Page 35 of A Billionaire for Christmas
Levi bristled. ‘No thanks. Enjoy your evening.’
Molly watched him walk away.
‘Ignore him,’ Lucca said. ‘He’s just pissed off that I opened the wine he was saving for Christmas Day to toast my sister’s impending nuptials.’
‘Don’t you have another bottle of it?’
Lucca burst out laughing. ‘Unfortunately not, no. It’s the last of its kind. It cost over seventy grand. Drink up.’
Molly stared at her glass and immediately lost her appetite.
12
FOUR DAYS TO GO… PANIC STATIONS
The following morning, determined to be nothing but professional, Molly woke early and began preparing breakfast for the brothers. She had been mortified at the thought of Levi catching her quaffing his most expensive bottle of wine and him eating her sausage face, thinking she’d done it out of spite. To be fair, she would have made something much worse than her face if she’d had the idea first. But the expensive wine, never. She would never have accepted a glass if she’d known.
Her phone pinged. It was a message from Toby to ensure the house was extra warm, the rooms were ready, the spa prepped, and could she let him know of any last-minute foodstuffs they might need for the week-long stay? Molly pinged back a long list of ingredients. She needed to severely up her game. She wouldn’t give Levi the satisfaction of thinking she was childish and unprofessional. She would give the whole family a culinary experience second to none, and she would win the contract for catering this mega-wedding they were planning. Rich people tended to pay a lot of money for things like weddings. And, of course, there was the bizarre matter of Levi mentioning that he was interested in her company. She needed to secure more business to avoid having to sell. Although Molly was sure that once he found outshewas behind it, he’d feel differently about buying it.
‘I think you should leave.’
Molly’s head jerked up. Levi was standing in front of her, casually dressed in jogging bottoms and a soft T-shirt. His hair was ruffled, and he still seemed half asleep. She’d never seen anyone look more attractive. She closed her eyes, his words sinking in.
This was about the sausage face. And the overpriced wine.
‘I didn’t know about the wine. I swear. I couldn’t even finish it once I realised.’
His mouth formed a tight line. ‘It’s not about the wine.’
‘Well, then, if it’s about the sausage—’ she began.
‘It isn’t.’
‘Honestly, that was not meant for you. I’d never serve my face for dinner. Or for any meal.’
‘It’s not about the meat management involving your face. Not that one anyway.’
Molly frowned. ‘Sorry? I don’t understand.’
Levi shuffled his feet, staring down as though his speech was written on his white sliders. ‘It’s you. It’s the way we are when we’re together.’ He stepped towards her. ‘It can’t happen. It’ll just get messy.’
He was right. It was already messy.
‘And I don’t want to hurt you.’ His voice was low and faint. ‘Besides, my family will be here soon. Lucca will tell them all. It’ll just be embarrassing. It’s better if you leave now, and we’ll avoid the whole scenario.’
He was doing it again.
‘You’re embarrassed? I embarrass you?’
‘That’s not what I said.’
‘I think it’s exactly what you said.’
‘See? You’re getting all emotional and annoyed with me. I just want to see my family, get on with my work and not have any of this… this hassle.’
‘So I’m a hassle now, am I?’
The words hung in the air. Molly had never felt so rejected. ‘Fine. I’ll go. But just to be clear’ – she heard the tremble in her voice – ‘what happened between us was not all one-sided. You wanted it just as much as me.’
