Page 31 of Trade It All (The Barrington Billionaires 3)
She wondered briefly if she should call Dax and apologize for taking a day off during her second week of work. It wasn’t something she was proud of. It was completely irresponsible and the opposite of how she’d lived her life.
She was the one who held back, worried, and planned every step carefully.
Except for one other time, which had also involved the man asleep inside. What would Lexi say if she knew where I was? She’d sent her sister a vague text about going out of town overnight, but she hadn’t told her with whom or where.
Because I don’t trust her not to ruin this for me? We’re not eighteen anymore; we have to be beyond that by now. And if we’re not, we need to find a way back to how we were before. What did she say? It used to be us against the world? I don’t need a partner in battle anymore, I need a sister.
Crying the day before had been cleansing. I’ve kept my anger locked in a little box inside for so long because I’ve been too afraid to face it, but we’re not children any more. With age comes the realization that talks don’t have to become fights. There doesn’t have to be a winner or loser. All I want is to be close with Lexi again. I should be able to call her this morning and share this part of my life with her.
I don’t know how to do that, but I have a feeling it starts with letting go of the past.
Lexi had said she’d felt badly about messing things up between Lance and her. She’d said, “I guess I thought that if my pretending to be you didn’t work, then maybe you pretending to be me would.” There was no denying that the flash mob scenario had somehow jump-started a second chance with Lance.
I wouldn’t be here with Lance if Lexi hadn’t given me a push toward him.
Willa sent an impulsive text to Lexi. Can we do dinner this week? I miss you.
A text message came back a moment later. Miss you, too. When do you get back?
Tonight.
I’ll cook. Lexi’s version of an olive branch. Of course, since she was an awful cook, it was also amusing.
Normally Willa would have suggested that they order something delivered, but she wanted a fresh start with her sister as well. That sounds wonderful. She almost placed the phone down, but instead texted, I’m at the Cape with Lance.
How is it going?
Amazing.
We’ll talk when you get home. Stop texting and go jump the man.
Willa laughed. Classic Lexi. Feeling suddenly carefree, Willa wrote, I would if I could still walk.
“So this is where you went,” Lance said from behind her. He bent, pushed her hair to one side and gave the back of her neck a kiss.
Willa glanced back at him. He had a pair of shorts on, but his chest was bare and his hair was delightfully still mussed from bed. “I woke up early but thought you’d want to sleep in.” She placed her phone face down on the arm of the Adirondack chair.
He pulled up a chair beside hers and sank into it. “I’m an early riser, but I would have stayed in bed if you were still there.” He said it as a simple fact that also just happened to be sexy and sweet at the same time. “We technically have this place until tomorrow morning, but I thought it would be easier if we went back tonight. What would you like to do today?”
Her first response was a suggestive smile which brought a twinkle to his eyes. “Oh, you mean outside of the house?”
She loved his easy chuckle. Then his expression turned serious. “What’s your idea of a perfect day at the Cape?”
It felt like the most natural thing in the world when he laced his hand with hers. “I’d like to see the area, but I’ve always loved quiet places like this. Lexi has our parents’ adventurous gene. I’m also happy with a hammock and a good book.”
“What do you like to read?”
A week ago she would have tried to think of an impressive title. She no longer felt the need to. The most amazing part of being with Lance was that he seemed to like her just the way she was. “Everything from romances to autobiographies. I’m a bit of a history junkie. If I see something in a movie or hear about it in a book I love to go back and research it.”
He looked at her warmly. “E-book or paperback?”
“E-book unless I read it more than once. Then I want it in paperback so I can own it. I have a small library of signed books from my favorite authors. I started collecting them when I was in college. Right now they’re boxed in a corner of my room, but one day I’d like to have a spare room I could make into a reading room with a library.” Willa stopped when she felt like she’d started rambling.
“What would your dream library look like?”
She’d dreamed of one since she was a child, so this was easy to answer. She described the dark wood, the ladder on wheels, even the comfortable furniture and the fireplace she’d cuddle up in front of. It wasn’t the first time she’d shared her fantasy library, but when her eyes met Lance’s she felt strange about sharing it with him. He was watching her intently. Suddenly self-conscious she shrugged. “Sorry to go on and on.”
“I’d love to design that library for you,” he said abruptly.
Unsure of how to respond, Willa made light of his comment. “If I ever get a place big enough to have a library, I’ll call you.”
His hand tightened on hers. “I could buy you a house.”
Willa pressed her lips together and held in her first answer. He thought he was being generous. He wouldn’t understand how that kind of comment could put an ugly spin on their time together. She and Lexi had been friends with Kenzi for well over a decade and had never taken a dime from her. I thought he knew me better than that.
He stood, then used their linked hands to pull her to stand before him. “Say it, Willa.”
She raised her eyes to his. “What?”
“I’ve sat back for years while you silently shot daggers at me with your eyes, and I always told myself it was better left alone. We’re beyond that. If you’re upset about something, say it.”
If you’re sure . . . “I’m offended. Just because I don’t have much money doesn’t mean I’m looking for a handout. I have a perfectly good life. Everyone dreams of having something special, but offering me a house made it sound like you thought I was your . . . it made me feel . . .”
He pulled her to his chest and hugged her. “I’m sorry.”
Willa tipped her head back. She’d expected him to defend himself or to try to convince her that she was being too sensitive. Her irritation and self-consciousness fell away. Was it that simple? With Lance it felt as if it could be. “Apology accepted. I just didn’t want you to think—”
“I don’t.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly. “What do you say to venturing out to find breakfast somewhere? We could walk around until it gets hot, come back and lounge in a hammock in the shade. I’m halfway through a mystery book.”
She looked around. “Are there hammocks here? I didn’t see any.”
His smile was confident without being cocky. “There will be a large one by the time we get back.”
And that’s the difference between you and me, Lance. You expect everything to work out the way you want it to because that’s the way it always has for you.
That’s not my experience.
Life can quickly get ugly, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.
“But first we should shower,” Lance said, then swung her up and over his shoulder. “You’re coming with me, woman.”
Hanging upside down, Willa pushed her panic attack aside and laughed. “Seriously? Like a sack of potatoes?”
He gave her a playful swat on the rump and said, “More like a bounty I’m claiming. Let a man have his fantasy.”
Completely amused and more than a little turned on, Willa jokingly flailed against his back. “Oh, you big brute, put me down.”
“Never,” he growled as he carried her back into the house and started toward the bedroom with her. “You’re mine.”
Yes. Even though she knew he wasn’t serious, Willa’s stomach did a crazy flip. I am. I always have been.
He stopped just long enough to grab the strip of condoms from beside the bed. Once in the master bath, he lowered her to her feet and began to strip her. All jokes had fallen to the wayside along with coherent thought. It was only them and their need for each other. She helped him out of his shorts, lovingly encircling his huge, hard shaft with her hand. They stepped into the shower together but completely neglected to turn on the water. Just like everything else, it simply wasn’t as important as how much they enjoyed each other.
He slammed her back against the glass wall of the shower, held her hands on either side of her head, and kissed her mouth, her neck, her breasts until she thought she’d come from that alone.
A little voice in her head warned that she needed to be careful, but she ignored it. The only fear she had at that moment was that he might stop kissing her. She was pretty sure she’d die if he did.
Hours later, in bathing suits, Lance and Willa were side by side in the large hammock he’d had installed beneath the shade of a few trees in the area of the yard that overlooked the beach below. It was close enough to provide a breeze off the water, but private enough that it felt as if they were alone on their own island.
