Page 29 of Damaged Billionaire Daddy
“Yes ma’am.”
“Will you be joining us for breakfast?”
“Yes, can I…” His fingers curled, and I was on the verge of coming. “Just a minute.”
“Sure, I’ll see you downstairs.”
Her words were a relief just as Richie’s fingers sent me to my climax. “You need … to … leave,” I gasped.
“Sure,” he said, drawing back. “Just remember: anywhere, anytime.”
“Asshole,” I snarled.
He just laughed, pulled on his pants, picked up his shirt, and slipped out through the window.
Chapter twelve
Richie
I took in the scene on the patio of the Ice Cream Emporium. Kandis sat with her back to the white column that held up one corner of the roof. Mila sat on one side of her, and Clara sat across the table with her back to me and the two people with me.
It was late afternoon, and the sun slanted across the brick red concrete patio floor and the delicate ice cream chairs. Clara’s head was bent close to Kandis, who seemed to be whispering in her ear.
I could hear Clara exclaim softly, “And you let him?” Her curls shivered with emotion, and she clutched at her tall milkshake as if it were some sort of holy curative for what she was hearing.
Kandis shrugged. “He wants my grandfather’s vineyard. I’ll do just about anything to keep him from troubling Mimi and Pops.”
Mila grinned at her wickedly. “Tell me you didn’t enjoy it, at least a little bit.”
Kandis flushed an unbecoming beet red. “Maybe. But that doesn’t mean . . .”
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Mila exclaimed, cutting her off before she could say more.
So, she still opposed the purchase of the vineyard. I could guess why. As a small business, it was doing very well. Her grandparents were not wealthy, but they were comfortable, and the vineyard and winery provided jobs for many of the locals.
Did they think it would profit me to undo the progress they had made? Didn’t they realize that the purchase price would give the aging couple a comfortable retirement? Not that it mattered to me. The takeover could be done the easy way or the hard way. I would have that vineyard in the end.
Kandis changed her gaze from Clara and followed Mila’s eyeroll in my direction. I was followed by Roger, one of the vineyard workers, and Teagan, a girl that couldn’t make up her mind whether she had a bigger crush on him or on me.
Teagan carried a triple decker ice cream cone that looked as if it might lose its top deck at any moment. She licked it with sensual emphasis that threatened to knock the top scoop off the unsteady stack. Roger paid her no mind, but his face lit up when he saw Clara. Roger carried a banana split but was clearly more interested in the woman. “Mind if we sit here?” he asked.
Before either Mila or Kandis could say anything, Clara said, “Grab some chairs. We can make room, can’t we, girls?”
“Sure,” Kandis said, because there really wasn’t anything else to say. Her expression showed that she didn’t like the idea but couldn’t think of any way to refuse now that Clara had invited us.
I had limited myself to a club soda with a twist of lime. Too bad it was too early to add anything stronger to it. Kandis narrowed her eyes at me, picked up a chocolate éclair from her plate, bit the end off it, and chewed deliberately.
From the shape of the pastry and her expression, I had notrouble figuring out what she would like to be chewing. Probably with intent to draw blood.
Her implied threat didn’t trouble me, particularly. Although it did make me a little wary of certain activities during our next encounter. I just watched the movements of her soft lips, and she bit off another piece of éclair. A tiny bit of crème filling squirted out one side, giving me all sorts of ideas.
Fortunately for my concentration, Teagan let out a little squeak as the top layer of her ice cream slid off the stack on her cone. Mila deftly caught it on a napkin before it could land on the floor or the table. “What are you doing on my side of the street?” she asked, giving Teagan a smoldering look. Some history there. Wonder what?
“I’m with Roger,” Teagan said in a small voice. “He’s giving me a ride home. I worked today.” She gazed at me, a sort of little girl crush showing in her eyes, then she looked over at Roger, who clearly had eyes only for Clara. The girl was plumb out of luck. Neither of us was interested in her. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”
Mila sighed. “You aren’t a bother, kid, but someone should warn you that you are swimming with sharks.”
I quirked an eyebrow at Teagan but didn’t pick up the gambit. Instead, I turned to Kandis. “I need to talk to you,” I said.
