Page 51 of The Billionaire Offer
He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close but not saying anything. I knew he was awake, though. He wasn’t moving like someone who was asleep, but I didn’t want to ruin the magic of the moment by asking if I’d woken him up with my music.
Closing my eyes, I relaxed into him with an “I love you” on the tip of my tongue. I just wasn’t brave enough to actually say it out loud.
One day soon, I hoped I would be. I hoped I’d find a moment when I knew for sure that I wouldn’t just be making things terribly awkward if I went ahead and confessed my feelings to him. This was only day one of a trip we would be on for weeks.
If I said it now and he didn’t feel the same way, the rest of our time together would be awful. The last thing I wanted was him taking pity on me, but knowing Bart, he’d keep doing or saying things just to make me feel better about having been rejected.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes at the very thought, but I didn’t let them fall. Breathing through them, I focused on the feel of his hard body next to mine and let my mind wander to what tomorrow held in store for us instead of focusing on my possibly unrequited love for him.
I felt the moment he dozed off, his body growing limper beside mine. A few minutes later, I felt myself being dragged under by sleep once more as well.
In the morning, he was already in the shower when I woke up. When he emerged from the bathroom, steam billowed out behind him and he clapped his hands, doing a little dancing jig with only a towel knotted around his waist.
“You’re up,” he said happily. “Come on, sleepyhead. Cairo awaits.”
I laughed, glancing at the clock against the wall. “It’s hardly late enough to call me a sleepyhead. I could go back to sleep if you want. That way, by the time I wake up again, it’d definitely be justified.”
“I’ve been up for an hour, so to me, it’s already justified. Rise and shine, Serenity. We’re wasting daylight here. We’re getting a private tour of the pyramids. How are you not so excited that you’re already in the shower?”
“A private tour?” I asked as I got out of bed, putting my hands up in surrender. “I am excited. I’m also still just waking up. We’re not late, are we?” My heart started pounding at the thought. “You said we had to be downstairs by nine. It’s only seven thirty now.”
“Well, no. We’re not late, but I’m pumped and we still have to eat breakfast.” Laughingly smacking my ass as I walked past him, his gaze tracked me into the bathroom. “Although you’re right. We’re not late and we have some time, especially if we grab breakfast on the go. Want me to join you?”
“No,” I squeaked when his hand shot out toward me again. Once I’d dodged him, I reached for the door and closed it until just my face was peeking out. “You’re pumped and we still have to eat a good breakfast. There’s no time forthat.”
“Fine.” He pretended to pout before he winked. “Just remember, I’ll be thinking about it anyway.”
I groaned, ignoring the way my body suddenly felt all hot and bothered. “You’re the worst. I didn’t need the reminder, but thanks for that. Now, I’m going to spend our entire private tour wondering if it’d be worth it to get arrested.”
His laughter rang out in the bedroom as I shut the bathroom door fully and headed for the shower, smiling over what a great mood he was in.
It turned out that I hadn’t needed to worry about spending all my time at the pyramids thinking about sex. As soon as we arrived, the place itself banished all thoughts of everything else.
The desert sun was hot on the bare skin of my shoulders, but I had on a wide-brimmed hat that Bart had surprised me with earlier that shielded my face and neck. Even without that, I doubted I’d have cared about the sun.
The pyramids and the Sphinx were too majestic, too awe-inspiring to focus too much on anything else. Despite the fact that the area was pretty crowded and not too far away from the city, there was a permeating silence that hung in the air here, almost like we were in some kind of magical bubble.
Then again, the entire experience was magical. I squeezed Bart’s hand, glancing up at him as we made our way into the Great Pyramid. “Is it just me, or does it feel like our lives are about to change just by being here? I’ve always wanted to see this, but it’s not just that. It’s almost…”
“Transcendent?” he guessed, finishing the thought for me when I became speechless as we crested the top of the stairs. Since the staircase inside was narrow, he hung back and put his hand on my lower back, chuckling as I stood still for a moment and just stared. “It’s not just you. There’s definitely something magical about this place.”
“Right?” I turned to grin at him. “It’s like you plucked the words right out of my head.”
He waggled his brows, lifting his index finger and moving it from his temple to mine. “Maybe there’s a spell on the pyramid that caused our minds to meld.”
I laughed, but then Arun, our tour guide for the day, turned to face us and smiled, explaining more about the pyramid and the tour in accented English. “Mind your step once we get inside. There are lights, but not too many, and the steps are quite small. There are some parts that are uneven.”
We nodded our understanding, and he smiled again. “The private tour you booked allows us to visit some areas where most people cannot go. When we get there, I will ask you to be extra careful. We have our headlamps, but some of those areas have no other light at all and the surfaces are more uneven.”
Once again, we nodded, but it was only then that I realized Bart had really gone above and beyond with this tour. It was bound to have cost him a pretty hefty bundle to book a private tour of one the most prominent ancient wonders of the world, but he hadn’t said anything or made a big deal about it at all.
I kept forgetting how rich he was, and every little reminder—like this one—came as a shock. He was still the same old Bart in a lot of ways, though. I was glad the money hadn’t changed him, but I needed to talk to him about all these private jets, and tours, and things. I knew he was doing it for himself, just because he could, and I was lucky to be along for the ride, but he didn’t have to spend this kind of money on me. I’d have been perfectly happy with the regular tour.
As Arun took us deeper into the pyramid and we first started venturing away from the crowds, though, I felt luckier than ever to be here with Bart. We held hands when we could, but even when the pathways were only just big enough for us to be able to squeeze through single file, he was always touching me somehow.
It was yet another incredible experience to share with him, and I knew I would never forget it. Something happened deep within me as we explored the ancient tomb side by side, and it was almost like I could feel our bond strengthening with every step we took.
Bart and I were doing and seeing things very few people ever would, and we were doing it together. It made me feel like we could survive any obstacle life threw at us to try to keep us apart. We would always make it through to the other side with flying colors.
