Page 38 of The Billionaire in Her Bed

But as relieved as he was that his secret was still safe, another part of him continued to panic. It was too soon to be throwing around the “L” word, wasn’t it?

He repositioned the boutonniere. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s as obvious as a bad boob job.” David handed him a fresh pin. “All you have to do is look in a mirror. You’ve got all the classic symptoms. Yearning look. Dopey grin. Shortness of breath. The next thing you know you’ll be doodling hearts and flowers on your spreadsheets. Or whatever it is you work with.”

So much for his big-time-real-estate-magnate poker face. If David could read him like a cheap airport paperback, could everyone else? Could Brooke?

“We’ve barely known each other two months.” The protest sounded lame, even to Eli’s ears. He pushed the pin through the stem of the boutonniere and stepped back to observe his handiwork.

“Weeks, months, years. Love doesn’t have a timetable. I moved in with Chris three weeks after we met.” David shifted to the mirror to check his appearance. “Haven’t you ever been in love before?”

Eli fiddled with his pocket square. “I thought so, back in college. But now I’m not so sure.”

David gave his reflection a final once-over and turned back to Eli. “Yeah. The real thing will do that to you.”

The real thing.The words tugged at Eli’s conscience. It felt real. It felt right. But how right or real could it be until he was completely honest with her?

The door cracked open and Brooke stuck her head in. “Your ten minutes are up, and the natives are getting restless. Are we doing this, or what?”

“You bet your ass we’re doing this,” David said, his tone joking but his expression deadly serious. “I can’t have Chris jeté-ing his way across Europe in tights and a dance belt without a ring on his finger. Which reminds me.”

He took a small, square box out of his pants pocket and put it in Eli’s palm. “Here. The rings. Don’t forget them. And don’t forget what we talked about.”

Eli nodded. “I won’t.”

David breezed past Brooke, planting a kiss on her cheek as he went. “See you on the roof.”

“What was that all about?” Brooke asked in his wake.

“Guy stuff.” There wasn’t time for even the abridged version of what he needed to say to her. That would have to come later. Eli crossed to Brooke and offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

She threaded her arm through his and let him lead her into the hallway and toward the stairs to the roof. “I’m all yours.”