Kiss me if you dare: Alpha Billionaire Romance (The Secret Matchmaker Book 3) (4 page)

I woke the next morning feeling like my head had been split open. Drinking had never been something I could do and get away with it the next day. Why I had to suffer each and every time was beyond me, but it was my curse. I stripped and got in the shower as my stomach ached with the thought of having to face Asher.

There was no way I could ask about Sofia, even though I should. It was my job to find Asher his best match and honestly, I had. She was everything he asked for and a little more. There was no denying that they would be beautiful together and complement each other in every possible way.

"Even in the bedroom, I'm sure." I reached for the shampoo and worked it into my hair as I tried not to envision the two of them wrapped up in a large four poster bed.

Sofia wasn't just gorgeous, her persona also whispered of mystery. She was poised and her voice was drawing, making you want to pull up a chair and hang out for a while. It was her dark eyes that told a different story still. She was a tiger in the bed, I had no doubt about it.

I'm sure Asher doesn't now either.

He slept with her for sure. He wasn't the type of man to have a nice meal and leave it at that. If he was remotely attracted to her, then he most certainly took her for a test drive.

My chest burned as a hot lump of loss crawled up and lodged itself inside of me.

"He's not yours. Get over yourself." I finished up in the shower and got out, towel drying my hair and pulling on a robe before checking myself in the mirror.

My eyes were swollen and red, my face pasty and ill looking from the alcohol wracking my system. It was perfect. Asher needed to know how heinous I could look and honestly, I wasn't in the running for his attention anymore. He would see her again and it was my job to move out of the picture completely.

I walked to the kitchen languidly, as if nothing in my life was worth hurrying for, which was the truth. The sunlight burst across my face as I walked into the smell of bacon, and I squinted. Pain burst across the back of my head and I let out a soft groan.

"Lila. What's wrong?"

His hand touched my arm and I started to jerk away, but didn't want to put my immaturity on display anymore. I needed to leave with at least a string of dignity intact.

"Just a little bit of headache. Nothing coffee won't solve." I glanced over at him and wished I hadn't.

His hair was disheveled, his jeans low on his hips and his torso on complete display for me. Strong muscles flexed as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head to the side. His ocean blue eyes analyzed me and I felt more disgusting by the minute.

I should ask about Sofia. Ask about her. Just do it. Get it over with.

"Where have you been? I expected to see you last night, but came home to a weird note. I go to the restaurant and you're not there at all."

I lifted my hand, not wanting him to continue. Fuck asking about Sofia. It wasn't happening.

"I did my job as you hired me to do. I was at the bar, making new friends. I guess I overdid it." I chuckled and turned my back to him as I began working on making a cup of coffee.

"Making new friends? Like who?" His voice was tight and less than happy.

I assumed it was because he didn't want another man in his penthouse. His things were important to him and we were on a business trip. Apparently he was the only one able to experience pleasure on the trip.

"No one really. Just talking to the locals. I feel great. Just need to get over the age old issue of the hangover." I lifted the coffee cup to my lips and turned to watch him.

He stood a few feet in front of me, a spatula in his hand and his face filled with question or concern. I couldn't make out which.

"Right." He turned back to the stove, obviously not happy with me. "You hungry?"

"I am. Thanks for making breakfast. I could have taken care of it for you. I'm the help, remember?" I let out a friendly chuckle and walked to the table.

He didn't respond and I couldn't blame him.

Stop being catty. He'll know you're hurt, and then he wins.

"I like cooking actually. I made bacon and sausage. I wasn't sure which one you liked." There was no inflection to his voice, which hurt.

The fact that he wasn't talking to me about dinner stung, too. Something had gone right or he would have told me how ridiculous Sofia was, how pissed he was at me for hooking him up with a woman that was a complete waste of time. I couldn't ask about the night, but I sure as fuck wanted him to tell me how horrible it had been.

"I like both. You're in luck, mister." I tried to keep my voice light, but it failed miserably.

He glanced over his shoulder and pinned me with a stare, but didn't say anything.

I picked up the newspaper in front of me and started flipping through it as I worked through my exit plan in my head. He and Sofia most likely had hit it off, and my job was done. I was getting on a plane as soon as it was feasible to do so.

