Page 32 of Grumpy Billionaire Seeking Wife

“Would you rather you two pay for the Dom Perignon, caviar, and oysters yourselves, then?” I go to stand up and look over at Miles. "Maybe you're right. Maybe Erica and Sabrina should enjoy the evening by themselves. Bill and all." I look at the two women and nod my head. "Enjoy the evening. I hope you brought your credit cards with you."

Sabrina just lets out a low growl. “You think because you have money, you can do and say whatever you want. Like we're going to beg you to stay because you are rich.”

I smirk. “I don’t think that I can say and do whatever I want just because I have money.” I chuckle and sit back down. "I say and do what I want because I'm an alpha male, an intelligent person, and a go-getter.” I lean forward and tap her on the nose. “I say what I mean and what I want. No need to take it personally, little wren.”

“I’m not a little wren.” Her eyes narrow. “And I don’t take anything personally.” She takes a deep breath. “I don’t care if you stay or not. What about you, Erica?”

“If you’re staying, then you are paying, and I’m getting filet mignon and the dauphinoise potatoes and a salad,” Erica says, and I roll my eyes as her eyes continue down the menu. And they got offended when I said they eat like horses. They probably eat way more than horses.

“And I think I’m going to get the lobster tail,” Miles says with a glint in his eyes. “I feel like some seafood today. Especially if you’re paying, Wes." He cackles, like he doesn't have 300 million in his bank account.

“Sounds good. Maybe I'll get the surf and turf and enjoy both.” I look over at Sabrina, who still looks annoyed. Her lips seem to be even puffier now, but I'm not sure if I should mention it again. “What about you? Don’t tell me you’re going to get a cheeseburger and fries?” I tease her because that was always the meal she wanted to get when she was younger and we would all go out to eat.

“I’ve grown out of those days,” she says, smirking. “In fact, I’ve grown out of a lot of things I used to think, say, and do back when you knew me last.” She gives me a knowing look, and I wonder if she's trying to tell me that she no longer wants me. That she's no longer offering herself to me on a platter. Like that would hurt me. I'm the one who turned her down.

“What? Since last year?” I say, laughing. “So you're saying you've matured and are now wiser in a year?”

“I mean, since I was a teenager.” She licks her lips and frowns. I watch as she touches them gingerly, and her eyes widen in alarm. "I am nearly twenty-two now. And yes, in the last year, I've realized that I deserve so much more than I was willing to accept last year." She makes a face. "I went through a weird phase last year. I don't even know who that girl was."

"What are you talking about, Sabrina?" Erica leans forward with a frown. "What weird phase? I don't remember it."

"Nothing," Sabrina mumbles and turns pink. I'm guessing she never shared the news with Erica that she asked me to take her virginity last year and that I turned her down. Not that it hadn't been hard. Pun intended. Everything about the situation had been harder than hell. But I'd known then that there was no way I could deflower my little sister's best friend, a college junior, and feel okay about it. Unfortunately, Sabrina obviously took the rejection much harder than I intended. She had to have known that it wasn't because I didn't want her or didn’t think she was attractive, but rather because I respected and liked her and didn’t want to be seen to take advantage of her. Plus, I knew Erica would kill me. And I loved my sister tremendously. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or her friends. Not even when I was very much attracted to one of them. Sabrina has been the star of my fantasies since that night. I can still picture her in the sexy negligee that she wore.

Fuck, I need to get my mind off that night. I’m growing hard under the table, and the last thing I need is for little Wes to make an appearance. My pants are tight enough that a bulge would be very noticeable.

“Yeah. You were a teenager years ago. I have been in your life since then, Sabrina, even though you’ve chosen to disappear for the last year.” I don't want to have this conversation here, but I can't stop myself from bringing it up.

“Aha!” she says, pointing at me. “So you do know it’s been a year.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Darn. I forgot I was pretending I didn't noticd that she was ignoring me.

“Earlier, you said it had been a couple of months since we'd last seen each other, but now, you’re saying it’s been a year. So, you do recognize that I haven’t been speaking to you for a year.” As if I could forget.

“Aha,” I say with my own smirk. “So, you do admit that you have been deliberately ignoring me.” Let's turn this around. I much preferred the focus on her and not on me. "I hope I didn't hurt your feelings," I say in a low tone.

She folds her arms against her chest and presses her lips together. She knows I’ve called her out. And she knows we can't have this conversation here. Erica and Miles are staring at the two of us with eager eyes, and we're both suddenly aware that my brother and sister want to know what the hell is going on.

“Is this a conversation that you guys want to have alone?” Erica asks with a questioning look at Sabrina. "I thought you weren't ignoring him."

"I mean only a little bit." Sabrina looks down. "I can't remember."

"Liar," I call her out and she glares at me.

“Not at all.” Sabrina reaches down and squeezes my thigh. Hard. If she moves her hand further up, we're going to have a problem.

“I mean, you sure about that?” I laugh and grab her hand and press down on it.

“I’m sure. Let’s change the subject,” Sabrina says as she attempts to pull her hand away. It's soft and weak. No match for my strength. Though I let it go eventually.

“So, are we going to talk about the podcast or not?” Sabrina changes subjects quickly as she grabs her glass of water. "Let's talk about something else right now."

“I mean, if you’re interested in making a deal, then there’s no reason why we can’t discuss it,” Miles says, sighing. “I mean, I didn’t really want to talk about business tonight, but if needs must be…”

I stare at Erica and then at Sabrina. “So, exactly what is this podcast? Is it just about you guys going on crazy dates? Just please tell me how you’re going to make money from that.” I'mannoyed at the thought of Sabrina going out with all sorts of losers. It's not like I'll be able to save her from every date.

“No, that’s not what it’s about.” Erica frowns, and there's an edge to her tone I recognize. She's upset with me. “Did you not see the PowerPoint presentation that I sent you last week? I'm trying to take this seriously, Wes, and if you're not going to give me the respect I'm due as a business person, then?—”

“The video that was like an hour long?” I raise an eyebrow at her. “You didn’t really expect to me to watch an hour-long video that had clips from different movies.”

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