Escorting the Billionaire by Leigh James
James
My head was pounding. “You know I won’t let you go anywhere—not without me.”
“You should let me finish ’cause that’s not all she said,” Audrey whispered. A blush was creeping up her neck, which was never a good sign.
“What else?” I asked. Ice-cold fury was pulsing through me. My mother had crossed her final line with me. “What else did she say?”
She held up her fingers to count my mother’s grievances, ticking them off like a list. “She said that I was going to ruin your life if I stayed with you. She said you were dating me just to spite her. She said that our children would practically be famous, and everyone would find out about my past. And that the kids would have to live with the fact that their mother used to be a whore.”
“Audrey,” I said, “we already discussed this.”
She looked up at me and let out a shaky breath. “It’s a little different when you hear it from a third party.”
“She’s not just any third party—she has an agenda.”
“She told me her agenda was to protect her family. That’s the only motivation she has, James.”
“That’s bullshit. She doesn’t know anything about family. All she cares about is the image of family.” I stopped her from pacing and pulled her to me. Her skin felt hot to my touch. “I told you she was never going to accept us. What does this change?”
She looked up at me. “She threatened me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked her what she would do if I said no. If I stayed. She said that she would think of something.” Audrey pressed her face against my chest. “She…she was a little scary, James.”
I stroked her hair. “She can’t do anything to you, babe. I won’t let her.”
Audrey looked back up at me. “What exactly do you think she’s capable of?”
“I wouldn’t put too much past her. But what do you mean? What are you worried about?”
“I’m not sure.” She paused for a second. “But I know I don’t want to tear your family apart.”
“You can’t tear my family apart—there is no together in my family. My mother is a nightmare; my father does nothing to rein her in. That leaves Todd and Evie. Todd already cares about you. Once he knows I love you, he’ll welcome you into the family with open arms. Evie will follow suit. And that’s enough for me, Audrey. I don’t care about my mother. The worst thing she can do is disinherit me. You know what? I don’t even care if she does. I went out and made my own fortune. I don’t need her money, and I don’t need her. I don’t need anyone except for you.”
I just held her for a second. “Can you live with that, Audrey?” I asked.
“I want to,” she said.
“That’s all I’m asking,” I said, smoothing her hair. “But I think maybe it’s time we scared her a little. She’s past due.”
The valet knockedon our door the following morning at seven a.m. I gave him six crisp five-hundred-dollar bills. “Please tell Mrs. Preston that Miss Reynolds left as expected,” I said, nodding at him. “Off you go.”
“Why’d you do that?” Audrey asked, padding out to the kitchen in my T-shirt. She turned the coffeemaker on and squinted at me, clearly still half-asleep. “I’m so confused.”
“I’m just looking for the element of surprise,” I said. “It’ll be fun to see my mother’s expression at breakfast.”
“You have a weird idea of fun,” Audrey said and yawned. “You want some coffee? You’re gonna need it.”
My mother’s face at breakfast wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped. Unfortunately, she’d injected so much filler into it before the wedding it couldn’t move that much. “Good morning,” I said to her at the buffet. I pulled out a chair for Audrey at her table, and I sat down in between them.
“Ah,” she said, looking pointedly at Audrey. “I see you’re determined to enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
“We’re planning on enjoying lots of things. And she’s not going anywhere, Mother,” I said, spearing a piece of cantaloupe off her plate. “Audrey’s agreed to move to California with me after this.”
“Is that so?” my mother asked benignly.
“Yes, that’s so.” Audrey was tense beside me, but I refused to let my mother get under my skin. I wanted to see her crack, just a little, but that was going to take patience. My mother was the Ice Queen. It was going to take a blowtorch to get her to melt.
And even the blowtorch method would require some patience.
“What are you going to do for work out there, Audrey?”
Audrey looked pale. “I haven’t decided yet, Mrs. Preston.”
“I’m sure you have quite a resume. You’ll find lots of willing, ready, and able employers in California.” She gave her an in ice-pick smile.
“That is enough,” I snapped, furious. “The only reason we’re still here is for Todd. I want you to know that Audrey told me everything you’ve said. You can be as horrible as you like. But you need to know from me—your son, who you claim to care so much about—that your behavior will change nothing. Audrey and I will simply cut you out of our lives and our future. That’s your choice, Mother.”
My mother turned to me, her eyes softening a little. “Please don’t say things like that, James. You’re always too harsh with me.”
