Page 14 of My Three Billionaire Rockstars

“You’re still taking the money back,” she says, stubbornness threading through every word.

I take a step closer again, closing the space she just created.

“You’ve been thinking about that tip since I left,” I say. “Not because of the amount. Because you don’t like the idea of someone deciding something for you.”

Her mouth opens.

I don’t give her the chance to interrupt.

“You’d rather argue about it than accept it,” I continue, watching her carefully. “You’d rather push back than wonder why it got under your skin in the first place.”

She goes still.

I lean in just slightly. “And it did get under your skin.”

Her breath shifts.

I feel it.

See it.

“I don’t think about you at all,” she says, but there’s less bite in it now.

I let my gaze drag over her again, taking my time with it in a way that makes her shift her weight without realizing why.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “You do.”

“I’m taking you to dinner.”

She exhales in shock. “No. I don’t finish until seven.”

I don’t break stride. Don’t shift direction. Don’t give her space to turn it into a negotiation. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

“I didn’t agree to that.”

“You don’t need to.”

“That’s not how this works.”

I step closer again, close enough now that she has to choose between holding her ground or stepping back.

“You’ve been watching me since I walked in,” I say, holding her gaze. “Every time I looked at you, you felt it.”

Her breath catches again.

This time it’s impossible to hide.

“You noticed,” I continue, rougher at the edges now. “You just don’t like what it means.”

“I don’t⁠—”

“I’ll wait,” I interject. “’Til seven.”

She shakes her head, stubborn, grounded, fighting it even now. “You’re wasting your time.”

I let my gaze settle on her one more time, taking in every detail I shouldn’t be this focused on.

“I don’t waste time.”