Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (14 page)

This was not the time to reminisce.
“I don’t see what that has to do with this situation.”

Marie corrected him gently.
“You said, ‘Fear
is
the
first
guest you should
un
-
invite to
any
party
.
’
”

“I’m not
–
”
he stopped
mid-denial.

Damn.

He could handle
rebel leaders.
He could talk his way around
irate dictators.
For the right incentive, h
e could
even negotiate a
lucrative
truce between
two
governments that
were
out to destroy each other.
There was something invigorating about
bringing order and calm to where there had been none.

Lil was different.

She
scared him because around her
he
was the chaos.

“Dominic sent me to make sure she was safe, Marie.”

Fine job I did of that.

With a wry tone of humor, Marie responded, “
Painful as the revelation is,
Jake,
you’re not perfect. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t fix this situation, though.
Lil just had a new life dumped on her.
Imagine how lost she must feel.”

“
I already feel bad
ly
about how I behaved.
”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

What can I do?

Before the question was even completed in his mind, an idea came to him.

He
hung up,
turned around and headed back into the building.

He knew exactly
how to
make this right.

Lil heard the knock on the door and wondered if such a place had room service.
Maybe
some
of
her things had arrived?
She secured her jacket over her now button-free shirt. A quick look in the hallway mirror confirmed her fear that
her hair was tumbling down out of
its
bun and her face was still flushed from sex.

Well, not too much I can do about either
.

She opened the doo
r and almost slammed it shut.
It was
Jake,
jacket flung over one shoulder
, looking a bit more disheveled than she remembered from just a short while ago.

“May I come in?” he asked
politely as if they hadn’t recently engaged in wild, animalistic table sex.

“I don’t think
it’s
a good idea,” she said, holding the door firmly in one hand to block his entry.

“We need to talk,”
he said
bluntly
.

Au contraire.

“I think we said everything that needed to be said.”
She went to close the door, but he moved one foot forward and blocked it from fully closing.

“I
didn’t.
”

“Don’t make this ugly, Jake.”

He
gave her that bland look that
she was learning meant that
regardless of what she said he
was going to wait out the situation and then do as he pleased.

With a sigh
of resignation
, she swung the door open. How much worse could today get?
“
Oh, come on in.
”

Barefoot, s
he led the way to the living room
and sat on one of the oversized chairs;
he sat on the couch
across from her
.
The silence was heavy and prolonged.

He
cleared his throat.
“So you have everything you need for Colby?”

“Yes,” Lil said slowly.

“And the pantry is properly stocked?”

Lil shook her head
in confusion
.
What was he doing?
She defaulted to sarcasm.
“I have no idea. I haven’t gotten
much fa
rther than the couch
.”

His face reddened ever so slightly, but he didn’t counter.
Instead,
h
e stood and crossed to
the
refrigerator and then the cabin
ets, opening and closing each.
“Your books will arrive in twenty minutes along with some clothes, but the rest of your things will be delivered tomorrow so you won’t be disturbed tonight.”

“Thank you?”
The stilted and superficial conversation between them felt a bit surreal. Where was the man who had torn her shirt off with one
lustful
move?

He returned to the living room area, looking unsure if he wanted to sit down or pace the room.
“Your car
is still
valet parked in the garage. You’ll have a choice tomorrow morning of taking it or calling for a driver. I left the number with the front desk.
They know to have a car seat for you.”

“It wasn’t necessary…”

“It’s what I came here for.”

Well, that stung.

Lil stood
and took a step toward the door
.
“Of course.
Well, then, thank you and I’m fine now.
You can go back and tell Dominic that you fulfilled your task.”

Instead of responding
to her jab, he said,
“So, you have an exam tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” she replied, wondering where this conversation was going.

“I contacted the nanny you’ve used before.
She should be here in an hour. That should allow you to study tonight.”
Wow, Jake thought of everything.
Too bad leaving so she could start pretending today had never happened had not yet occurred to him.

She had to admit that getting her a babysitter for the night was thoughtful.
Not that she wanted to see him as anything but an arrogant, controlling ass, but having someone there that night would help her.
Wait.
“
And she was
available
?
She was good;
I would have thoug
ht she’d have another position.”

“She did, but she was willing to leave it.
The service found a replacement for her.”

“Just like that?”
Did anyone say no to Jake?

“Everyone has a price.”

What an awful
and absolutely untrue way to view people.

She put her hands on her hips.
“
I don’t a
nd I’m not comfortable with a
nanny who can be bought, either.”

His eyebrows
rose
in recognition of her point.
“I’ll cancel her and have the service send someone else.”
He took out his phone.

L
il
shook her head and reached out to stop him, pulling back just before she touched him.
“No, I’ll see who I can find. I might have to drop Colby off, but
I have friends who will help me on short notice.”

“I’ll watch her.”

Whoa.
Just whoa.
“What?”

One of his eyebrows rose as if to say that she had heard him perfectly well and he didn’t appreciate repeating himself.
“
I’m already here;
i
t makes sense for me to do it
–
u
nless you’re not comfortable with me watching her either
.
”

“You’re serious.”

“I don’t joke much.”

No
kidding.

He couldn’t seriously be offering to watch her daughter while she studied, could he?
He was a billionaire, a man in c
harge of countless companies.
He
didn’t get to where he was by hanging around.
Was he hoping she’d sleep with him again?
If so, he was sure going about it in an odd way.

“
Colby is
go
in
g to wake up hungry,” she said, testing his offer.

“I’m sure you can direct me to the necessary supplies.”

“And wet.” When he said nothing, she added, “
You might have to
change her diaper.”

The frustratingly even tempered Jake had returned.
He didn’t so much as bat an eyelash at the possibility.
“
You’ll be here. Shown once, I’m sure I’ll be able to handle subsequent changes.
How old is she?”

“Six months old.”

He typed something into his phone.

“Are you looking up
how to care for a six month old?
”

A slight flush
spread across his cheeks. He sounded a bit defensive when he said,
“
Information gleaned from the I
nternet has a high r
eliability of accuracy if cross-
referenced with
at least three reputable sites.” He
paused
his search for a moment. “
How much longer do you think she will
sleep?”

“Maybe twenty minutes more?
Her normal nap is two
hours.”