I would go home, drown myself in liquor, ice cream and old movies until Jessie pulled me out of the dark hole I planned to climb into. If I thought last time with James was bad, this next time was gearing up to pull out all the stops.

Anger burned through me at the way everything had spun so violently out of my control. I paused to catch my breath. I'd done everything right. Not giving him my number. Being aloof and cocky. Turning him away more than once that night, and yet... here I was again.

Not good enough and empty handed.

"How do you want your eggs?"

I looked up from the paper and shook my head. "No eggs for me. My stomach is a little sensitive."

"Shit, Lila. How much did you drink?" His voice held a hint of anger that he seemed to be suppressing.

"Too much, for sure." I shrugged and laid the paper down.

"I don't like it. You could have been taken advantage of. Someone could have hurt you." He pulled the pan from the stove and brought over a plate of breakfast meats, setting them down in front of me.

Someone already has. You, you asshole.

"I'm a tough cookie, Asher. I was fine. I stayed here and drank at the bar downstairs. When I was tipsy, I came up here and enjoyed a long, hot bath and then crashed. It was a perfect evening." I forced a smile and picked up a piece of bacon. "So, what's on your agenda for today?"

"I'm going to take a quick shower and then I’m headed out to the horse track this morning. The weather is going to be beautiful. You should come with me." He picked up his coffee and took a sip. "We could get you something pretty to wear and then head that way."

"Sounds fun. You like the tracks? I didn't peg you as that type of guy." I forced myself to relax. I could spend the day with him, pretending like everything was fine between us before heading back to L.A. He had to know that I was going home soon. Maybe a parting day with him would be good for us both.

I was a glutton for punishment, as made apparent by looking at Sofia's pictures a thousand times the day before. Why not spend one more day living someone else's life? It would give me proper ammunition to really lament over the coming months.

"I'm actually not into them that much, but Sofia invited me, so I figured I could at least give it a try." He glanced down and focused on the newspaper, his expression completely blank.

I stood up and pressed my fingers to my lips as his eyes moved to lock onto me.

"Oh damn. I don't feel so good. Maybe eating was a bad idea." I took a shaky breath as he started to stand and reach for me. "No. I'm good. Have fun today. I'm going to nurse myself back to health."

I turned and half ran to the bathroom before throwing up again.

Asher knocked on the door a few times, his voice soft and caring when he finally spoke. "Lila. I can cancel with her. I'll stay here and help take care of you."

Tears burned my gaze and I pressed a soft white towel to my eyes, speaking only when I was sure I could pull off something that sounded like I was perfectly fine.

"No. Go and have fun. I'm in no mood for company. I hope you guys win big today. Put a couple of bucks on the least likely to win for me?" My voice started to break and I turned on the faucet in the sink and dropped down to the toilet, letting the painful cry that left me be muted in the towel in my hands.

I was the least likely to win and I was beyond tired of betting on myself. Asher was going to spend the day with the woman that would soon take up residence in his life. I didn't have a spot anymore and honestly, it was for the better.

The fact that my chest felt like it might split open any minute was irrelevant. This wasn't about me. It was about him.

Gisele would be thrilled with all I had accomplished with him, though she would never know half the story. Only Jessie would be aware of the incredible mess I'd made for myself. I wiped my tears and walked into my bedroom, closing and locking the door behind me.

Picking up my phone, I looked into the first flight back home and booked it, putting it on a credit card and not caring about the cost or implications of me running out of there like a child with my feelings hurt. I would simply make it look as if I was the heartless bitch I pretended to be.

My lesson was learned from the situation with Asher Harrington.

I was capable of keeping control of myself, but it required love and lust to be tucked away. I thought I could get away with pushing hard and fast into lust and leaving love out of the equation, but that just wasn't the case for me.

A text came through from Asher, asking if I was okay. I ignored it and texted Jessie, instead, letting her know what time to pick me up from LAX. I wanted to go home, to disappear and pretend like none of this had ever happened.

I wouldn't make such a mistake again. Not ever.

I felt like absolute shit leaving the penthouse, knowing that Lila was upset. She was hungover and in physical pain, but the sadness sitting on her was almost tangible. I wanted to pull her close and find out what had left her so broken. A million thoughts ran through my mind as I drove to the track.

