Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (11 page)

The security ma
n at the front desk waved them
by
. Lil followed J
ake
through the pristine lobby and to an elevator that looked nice enough to live in.
She wondered what kind of people lived in a place like that.

People like Jake, she guessed.

They took the elevator all the way to the top to the penthouse, not a surprise.
What did give Lil a moment of pause was the way the penthouse was decorated.
Large, comfortable furniture.
Warm, feminine colors.
It couldn’t be Jake’s place, could it?
“Do you live here?”

“No, it belongs to a friend.”

Of course it did.

He probably had a lot of
friends
.

A moment
of jealousy
was quickly
followed by
a mental self-shake–
none of that was any of her business and she’d be a whole lot happier if she remembered that.
She placed Colby’s
carrier
on the floor and unhooked her.
“Colby’s wet.
Do you mind if I change her on the bed? I have a blanket.”

A moment later she returned from the bedroom and said, “You didn’t tell me that your friend had a baby, too.
The bedroom ha
s a crib and a changing table.”

Jake didn’t respond to that.
Instead he said, “
W
hy don’t
you check out the view? It’s quite impressive. You can see the Charles from the balcony.
”

Lil opened one of the French style doors and gasped with pleasure.
The penthouse was just high enough to give a clear view of not only the river, but a good portion of Boston.
“It’s beautiful.
”

“I’m glad you like it.
That will make this easier.”

The hair on the back of her neck went up.

“Make what easier?”

Jake turned, his hands casually pocketed.
“You
can’t go back to your place
.”

“
No…” She looked around in stunned refusal.

“Yes.”

“
You can’t
–
”

He motioned to the room around them with one hand.
“It’s already done.
As you saw,
you’ll find
that
what
ever
you need for Colby
is already here
.
Your
personal
things are being shipped
over
or stored
as we speak.”

“I already told Dominic
that
I wouldn’t take his charity.
I don’t want this place.”

“That was before your interview.”

“I fixed that. The interview won’t air.”

“Lil,
it’s not that simple
.
Even without airing, your interview has caught the public’s attention.
And th
at means paparaz
zi…”

“Why would people care about me?
I’m not marrying a billionaire
.”

“No, but your sister is
and that is a fact that, no matter how much you’d like to pretend it doesn’t matter
,
does.”

“I won’t stay here.”

“You don’t have a choice.”
His expression
hardened.

Her mouth went dry. “What does that mean?”
Was he threatening her?
Jake was smooth, but
he was no one’s
lapdog
.
Although he deferred to Dominic, she didn’t doubt that he was a force to be reckoned with on his own.

He approached her and spoke in a tone she was sure he used during his business negotiations.
“It means it’s the only course of action that makes sense and you’ll see that once you calm down.”

Of course he wasn’
t threa
tening her
–
he’d have to muster up enough emotion to do
that
.

Lashing out, she said,
“Really?
Once I calm down?
Forgive me for having an emotional response to manipulation.
Sorry that unlike you I don’t
b
lindly follow Dominic’s orders. We’re not all his puppets.”

Lil felt a
slight
triumph as her barb brought a flush to his cheeks. Still, his voice remained maddeningly even and rational.
“Luckily, your opinion of me has nothing to do with the outcome of this situation.
You’ll stay here, not because Dominic told you to
and not because I told you to
;
you’ll stay because you and your daughter are no longer safe at your old house.
If what you said
earlier is true and you do base all of your decisions on her welfare, then you’ll accept this as necessary.
”

How easily he threw her words back at her.

Lil hugged Colby closer.
Stuff like this didn’t
really
happen
, did it?
“
There has to be another way.
What if I said yes to temporary security?”

He shook his head calmly.
“
You’ll have security here.”

“
You can’t do this,
”
she said desperately
.

“It’s done,
”
he replied
with a finality she couldn’t accept.

“I can’t believe Abby went along with this! How could she think she could just spring this on me and I’d be
okay
with it?”

He shrugged.
“
She may not know I’m here.”

“
So, this isn’t even her idea? It’s her crazy lover’s? But why send you?
Anyone could have broken the bad news to me.
”
The answer came to her with sickening clarity.
“
Oh,
wait,
you’re the fixer, right?
That’s what Abby told me.
Dominic breaks all the rules and then sends you in to smooth it over.
I’m just a problem
he
sent you to fix.” She hated that her accusation ended with what sounded suspiciously like
a
sob.

Jake approached
, his expression softening with concern
.
“Lil
…”

She put a hand up to stop him.
Oh, no, pity would only make this worse.
“No, don’t say anything else.
I get it.
Excuse me.”

Dominic
had
sent
his right-hand man.
I must be a bigger screw up than I know.
Lil picked up the diaper bag and headed
back toward the bedroom. She needed a moment to
collect her thoughts, to
take all of this in
. She sat on the edge of the bed and absently offered Colb
y one of her snacks and a bottle of formula.

After satisfying her immediate needs, Colby fell asleep in Lil’s lap.
Lil crossed the room and tucked her into the wh
ite crib. It was obviously
an
expensive one and whoever had set up the room had taken the time to add a mobile that matched the one
hanging above her crib in
Lil
’s home.
Abby knew about this penthouse.
She might not know about today’s bait and switch, but she’d definitely played a part in decorating these rooms.
Her
soft, maternal touch
was evident in all of
them.

Some of Lil’s anger dissipated. She couldn’t really blame them for thin
king she needed to be protected–
contained.

She looked down at her daughter and thought,
So much has changed, and nothing has really changed at all.

But it will, Colby
.

It will.

Jake was seated on the flower print couch when Lil returned to the living room.
He
stood
as soon as he saw her.

Neither said anything at first.

Lil broke the awkward silence.
“Do y
ou really think we’re in danger?
”

Jake loosened his tie as if he suddenly found it a bit constricting.
“Dominic has as many enemies as he has allies and it only takes one.”

Lil spoke, scanning the
main area of the penthouse.
“How long will it take for this to pass over?
Surely people will forget about me when the next story catches their attention.”

“
There is no going back.
The sooner you accept that your life has changed, the easier it will be on you and Colby.”
The even tone of Jake’s voice grated.

Some of Lil’s anger returned.
“How can
you say it like that? I didn’t choose this. I don’
t want this.”

He
stood and
approached her calmly.
“What do you want me to say, Lil?”

She flung angry words at him.
“I want you to look like you care that this is ruining everything for me. How am I going to take my final exam
tomorrow
? I can’t even get out of my driveway…oh, wait, I don’t have a dri
veway anymore. Just this…this…
” She waved her hand around referencing the
penthouse.