Take me if you dare: Alpha Billionaire Romance (The Secret Matchmaker Book 4) (2 page)

"You need help?"

"No. Don’t come in here." I pulled the box down and walked out to give it to him. "It's all in this one box. I put everything in there when we broke up. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do."

He took it, but didn’t move. Instead, he stared at me in silence.

"James, I said I’m busy. Just leave me alone now."

His dark brown eyes moved across my face. "You look beautiful."

"Right." I moved past him and walked over and opened the door. "Now, get out of here. I just got home from a business trip. I'm tired and want to act like a sloth."

He chuckled. "You know... I could put this in the truck and come back up. We don't have to talk. We can just watch a movie or something."

I wanted to explode, but was too tired to even raise my voice.

"Right, do you think Krista would approve?" Mentioning one of my ex-best friends almost felt dirty. The bitch had been the last girl on his list of conquests to tap while in a secure relationship with me, but it was her that I actually caught him with. It was her that he’d left me for.

"I dropped her, Lila. You know I was just being young and stupid. Sowing my seeds and shit." He leaned against the door frame as if settling in for a conversation.

"Right. Well, time to sow those seeds somewhere else. I'm dry ground and not interested in anything you or anyone else has to offer." I started to close the door, which forced him to take a step back.

"Lila... come on, baby. Don't you remember how...?”

I shut the door in his face, not caring what he had to say.

"I sure do," I mumbled to myself as I walked to the bathroom. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was gasping, trying to catch my breath. Tears were streaming down my face, and I hadn’t even realized it until I looked at myself in the mirror.

After washing my face, trying to get my emotions under control, I took one more look in the mirror, and said, "Yes James, I remember how incredibly good we were. Me being devoted and everything you should have ever needed, and yet you wanted more and didn’t waste any time getting it. Sounds just like Asher and every other man in the universe."

I was beyond torn over what to do. Her leaving Dubai without so much as a word had me bent over in anger. Was she so immature that her only means of communication was a stiff professional note that left me feeling used?

"Fuck it," I growled and crumpled up the note. Sofia was right. Love wasn't easy and people acted like damn idiots when things didn't go the way they planned. I knew that Lila was hurt and her response—leaving—was due to that pain.

I packed up and headed down to the lobby of the hotel. We could figure everything out face to face. Otherwise she would skirt around the idea of being with me as she had been doing for the last couple weeks.

Why the woman was so fucking impossible was beyond me. We were perfect together, both in the bedroom and out of it. Something about her made me better.

Together we complemented each other, and created a balance or harmony that didn’t exist for either of us alone. She pushed me in a way that kept me on my toes, and made me want to experience life in a new and fresh way.

Yes, we had differences, big ones, which was good. I was looking for a woman to marry because I wanted to start a new way of life, not a continuation of the old one. My future wife wasn't going to be a trophy to sit on the wall or drape over my arm, but instead she would be a vital part of my future.

Lila fit that image beautifully.

I asked for a private car to take me to the hangar where my jet was waiting. A few minutes later, I was getting into a black Mercedes, while my bags were loaded into the trunk.

"Hurry," I whispered under my breath, as I closed my eyes and tried to picture Lila writing the note. She had to have been crying; her pretty face all puffy and red, all as a result of the angst I'd somehow caused her.

Confusion swept through me as I moved through the timeline of events in our short relationship, but I still couldn't figure out why she was so upset. I'd done nothing but chase her, offer myself to her and show her how much she was worth to me. She was the one that kept denying me, throwing bombs in my face and working counterintuitively for a woman to match me with.

I gave up trying to figure things out and pulled my phone from my pocket, scanning through my messages, hoping to have one from her. But there was nothing.

Gisele had sent over a parting note and asked me to call her when I had time. A wrap up interview was necessary and Lila couldn’t be the one to do it since she had been my matchmaker, and half of the conversation would revolve around her performance.

I waited until I was seated on the private jet to call Gisele. There was no way Lila would had mentioned our private arrangement, or let on that anything had happened between us, but I still was interested in picking Gisele's brain a little about this woman who had stolen my heart.

"Hello?"

