Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(29)

I shot her a genuine smile. “I’m sorry. Things have been hectic.”

She grinned back. “I can see that. I suppose dating one of the richest men in the world can be time consuming.”

I quickly glanced at Eli and my brothers, noting they weren’t paying a single bit of attention to our conversation. They were too busy with their own. In a lower tone, I told her, “We aren’t . . . dating. We’re experimenting.”

“I hope by experimenting, you mean trying out every sexual position known to mankind. He’s hot enough to melt all of the ice in the Arctic, Jade. And since he seems to hold his own quite well with your older brothers, I’m assuming he’s a pretty decent guy.”

“He is,” I said with a sigh. “Way nicer than I expected him to be.”

Skye lifted a brow. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“I don’t want to like him, Skye. He’s not in my league.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little judgmental?” she probed. “You’re a beautiful billionaire yourself now, and even if you weren’t, money doesn’t make a relationship. Take my word on that.”

I nodded. I knew Skye’s ex-husband had been rich until he’d been taken down with the rest of his Italian crime family in San Diego.

“I guess it is a little irrational to think he’s any different than I am. But Skye, we’ve seen the women he dates. How am I really supposed to believe that I’m just as gorgeous as the supermodels and celebrities he saw?”

“Maybe he’s tired of skinny, superficial women. The glitter wears off pretty fast. And you’re pretty, too, just not in a flashy sort of way. Give the poor guy a chance. It looks like he’s pursuing you if he came all the way here to see you.”

“We’re spending ten days together,” I explained. “I think he’s playing some kind of game to get me into bed with him.”

Skye snorted. “Then for God’s sake let him win.”

I saw Aiden look in Skye’s direction. His eyes stayed on her with an icy look before he finally turned his head back toward the other guys.

I’d often wondered exactly what had happened between Aiden and Skye, but it had been a whirlwind relationship that had been over soon after it had begun. And neither one of them ever talked about it. But it was weird that they completely ignored each other like they’d never met, most of the time. I had to assume the ending hadn’t been all that friendly.

“I guess I don’t want my heart broken,” I finally admitted. “Eli is hot, but he’s not the committed type. What if I end up liking him too much?”

“What if you don’t try and then you always wonder if anything else could have happened between you?” she shot back. “You’ve never been afraid of anything, Jade. Don’t start now.”

“Inheriting money has changed me, Skye,” I confessed. “I know most people would love to be in my position, but I feel like I’m not me anymore.”

“Don’t downplay how hard it is to experience a major change in your life,” Skye warned. “Yes, everybody wants money until they have it, but it’s kind of hard to get used to when you’ve always been poor, and it doesn’t solve all problems. Sometimes it makes them worse.”

I realized that in some ways, Skye had experienced the same things I had when she’d married a rich man. “Do you regret it?” I asked quietly.

Skye had never really talked much about her ex-husband, and I’d never met him. My few conversations with her after she’d moved to San Diego had been pretty superficial.

She nodded. “Everything except for Maya. She’s my everything. If I had to do it all over again to have my girl, I would.”

I smiled. “She’s adorable, and a smart little cookie,” I told her earnestly. “You’re an amazing mom.”

Skye shrugged. “I try. But I’m pretty lucky that she’s such an easy kid. Let’s not talk about me right now. I want to know what you’re going to do with the rich hottie sitting right down the table from you.”

“You’re right. I guess I have to stop obsessing about what could happen with Eli, and just take things as they come.”

I took a few minutes to tell Skye about my adventures with Eli Stone, catching her up on the last several days of crazy things we’d done.

“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “So not only is he mega hot, but he’s thoughtful, too? Really, Jade. You have to enjoy every single moment you get with this guy.”

“I know,” I answered. “I’m trying to loosen up.”

“That’s never been an easy thing for you to do,” she said gently.

I shrugged. “I’m a science geek.”

“And an extremely brilliant one,” Skye said. “But you’re also a woman, Jade.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes I have a really hard time getting in touch with that side of myself,” I answered.

Until I met Eli, I hadn’t ever been consumed with lust. Now, I could hardly think about anything else except sex.

“You still haven’t done the wild thing with him? How does that happen? You’re attracted to him, right?”

“Incredibly so,” I told her unhappily.

“Enjoy yourself, Jade, and worry about the fallout if and when it happens,” Skye advised. “He’s obviously got the hots for you. He’s looked over here like a million times since we’ve been sitting here. He wants you. You’ll never know what could happen unless you let go of everything and just live in the moment.”