Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (2 page)

Ethan's
phone vibrated and pulled him from his memories. He shook his head as
he turned it on.

“
I'll
meet you in an hour. I have to go home and change first.” John
sent.

“
I'm
on my way. I'll see you in fifteen.” Heath sent.

Ethan
turned off his laptop and packed it into his bag. He stood up and
stretched his arms out. It was going to be a good night, he thought.
His suit jacket was off and his sleeves were rolled up within
seconds. Grabbing his bag, he shut off his office lights and headed
for the door. He sat in the back of the car as his driver weaved in
and out of traffic. There were more cars than he was used to on the
roads, but he usually left work much later. His driver dropped him
off at the bar and let him know that he wouldn't be far.

Heath
was already there and had chosen a booth in the back. Ethan grabbed
some drinks from the bar on his way through the crowd. He smiled as
he looked around at the sexy, available women around them. Yes, it
was going to be a good night. When he got to the table, Heath shook
his head.

“
What?”
Ethan asked.

“
You
are something else. Already looking around for who will share your
bed tonight? You're such a player,” Heath said.

“
Today
has been a shitty day. I need to get my mind off of things for a few
minutes. There's nothing wrong with that. She'll know the deal when
we leave here. I never let them think there's a chance for another
meeting,” Ethan snapped. “I don't understand why you all
look at me like it's so wrong. I'm not leading anyone on.”

“
One
of these days, you're going to meet your match. There is going to be
that one woman that you just can't get. I am going to be right there
to watch it all unfold.”

“
That's
a load of crap. You know enough about my past to know that it will
never happen. I will never want a woman or a relationship for more
than one night. Why would I put up with all of the stuff that Gavin
and Josh put up with, when I can have everything I want without it?”
Ethan asked.

Just
as Heath was about to say something else, John walked over and sat
down. A waitress followed right behind him.

“
Do
you gentlemen need any drinks?” she asked, winking at Ethan.

He
pulled her into his lap as he laughed.

“
I
can think of a few things I need,” he replied.

She
laughed as she stood back up. They gave her their order, and she blew
him a kiss as she walked away.

“
You
are such an ass,” John said. “What was that shit at the
wedding?”

“
What
are you talking about?” Ethan asked.

“
That
stuff with Julie. She's a good kid. Why do give her such a hard time?
I know you do it to irritate Gavin, but you need to think about her
feelings too. She came back in from outside, after the whole garter
thing, and she looked so upset. I could tell she had tears in her
eyes, as she walked back to her date. You shouldn't mess with her
like that. She's a good person.”

“
I
didn't do anything to her. She came outside to see me. I wasn't going
to say anything to her. She was the one that pointed her finger in my
chest and yelled at me about what a piece of shit I am. I never even
went back in. That was my cue to leave. You can stop giving me shit
right now brother,” Ethan said.

“
Everywhere
we go, you give her a hard time. You did it at Gavin's house, at the
hospital, and at the weddings. You pick on her every time she sees
you. If I didn't know better, I would think you liked her. I know
that's not the case and that you are just doing it for Gavin, but you
need to stop torturing her. She doesn't deserve that.”

“
You
know I don't like her. I enjoy picking on her, and it's just an added
bonus that it bugs her big brother. I'm not going to sit here and let
you trash me. I came here to have fun, and that is what I plan to do.
I'll show you just how much I don't care about her,” Ethan
snapped at his big brother.

He
stood up and pushed away from their table with a smirk. There was an
attractive girl standing a few feet away. He would show his brother
and forget about the things that had been on his mind. Ethan walked
up behind the tall, thin hottie and whispered in her ear. She turned
her body to face him and flung her arms around his neck. That was who
was going to keep him warm that night. He winked over at John as she
pulled him in for a kiss. Before long, he held her hand as they made
their way to his car. He let the driver know they would be going to
his place as the door closed behind them.

They
barely made it into his bachelor pad before their clothes flew off
and landed throughout the room. He carried her to his bedroom and
placed her on his bed, as he crawled up over her to drown out his
stress from the day.

Ethan
opened his eyes to the bright light shining through the window. He
heard a noise and looked to the side. A groan escaped his lips, and
he got out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. After a long,
hot shower, he made his way back to his bedroom with a towel around
his hips. The blonde from the night before was sitting up in his bed.
She reached out and grabbed for his towel, but he pulled back from
her.

“
You
need to get your clothes on and leave. I'm late for a meeting at
work,” he said sternly.

“
Come
on, just come back to bed for a few minutes. Let me show how much I
appreciate our time together.”

“
I'm
late for a meeting. We need to go. My driver will drop me off at work
and then take you where you need to go.”

She
let out a sigh and pushed out her bottom lip.

“
Don't
give me that shit. Get your ass ready, or you'll be standing outside
naked.”

“
You're
such an ass,” she snapped.

“
That's
not the first time I've heard that one lately. Hurry up.”

Her
long legs reached the floor, and she made her way to the bathroom.

Ethan
laughed as she called him names. At least he was living up to what
all of his friends thought of him. Why disappoint them?

