Page 80 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Stalker

“And you know that girl he was with?” I was horrified.

“Yep.” She popped the ‘p.’ “She’s one of my former sorority sisters. We used to be friends.”

When the waiter stopped in front of us, I asked for a bottle of rosé champagne. “Tell me about it.”

“That’s all there is to tell.” She shrugged her shoulders, but there was a look in her eyes, almost fear, that made me wonder if she thought Myers was her stalker. I studied his build as surreptitiously as possible. He looked too big to be the guy I’d seen outside Cinnamon House, but I couldn’t be sure. And I couldn’t exactly tell her that I knew she had a stalker, and I didn’t think she needed to worry that it was him because he was too big.

“Let’s not think about them, though,” she said forcing a smile. And bringing my head around fast to look at her.

I smiled back but glanced at her worriedly. Was she still in love with that guy? From the glances he didn’t seem able to stop throwing our way, it was pretty clear how he felt about Daisy. Hannah, his date, sat at the table basically ignored while he ate and stared at his former girlfriend. The one he’d cheated on repeatedly.

And he was ruining my romantic dinner. His eyes were glued to Daisy’s every movement. I raised a hand for the waiter to come over. “Would it be possible to move to a different table?”

The waiter glanced around at what I’d already seen; a very full dining room. “I don’t think we can accommodate that request sir…”

He stopped talking and his eyes widened when I held up several hundred dollars. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Let me check with the maître d’.”

He scurried off to make it work out for us, while Daisy covered my hand with hers. “This isn’t necessary. I don’t care about Myers anymore, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s justhad some trouble hearing the word ‘no’ lately, and it’s been long enough since we dated he should have caught a clue by now that I’m not going back to him.”

“Exactly why you shouldn’t have to look up to find him staring at you constantly across the dining room.”

Soon, the maître d’, the waiter, and several other waitstaff converged on our table and bade us follow them.

They took us up to the roof. I had to admit as I looked around the deserted area, it was perfect. It was clear they used the area for private functions, parties, things of that nature. For us, they’d lit several candles and turned on light instrumental music in the background. It was exactly the vibe I was going for, and the full moon only added to the atmosphere. They’d turned on a couple of the large fans on the extended wooden pergola above us, as well.

It wasn’t exactly hot out, and there was a hint of coolness in the nighttime breeze. But the lazily spinning fans and candles helped give it all a cozy, luxe vibe, and I leaned back, relaxing in my seat.

We ordered after assuring the maître d’ this was the perfect location for us, and I’d tipped them well.

“Does this suit you?”

She looked around, beaming. “Yes. I can’t believe they did all this for us.”

I reached out to grab her hand. “You know you have nothing to fear from that guy, right? I would never let him hurt you.”

She gave a brief, small smile. “I know. It’s just… well, I wish I’d never given him the power to hurt me.”

“What do you mean?” I was confused. Was she saying she wished she’d never loved the guy?

“I knew Myers wasn’t the right guy for me pretty early on. People teach you who they are, you know? My grandma always said that, and she was totally right.”

“Grandmas are wise,” I agreed.

She fidgeted with her cloth napkin. “Myers wanted to date me from the first time he saw me at a party weboth attended. He was the kind of guy I knew I should stay away from. He was good-looking, rich, popular… and kind of mean. But I didn’t listen to my gut. I told myself I could change him. And he would help me, too.”

“How do you mean?”

She sighed. “I’m not proud of it, but when I first came to college, I was ready to leave that small town vibe behind me. In Crosston, everyone knew I was one of ‘those Tiller girls’.”

“Why was that bad?”

“Because there were so many of us and everyone said that we all had different dads. It wasn’t true, exactly, but there was enough truth in it for it to sting when they said it. The triplets had the same dad, and, like I told you, he ended up being a better dad to me, Hy, and Ola than any of our own dads had been. But he wasn’treallyours. And rumors flew around town that he wasn’t the triplets’ dad, either. It didn’t help that I didn’t even know who my dad was, Hy’s was a deadbeat, and no one was sure who Ola’s was, either.

“Mom’s not a bad person. She was just raised to be pretty. All of her self-worth is wrapped up in her looks and whether or not a man loves her. But maybe she’s getting the help she needs now.” She smiled tightly. “She raised all of us girls that way, too, but I just never felt like that was all there was to get out of life. I’ve done my best to teach my sisters the same thing.”

She finished her champagne, and I refilled her glass. “Thanks. You know, even though I wanted to be different from Mom, I guess I still wanted to leave all of that small town crap behind and start over. I used my looks to do it, too. I joined a good sorority, made the dance team, and started dating one of the most popular frat guys on campus. I thought I was on my way to leaving the past far behind me.”