Sofia was waiting by the ticket booth as I walked up, and I couldn't help but smile. She was stunning. Her dark hair flew behind her as the wind played with it, but her elegant white hat was locked onto her head with her hand pressed to the top of it.

Her top and pants were cream-colored and beautifully crafted to fit her lithe frame with perfection. I forced myself to remain focused on her face. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being put to the test somehow, in a cosmic sense, perhaps. My desire to get to know the beauty in front of me was blocked only by the deep ache I felt inside for the girl back at the penthouse.

My girl.

Why the hell would Lila set me up with this woman? That had to be the source of her angst. She hadn't swallowed a drop of liquor once in the last week we'd been together, and last night she’d gotten shit faced drunk to the point of a hangover? On a professional business trip? Only pain could do that to someone.

She had feelings for me and was fighting them with everything she had. To the point of presenting me with my best match. No small wonder she’d needed a drink to cope.

"Hi handsome." Sofia reached for me and touched the side of my face. She lifted herself to her tiptoes and brushed a soft kiss on my cheek before pulling back. "I bought our tickets. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." I winked at her and offered my arm. "I'll place a few bets and pick up a few for you too, if you like."

"Oh, I'm not the betting type." She laughed and moved next to me like she belonged beside me.

Some part of me knew she would fit beautifully into my life. She would support me, understand me and look incredible next to me, but I just couldn't fathom moving forward with her until I was able to really speak with Lila. I needed to know that there was nothing between us. I couldn't shake the feeling that something still thrived beneath my pride and her denial.

"Do you like playing it safe?" I asked, and stopped in front of the betting counter.

"Absolutely. I'm quite traditional in every sense of the word. I love stability more than anything else." She turned and wrapped her arms around herself as the warm winds of the desert blew again.

"And you're interested in real estate?" I asked, laughing softly due to the absurdity of her comment.

The market we lived in was anything but stable. I was a wild card myself, wanting to run around the world and never settling too long in one place. I glanced at her before turning my attention on the older man in front of me.

"I'd like to place a wager on your least likely to win." I smiled and slid a handful of bills across the opening just below the plate-glass window.

"You feel like going for the underdog?" The guy chuckled and took my cash.

"I'm doing it for a friend. She's a risk taker and the kind of girl who just isn't willing to take no for an answer." My smile widened at the thought of Lila. She was wild and untamed, the kind of woman I'd pick up in a bar and offer a ring to without thinking twice about it.

"Who's this friend?" Sofia's voice was soft and unassuming.

I glanced over at her and turned toward the stands. "Lila. You said you had the chance to meet her? She's something special."

"I did. I met her last night. I was a little intimidated by her. She's incredibly beautiful. In a natural way." Sofia slid her arm into mine again.

"Yeah, she has absolutely no clue of how gorgeous she is. She walks in a room and every head turns, but she's one of those girl's next door. You know... that thinks she's just average and she's more comfortable with that thought than accepting the truth." I smiled and moved back, dropping her arm and motioning for her to take her seat.

I moved in beside her and leaned back, clasping my hands in my lap. I glanced over at her as she moved to the edge of her seat and turned to smile at me.

"I love this place. It's so much fun. It's a thrill like no other." Her eyes danced with excitement and I couldn't deny the fact that I was drawn to her. Who wouldn't be?

She was sharp, smart, funny and incredibly sexy. Any man in the whole damn place would be beyond thrilled to just sit next to her. All this and I was struggling.

I leaned back and nodded. "Yeah. This is great."

She got caught up in the races and I let my mind wander. The night with Lila in my car was the first thing to slam into me. The soft panting of her neediness was the first sound I heard inside my thoughts. She was so fucking hot, bent over and willing to let me have her any way I wanted her.

The feel of her back pressed to my chest as I took her at such a deep angle felt indescribable, and better than anything I'd ever experienced. The office encounter came at me next, the unabashed way she opened herself to me and accepted the deep fucking we both needed. Her body was a fantasy I couldn't let go of.

But it wasn't the sex that was twisting the knife in my chest. It was the realization that I was so completely pissed about her old client, Craig, hugging her. I didn't want her to call him. She helped his old ass out and he needed to move on. She was too friendly. I would tell her that when I got back to the penthouse.

