Page 65 of BillionHeir
Without overthinking it, I fire off a text to the number she gave me this morning.
Can I take you out tomorrow?
I watch as the response bubbles come onto the screen and then disappear. I wait impatiently, staring at the screen until they finally reappear and then resolve into words.
I am busy.
I probably deserve that, but I am not going to be deterred.
You have to eat sometime. Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner? Pick the time and place. I need to see you.
It reads a little desperate, but it is the truth.
Honestly, Maxwell, I really don’t understand your behavior.
I can practically hear the exasperation in her voice as I read the text. I am still deciding how to respond when those three little bubbles appear again.
But fine. If you are so insistent, you may pick me up at one o’clock where you dropped me off. We can have tea around the corner. I will give you one hour.
I smile to myself even as I am immediately filled with anxiety. This is it. I am not naive enough to believe that she will give me another chance after this.
Done.
Chapter 24
_______________________
Chloe
“What was I thinking?” I grumble out loud to myself as I sit on a bench outside the hospital waiting for Maxwell to show up.
The truth of the matter is that I was feeling weak. After the weight of all of my mother’s appointments yesterday and knowing that we would be doing it all again today, I was at a low point. Add to it the fact that I do actually miss the man and the time we spent together, I just couldn’t bear not seeing himone more time.
I really don’t know why he is doing all of this though. He apologized and I accepted. What else could he want? Maybe he has some kind of misplaced feelings of responsibility for me, but he shouldn’t. He has already paid me. Our time together is over, and this should be a clean break. I really thought when I got out of the car yesterday that I had made things clear.
Over the last few days, I have been reflecting about everything that happened between us. I suppose I had a feeling when he spent those few days holed up in his office that something was amiss, but when he rejected me so outright in front of Liam and Tristan, there was no denying that things between us were not at all what I thought they were. Maybe we just are not as compatible as we thought we were. I mean, honestly, I get it. I really do. The man is a billionaire, and up until a week ago I was practically a penniless nurse. But I certainly do not want to be with someone who is afraid to be seen with me or is ashamed of who I am and what I do for a living.
As far as I am concerned, there is really no need in prolonging the inevitable. He will eventually go back to his life, and I will go back to mine.
Which leads me in a whole other direction. What exactly am I going to do now? I suppose I could go back to work. Just because I have money now doesn’t mean that I have to sit around the house bored all day, does it? After all, I do love being a nurse.
I could stay here. I have a few friends in the UK who work in finance, and I am sure they would be happy to help me invest the money I made working for Maxwell. If I am smart with it, I could probably live off it for the rest of my life. I don’t need much. Just a place to call my own. A quaint little cottage with some cozy furniture where I can curl up with a good book and shut out the world sounds rather dreamy right about now.
The nearly constant drizzle that my lovely country of birth is known for is once again gracing us with its presence. I thought coming out early to collect my thoughts would be a good idea, but instead I am just getting more and more introspective, not to mention damp. I am afraid I might not be very good company right now.
The large black SUV from the airport pulls smoothly up to the curb. I can’t help but look down at my watch. Five minutes early. Classy.
I expect Barnaby to jump out the way he did before, but instead, the back door opens from the inside and out steps my former boss and one-night lover, Maxwell Banks. He looks better than ever dressed in a well-fitting suit with an open collar giving him a casual, recklessly hot appearance I wasn’t anticipating. He looks so fit right now you might never know that he was in an accident that nearly killed him only two months ago.
His eyes sparkle when they find mine, as though I am a treasure he has long been searching for. The look steals the breath from my lungs. His eyes pin me in place as the sexual attraction pulses between us. But there is something else there as well. A small current of regret? A trace of shame? Whatever it is, he masks it with a handsome smile that cuts through everything and makes me wonder how I ever walked away from him. I quickly look away, but not before my blush betrays just how happy I am to see him as well.
He leans in to kiss my cheek politely. “Chloe,” he murmurs against my neck, sending chills down my spine with just one word.
“Maxwell,” I answer, pulling away to make eye contact once again, this time daring him to look away as the energy arcs between us. But maybe he doesn’t feel the same thing I do.
He holds my gaze for a moment longer, then turns toward the open door with a sweeping hand gesture. “Shall we?”
I look around the small courtyard, wondering if anyone else is watching this little spectacle, but find us strangely alone. Finally, I look back at Maxwell. “We shall.”