Julie
sat back on the couch with a cup of coffee and a book. Thursday was
her day off, and she wanted to enjoy every moment of it. She loved
her job as a pediatrician, but it kept her very busy. Between the
hospital and her practice, there was not much time for relaxing. Time
to herself was very important to her.

She
was surrounded by hardworking friends and family. Her brother Gavin
owned his own software company. His wife Becky worked there with him.
He put in very long hours. One of his friends, Josh, was a
firefighter and owned multiple restaurants. Heath owned his own
construction company. John was a police officer and investor. Ethan
was the last of her brother's friends. He owned a software company as
well. If he wasn't traveling, then he was at his office until it was
time to go to bed and start over again. She wasn't sure if it was a
guy thing or just her brother and his friends. They worked every
spare moment. Julie never understood if it was the money that pushed
them so hard, or if it was passion for what they loved doing.

Her
life as a pediatrician was eventful but exciting. She loved kids and
enjoyed helping them feel better. Her time at the hospital had its
ups and downs. Some days were better than others. The days she worked
at the office were always great. She loved watching the kids grow
between visits and enjoyed encouraging them to be more active and eat
healthy foods. It was very rewarding for her. She wasn't sure that
she ever wanted children of her own, but that didn't stop her from
enjoying every moment around each of them. There would be two new
babies in her family soon, and she couldn't be happier.

She
made a very good living as a doctor and enjoyed having a nice home,
with all of the comforts she enjoyed. It meant a lot to her, that she
had done so well for herself. She did not have to count on a man to
take care of her, and that was the most important thing for her.
Everything she had, she earned herself. It was important for her to
make a good living and have such comforts, but money wasn't
everything to her.

It
was very important to her to have free time. She wanted time to relax
and enjoy life. You only live one, she thought. Nobody ever knew when
their life would be over. It was not always going to be when they
expected it. She was a huge believer in enjoying every single
wonderful moment of life. When she took her last breath, she was sure
that she did not want to have a single regret. There were things in
her past that she was not proud of, but they were exactly that, in
the past. She had made some bad decisions when it came to men, but
she learned from them. Julie would never trust anyone but herself.
She was going to make sure that her life was lived to the fullest and
completely for her. Even when she didn't feel like it, she put on a
happy face and took on the world.

She
would never understand why people would spend every waking moment
working. For her, it was about spending time with the kids and having
a nice place to call home. Other than that, her life was for her to
enjoy. She wanted to love and be proud of the person she was.

As
she got under the covers and began to read, but her mind kept going
back to Ethan. He seemed to pick on her every possible chance he had.
She knew it was all about pissing off her brother, and sometimes she
enjoyed his joking. She would never admit that to anyone. A couple of
times, she had been in a really rough place, and his joking had made
her laugh when she wasn't sure she could. There were other times, she
would have done anything for him to stop. He had no idea, nobody did.
Julie kept certain things to herself. It was very important to her
that Gavin and his friends were proud of her and her accomplishments.
She never wanted any of them to know when she failed or to be
disappointed in her, especially Ethan.

He
was such an ass, but she knew there was more to him than he let
people see. She had no idea why she let him push her buttons so much.
If she ignored him, she knew he would stop. He was the only one of
her brother's friends who had the guts to mess with her. Gavin
protected her like she was a fragile doll. None of the guys would
ever do anything when it came to her. Ethan didn't care what Gavin
said. He did little things to her, just to see what Gavin would do.
Even though he was a jerk, she enjoyed his silly behavior. He never
treated her like she was going to break. Ethan always treated her
like a real person. If he thought something, he said it. She liked
that he didn't hold back because of her brother.

She
thought back to the day she met him. Her brother was bringing someone
over to do some work. Julie was much younger than her brother and
never really bothered with his friends. They were all boring, and she
was busy with her own friends. That day was different. She could
still picture him like he was right there. The guys walked into the
kitchen, where she was sitting with a friend. She could not keep her
eyes off of the new guy. Gavin introduced her and her friend to
Ethan. He was the cutest guy she had ever seen. She was fifteen years
old and could not help but notice how tall and skinny he was. He had
green eyes and long brown hair. She noticed his muscles peeking out
of his t-shirt. Julie laughed as he messed up her hair on his way
past. She heard Gavin talking as they walked down the hall to his
room.

“
Leave
my little sister alone.”

Julie
remembered the cute smile on Ethan's face. She wondered if he had a
girlfriend and imagined what it would be like to go out on a date
with him. Her sixteenth birthday was coming up and she was so
excited. The rest of her high school years, he was her dream guy.
That guy a girl thinks is the be all and end all of men. The one she
dreams about walking down the aisle with and pictures her happily
ever after with. Ethan was that guy for her. He would joke with her
and pick on her every time he came over. Gavin and Ethan were
interested in the same business and spent hours talking about
computers. She thought they were completely boring, but she still sat
and watched Ethan's every move. Gavin would yell at him for picking
on her and tell him to leave her alone, but Ethan would just pick on
her more the next time.