Page 74 of Billionaire Romance

Eric sighs dramatically, but he’s still smiling. That doesn’t keep me from noticing that he’s not really telling the truth.

“So are you going to tell me about the party?”

“What about it?”

I shrug, curling my knees up on the seat and turning to face him. “Why your sister needed to ask me to be your date. Why you need to bring a date at all. Anything else that I can expect to find.”

Eric looks uncomfortable. “It’s a long story.”

“I think we’ve got some time.”

“My mother just wants me to be happy. Unfortunately, she wants it to be on her terms and her timeline. If I showed up alone it would just make things worse, and things haven’t really been good for a while. So Bianca was trying to make life a little easier for everyone.”

“Why?” I ask. “What happened?”

He goes silent, and the atmosphere in the car changes, goes a little colder, a little sadder. “Sally, going to this party on a day that I hate is already difficult for me. I don’t want to get into other things that are equally as difficult.”

Yeah, that makes sense. Even if everything feels close, I have to remember that we don’t actually know each other that well yet. “I’m sorry,” I say. “It was out of line.”

“No,” he takes my hand and squeezes. “It’s fine to ask. I just can’t today.”

“I’m guessing that this has something to do with why you hate Valentine’s Day and everything to do with it?”

“It does, yeah.”

“Okay.” I pull myself closer to him on the seat. “I bet I could convince you to like this holiday as much as I do.”

A reluctant smile is pulled from his lips and there’s some light in his eyes. “How to you plan to do that?”

“Feminine wiles.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain in greater detail,” he says, sexy smirk returning as I distract him. I don’t like seeing him in pain, and whatever it is that’s made him hate today is clearly still an open wound.

“I mean,” I say, “that I’ll let you take me somewhere that has a bed, strip me down and teach me the ways of love.” I over-emphasize the word to make him laugh, and it works.

“That sounds more like the party I want to go to.”

I kiss him this time, climbing into his lap. I should care that this is going to wrinkle my dress or ruin my make-up, but I don’t. Eric’s hands are on my hips, pulling me down against him so I can feel exactly how he’s affected by me, and what’s more, how we might be connected if there were a few less layers of cloth between us.

He groans. “If this is the way things are going to go, I think I could be convinced to hate Valentine’s Day a little less.”

“Unfortunately, I think that we’re already at this party.” I can see out the window behind him and we’re pulling up to one of the most beautiful houses that I’ve ever seen.

I slip off his lap and quickly re-apply my lipstick while he sighs, head back against the seat. “Okay. Let's do this.”

The limo pulls up to the front of the house and Eric exits first. I take his hand and he helps me out, and I straighten my skirt. When I look up, I’m speechless. I thought I saw the house through the window, but that must have been just a part of it because what I’m standing in front of is a mansion. A real-life mansion that could swallow three of my apartment building and that’s just the front façade.

“Is this where you grew up?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Eric sounds a little sheepish. “It’s a lot. I know.”

“We had very different childhoods,” I say, laughing. Because this is ridiculous. I’m in a fairy tale and I love it. There are guys in perfect suits waiting to take my wrap and clutch and they greet Eric by name. By name I mean ‘Mr. Marshall.’

I’m a little surprised that they don’t announce us with titles like something out of a regency novel. But it still feels that way, because walking through the door into the massive foyer is like walking into a movie. Everything is decorated, dripping with hearts and Cupids and garlands in shades of reds and pinks and whites.

There’s a crystal chandelier overhead that’s casting rainbows over the room and I stretch out my arms, watching the changing light play over my skin. This is everything I’ve ever wanted for Valentine’s Day. It’s over the top and beautiful and perfect.

I look back at Eric, and he’s looking at me. Only at me. Nothing else. I know he hates this even if I don’t know why. But he’s trying. For me. For his family.

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