Page 46 of Saved By the Billionaire

“Something like that.”

“You know him well.”

“Yes.”

She made a contemplative noise and then sighed again. “Fine.”

He reached into his pocket and removed his phone, so she recited her number. He pressed a button and across the room, her phone started to ring.

“You thought I’d given you the wrong one?”

“Just wanted to make sure you had mine,” he responded. “You promise you’ll call if you need anything?”

“Yessir,” she said, for the second time that day, thinking it was just as warranted now as it had been earlier.

“I’ll leave the key on the kitchen counter.” He held her gaze long and slow, contemplatively. “Don’t let me down, Kate. I’m not sure he’d forgive me if anything happened to you, not today.”

Chapter Ten

SHE’D TAKEN LONGER THAN the allotted ninety minutes, unintentionally. She truly hadn’t meant to, but she loved this city, and for the first time, she was able to step out and explore it without a looming fear of either poverty or deportation hanging over her head. She was able to walk amongst the streets and marvel at the windows and people, the frenetic pace of life, the trees changing colour, and soak it all in. She ventured into the park without really meaning to, and watched a bit of a baseball game being played by two social teams, then meandered over a stunning bridge and towards a diner on the edges that sold the biggest sandwiches she’d ever seen. She ordered one, even though she wasn’t particularly hungry, and took a seat at the window so she could keep watching and enjoying.

And in the back of her mind was the morning she and Roman had shared, and the evening that surely lay ahead of them, and she felt as though she were being pulled in a million different directions. Desire was making her heart race, fast and harried like the people bustling past the window, and yet that self-protective muscle was flexing once more, reminding her to be careful, to never forget that this was still something she’d be walking away from, like any other guy she hooked up with. She couldn’t let herself want more, couldn’t let herself need him, like she’d needed foster parents, once upon a time, and been repeatedly let down. Disappointed and hurt.

She didn’t finish the sandwich; she couldn’t possibly, but she did her best, and sat for a long time in the cosy warmth of the diner, before her phone pinged and she saw a text from Garrett.

You’re late.

She glanced at the time and let out a yelp of surprise.

Whoops.

You promised.

I’m on my way.

He did a thumbs up emoji and she slid out of the booth, wiping her hands on a napkin and cutting towards the door. She walked back as quickly as she could, but she’d covered a lot of ground and her ankle had started to hurt from being pushed so far. She tried not to think about what Roman would say; it wasn’t his business, really, anyway. She was her own person; if she wanted to walk all the way to Wall Street and destroy her ankle in the process, then so what?

She wasn’t afraid of Roman. He’d be pissed, sure, but she was more concerned that he might take it out on Garrett. She kept her pace up, until she finally reached the recognisably grand entrance of Roman’s building, her breath bursting through her lungs as she stared at it for a moment, trying to imagine actually living like this before she smiled at the doormen and swept inside, out of the blustery afternoon.

In the end, she needn’t have rushed. She swiped the key for the elevator and when the doors pinged open a moment later, it revealed two people already inside. Roman, and Tia, side by side, looking like a jarringly beautiful and expensive couple, her in a beige trench coat cinched at her narrow waist and him in the dark suit she’d fisted desperately only hours earlier.

“Kate.” Roman’s eyes swept over her, and she hated to think how she must appear in comparison to the polished Tia, in her jeans and sweater, her hair undoubtedly a mess courtesy of the wind she’d been traversing. “You’ve been out.” His lips compressed, his words suggesting this was something they’d come back to in due course.

“Yes,” she smiled sweetly, eyes challenging him. “Is that a problem?”

His gaze held hers for a long time, and the doors began to close, so Roman stepped forward, pressing his hand towards them impatiently, his big body that bit closer to hers so her senses went into overdrive. When she stared up at him now, it was with a cloying sense of hunger she feared she could no longer fight. His own attention fell to her lips, his stare lingering there, doing nothing for her hammering pulse. “Are you coming?”

She tilted her head, pretending to think about it, and just barely caught his muffled curse.

“Or do I need to carry you?”

She thought of her throbbing ankle and wondered what he’d say if she admitted as much. Nothing good. She took a step in, their bodies brushing as she moved past him.

“You remember Tia?” Roman said, moving back into the lift and turning to face Kate properly. The doors swooshed closed and the lift began to accelerate upwards.

“Of course. Nice to see you again,” Kate lied. Not that she had anything against the other woman, except a raging case of jealousy and a sense of bad timing.

“And you.” Tia sounded as sincere as Kate.