The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1)(45)

“How weird! Must be a shortage.”

That little liar. I never thought I’d see the day where my sister attempts to play my matchmaker.

I look over at Rowan, wondering what he thinks. He doesn’t bother looking at us because he’s too immersed in his phone.

Great. What a help he is.

Ani grabs one of the pumpkins off the counter. “JP and I want to do one together.”

“You don’t say?” I reply dryly. My sister in love is usually adorable and endearing. But right now? It’s oddly inconvenient for me.

JP chooses that exact moment to wrap an arm around my sister and give her a kiss on her forehead.

Ugh. Who am I kidding? They’re still cute.

“Let’s do this!” JP grabs their pumpkin from Ani’s arms and takes it to the dining room where I was supposed to work with him.

I sigh and turn around.

I readjust all the supplies in a row. “You don’t have to do this if you have something better to do.”

He looks up from his phone with knitted brows. “I wouldn’t have shown up if I didn’t want to do this.”

“Why are you here?” I stare at him.

His face remains blank. “Because your sister asked me to be.”

My stomach takes a dive, along with my mood. Stupid girl, thinking he came to spend time with you. Of course he’s here for Ani. He’s her mentor.

“Shouldn’t you still be working?” I probe. Maybe if I remind him of all his responsibilities, he will run out the door after remembering some kind of email he forgot to send.

“It’s a Saturday.”

All I can do is stare at him. “I thought you worked every day.”

“I do.”

“We really need to talk about your work-life balance.”

“It’s easy when my life is my job. No need for a scale.”

I clutch onto the counter while I laugh. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

He looks at me with drawn brows. “Why?”

“Because what’s the point of having so much money when you’ll never have the chance to enjoy it.”

He blinks at me. Has he never considered that before? He might be a sharp guy, but he could use some kind of intervention about his addiction to working.

He shakes his head as if he needed to erase whatever he was thinking from his mind. “If money was no object, what would you do?”

I grin. “The options are endless.”

He raises a brow. “That’s a terrifying sentiment coming from you.”

“Well, for starters, I’d give back to charity.”

He frowns. “We support charities.”

“Only because it’s considered a tax write-off. Have you ever attended a charity event that didn’t include champagne and caviar?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Caviar is disgusting.” His nose twitches and I find it adorable.

Adorable? I internally groan.

“Well, maybe you should spend a day working at a homeless shelter. Maybe you’d think twice about walking around in shoes worth more than someone’s rent.”

“I didn’t think my question would turn into an inquisition.”

I shrug. “You asked. I answered.”

“That’s all you would do with your endless amount of funds? Donate it?”

I laugh to myself. “Not all of it. I’d save some for myself and buy first edition copies of all my favorite books.”

“Books.” He looks up at the ceiling like God might intervene. “What about your pins? Wouldn’t you want to buy more of those?”

I freeze. “What do you mean?”

His brows pull together. “You wouldn’t buy more pins?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not how it works.”

“Then how does it work?”

I sigh. “It’s a long story.”

He looks around the empty kitchen. “And? All we have is time.”

My muscles tighten. “And that’s not something I want to share with you,” I snap.

Shit. My eyes widen and my mouth pops open, but I stop myself from apologizing.

His entire forehead scrunches. “I didn’t know it was a sensitive subject.”

I’m not sure if it’s me or my imagination, but the air between us grows heavy until I look away first. “It’s…just not something I talk about with many people.” Or anyone besides my family and Claire.

“Got it.”

No. He really doesn’t but I’m not going to unleash that story. There’s no way someone like him would understand someone like me. He’s put together, and I’m—was…broken.

But not anymore. You’re better now. Stronger.

I uncap a permanent marker and move toward the stem of the pumpkin.

“Put the weapon down.” Rowan’s hand reaches out and halts my movement, sending a wave of electricity up my arm.

His joke breaks the tension between us.

“Out of everything on the counter, this is a weapon?” I point at the knife only a few inches away from him.

“It is when you don’t know what you’re doing.”