Page 63 of Billionaire Hunt

“That’s wonderful. Well, be sure to meet, you know, in a public place. You might think you know him, but he’s still a stranger.”

My grandma scoffed, “Hon, this isn’t my first rodeo. I used to date guys off craigslist all the time.”

“You did not!”

“I did too.”

I shook my head. “How did I never know this?”

She shrugged. “You never were around and you never really asked.”

I instantly felt bad. “Was I really that self-absorbed these past years?”

“No. You were just busy living your life. No one can fault you for doing that. Speaking of which, maybe you should give that Erik fella another shot.”

“Or not,” I mumbled. My grandmother didn’t know the whole story. She only knew that he wasn’t interested in a relationship.

And of course, my mind immediately turned to Erik. He had been taking me to my appointments and helping me out with various tasks that related to my interior design business. He had been pretty great, just very helpful and caring. He anticipated my needs and always made sure to be available. I knew he had canceled meetings and delegated his usual duties to others to help me out and I truly appreciated it. He had even sent Simon to run errands for me when he couldn’t miss a meeting. He was a true friend. It was too bad my heart yearned for a lot more than a platonic friendship.

But a platonic friendship was what I was going to get. In fact, I was seeing Erik later that evening. He was coming over to see me and bringing dinner so that we could wrap up a few details about his home, nothing more, but I didn’t want to tell Granny that. She would pry and ask questions that I really didn’t know the answer to. It was hard enough trying to figure out how to deal with my emotions without having to explain to someone else how exactly I felt.

Later that night, as I waited for him at my home, I couldn’t help but second guess myself. Maybe I should have agreed to meet him at a bar instead or just anywhere else but my apartment. I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with him because it was getting harder and harder to ignore my feelings for him. I thought over time my feelings wouldn’t be as strong, but I was wrong. If anything, the time we spent together, just as friends, made me love him more.

I looked in the mirror a few minutes before he was scheduled to arrive. I had on a graphic tee and a pull-on mini-skirt. Zippers were still hard for me to handle.

A minute later, Erik showed up and to my surprise, he was empty-handed. Well almost, he held his helmet in one hand.

I looked at him and frowned. “Where’s the food? Remember you agreed to bring dinner?”

“Yeah about that. I thought we could go out. You know, to celebrate a job well done.”

I looked down at what I was wearing. “I’m not exactly dressed for a night out.”

“What are you talking about?” he said giving me an appraising look. “You look fine.”

He then surprised me by handing me a helmet as well. He had been hiding it behind his back.

I took it without thinking. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“We’re going on a ride.”

“I don’t want to go on a ride. I want to sit on my couch, watch SpongeBob and eat Chinese.”

“All those things sound great, but I have something better planned.”

“I don’t know...”

“Come on...trust me.”

I sighed and he gave me a big smile, knowing that I had already given in.

“You’re going to love this.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the door.

His enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself wondering what he had in store for us. His motorcycle that I hadn’t seen since we first met sat in front of my apartment.

“I’m wearing a mini-skirt. How am I expected to ride this and maintain a semblance of decency?”

He laughed as he put on his helmet. “You aren’t.” He shoved my helmet on and then climbed on. “Come on, your chariot awaits.” I hesitated and then said, “What the hell...I might as well.”