Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(38)
This might be my hometown, but I was ready to spread my wings and fly. I’d shuddered when we’d driven by the scene of the shooting, knowing that it would forever be a place of sorrow for me. To everyone else, the city was back to normal after the incident, but it would never be the same for me.
“Bad memories,” he said gently as he pushed a lock of hair from my face.
“Yes. I think being here will always remind me of what happened.”
“Then we’ll live in Amesport,” he agreed readily.
“It’s not just the shooting,” I reassured him. “I want to be there with you.”
I’d come to adore Sullivan’s Restaurant, and all of the people I saw there regularly. I wanted to get to know my half brothers and my half sister without the necessity of hiding my identity.
I shared all of the reasons I wanted to go back to live in Amesport with Liam while he listened.
When I’d finished, he looked relieved. “Skip getting to know Xander,” he advised. “He’s a dick.”
I punched his shoulder playfully. “You don’t mean that,” I accused. “You wouldn’t spend as much time with him if you didn’t like him.”
“He’s a jerk.”
I snickered, knowing he and Xander loved to antagonize each other. “I do have other family there,” I reminded him.
“Yeah,” he said unhappily. “I know I’m going to have to get used to all of them being around. I don’t mind Micah so much, but I could do without Evan.”
I smiled broadly at him. I knew that no matter how much he protested, he’d welcome every one of them for me. “I love you, Liam.”
My heart felt like it was ready to explode with happiness, a feeling I definitely wasn’t used to.
He kissed my forehead reverently. “I love you, too, baby. Don’t think I don’t know how damn lucky I am.”
I was lucky, too, and I’d spend the rest of my life grateful for a man who was willing to make such a big sacrifice for me, even though I hadn’t accepted it.
I stroked his whiskered cheek as I suggested, “Let’s go home.”
“To Amesport?” he asked huskily.
“For now, we can use my apartment,” I suggested, my body clamoring for me to get the man I loved naked. “We can head for Amesport tomorrow.”
“We can head east whenever you want. I’m not averse to giving you all the time you want,” he answered hoarsely. “Right now, I’m not sure I’ll let you get out of bed in the morning.”
“I’m not sure I’ll want to,” I answered.
He picked me up and spun me around before setting me on my feet again. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, his eyes burning into me as he pierced me with a covetous glance. “Right now, I just want you naked.”
He clasped my hand and we started making our way back to the car.
Luckily, I wanted exactly the same thing he did.
CHAPTER 18
JADE
I knew he was there from the moment he entered the restaurant.
Not that I saw him. I didn’t have to. His presence made a zing of awareness move up my spine, a sensation that was so uncomfortable that I had to force myself not to squirm in my chair.
I turned my attention back to the large table of people, all of them family. Brooke had put her departure off for another day so we could all have dinner together before she left.
We’d picked a nice restaurant in San Diego, a place owned by Eli Stone. Even so, I’d figured the chances of him showing up personally had been almost nil.
I’d been wrong.
Dammit! What is he doing here?
Sure, he owned the place, but he owned plenty of world-class restaurants.
I turned my head and searched him out. It didn’t take long to see him being seated in a private booth with another man in a custom suit. I didn’t recognize his friend, but by all indications, he looked just as wealthy as Eli Stone.
“Jade? Are you okay?”
I had no idea how long my twin had been talking to me, but I was jolted back to reality at the sound of her concerned voice.
“I’m fine,” I said immediately.
“You don’t look fine,” she observed. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I thought I saw somebody I knew,” I explained. “But I was wrong.”
Brooke was seated right next to me, her new fiancé on the opposite side. She shot me an inquisitive look, but I smiled back at her.
This was Brooke’s night. We were here to celebrate her engagement. I refused to let some asshole in a perfectly fitting suit spoil my evening.
I hated the fact that Brooke was going to be living on the other side of the country, but I was willing to suffer. My only sister was happy, and if I had to get my ass on a plane to go see her, I had no problem with that. It would be worth it if she stayed just as content and jubilant as she was right now.
“I’m worried about you,” Brooke said, sounding uneasy.
“Don’t,” I insisted. “I’m good.”
Hell, who wouldn’t consider themselves downright blessed when they’d inherited a fortune? Eli Stone was nothing more than a pest that I wanted to exterminate. He wasn’t worth thinking about.