Page 41 of A Billionaire for Christmas
‘Only three fluently but I can generally get by in German and Spanish too, as they’re so similar to the others. What about you?’
‘Je m’appelleMolly. J’aime faire du shopping. Je suis de l’Angleterre.’
‘Also fluent in French.’ Levi chuckled. ‘Please help yourself to my extensive collection of French periodicals on the global economy.’
‘I thought you’d never ask.’
After rejecting another offer to take the armchair, Levi settled on the rug ready to play. The evening passed quickly with the roaring fire, the snow coming down and Levi sprawled in front of her while she embarked on some good-natured cheating much to his amusement. She was unused to drinking, and the delicious wine was going straight to her head. It was making her bold and nosy. ‘Your family. Do you see them often?’
Levi shrugged. ‘They’re all a little needy and no, I don’t see them much. Once a year, during the holidays.’
‘So you’re missing your one and only chance to see them?’ Molly shook the dice and moved her token. Neither of them had been in a particular rush to win the game.
Levi shrugged. His phone bleeped. And kept bleeping.
‘Is everything okay at the resort?’ Molly asked.
Levi exhaled noisily. ‘Yes, everything at the resort is fine. It’s just us that have been cut off by the avalanche, but that’s not who’s messaging.’ He shook his head scrolling through the texts. ‘It’s my mother and this ridiculous week-long mega-wedding she’s planning for my sister. I doubt she even wants one that big.’
‘Are they Indian?’
‘Hah. No. My mother is American, old money. My father is a French hothead. Used to be an art dealer, even older money. They have been married forever. Rock solid. My sister is a typical millennial, wants everything given to her on a plate, and my brother, well, you’ve met him. He’s a real womaniser, a loose cannon. Parties round the globe full-time.’
‘Every family should have at least one loose cannon,’ Molly insisted, pouring more wine into their glasses. ‘Tell me about you,’ she demanded. ‘What’s it like?’
Levi scoffed. ‘Being a successful billionaire?’
‘Yes. Is it as tiring as it sounds?’
He treated her to a husky chuckle. ‘It has its moments.’
‘You don’t like to give much away, do you?’
‘That would be my years spent at Harvard Law School. I’m economical with the truth.’
‘And this resort – Val D’Amore. Did you build it or inherit it or buy it over time or what?’
Levi regarded her. ‘And this nosiness of yours, did you inherit it, or have you developed it over time, or what?’
Molly chuckled, unfolding her legs. ‘Fair enough.’ She picked up a heavy glass paperweight from the coffee table that said ‘Levi LeRoux’ on it. ‘Do you put your name on everything you own? Are you like a male version of Oprah? Should I be stealing this?’
Levi regarded the glass object. ‘You know, you always think nothing will top making your first fifty million or buying your second island, but that’s nothing compared to being recognised with a sit-down dinner in a room full of strangers, while they give you an oddly shaped award made of glass with your name scratched onto it.’
Molly giggled, getting up. ‘I felt the same way at the Annual Sausage Awards.’
Levi burst out laughing and Molly felt an instant bloom of joy at the sound. ‘I can certainly make you a sit-down snack for your heroic efforts in saving my life today but don’t expect an award to go with it. Are you hungry?’
She held out her hand to pull him up. As soon as he took it, she wished she hadn’t. She turned to immediate mush. She dropped his hand. It was the wine. It was making her feel things she shouldn’t.
Levi followed her to the kitchenette, watching her as she clattered about, grating cheese, chopping herbs, whisking eggs, toasting big slabs of frozen homemade bread. She cut strips of bacon and left them sizzling while she searched for plates.
‘A cheese toastie?’ Levi smirked.
‘A Molly cheese toastie special. Where are the fresh figs and the rounds of camembert?’
‘No idea. I usually have food delivered, and the fresh stuff is only for emergencies like this one.’
‘Thank goodness I’m so creative.’