"Gisele, this is Asher Harrington. I got your e-mail and had a minute for a quick call."

"Mr. Harrington. How are you?"

"Excellent." I moved the phone from my lips and mouthed, 'red wine' to the flight attendant who stopped beside me.

"Good. Thank you for the prompt payment you made last night. I assume everything is going well?" I could almost hear her smiling.

"You're welcome. Lila did a great job and invested a significant amount of time in profiling me. The match you both chose for me was everything I requested and then some." I brushed my fingers down the bridge of my nose, wondering how much I should tell Gisele.

"That's great news, though you still haven't answered my question. You're good at avoidance I'm sure, but I'm better at persistence." She laughed and I smiled.

"Right. I am avoiding your question. I'm trying to think through how much I want to share, but you've been good to me, so I'll be straight forward as long as you're willing to keep it confidential." I glanced up and took the glass of wine that the flight attendant was offering me.

"I'll never say a word. Not to anyone."

"Good. I left Dubai a moment ago because I realized that even though Sofia is an amazing woman, she's not the right one for me."

"Yet, you already paid to confirm your choice. I’m confused… "

"This is about love, Gisele. Love isn't that simple. Had I not fallen in love before meeting Sofia, everything would have gone as planned, but I guess fate had a different story to tell with my life." I took a quick sip of the wine. "Your firm is fantastic and the professionalism was incredible. But my situation changed."

"Might I ask how you fell in love with someone when Lila was under your nose the whole time? She never mentioned another woman." There was skepticism in Gisele's voice.

I took a deep breath. "Lila
is
the other woman, Gisele. She's brave and bold, feisty and so much more. She drives me crazy and I love it."

"Oh. Really…" Gisele paused. "This is not how I run my business. That shows a great lack of professionalism on her part."

"She did nothing to win my affection. Truthfully, she did quite the opposite if I'm being candid. I'm not sure why I can't take the hint that she's not interested, but that is just not a pill I can swallow yet."

Gisele paused again, probably trying to keep things under control. "I see. Is she with you?"

"No. She left Dubai after I went to the races with Sofia. Her job was completed, and she left a very professional note behind."

She paused again. "Why are you telling me all this, Asher?"

I took another sip of the wine and glanced out the window at the clouds. I hadn't even picked up on the fact that we were airborne. My thoughts had suffocated my other senses.

"Because she refused to bend to my will. Any other woman would have completely given herself over, but she remained true to your purposes, though I believe it hurt her to do so."

"How do you know?"

I let out a painful sigh. "I think… I know she has feelings for me too. She has to want something more, or maybe it’s only wishful thinking on my part. But, either way, she never acted in her best interest, only in what she perceived to be mine."

"I see. So, where do we go from here?"

"Nowhere. I've paid the bill, and greatly appreciate you. I'm headed home to find her and I’m going to tell her that I love her. It may be wild and stupid, but I don't care."

"I think it's beautiful, but before you do... you should know that she's with someone else. She's been in a relationship as long as I've known her."

I frowned, feeling like I’d been punched in the stomach. "Really?" I sat up, the news slowly spreading like a deadly poison throughout my entire body. "She never mentioned a boyfriend, and I didn't see her even talking with anyone over her time with me."

"She's a professional, Asher. You weren't friends. You're a client. She's been with James for about six years now. They should be close to getting married."

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? She mentioned going to the club to enjoy herself from time to time with the company of a man." I hated to divulge anything about Lila, but Gisele was wrong. The woman was mine and she knew it. There wasn't another man. There was only me.

"She's young. And I'm sure like many other couples in L.A., she and James allow for breaks to experience other people." She paused. "I might be off, but honestly, I don't think I am. Perhaps part of her struggle wasn't over falling in love with you, but in trying to keep her own situation out of the spotlight. Her professional life would never overlap her personal one. We're very clear about that promise here and she is one of my top agents. I’m sorry, but I believe you misunderstood her. She wasn't pushing you away because of modesty or a sense of professional ethics. She wasn't interested because she’s already taken."

