Page 11 of The Billionaire in Her Bed

She studied him for a few seconds, then shrugged and popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. Eli relaxed his white-knuckle grip on the bag, and the knot in his stomach loosened, too. He’d dodged a bullet and managed to throw her off the track for the time being. But he’d have to be a damn sight more careful in the future if he wanted to stay on the down low. He made a mental note to text Ginny.

“I take it you two know each other, but the rest of us haven’t had the pleasure.” Cheese and crackers guy held out his free hand. Eli could have kissed him for changing the topic, if he didn’t think it would send the wrong message. “I’m Chris. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“And I’m David.” A slightly shorter but equally good-looking man came up beside Chris, slipping an arm around his waist. “Chris’s partner. We’re in 2-A.”

Eli nodded to David and shook Chris’s hand. “Eli Ward.”

At least he could use his name without setting off any alarm bells. Real estate developers weren’t exactly rock stars.

“I’m Charise. 3-D. Here.” She handed him a red Solo cup. “Have a beer.”

“Thanks.” He took it and drank, more for the sake of being polite than being thirsty. Cheap beer, like cheap scotch, wasn’t exactly his drink of choice. But instead of being assaulted by stale, cardboard crap, his taste buds were awash with flavors. He took another sip, savoring this time instead of slugging. Smooth and heavy-bodied, with great coffee notes throughout and a hint of something else on the back end he couldn’t quite identify. “Not bad.”

“Vanilla coffee stout.” Vanilla. That was the mystery ingredient. David lifted his own cup. “From the brewery around the corner.”

A brewery. Eli added that nugget to his mental checklist of reasons to invest in Sunset Park.

Brooke cleared her throat for attention. “Okay, people. As exciting as our new addition is, we’re still in the middle of a meeting here.”

“We can deal with the garden later. I want to hear more about Eli.” An older woman eyed him appraisingly from the sofa. The gray-haired man next to her blew a loud raspberry, but she continued, undeterred. “I don’t see a ring on your finger. Tell me, young man, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Or a boyfriend?” asked David, the arm around Chris tightening.

“I’m straight,” Eli assured him, then directed his gaze at Brooke. “And single.”

She ignored him and started in on the bean dip.

“Oh, what a pity.” The older womantskedher disapproval. “A handsome young man like you should have someone to come home to.”

“Get a dog,” the man next to her suggested. “Less expensive than a woman, and they never talk back.”

“Or cook dinner,” said the woman next to him, who Eli had figured out must be his wife. “Or do your laundry. Or…”

“See what I mean about talking back?” Her husband pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Dog’s definitely the way to go.”

“About the garden…” Brooke tried again.

“Is it true, what Chris said?” Charise piped up. “Do you and Eli really know each other?”

“Were you two an item?” David asked, jumping on the way-too-personal bandwagon.

“Despite what you all seem to think, this is not Melrose Place.” Brooke adopted a Wonder Woman power pose, hands balled into fists on her hips and feet planted firmly apart. “And I am not sharing the details of my private life at a tenants’ meeting.”

“How about you, Eli?” Chris needled. “Care to enlighten us?”

Not in a trillion years. A gentleman didn’t kiss and tell. Or fuck and tell, as the case may be. He looked to Brooke, his eyes pleading for assistance.

With an exasperated sigh, she took a piece of paper from the drafting table, crumpled it up and tossed it over her shoulder. “Since no one seems interested in discussing anything on the agenda, I declare this meeting adjourned.”