“Some say we’re grandstanding. Showing off our wealth or making people grovel on public TV to get the help they need.”
Vivi nodded. “Yeah, but no one’s making them do it. It’s a great opportunity. That’s the price they pay.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Plus, it gives other investors a chance to take what we turn down.”
“True,” she said. “I love that.”
He loved that she loved it. That she understood what drove him to do what he did.
“Back to baseball for a minute,” Viv said. “I understand you felt the need to get on with your career. But you didn’t think you could afford a detour—just for a few years? I mean, you were good. I remember. They made a big deal out of you.”
Duke gulped, conflicted by the concern he saw in her eyes. She cared about him, he liked knowing that. But he didn’t want anyone’s pity. Especially when he lived a life as good as his.
“It’s hard to feel bad when I’m the one who made the choice,” he said. “Especially since I’ve had some very fulfilling years since then. I have nearly everything I want.”There. Next question, please.
Viv nodded, but the intensity in her gaze didn’t let up.
A restless wave worked through him, causing Duke to shift in his seat. Something told him the next question was heading toward him like an oncoming train, its massive headlight ready to shine in the hidden corners of his life. Corners he might not want to look at himself, let alone show to the world.
“Youdohave a lot. But you said in your own words that you havenearlyeverything you want. What’s missing?”
Whoa. Duke averted her seeking gaze. His pulse spiked up a notch. She always did know how to read him, even all those years back. He shifted his focus to a distant tree, its branches swaying in the wind, green against a sky of blue.
Beyond that, a layer of clouds loomed over the distant waves. A fast-moving layer, it seemed. Duke recalled the moment he discovered the social experimentMarried at First Meet. The loneliness that had driven him to submit that first questionnaire.
“Duke?” Vivi reached a hand across the table and rested it over his.
A rush of warmth spread through him at her silky touch. A level of surprise washed in too.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t haveeverythingI hoped to have at my age. But part of me knew I might not get it.” He regretted tagging on that last part, as true as it might be.
“Is that why you signed up forMarried At First Meet?”
Whoa again. How had she done that? It’s like she was climbing right into his mind. “Maybe.”
“That shocked a whole lot of people—seeing your name appear on that show. I researched the trending posts and articles from that time. The Benton brothers’ biggest fans had theloudeststatement about your appearance—they suspected that the Duke on the show wasn’t actually Duke at all. It was Zander.
“Of course, they were right. But let’s not focus on that one. An equally popular question was this: Why would someone like Duke Benton ever sign up for a glorified dating service?”
Duke groaned. “I’ve never heard anyone call it that before.”
“Isn’t that what it is?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“So why’d you do it?”
She pulled her hand back, used it to tuck a strand of her long, wavy hair behind one ear. “It’s not like you had a shortage of women to choose from.”
Duke almost rolled his eyes at the irony. “That’swhere you’re wrong.” Irritated heat burned in his chest. “Just because I have a beautiful woman by my side for special events or nights out—that doesn’t mean I’m actually considering marriage with them. Or even a serious relationship most of the time.”
“Well, that’s obvious by the way you cycle through women.”
More heat flared. “Women who want nothing more than to be seen with me,” he snapped. “Women hoping to score some paparazzi shot with Duke Benton to boost their own personal fame.”
“Why do you pick women like that?”
“Because.” He searched for an honest reply, and found it flying off his lips before he could stop it. “Because that’s the kind of women that want me. It’s what I attract. When I signed up for the experiment, I figured I’d get just the opposite.” That’s all he’d wanted—a woman who’d be just as happy marrying the average Joe as she’d be about stumbling onto a well-known billionaire.
