Page 53 of The Billionaire Invitation

“How did you discover this place? Is there a billionaire convention where you share the coolest restaurants and places so that you can impress your girlfriends?” It was out of her mouth before she could reel it back in. She absolutely had not meant to imply that she was his girlfriend.

His eyes were affixed to the drink menu, but he’d heard her gaffe loud and clear. “A billionaire convention?” was all he said.

“I had no idea there was an atrium hovering over Chicago. And I love plants. And windows. I mean, the way the natural light is coming through the windows is…is great.” She pressed her lips together so that she’d stop talking. Hopefully, her chattering to fill the air gave him instant amnesia.

Dante didn’t flinch. “After visiting your apartment, I could tell you liked live plants. And I noticed how much you enjoyed being high up because of how favorably you responded to my penthouse.” He slid her a devilish look that held the promise of more of the same.

“Good afternoon.” Their waitress was a woman with auburn curly hair, freckles, and a cherry-red smile. “May I offer you something to drink?”

“I will have a martini, straight up, dirty, extra dry. Top shelf vodka.”

“Miss?”

Honesty nodded. “Same.”

While they waited for their drinks to come, she leaned back in the plush leather seat and sighed. She was tired, but at least her hangover was a thing of the past. “When I woke up this morning, I planned on ending our meeting ASAP so that I could climb back into bed.”

“Funny, I woke up hoping for the same scenario.”

“You’re a lot, sometimes.” She laughed.

“So I’m told.”

Warm sunlight streamed in through the windows and highlighted the sharp angles of his face. He could be a GQ model with his dark features and square jaw.

“The last ten days have been some of the fastest of my life,” he said. “I’m trying to do everything while I’m here, but time is sifting through my fingers.”

Had he been in town ten days already?

“You’re here for what, one more week?” She tried to sound casual, even as the visual of sand in an hourglass flashed in her mind.

“A few more days. As long as Jaylyn doesn’t plan another family gathering for me to attend to prolong my stay. I won’t leave until I’m sure you’re comfortable with the state of Long Live Food.”

“Of course.” She wasn’t worried about that. And his formal business tone was back. The one she didn’t like. She steered the conversation elsewhere. “By family gathering, do you mean the wedding? Did Brody and Reagan set a date?”

“No date yet. I assume that’s a few weeks out or maybe a few months. How long does it take to plan a wedding?”

“For normal people? Twelve to eighteen months. For a famous billionaire family with every resource at their fingertips? I have no idea.” She batted her lashes.

He took a deep inhale, his smile tightening at the edges. “Jaylyn has planned a dinner with my family. It’s the day after tomorrow. She’s calling it my ‘farewell’ dinner, but I suspect it’s more a ‘why don’t you stick around Chicago a while longer’ dinner.”

“So, why don’t you? Do you have to be in LA? In the age of video calls and virtual everything, why not run the Moretti Foundation from anywhere?” Before he got the wrong idea about why she brought it up, she said, “Jaylyn and I talked last night—not just about you, about a lot of things. She wants you home because she wants her family present as these milestone moments are happening. Reagan had her baby while you were in town. That is special, Dante. And soon there will be a wedding. Not only Brody and Reagan’s but Zander and Chloe’s, too.”

His brow dented while she spoke. She was probably overstepping, but this was nothing he hadn’t heard from Jaylyn a hundred times over.

“She doesn’t want you to miss out like you used to when you were growing up. That’s all I’ll say.”

“Is that all?”

Before she could reply, their waitress returned with their martinis.

As their waitress chatted about the specials, Dante took a deep, cleansing breath.

Honesty was meddling, but he knew she wasn’t trying to meddle. She was sharing information with him as relayed by Jaylyn. While it wasn’t new news, hearing it had admittedly chapped his ass.

He put a pin in his mild ire while they ordered—prime rib for him, grilled cod for her, and shareable sides of mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus.

After the waitress left their table, he took a hearty swig of his dirty martini. It was strong, which was exactly what he needed. Honesty sipped from her own glass as she continued to marvel at the restaurant. He enjoyed impressing her.