Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (31 page)

Abby stuck her head through the door and called to Dominic. “Dom, the
Andrades
just pulled in.
Are you ready?”

With one final glare, Dominic announced, “Yes, I think Jake and I understand each other now.”

Perfectly
, Jake thought.

And, for once, he agreed with Dominic.
He shouldn’t have slept with his best friend’s
future sister-in-law
, but now that he had
–
marrying her
was the only
course
that made sense.
Lil would agree with him, once he explained it to her.
For the sake of her child, she
needed
permanency and security.
He could offer
her that. He
would
offer that
–
as soon as he coul
d get her to talk to him again.

As Lil sat at the
outrageously long
dining room table, she smoothed the material of the conservative green dress she’d chosen.
The crisp lines and modest neckline boosted her confidence. Tonight was not about her and Jake, nor was it about the emotional baggage Lil had packed for the trip – it was about her sister and celebrating her finding love.
Green was a peaceful color, one that could blend in and stay out of trouble.

Domini
c
and Abby were seated at one end of the table
, happily absorbed in a private
conversation
.
Dominic’s sister, Nicole and her fiancé, Stephan, were seated next to Abby.
Lil spared a moment to envy how Nicole always looked like she belonged on the cover of Vogue
.

Lil was surprised to see that Ste
phan had brought his parents,
his
aunt and uncle
, and if Lil was correct
–
even one of his cousins and her French husband
. Abby had said that she and
Dominic had been spending time with the
Andrades
lately, but Lil hadn’t realized that they had gotten this close
.

Dominic’s personal assistant, Mrs. Duhamel, smiled at Lil from directly across the table. Lil tried to return the smile, gave up and looked down at her plate instead.
One of the most powerful women in China,
billionaires
s
Zhang
Yajun
, sat at Lil’s left.
Normally, Lil would have bombarded her with questions about what her life was like, but tonight Lil was determined to hold her tongue and quietly ble
nd into this collection of some of the world’s richest people.

If you don’t say anything, you can’t say anything wrong.

Jake took the seat to her right and touched her arm to gain her attention.
He kept his voice at an intimate volume.
“Lil, we need to talk.”

“No, we don’t,” she
hissed back in somewhat of a whisper.

Dominic stood and the table fell silent.
“Thank you
all
for coming tonight.”
He took a moment to smile at each person at the table t
hen he reached down, took Abby by the hand, and encouraged her to stand beside him.
With one arm around her waist, he said, “If anyone had
told
me a couple months ago that
you
would all be gathered to celebrate the formal
announcement of our engagement,
I would have thought they were crazy.
But here we are
and I am honored to call you friends
.”

Approval was
expressed
in a variety of voices and languages.

Abby
clasped her hands in front of her, the only indication that she wasn’t entirely comfortable speaking before the group.
“Helping Nicole
go
through her father’s things, inspired me to take a second look at old photo albums and what little still remains of my own parents
things
.
I found a poem
that my mother
wrote
when we were children. It seemed appropriate to read in honor of how our family has extended in the most wonderful ways.”

She took out a folded and faded piece of paper and started to read:

Real love is not like a pizza

With two slices for some

One for others

And nothing left for the unlucky

Real love is like a fountain

Joyously spilling over

Where there is always more than enough

For those who need it

And it is just as generous

To those who return to it

As to those who never left

Lil’s eyes welled at the wisdom of the mother she still missed, even as rogue thoughts plagued her.
How did real love feel toward a little accidental water contamination?
That was the question she needed answered.

Dominic hugged
Abby
to his side and the table was oddly quiet for a moment.
Nicole turned
and said something softly to
her fiancé.
Stephan smiled down at her and nodded.

Nicole
addressed her brother.
“
Dom, i
nvite her for tomorrow.
I’ll be fine
.”

There was a wave of happy gasps from those around her.

Dominic
asked
, “Are you sure, Nicole?”

His sister
considered it for a moment then
nodded
with a teary smile
.
“I want the fountain.”
Stephan hugged her and whispered something into her ear that made her blush.

Abby leaned down and hugged her future sister-in-law, and then said, “I promise to keep this short so we can
eat,
but
when we make
the formal
announcement of our engagement
tomorrow
the house will be full.
I wanted to ask something in the privacy of the ones we’re closest to.”
She looked around the table and said, “Nicole,
Maddy
, Zhang,
–
I’d like for you to be my bridesmaids.
You don’t have to answer
now,
I just want
ed
to tell you that nothing would mean more to me than having you up there when I marry Dominic.
It’s happening in three weeks, so you’d be com
mitting to a bit of a whirlwind
wedding
, but Dominic assures me it can be done.”

Nicole and
Maddy
left their seats
to hug Abby.

Lil noticed that
Zhang’s expression remained carefully polite.
She neither acc
epted nor declined the request.

Abby walked over
to
where Lil was sitting and asked,
“Lil, will you be my maid of h
onor?”

The room spun behind her and Lil suddenly felt sick. She
didn’t know anything about high-
class weddings and assuming that type of responsibility sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Lil shook her head
with uncertainty
.
“
I
don’t know.”

Abby
’s hurt expression tore at Lil, especially when her sister
pleaded,
“You’re my sister, Lil.
I love you.
Say you’ll stand beside me that day.”

I’ve done more than enough damage
already
.
The
closer
Lil
got to her sister and her future brother in law, the more that went wrong.
Abby would be better off choosing any of the other women at the table.
Panic
temporarily
overwhelm
ed her
.
Lil stood, her chair toppling behind her
, and said,
“I can’t.”

Giving in to a true moment of cowardice, Lil ran from the stunned expressions on the faces of everyone at the table.

Dominic leaned forward
, one hand clenching
on the table and
the other
point
ing
across the table at
Jak
e. “This is your fault.
Fix it,
”
he ordered.

Jake
folded his arms across his chest.
“Your family.
You fix it.”

Dominic left his spot at the head of the table and strode toward Jake. “
It’s going to be your family, too, if you know what is good for you.”

Surging from his seat,
Jake met his friend half way.
“Or what?
What are you going to do, Dominic? Hit me? Try it.”

Abby sprinted toward them, but Mrs. Duhamel stopped her with a hand on one of her
arms before she reached them.
“Th
ey need to settle this
themselves, Abby,” she said.

Dominic swung at Jake
’s jaw
,
but Jake
avoided the hit and landed one of his own
in Dominic’s abdomen. The sound of the breath leaving Dominic was a hiss
in
an
otherwise silent room.

Jake
addressed
the
doubled over
Dominic
.
“I’m tired of pandering to your colossal ego.
I don’t work for you and we both know that.”