Sadness rolled through me at the idea of never holding her again, never pressing my lips to hers or whispering how beautiful she was to her. I wanted to call her 'baby' a million more times before it ended, and yet, a sense of finality sat at the door of my heart.

I should have excused myself from the dinner with Sofia and gone to find her. She was so angry in the lobby, so hurt and destroyed by my greediness. I needed to apologize, to make it up to her, and yet I'd sat there all damn night with the beautiful woman next to me.

Knowing that she had been down in the lobby, drinking herself into a stupor left me with only one conclusion. She was falling in love with me.

She might not want to, but she was doing it. Her disposition in the kitchen earlier left me with no other conclusion.

Warmth infused my pain. I pressed my fist to my mouth and swallowed the hope that swelled inside me. She loved me. She had to. It was almost too much to hope for, and yet I couldn’t help myself.

Why was I sitting there with Sofia when my girl was waiting for me to show up and rescue her? She needed a man in her life, one that could convince her that love did exist. Could that be me?

I glanced toward Sofia and let out a sigh. Lila was supposed to just be a fuck buddy, an employee from an agency that I could have fun with, not an obsession. She had become much more than a mere matchmaker to me. It scared the hell out of me, but that was because it wasn't supposed to turn out that way. Nothing was going the way I had envisioned and yet I couldn’t see anyone but Lila in my future now.

I didn't want anyone else sitting across the table from me, sharing a drink with me, or making love to me. She was the one I wanted, but it wasn't that simple, was it?

"So, what else do you like to do?" Sofia turned toward me and pulled me from my thoughts.

"I love to play golf. You?"

She wrinkled her nose, in an impossibly cute manner. "I can't stand it, actually."

"Lila doesn't like it either, though she probably hasn't tried it. She's impossible like that." I chuckled and pursed my lips. I missed her.

"Asher." Sofia's voice was monotone, the joy having slipped from it.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong? Is there another woman already taking your time? Stealing your thoughts?"

I scoffed. "No. What are you talking about?"

"You've mentioned Lila at least five times today and more like ten times at dinner last night." Her smile was kind and left me wanting to be truthful.

"She's just a friend. She's been my shadow for the last week while she's been studying me. It's just... I don't..." I wasn't sure what to say.

"Hey. It's okay. I understand completely, but I'm going to tell you straight ahead that if love has already aligned you with someone else, don't mess it up. It's too precious to discard like a worthless trinket. Go after it. Go after her and don't let go until you've won the prize. Forever is a really long time."

I reached over and touched her face as tears filled my eyes. She was right. "Thank you. I don't want to love someone who doesn't love me, but maybe I can change her mind."

"I don't think you'll have much of a fight. I wondered why she looked so hurt last night when I met with her. Now I know." Sofia touched my hand and squeezed it. "Go. I'll collect your winnings and we'll be even?"

I laughed and stood up. "I'll not forget this."

"You better not." She smiled and turned back to the track, lifting her voice in excitement as she joined the crowd to cheer for the beautiful animals frantically racing around the track.

I left without another word, running to the SUV and driving like a bat out of hell to get back to the penthouse. I didn't care what Lila had to say. I planned to sweep her into my arms, kiss her like my life depended on it and then tell her how much I wanted her in my life.

My pride could go to hell, my fear of rejection could take a flying leap... I was willing to lay it all out for her. She deserved better than I'd given her and it was time to fess up. Sofia was right. Love had ahold of me and I couldn't even begin to fathom letting go. Only Lila's denial could stop us from moving forward together.

I pulled up in front of the hotel and raced upstairs, barging into the penthouse and calling for her.

"Lila? Baby? Where are you?" I jogged into her bedroom. The bed was made and the room cleaned.

Fear permeated my chest, but I ignored it. I walked into the kitchen and called for her again.

Nothing.

She could be downstairs eating lunch or out in town shopping. Anything.

I checked the table in the dining room and found her note. My heart constricted as I read her words and noticed the tear stain at the bottom of the note. She was gone and had signed off on me like another check-box on her list of things to get done.

Mr. Harrington,

I'm delighted that you've found companionship with Sofia. She's a rare find and will suit a man like you perfectly. Thank you for your business and feel free to share our accomplishments with your other single friends. Gisele would love the business. Thanks for the trip and know that I'm safe and back in L.A.

Goodbye and good luck!

Lila

Continued in
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