The Billionaire and the Runaway Bride by Nadia Lee

Chapter Seventeen

Declan

Yuna’s sunny declaration feels like a sledgehammer to the base of my skull.

Here I am, seriously considering letting go of the best assistant I’ve ever had, and she’s telling me she doesn’t see any future, professional or otherwise, with me beyond eight weeks.

I can’t quite process it.

“Should you be telling me about that?” I ask finally.

“Why not? It isn’t like you don’t know I’m done after eight weeks. Your assistant’s coming back, right?”

“Well…yeah. But what are you going to do after that? Seems to me you’ve still got the same problem. Your family’s still going to be pushing guys at you, right?”

She laughs. “I’m only going to marry a man who puts me above everything else. A guy who lets me know how much he loves me and cares about me every day of my life.” Her tone is very matter-of-fact. “And I’m perfectly okay with staying single for the rest of my life if I don’t find that person.”

“Because you won’t settle,” I say, starting to understand her better.

“Nope. Why should I? I don’t even keep presents I don’t like. Why would I keep a guy?”

“But how are you going to know if you won’t even date him?”

Yuna shrugs. “There has to be a, a…what do you call it? In French it’s a frisson.”

“A zing? A thrill?”

“That’s it. It’s like shopping. When I’m looking at shoes on display, some of them don’t do a thing for me—although they’re very good shoes—but some of them just scream my name. It’s the same thing with men.”

Popping my I threw away your number cherry, and now this. My ego is doubled over and wheezing, although part of me says there’s no way she felt zero zing. I didn’t imagine the changes in her body when I held her during our waltz practice.

The fluttering of her pulse.

The parting of her lips as she breathed faster.

The subtle flush on her cheeks.

No woman responds like that if she feels nothing.

Maybe she doesn’t understand what her reactions mean. But that’s ridiculous. She might’ve been sheltered, but she isn’t an idiot.

Well, we’ll see how long she can pretend to feel nothing when we continue to practice the dance. I plan to insist on it until I get together with Melvin. And maybe after. You can never practice enough. I might even tell her I need to learn to tango, because there could be some role out there that requires it.

I pay for lunch, and we leave. I open the door for Yuna, but she gestures for me to go first.

“You’re the boss. I’m supposed to open doors for you.”

Well, this is new.Benedict never did that. Maybe I should tell him when he’s back. “Consider me an enlightened boss.” I smile at her. “I’ll always open the door for you.”

“Well…okay. Thanks.”

She steps out, looking fresh. A hand over her eyes, she gazes up at the sky. There’s a small smile on her lips.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. The day’s just beautiful.” She sighs softly. As she does so, her gorgeous breasts rise and fall, the ruby pendant sliding a little along her cleavage. Lucky accessory. “In fact, it’s perfect. I love the climate here.”

“Yeah, L.A.’s great.” I continue to look at her. It’s remarkable that she finds joy in such little things when it’s obvious she’s used to money. I can’t think of a moment when one of my exes showed any appreciation for anything that didn’t have a hefty price tag. My heartbeat grows erratic as something warm unfurls in my chest. It almost feels like heartburn, except it isn’t unpleasant.

We start walking back to the parking garage, but a loud shout comes from behind us.

“Oh, you bastard!”

I stiffen and turn, recognizing the voice. Ah jeez…!

Jessica is glaring at me, her face the approximate color of Yuna’s lipstick. She starts gesturing wildly with her arms, her golden hair flying around like Medusa’s snakes. Her green eyes narrow as she spots Yuna. “Is this the reason Benedict’s been ignoring me? You want this…this thing?”

People are staring, so I stand taller and straighter to show I have nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I’d put a restraining order on her. Except Aiden would probably say that an ex making a spectacle of herself to get me back isn’t really a crime. Much less a threat. Right now, all she’s doing is hyperventilating and glaring at Yuna.

Yuna runs her gaze over Jessica once, then shrugs and looks away like she’s beneath notice. My new assistant’s composure is impressive, but also just funny. It’s as though Yuna knows exactly what buttons to push.

And sure enough, Jessica turns redder. She’s a former beauty pageant princess and isn’t used to people ignoring her. Now she looks like the salsa we had for lunch.

“I’m talking to you, bitch! You think you can just show up and steal my man?” She glares at Yuna’s dress and bag. “Gold digger! You can’t afford that stuff on your own!”

This has gone far enough. I step forward to stop her ranting, but Yuna puts a hand on my elbow.

She looks down at herself, then at Jessica with a small smile. “This? This stuff?”

“Declan bought it for you, didn’t he? I’m sure he showers you with gifts.”

“Actually, I bought them myself,” Yuna says. “I don’t need a man to buy things for me.”

“Liar! You don’t even look that rich!” Jessica sneers.

Okay, enough of this bullshit. “If you don’t move out of the way, I’m calling the police.”

She looks at me like I just slapped her. “For what? I didn’t do anything!”

“You’re harassing me and my employee.”

“Your employee?” She blinks, then gestures at Yuna. “She’s an employee?”

Yuna’s smile turns brilliant. “His brand-new assistant. I started today.”

Confusion clouds Jessica’s gaze as she addresses me. “But you don’t do female assistants.”

“I’m kind of exceptional.” Yuna winks.

A vein starts to appear on Jessica’s forehead.

“If you don’t relax, you’re going to go all varicose,” I say, pointing at the thin blue cord that’s now throbbing like a trapped worm under her skin.

“You can’t get them on your face!” she says.

“Not according to the studies,” I say, making shit up. “Look it up.”

Gasping, she slaps her forehead.

Yuna covers her mouth, her eyes bright with laughter, and we walk off. Enough time has been wasted.

But I know I won. Jessica will be busy for the next few days looking for studies on forehead varicose veins.