Page 55 of The Prince's Game
“Right. Billionaire. I forgot.”
“Are you going to invite me in?” His intense gaze dropped to my breasts before rising to my lips. “Or should I make other arrangements for the night?”
“No skeleton key?”
“Going for incognito tonight.”
“Right.” I cleared my throat and stepped aside.
He kissed me on the cheek as he entered. “Sorry, I should have called you first and asked if this was okay.”
“I would have said yes, but the surprise is nice.” I grabbed the phone and texted Rachel a quick explanation for not calling her back and collapsed onto the bed.
Evan kicked off his shoes and draped his jacket over the chair. His soft white sweater clung to his biceps and broad shoulders. It made me want to pet him as he stretched out beside me and hooked an arm beneath his head. “I feel like I should have brought you flowers or something.”
I rolled toward him. “For future reference, I prefer wine over flowers.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and traced his fingers along my jaw. “Duly noted. I just wasn’t thinking when I decided on this detour. All I wanted was to see you, so I came straight here.”
I cupped his cheek. “I’m not complaining, Evan.”
“I know, but I wanted to clarify. Honestly, I’m more in the mood to talk. I had a shitty day.”
“Paul?” He made me want to scream several times over the last few weeks.
“Yes and no.” He rolled onto his back and rubbed his hands over his face. “It’s so wrong to talk to you about this, but this whole thing with Tiffany is killing me. They know she’s the one I’m going to let go, and they want me to do it in front of her family tomorrow. It’s cruel and paints me to be such an asshole. At least with Amber, she’d get what she deserves, but Tiffany is a sweet girl.”
“You like her.” The words were bitter in my mouth but came out calm. He was right. It was wrong for him to talk to me about this. These were the feelings I didn’t want to know anything about.
“Of course I do. That’s why I’ve kept her around, but it’s more than that. I care about her, but not in the way she wants. Tiffany’s a good person whom I’ve let believe I’m romantically into even though I’m not. She’s attractive, inside and out, but I’m drawn to her in a friend kind of way. How do I tell her that without hurting her?” He scrubbed his hand over his face again, blowing out a breath. “I face intimidating people in the boardroom all the time, but I can’t figure out how to break up with a nice girl I was never really dating. This is so fucked up.”
“You tell her exactly what you just told me. She’ll appreciate the honesty more than a scripted speech.” I spoke from my heart. It’s what I wanted from him when this relationship ended, because I had no doubt it would be him walking away, not me. I was too far gone to be the one to end it. I would never admit it out loud, but I couldn’t lie to myself.
Earlier, Abby accused me of loving him, and her words wouldn’t leave me alone. Everything about Evan intrigued me. Even now, with him admitting how difficult it was going to be to hurt another woman, I adored him. It was an insight into his character. He called himself an asshole for doing exactly what the show and his parents demanded of him.
“I’m a selfish bastard.” He looked pained. “I’m hurting people to secure my company. How is that right? I should have fought harder, gotten them to call all this off before it got to this point.”
“From what you’ve told me, you didn’t have a choice,” I murmured. “Your parents forced this on you. They’re the ones hurting people, Evan, not you.”
He was suffering just as much, if not more than everyone else. I saw the way he tensed when Paul forced him into an uncomfortable position, told him to remove his clothes for the camera, or kiss a woman he didn’t want to touch, all for the sake of entertainment. He was more than punished by the whole charade, and that was his parents’ fault, not his.
His hands were in his hair. “You have no idea how many times I’ve tried to walk away from this mess. You’re one of the few reasons I stayed. You keep me grounded.”
I brushed my knuckles over his cheekbone, hating the frown lines marring his brow. We needed a lighter subject. “If that’s your way of saying I’m good in bed, thank you.”
He rolled his head my way, grinning. “You’re not good in bed—you’re phenomenal. It’s why I can’t seem to stay out of it.”
“Trust me, the talent isn’t all mine. It takes two to tango.” I waggled my brows at him, earning a wider grin from him.
“Distracting me with sex talk?”
“Depends. Is it working?” I went up onto my elbow and placed a hand over his heart. He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and drew circles against my pulse. Despite the dimples, his brown eyes were troubled. Physical comfort wasn’t going to cut it tonight. He wanted me to console him with words, not my body. That inherent act spoke volumes about his feelings and faith in me.
“I’m not sure how to comfort you other than to say I understand. Tiffany will be hurt, and she’ll likely cry, but she’ll get over it. I know you don’t believe in marriage or soul mates, but I do, and her true love is still out there. She’ll find him and forget all about you someday. The best way for you to honor her is to be honest.”
“You believe in soul mates?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I never would have guessed that.”
“Why not?”
