Page 19 of The Runaway Billionaire's Inconvenient Baby
When Billie finally returns, she’s wearing a brave smile. She probably hopes that I can’t see right through it, but I can. It doesn’t help her case that her eyes are a little red, a little puffy.
A tiny twinge of guilt hits me.
She has so much passion for this island, so much that it makes her want to show me around and yell at me. So much that it makes her cry in the back of her cafe. I wrack my brain, trying to think of when I last had that much passion in my life for anything.
The truth is, I don’t think I ever have.
“Okay,” she says, slamming her hands down on the counter. “Get your stuff. We’re going.”
“Going where?” I frown.
“To see the island. I want you to see the best of this place. I want you to see why we’re a community worth saving.”
“Okay,” I say dubiously.
She thinks she can appeal to my bleeding heart, but unfortunately for her, I don’t have one. I’m a billionaire. You don’t get where I’m at in business without being at least a little cutthroat. If I worried about other people’s feelings every time I made a decision, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am.
As we leave the cafe and absolutely everyone turns to wave goodbye to her, I start to wonder if that really has been a good outlook to have my entire life.
We walk out into the sunshine, and Billie stretches her arms. “Isn’t the sea beautiful?” she says.
I bite my tongue to stop myself from sayingnot as beautiful as you are. It’s true, though. Today, she’s in blue, a short skirt that billows around her knees, a white blouse that gives me a hint of the body underneath. The sun catches her skin, kisses it, and gives highlights to her dark blond hair. She is beautiful, but she’s also not the kind of woman who I usually have hanging around me. I don’t think she would take that as a compliment. It’s refreshing, almost, to talk to someone as beautiful as she is and not have her throwing it in my face.
A million girls have tried to seduce me, to get me to be their suitor, but I’ve never had much interest. It’s always felt so hollow, so pointless. As I get older, I’m starting to think it doesn’t matter. I can be happy without a relationship. Why do I need to bother being in one?
Besides, Billie’s made it perfectly clear how she feels about me. She’s not doing this out of the kindness of her heart. She’s doing this as some massive guilt trip.
Instead of saying any of that, I agree with her. “Yes, it’s why I want the island. It’s tranquil here.”
“That’s one word for it,” scoffs Billie. “You should see it at sunrise. When all the fishing boats leave, it’s like a parade.”
“Do you get a lot of tourism here?” I ask, trying to stick to the point.
She shrugs. “It varies year to year. Most of our economy comes from the sea, but yes, visitors do come. We offer silly little day trips, tours on fishing boats, forest hikes, that kind of thing. People like to use this place as an escape.” There’s a twinge of sadness behind her eyes as she says this.
“And you hate them?” I ask.
“No.” She sighs. “I hate the way people from the city look at us and think we’re stupid because we live small. We’re as complicated as anyone else. We live and love, the same as the people in the city. We’re not money-grubbing businessmen, however.”
“Ouch,” I say, and she doesn’t apologize.
“Come on,” she says, waving her hand at me and leaning me down toward the sea. “Let’s go to the beach bar.”
“The beach bar? At this time of day?”
“I thought you wanted to see the island?” she scoffs, turning back to look at me over her shoulder as she raises an eyebrow. The wind catches her hair and I freeze in place, unable to do anything but watch her in her natural environment. Somehow, it’s hard to imagine this woman anywhere but here. If you put her in the city, I think she would be miserable.
I can’t imagine her among the towers and people and chaos.
She marches me over to the beach, barely saying a word to me. She waves at people and says hello as they pass. Many of them raise an eyebrow to see her with me, and she offers a hasty explanation that she’s trying to convince me to save the town. Nice to know she’s that embarrassed to be seen with me.
When we get to the bar, an older gentleman with Asian features and a warm smile greets us.
“Hey, Steven,” says Billie.
“Hey, Billie,” he says before turning a sharp look upon me. “And you must be the businessman who wants to kick us all out.”
“That’s me.” I chuckle awkwardly.
