Page 18 of The Reluctant Billionaire

“Even if I was working behind it?” Nessa asked cynically.

“Yes! God damn it, Nessa, I’m not a snob. I don’t care what background you came from, what matters is the person you are now.”

“A bartender. The billionaire and the bartender, sounds like a Lifetime movie--”

“Stop putting yourself down!” He took two quick steps to stand right in front of her and reached up to grasp her shoulders. “You’re not inferior to anyone, Nessa. Not because of your chosen profession or the color of your skin or any other damn thing. You’d slap me silly if I dared to imply that you were, so stop doing it to yourself, and while you’re at it, don’t treat me differently because of who I am. Money doesn’t make anyone special, regardless of how some people seem to think it does.”

“Don’t be naive! You wouldn’t even be back here if it weren’t for the fact that you own the damn island!”

“I said it doesn’t make me special, not that it doesn’t buy me special treatment. I’m just a man, Nessa. The same man who made love to you last night.”

His words stirred an instinctive reaction from her as her body remembered all the delicious things they’d done to each other the previous night. She looked away, unwilling to meet his eyes.

Jace’s hands dropped from her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth,” he said quietly. “I just… liked the way you looked at me. The way you talked to me. I didn’t want that to change.”

“It’s changed now,” she said, and regretted it immediately when he took a step back.

“Yeah. I guess it has.”

There was silence between them for a tense, stinging minute, and then Jace said, “Look, I’m not gonna harass you. You know where to find me. Maybe you can sleep on it and we can talk tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Nessa said finally. At least he was putting the ball in her court, giving her the choice; she was pretty sure he wouldn’t turn up at her bar.

“Good night, Nessa.” Jace’s voice was soft, tender. She hardened herself against the impulse to tell him not to go, to grab his sleeve and drag him into her room, to her bed.

“Good night.”

* * *

A knock on the villa’s front door at nine o’clock the following evening had Jace falling over his own feet, desperate to get to the door. Yanking it open, he didn’t bother to restrain his groan as he came face to face with Luke.

“Expecting someone else?” Luke asked dryly.

“Hoping. Not really expecting.” Jace stepped back, gesturing for Luke to come inside. “Want some coffee?”

“Sure.” Luke eyed Jace critically. “You look like you’ve been up all night.”

Jace didn’t answer, just leading the way to the kitchen and pouring a cup of coffee for Luke. “What brings you here?”

Accepting the cup, Luke leaned back against the kitchen counter and took a sip of the aromatic brew, eyeing Jace over the rim. “I had a visitor this morning, waiting for me when I got to my office. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Nessa got any sleep either.”

That didn’t sound promising.Jace sighed. “She doesn’t want to see me, does she?”

“She asked if she could take some holiday days,” Luke said. “Girl hasn’t taken a vacation since she got here. I said she could go as soon as I could rustle up a cover roster for her bar, which will probably take me until the end of the day. I’d say it’s highly likely she’ll be on the boat to Airlie tomorrow morning, so if you want to talk to her, today’s your chance.”

For a moment, he was tempted; he considered going straight for the door and rushing over to the resort to find Nessa. Reason won out, though.

“She’s doing this to get away from me. Going to find her would be a pretty shitty thing to do when she’s clearly trying to escape.” The words burned like acid in his throat, but he made himself accept the truth. Nessa wanted to get away from him. He wasn’t about to force himself on her, not now and not ever.

Luke studied him in silence for a minute before nodding and setting down his cup. “I’m sorry I dropped you in it,” he said, “but you should have told her the truth from the beginning.”

“I know.”

“Good.” Luke nodded curtly. “You might be my boss, but I can’t have my staff harassed, Jace. Thank you for doing the right thing.”

“No hard feelings,” Jace said honestly. None of this was Luke’s fault; indeed, he respected the other man more now, because Luke had obviously come here willing to stand up to him for Nessa’s sake, even knowing Jace could fire him on a whim. “I’m glad she, and all your other staff, have someone who’s willing to be in their corner.” He offered his hand to shake. “And tell Nessa… well, tell her if she wants a holiday, that’s great, but she doesn’t need to leave because of me. Sunfish Island is her home and I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable here. I’ll stay a day or two longer, but I’m feeling a lot better now. It’s time I got back to work.”

Luke accepted his hand and smiled. “I’ll let her know, but I’m gonna encourage her to take a few days. She could use a break. And let me know before you head out, yeah? It’s been good getting to know you.”

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