Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(17)

And I was getting pretty tired of fighting my own insane attraction to him.





CHAPTER 6

JADE



“I don’t really know how to be a billionaire,” I confessed quietly into the darkness.

Eli and I had settled in, and he was in the bunk bed above me. I’m not sure why I’d uttered the words, but talking to the dark seemed safe.

And I couldn’t sleep, an affliction that rarely happened to me.

I had no idea whether or not he was still awake, and I almost hoped he hadn’t heard my pathetic comment. It was kind of stupid. If my biggest problem was adjusting to having money, I was pretty sure most people would love to be in my shoes.

“People think having a lot of money is easy, but it really isn’t,” Eli answered in a husky voice. “From now on, you’re always going to wonder what somebody wants from you when you meet anybody new. And if you put yourself in the social circle of ultrawealthy people, you’ll never have your privacy. Once you get known, you’ll always be in the public eye. There’s not a lot of privacy sometimes. On the other hand, there are lots of benefits.”

His voice was low and smooth, and I was relieved that he didn’t laugh at me for saying something silly. Eli actually sounded like he understood me to some extent.

“What benefits? Being able to buy things?” I asked earnestly.

He chuckled. “There’s definitely that. But it could also open doors to things you’ve never been able to do before. Money can be a trap or freedom. It is what you make of it. And you can do a hell of a lot of good. Billionaires can be excellent fund-raisers and benefactors to charities if they choose to be.”

I already knew that Eli was a huge philanthropist. All of the causes he donated to came up frequently in his interviews.

“I’d like that,” I murmured. “I have my own charity, but there are others that I’d like to work with, too. I know my twin sister is taking an active role in fund-raising.”

“You have a twin?” he asked hoarsely, sounding surprised.

“Her name is Brooke. She married a guy in Maine, and I really miss her. I’m happy for her, but having her so far away is like losing my right arm. There’s a twin bond that will never go away.”

“You’re lonely?” he probed. “That’s completely understandable, especially now. You were thrown into a whole new reality, and she’s not around for you to work things out together.”

“I just feel like a part of me is missing,” I shared. “Brooke was always my best friend.”

“Keep busy,” he suggested. “Eventually, you’ll find your own way.”

“So maybe I just need to try to experience new things?”

“You definitely should,” he agreed. “Have you ever done an African safari? You love wildlife, and it’s pretty amazing.”

“No.” Seeing places and traveling to experience the wildlife in other countries was pretty appealing. I’d done plenty of studies on African wildlife, but most of it was genetic, and I’d only observed the animals in captivity. To see them running in the wild would be extraordinary.

“Australia? The animals there are pretty unique.”

“No.”

“South America? China? Europe? Canada?”

“Nope. I’ve never been in any foreign country,” I admitted.

Honestly, maybe I hadn’t thought about foreign travel because I really didn’t want to go alone. If I got a job abroad, it would be different. I’d be working in another country. But just to see the sights, it would suck not to have anybody to share it with. And now that Brooke was married and across the country, I had no idea who would want to go with me. My friends all had full-time, busy jobs.

“You have to start thinking like a billionaire, Jade,” he said with obvious amusement. “I know you love food. Have you hit any of the great restaurants in San Diego?”

Dinner for one? That would be awkward.

“No. But you own most of them. So I can see why you’ve been to every one of them. The only place of yours that I’ve tried is the spot we celebrated Brooke’s engagement. I saw you there.”

“You know I saw you, too,” he said. “I made sure dinner was on the house for your whole party before I left.”

“Noah didn’t tell me that,” I said. “Why did you do it? It’s not like my family doesn’t have the money now.”

“I could tell you were celebrating. I wanted to do it. Besides, your brother Noah just took the amount of the bill and tipped his waitress with it. I had one very happy waitress that night. I doubt that story will ever stop circulating around the place.” He paused before he added, “And I go to places I don’t own. I told you that I love food.”

I wasn’t surprised that my eldest brother had given the waitress a monstrous tip, but I felt a little guilty about the fact that I hadn’t exactly had kind thoughts about Eli that night. He’d actually done something really thoughtful.

“I’m not much of a socializer,” I said, feeling defeated. “And going to dinner in nice places alone isn’t all that much fun.”

“You could have gone with me,” he reminded me. “Fuck knows I’ve offered over and over again.”