Page 27 of The Billionaire Invitation

“Did he throw you onto the bar top? The dining room table? Oh! Did you make out in the elevator?”

“Maybe next time. Because there’s going to be a next time. We sort of…kind of…agreed to continue this while he’s in town.”

“How long is he in town?” Gabby cocked her head to one side.

“Two weeks, give or take a few days.” When Gabby didn’t respond, Honesty offered, “I couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.”

“I’ll bet he didn’t give you one.”

“I was just thinking about how serious I’ve been lately. Or maybe not just lately. I don’t remember being the life of the party in school, either. I wanted to succeed so badly, I rarely made time for fun. Dating Dante was the wildest thing I’d ever done.”

“He left you, though. And that would make anyone check themselves. Especially if you two were in love.”

“We were.” Honesty had walled up after he’d left, but it’d been a slow build. She’d poured herself into her schoolwork. She’d graduated with honors. By the time she surfaced and had started dating again, she noticed that she was the first to bail.

“I was so careful when I dated after him,” she told Gabby. “And then last night I threw my scruples out the window.”

“And your panties.” Gabby laughed at her own joke. “Who could blame you for saying yes to Dante Crane? He’s absolutely gorgeous, familiar, and safe. And he’s helping you in your time of need.”

“You’d better be talking about the nonprofit.”

“Does it matter if it’s both?”

“No, I guess it doesn’t.” She dropped her head into her folded arms and spoke to her desk. “What am I doing?”

“Hey. Look at me.” Gabby patted one of Honesty’s hands.

Honesty lifted her head.

“You are doing whatever you damn well please. And it sounds like Dante is what you damn well please. Plus, this is great for Honest Nutrition and the charity! It’s perfectly acceptable to have your cake and eat it too. I do it all the time.”

“Yes, but you are you, and I am…me.”

“Meaning?”

“You are optimistic and fun-loving, and I’m fairly certain I left my curling iron on and am going to burn my apartment building to embers.”

“I ordered you one with an auto-off switch, remember? But you are proving your own point. You’re not as optimistic as you could be.”

“Tell me about it.” No matter how much she’d justified having sex with Dante, the minx that had crawled out of hiding seemed to have tucked herself away once again. This morning she’d woken up with the sobering realization that last night should have been the only night she spent with him.

“Okay, so listen.” Gabby wiggled in her chair. “You said you’re worried you’ve been taking life too seriously. But you know for a fact you aren’t going to fall in love with Dante again.” She nodded until Honesty nodded with her. “Good. And I’m guessing he also knows that he’s not going to fall in love with you again. Assuming he is as risk-averse as you are?”

“Maybe more.”

“Good!”

Honesty couldn’t imagine anything more preposterous than cool, collected Dante Crane succumbing to love. In bed, he’d come unglued, but he hadn’t once lost his sense of self-control. At least, not as far as she could tell.

“All right, so fuck each other’s brains out, take the advice he offers on the nonprofit, and then we can grab the money and run.”

Honesty allowed herself another laugh. She looked down at her coffee mug, unsure if the dose of caffeine or Gabby—who was a lot like a dose of caffeine—was responsible for her lighter mood.

“What would I do without you?”

“You are never going to have to find out.” Gabby blew her a kiss. As she walked out of Honesty’s office, she called over her shoulder, “You will continue to give me details, though!”

Honesty redirected her attention to the dozens of emails staring back at her from her computer screen and decided that she deserved to have more fun. It was time to stop taking herself so seriously.