Page 18 of Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex

“And you fell in love with it.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “Actually, Grams fell in love with it. I was...not as enamored with it at first. I was still not seeing past my own pain.”

When he said the word pain, Felicity flinched. He kept going. “But Grams adored Belize. So, after I started feeling better, I decided it was time for a change of scenery. Chicago held too many memories. I found a resort for sale in Belize and Grams was all too happy to move to the resort with me.”

More thunder rumbled and Felicity gripped the seat. “Why not retire? You don’t need the money. Why are you running the resort?”

“I don’t actually run it. I could leave it to Derrick. He’s the manager, and he does a great job. I just like being involved. I’m not the kind of person who can sit there and do nothing, you know?”

Felicity nodded and looked down to her feet. “I know,” she said quietly.

Aiden sped the boat up a little. Felicity was never going to see him as anything but a workaholic. He knew this. She’d constantly complained about how much time he was spending on his guidance system. She was shortsighted, though. And nothing he could say would make her understand.

Chapter 7

Felicity tried to remaincalm as another streak of lightning shot across the sky and reflected in the water. She hated storms. Just perfect. The heavens were trying to humiliate her in front of Aiden again.

Aiden glanced over at her. “We’re almost to the dock.”

Nice. Was her concern that apparent? Why couldn’t she just get over it like every other adult? Instead, she had to look like a fool in front of Aiden. “Okay,” she said, forcing her voice to sound light. She put her arms through her backpack which made her feel like a third-grader, but she didn’t care. She wanted both arms free to grab onto the boat if something happened and they capsized.

Aiden hadn’t been lying. She let out a breath of relief when she saw the dock ahead. Aiden steered the boat alongside it and cut the engine. He hopped out into the torrential rain and secured the ropes. Then he held his hand out for her. She grabbed it like her life depended on it and hopped out into the rain.

Aiden kept a hold of her hand as they ran toward his car. It chirped as they neared and he opened her door for her. She slid into the seat, her hair dripping down her face. After he got into his seat, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“Hey, it’s okay. We made it.” He took her hand in his and warmth spread up her arm. “No need to worry.”

“Sorry,” she said, her voice sounding strained. “I’m just not fond of storms.”

He gave her a funny look. “I didn’t know you were scared of storms.”

“I said I’m not fond of them. That’s different than being scared.”

He stared at her, then his gaze dropped to her hands. “You’re trembling.”

She blew out a breath. “Okay, fine. I hate storms. We used to live in Kansas when I was little. Our house got hit by a tornado. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever lived through.”

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