“You’re the one who’s been too harsh. I’m done. Audrey is part of my life now,” I said. I grabbed her hand from the table, lacing my fingers through hers. “I love her. You can’t scare her off, and if you don’t treat her with the respect she deserves, you’ll never hear from me again.”
“James,” my mother said, “if you choose to have a relationship with Audrey, I will support that. I didn’t realize you were this serious.”
She forced herself to smile at us. “I can be pleasant, see? You never give me any credit.”
“That’s because you don’t deserve any,” I said.
She nodded and clutched her mimosa, her hands looking old to me for the first time. “You might just be right about that, dear.”
“Well that was horrible,” Audrey said after breakfast. “But at least she seemed appropriately chastened.”
“Don’t believe it for a second,” I said. We were changing to go on a snorkeling excursion with Todd, Evie, Cole, Jenny, and some of the others; I would be happy to put some distance between my parents and myself right now. “My mother is a lot of things, but sorry is rarely, if ever, one of them.”
“Do you think that was just for show?”
I considered it for a second. “Yes. More for me than for you.”
“So where does that leave me?” she asked.
“By my side. Where I can keep you out of her way.” I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
“Are you going to wear that black bikini again?” I asked. “’Cause I don’t know if I can take you out in public like that.”
She laughed. “Do you want me to wear a one-piece instead? Or a tankini?”
“Hell no,” I said.
She went to change, and a few minutes later, she called to me from out back. I went out and found her in the outdoor shower, the water running hot and steam rising up around her. She was waiting for me in the very black bikini that I’d cautioned her about.
As predicted, I got hard just looking at her.
“Let me just take care of you now, baby,” she said and got on her knees. She started to stroke my balls, which got heavy at her touch. “That way we can relax and enjoy the snorkeling.” She undid my swim trunks and took me immediately in her mouth, licking and sucking my hard length until I couldn’t see straight.
Five minutes later I came so hard I forgot my name. But not hers.
Never hers.
I pulledCole aside down on the dock. “How’s it going with Jenny?”
“Awesome. She’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Are you talking about her in a sexual way? Or as a person?”
“I didn’t realize it was necessary to parse this out,” Cole said. “But I meant both.”
“What’s going to happen after this trip?” I asked.
“What’s going to happen with you and Audrey?” he asked in a challenging tone. “I asked you first, if you’ll remember. Back in Boston.”
“I asked her to move to California with me,” I said. “I love her.”
“To borrow Jenny’s phrase: Ho my frickin’ God, James. I’m so proud of you.” He clapped me on the back and grinned. “I knew it.”
“Well, you were right,” I said, grinning back. “Now I want to know if I’m right about you.”
“Huh,” Cole said. “This should be interesting.”
“I think you have real feelings for this girl,” I said. “I think you might just have an emotional boner for her.”
Cole looked at me thoughtfully and nodded. “It’s obvious, right? It’s big.”
“It’s not as big as mine, but you can still see it.”
“Ha,” Cole said. He watched Jenny as she laughed and talked to Audrey. “I think I might be in love with her.” His jaw clenched as he said it.
“She told Audrey you offered to buy her a house when we get back.”
“That’s right,” Cole said. “I asked her what she wanted, and she told me she wanted a South End condo and a Range Rover. So I said done and done.”
“What if that’s not all she wants?”
“What do you mean?” Cole asked.
“What if she wants you to be her boyfriend?”
“I frickin’ hope she wants me to be her boyfriend if I’m buying her a South End condo and a Range Rover.” He looked at me, confused. “Is she upset or something? She wouldn’t even do that thing with my balls last night.”
“Cole, please—”
“No, but she always does it. And I didn’t know what was wrong. She wouldn’t tell me. And she’s not usually like that. She’s always open with me. And I mean really open—”
“Stop,” I said, holding up my hands in mock surrender. “Please, please spare me the details. All I know is that she told Audrey what you offered her and that she wants more.”
“More than a condo and a car?”
“Yes, Cole.”
“Like what?” he asked, thoroughly perplexed.
“Like you. In the condo and in the car.”
“I was planning on being in the condo and in the car,” he said. “That’s sort of the point.”
“You should tell her,” I said. “Just be really clear. Sometimes they need to hear it with an exclamation point.”
“Sounds like you, bro,” he said and gave me a lopsided smile.
