Page 72 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Surgeon

I was so tired, I fell asleep immediately after he carried meback to the bed.

I woke to the sound of birdsong and bright sunshine filtering through the curtains. I knew it must be late in the morning but didn’t care. I was wrapped in Paolo’s arms, my head on his chest as he still slept soundly beneath me. I could hear his heartbeat, and the comforting sound almost lulled me back to sleep. I couldn’t remember ever feeling like this about someone before.

I knew Paolo. I’d seen him as both a man, who I was very attracted to, and a doctor, who I respected and admired. I’d become friends with him, in a way, over these past months that we’d been in each other’s orbit. On the periphery of each other’s lives, we’d begun to discover things about one another that drew us in. It wasn’t just about physical appearance or chemistry anymore, and it hadn’t been for a while.

But then the auction happened, and I felt like my world had been blown apart. I’d learned how to keep people at a distance. Besides Nadine, her mama, and a handful of friends I’d made in the past couple of years, trusting people had never turned out well for me. So, I was careful who I let in. Paolo did not tick the boxes for someone I’d usually let into my inner circle. He’d been upfront with me. From the very start of our relationship, he’d made it clear that he didn’t see me as an equal because of the different levels of society we mixed with. He didn’t try to hide his snobbery, whether it came from his upbringing or not.

And yet… I was falling for him. I knew I shouldn’t. I knew it wasn’t a good idea. I knew it probably wouldn’t end well for me. But sometimes our hearts just go on and do it anyway, without our permission.

“What are you thinking about?” his drowsy voice rumbled in my ear from his chest.

I was so tired. I could barely keep my eyes open. Maybe that’s why I whispered, “I don’t want to fall for you,” before I fell back asleep in his arms.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jelly

“What do you think?” Tiffani Grace, the beautiful, classy blonde realtor Carmen had suggested was showing Paolo and me some houses. She apparently worked closely with Javier Salazar and was in the same office as Nadine. I really liked her and thought she was a good replacement for Nadine. If we couldn’t have my best friend because she was out of town, at least we’d gotten someone I felt like I could be friends with.

It felt strange, knowing that Paolo was paying for an actual house for me. I had stirrings of nausea and self-doubt in my stomach. I bit my bottom lip.

“Could you give us just a moment, Ms. Grace?” Paolo asked, looking at me and seeing my distress.

“Of course. But you have got to call me Tiffani. I can’t handle someone a few years younger than I am calling me Ms. like I’m middle aged or something.”

Paolo smiled. “Sorry about that.”

“I’ll be out on the deck. Just come out when you’re ready to see the backyard.”

“Thank you.” Paolo waited for the door to close behind her before coming over to me. “Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t like this house? We can skip it and go to the next one…”

“That’s not it,” I said quietly. “It’s great. It’s everything I could ever want,” I said honestly. “I love the neighborhood, the floorplan, the kitchen, the front porch… everything.”

“Then what’s wrong, baby?”

I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was just so damn good-looking. He was wearing khakis with a white button down, his sleeves rolled up to show his ridiculously muscular forearms. But even faced with all that manly beauty I couldn’t get my mind off feeling guilty.

“It feels wrong to accept a house from you,” I blurted out.

His eyes widened. “Why?”

“Because… well, I’m getting it because I’m sleeping with you.” I glanced outside quickly to see that Tiffani Grace was walking around outside. She wasn’t listening in or anything. I didn’t want her to know about our arrangement.

“Jelly, I’d have been happy to buy you a house anyway.”

I gave him a look. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He shrugged. “I’ve gotten to know you over the past year or so. If you’d come to me and said that you needed a house, I swear I would’ve bought you one. So, this might be in our Cinnamon Auction contract, but you are not getting it because you’re fucking me. Okay?”

I still wasn’t quite sure I could believe him, but I’d try.

“Also, I hate to brag, but I’m a billionaire. Abillionaire. This house is going to be like six hundred grand. That’s nothing to me.”

“You sound kind of douchey,” I laughed.

He nodded. “I know. But it’s true. There’s a time for false modesty, but this wasn’t it, baby.” He grinned at me and pulled me into his arms. He held me for a while, his hand on the back of my head as I rested my face against his chest. “Are you feeling better? Are you ready to look at the backyard?”

I pulled back and nodded. “Yeah.” I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and followed him onto the back deck. I had already decided I loved the house. If I hadn’t? Seeing the backyard would’ve done it for me. It was large with a big back deck that led down into a plush, nicely landscaped yard. There were trees, which was one of the things I loved about this neighborhood. Instead of coming in and tearing all the trees down, the builder had made a conscious effort to keep all the hardwoods he could. It was gorgeous, and I could just imagine sittingoutside in the fall and reading a book or drinking a cup of hot tea or cocoa.