Page 32 of Billion-Dollar Dating Game

‘It’s no problem, I’m sure.’ Zane smiled at the assistant, who hurried to nod.

He turned his focus back to Skylar. A hint of smokiness clouded her eyes. He knew she was tempted, which wassuperinteresting—yeah, she was a sensualist who liked nice things. She just didn’t let herself indulge very often. Why was she so damned studious—so restrained—even after all this time? Even after her father had passed? The guy had been controlling and overprotective. She’d basically been under house arrest. She’d gone to school. She’d gone for her runs in the mornings. And that was it.

Zane had been housebound because of his injuries. He’d worked hard to get strong enough to leave. But Skylar had sat studying on her balcony for hours—silently watching the world, seemingly unbothered by her father’s controls. And even after she’d left home, even after her father had died...she’d stayed as self-contained. Indeed, as the rubies gleamed prettily in the light, she didn’t move.Why?

‘We’ll take them,’ he said to the assistant without lifting his gaze from Skylar.

His smile widened as he saw her jaw tense. He knew her drilled-deep manners and good behaviour stopped her from arguing with him in front of the entire store. He stepped up to the counter and completed the transaction.

To his astonishment, that’s when Skylar suddenly spoke up.

‘Don’t box them.’ She smiled at the assistant. ‘I’ll wear them out.’

The assistant’s eyes widened but she hustled. Zane was simply speechless as within less than a minute Skylar stood adorned with rubies and diamonds dangling from her ears, and he couldn’t take his gaze off her gleaming eyes.

‘You can buy them but the second I take them out I’m giving them back to you,’ she murmured the moment the assistant left them, clearly well trained to know when to leave her customers to consider their other options.

‘Sure.’ He shrugged. ‘No matter.’

‘What are you going to do with them then? Wear them yourself? Give them to someone else?’

The edge in her voice pressed on his pleasure nerve because it sounded a little like jealousy. ‘I’m going to look at them and think of you. Often.’

She shook her head. ‘And why would you want to do that?’

‘Well, I already think of you often—’

‘Don’t,’ she breathed suddenly.

He stopped doing everything instantly—moving, breathing. Hell, even his heart stopped for a second.

‘Don’t flirt with me,’ she finished so very softly. ‘I’m doing what you want already—I’ll be your companion in public. You don’t have to...’

‘Be honest?’ He watched her intently.

He’d known the gift would bother her and yeah, that was partly why he’d given it to her. But he’d also wanted to see her in those earrings really badly and he just couldn’t not buy them. And yeah, he liked this. Her challenging him. When she pushed. She was the only person to look at him with undisguised irritation at times.

But now she stepped back and instinctively he reached for her hand and stopped her. ‘You don’t ever treat yourself at the shops? Or ever let someone else treat you a little?’

Her eyes flashed. ‘Dropping however many thousand you’ve just dropped isn’t somelittletreat.’

Right. Good point. ‘You’re awfully serious, Skylar. You never do anything just for the heck of it?’

‘You know I don’t. Well, almost never.’ She shot him a look. ‘It’s the way I was raised.’

He nodded his head slowly because he knew that was accurate. ‘Your dad didn’t let you wear any jewellery.’

She stiffened. ‘We couldn’t afford it. We needed other things—you know, like food.’

No. It wasn’t only the money. It was her overprotective, controlling dad. ‘He didn’t let you do lots of things.’

It hung between them yet again. Zane had been too stunned—and yes, too hurt—to ever stop and deeply consider why she’d been so silent. Why she’d turned and run. He’d just felt rejected twice over. The best moment he’d ever experienced had devolved into a nightmare in less than a second. She’d not defended him—not admitted that she’d been as much to ‘blame’ as he. Zane had actually loitered in the grounds the day after, hoping to catch her on her run. She’d not appeared. And now—far too late—he wondered how scared she’d been of her father. Had he punished her?

Zane had never heard shouting, or seen any evidence of it. He’d thought the man had just been overprotective as hell of his beautiful daughter.

‘You didn’t rebel even once you left home? Didn’t spoil yourself with your first proper pay?’ Zane asked her now. ‘Or are you still obeying the rules he set for you back then—putting his wishes ahead of your own desires.’

She stiffened. ‘My father wanted the best for me and I knew how tough it was for him dealing with me on his own. But you’re not entirely wrong. He was strict. Protective. He wanted me to prioritise my studies and then my career.’

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