would end our third date on the same note as our first.

We knew it was time to head back in by mutual unspoken agreement. As we approached the marina dock, Jonathon turned to me.

“Do you want to take a shot at docking?”

“Do you hate this boat so much that you want me to wreck it?”

He chuckled and gestured at the dock. “They have tires set up as a buffer. I’ll be right here to jump in if I have to.”

I peered out over the dark waters, the undulating waves briefly glistening with luminance as they crested enough to reflect the streetlights.

“Nope, sorry,” I said. “Just too daunting in the dark. Maybe if we go out again and it’s daytime.”

“Okay, no problem.” Jonathon flashed a smile, but I could see that in the back of his mind he was still thinking about the fact we were competitors in the business world… and dating in the personal one.

He walked me down the dock, where I found an Uber waiting for me, courtesy of my date.

“Sorry about the downgrade,” Jonathon said a bit sheepishly. “A tie rod busted on the back end and the repairs won’t be completed until tomorrow morning.”

“Is your driver all right?”

“Yes, he’s fine. It happened in a parking lot, fortunately. It would have been done today, but I told the mechanic to go ahead and replace all of them, just to be safe.”

“You must be a mechanic’s wet dream.”

He cocked his head to the side, brow furrowing in confusion. “What? Oh, wait, I get it. I actually have a mechanic on retainer.”

“Of course you do,” I said with a laugh. “You don’t have to worry about me, Jonathon. Just to reiterate, it’s not the limo rides or the five-star dining that attracted me to you—don’t get me wrong, those things are nice. But I’m just as happy with a stroll through the park than some grand gesture.”

“How about this grand gesture?”

He moved in for a kiss, and I turned my face to the side. Jonathon withdrew, though his hands were still on my arms. “What’s wrong?”

“It just feels kind of weird to be kissing the man who’s in direct competition for the bakery’s future, that’s all.”

“So you can’t kiss me now?”

“Well… not until the bidding war is over and it’s a settled matter of who controls the corner lot.”

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