Page 57 of The Billionaire Offer
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked as we climbed back into the hotel shuttle after doing a spectacular nature hike. “I know I’ve asked every day since we got here, but you’ve just been so quiet.”
Quiet was an understatement. He’d been acting downright oddly. The quietness was one thing, but since his super secret important business to take care of back home, he’d seemed almost nervous at times. It was the weirdest thing, but every time I asked, he said the same thing, and it was the same answer I got right now.
“I’m fine. It’s just hot and I’m a little distracted.” He gave me a sideways smile, stretching his arm out once we were seated and slinging it over my shoulders. Pulling me in close, he pressed a kiss to my temple and leaned back on our chair. “Everything is fine. I promise.”
Although he kept saying it, I wasn’t sure I believed him. “What are you so distracted by that not even seeing a volcano could snap you out of it?”
“Just stuff.” He shrugged. “Besides, thankfully, the volcano wasn’t erupting yesterday when we saw it, so while it was cool, it wasn’t doing anything to distract me from my distraction.”
“Wait a second, you’re not getting bored, are you?”
He looked at me like I was crazy, chuckling as he held me even tighter. “No, I’m not fucking bored. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. I swear, everything is fine. I’ve just finally relaxed properly after all the excitement of Egypt, and it’s made me mellow, but it’s also made me think.”
“About?” I asked, wondering if I’d finally get a straight answer out of him.
When he shrugged like it was nothing really, I knew that wasn’t going to happen today. “Life. The tournament. Just stuff. We’ve been so busy that I’ve hardly had time to think, and it’s catching up to me now. You really don’t have to worry about me. I probably just need to work through it all in my head, and I’ll be back to normal in no time.”
I was starting to doubt that was true. It had been two whole days, and while that didn’t seem like a lot of time considering how much we’d done and seen since we’d left the States, I was realizing that something had to be going on with him.
If he didn’t want to talk to me about it, which he obviously didn’t, then it was okay. As long as I didn’t need to worry, I could give him however much time he needed. Since he was still really affectionate with me, I didn’t think I had anything to worry about, but it still felt strange not to know what was going on with him after so long of us talking about everything.
Then again, it wasn’t like I wasn’t keeping a secret of my own. Sure, it wasn’t making me act funny, but that didn’t mean I was being totally honest with him.
So I left him to his thoughts when he seemed to get lost in them again as we were driven back to our hotel. Since he barely spoke to me on the ride, I went back to doing what I’d been doing every time he’d lapsed into silence these last couple of days—I worked on a song I’d been putting together in my head.
It was one I’d had the idea for for a while, but this part of the trip and the time with Bart had really inspired me. We were keeping to a slower pace here, and it felt like everything that had been brewing in my head since Egypt and maybe even before was finally coming together.
This one felt like it could be the big one. The one I’d been waiting for. Obviously, I wouldn’t know for sure until after I’d recorded and released it, and it was a long way off from being ready for that, but I had a feeling this was the one that could buy me my ticket to the big time.
While I’d been writing all this time, something about this song felt different. Not only was it taking a lot longer to come together, but I also kept coming up with ways to make it better. Only, it didn’t really feel like I was coming up with them. It was more like there was a force much greater than me just inserting it into my head at random intervals.
While I was hesitant to put a name to said force, if someone held a gun to my head and made me do it, I’d have said that it waslove. This song had nothing to do with the adventures we’d been on or the experiences we’d had. It was all about the way he’d made me feel throughout. It was about the bonding and the growing we’d done, the laughter we’d shared, and the unfathomable pain I felt when I envisioned my future without him.
Of course, it also wasn’t about us.Pfft. Like even I believe that.
I shushed the sarcastic voice in my head, but that part of me did have a very valid point. As much as I tried to convince myself that it was just another generic love song, I also knew that it wasn’t. It was one I thought would resonate with a ton of people, but at the same time, it resonated so deeply within me because it was the kind of love I’d experienced for myself—but only with him. The kind of love that had apparently literally inspired me to write what felt like it might just become one of the greatest love songs out there at the moment.
While I’d never go so far as to think one of my songs might become one of the greatest love songs of all time, this one was definitely one of the special songs. Deep down in my heart, I knew that it was about us but I also knew that, even if things didn’t work out, I would never regret feeling this for him. Or writing this for him, for that matter. Not that I planned on telling him it was for him.
“Now who’s the one who’s distracted?” he asked teasingly as we pulled up in front of the main doors to the resort. “Did you even realize that we were here?”
I flushed. “Nope, but I’m not telling you what I was so distracted by. You can have a taste of your own medicine.”
He laughed but held up his hands. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but if you do want to, I’m all ears.”
“Thanks, but I’m all good for now,” I said, then suddenly, out of nowhere, the last part of the verse I’d been struggling with jumped into my head. “Oh, I’ve got it.”
Excitement rushed through me, and without even thinking about it, I spun around and flung myself at him, holding him close as I laid a big kiss on his lips. “I’ve got it. I’ve finally got it.”
“You’ve got what?” he asked, laughing as he picked me up and turned me in a circle like we were celebrating even though he had no idea what was happening. “What was that for?”
“Just for helping me with something I’ve been having trouble with,” I said as I wiggled myself free and took his hand, swinging it in mine between us. “What you said about being all ears, that was what I needed. It was what I’ve been missing fordaysnow.”
“Uh, okay? For a song?” he asked, glancing down at me with a slight crease between his brows as he dragged his palm over his jaw. “In case it wasn’t for a song, it’s true. I am all ears if you need to talk. You seemed pretty far away there for a while when we were on the shuttle.”
“I was, but yes. It was for a song.” I released a heavy breath through my nostrils when I realized what I’d just done. “Damn. I really wasn’t going to tell you yet what was distracting me. I genuinely wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine, and now I’ve told you anyway.”
He chuckled. “That’s okay. If I could tell you what was distracting me, I would, but it’s just a bunch of stuff that I’m working out. I’m glad I could help with your song, though. Maybe if you play it for me, I can keep helping you.”
