Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(21)

“Eli? You mean Eli Stone? The guy you can’t stand?” Brooke probed.

I hadn’t shared a lot with Brooke about Eli in the beginning, but after she’d gotten married, I hadn’t hidden anything from her.

“He bought out all of my survival classes so he could see me. What guy does that, Brooke?”

“I think a man who really, really likes you and doesn’t have a chance of you returning his phone calls,” Brooke teased.

“I don’t think he really likes me all that much. He just wants to screw me. We have this weird attraction to each other that I can’t explain.”

Brooke laughed. “Yeah. That’s how it was with Liam. And look how that turned out.”

“I found out he wasn’t really all that bad,” I said. “I actually like his sense of humor, but he’s a little . . . intense. But I finally decided to go out with him. I wouldn’t mind being his friend.”

“So where is he taking you?” Brooke asked excitedly.

“I have no idea. I’m spending ten days with him. Every day will be a surprise. When our ten days are over, he’s doing a fund-raiser for SWCF.”

“Does this ten-day deal include nights, too?” she asked.

I knew exactly what she meant. “No.”

“But he definitely likes you,” Brooke observed. “Look at everything he’s doing to get your attention.”

“Oh, he has my attention,” I answered. “I just don’t understand why he’s going to so much trouble for me. We’ve seen the kind of women he dates, Brooke. All of them are gorgeous and successful.”

“You’re gorgeous and successful, too,” she said firmly.

“I’m not in the same league as the women he dates, and you know it.”

“I love you dearly, Jade, but you need to loosen up. You have a rich, sinfully delicious man who wants to spend time with you. Just let go and have some fun.”

“I’m really attracted to him,” I said unhappily.

“What’s wrong with that? It will make every day a lot more exciting. I get that you don’t know if he’s the right guy for you, but you’ll never know until you hang out with him and get to know him. What we know about him is just a persona, an image created by the media. Find out who he really is. If he’s willing to arrange a fund-raiser for your charity, he obviously knows how much it means to you, and he’s willing to help.”

I understood what she meant. Our Sinclair half brothers and cousins had been rich since birth. Every one of them had a media image, but that wasn’t who they really were. For example, Evan was thought to be a complete prick. But we’d all come to know the real Evan, and he was nothing like the way he was portrayed.

“He wants to help me get comfortable with my money because he knows it kind of terrifies me. At least, that’s what he told me. He wants to show me how to live in that world and like it.”

“Perfect,” Brooke replied. “And at least you know he definitely isn’t after your money.”

I smiled. “That’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. Maybe that’s why it’s so appealing. But don’t start thinking this is going to be a long-term thing. I’m not going to end up married to Eli Stone. He’s not into commitments. I’m just . . . experimenting. I’m hoping maybe I can learn some things from him. I’d love to have his expertise in fund-raising.”

“You want his hot, ripped, gorgeous body, even with the tattoos,” she contradicted me.

“I’m not after his body,” I muttered. “But the tats are actually kind of mesmerizing in person.”

“Come on, Jade. You’re talking to your twin. You want more than just his brain.”

“Who wouldn’t?” I asked her. “Brooke, you know what he looks like. And take it from me, he’s even hotter up close and personal.”

“But chemistry will only carry you so far,” she warned. “No matter how good he looks, the attraction will wear off if you don’t like him.”

“That’s the problem,” I replied. “I do like him. He’s kind of pushy and arrogant, but he seems like a decent guy once you get past all that arrogance.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Jade,” Brooke said softly. “You have a lot to offer any guy. Even a smoking-hot billionaire.”

“I hate feeling so damn inadequate,” I said. “I never felt this way when I was poor. I knew who I was and what I wanted to be. I was going to be a researcher and discover ways to keep some species from going extinct. But then the money happened, and none of the jobs I really wanted have come my way. Being rich allowed me to refuse the positions I didn’t want, and I have no desire to teach in a classroom. I’d go crazy, Brooke.”

“You would,” she agreed. “You wouldn’t have been happy. And there’s nothing wrong with waiting to figure out what you want. There’re no positions you want in San Diego?”

“There are plenty of them,” I told her. “But none that are available right now.”

I’d completed a postdoc fellowship studying the genomes that were vulnerable to extinction in large mammals. I’d produced a lot of published studies that had gotten great responses, but a position to continue my studies had never panned out.