My head started to spin and I closed my eyes. "Oh. Well..." I let out a chuckle, trying to salvage what little bit of pride I had left. "That's good to know. I almost felt sorry for her. I guess I'll save myself from playing the fool and simply go home."

"I'm sorry, Asher. I really am."

"No, I'm glad we spoke. I'd created a very different scenario in my head." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you, Gisele. I'm sure you'll see me again in the distant future."

"Do you want me to talk with Sofia for you? She’s smart, I’m sure she’ll understand."

"No. Thank you though." I hung up and swallowed the pain that welled up inside me. There was no way Gisele was right. She simply didn't know Lila.

James wasn't in the picture anymore. He couldn’t be. Although, the pain he’d caused her was still there—it was almost palpable—but there was no way she was hiding a man in her life. I would have known. I was a very perceptive individual, with a heavy amount of skepticism.

"No. It's not possible." I downed the wine and closed my eyes, forcing myself to sleep for the remainder of the flight.

***

I worked to find Lila's address as soon as we landed in L.A. I wasn't sure what I believed anymore, but I needed to see her. She would tell me the truth, because I was damn sure going to look her in the eye and ask her for it.

A wife was my next goal in life and though the situation with Lila just kept on getting more and more complicated, I wasn't ready to give up on her just yet.

Part of me wanted to erase her from my life, and just go back to being the billionaire playboy I'd been for the last ten years. But now that I’d tasted life with someone I loved, I couldn’t go back. Everything was better with Lila.

"Unless she lied about this James guy."

I walked out into the chilly afternoon and got into the dark limo that waited for me. I gave the driver Lila's address and tried to control my emotions, which were all over the place.

She’d run from me because she was scared. It was the only explanation I was willing to accept. James had hurt her and she was terrified to love again. That first night at the club had told me that much.

I wanted to heal her, to offer her a chance at a new life. The only thing that would change how I felt was if she had lied to me. If James was still in the picture, I was out, and there could be no chance for us.

In that case, I would find a location for her Japanese Onsen as per our contract, fulfilling our agreement, and our relationship would be over.

"We're here, Sir. Would you like me to wait?" The driver asked me.

"Yes. I shouldn't be too long, but if I decide to stay, I'll text you and let you know my plans." I got out of the car and buttoned up my jacket, ready to confront her.

I pushed back the worry and fear of the possibility that she wasn't who I thought she was. The memory of holding her tightly underneath me in that tent in Dubai had melted my own fear of commitment away, and warmed me to the core.

Our relationship might have started because of sex, but it would thrive because of love.

I took the elevator and stepped out to see a good-looking man turn from an apartment with a box in his hands. My eyes moved to the door frame and I verified the apartment number. It was Lila’s.

"Excuse me? I’m looking for a woman named Lila. Do you know if she lives here?" I asked and moved toward him. He was the tall, dark and handsome kind of guy I originally expected Lila to be with. He had to be seven or eight years younger than me and in excellent shape. I had to know if it was James or just a neighbor.

"Who are you?" His eyebrow lifted.

"My name is Asher Harrington, and I wanted to make sure she got home safely from her trip."

He looked at me from head to toe and glanced back up with disdain. I could feel the animosity in his eyes. The jerk was possessive and defensive. "She's safe. She doesn’t want to be bothered."

"You must be James."

He stiffened, and clearly didn’t like me mentioning his name.

"Yeah, I am. Who are you exactly?" He glared at me and I quickly made an assessment of the situation. I was jet-lagged and sleep deprived, and wouldn’t stand a chance in my current state against him.

I had to keep it cool. I wasn’t here to fight, but to know the truth.

And I’d found it.

"Previous client. I'm glad she's good then. I didn't realize she was dating someone."

"Well, she is. Why do you care?"

“I don’t. Tell her that Asher said thank you for her help." I turned and walked toward the stairs, needing to get some fresh air before I got sick to my stomach.

Gisele was right. Dammit. It was true and I couldn’t stand it. It was all fucking true and I hated myself for being fooled so badly.

I got back in the car and told the driver to take me home before closing my eyes. I carefully went through every detail of my experience with Lila and came to the conclusion that she hadn’t played me.

She pushed me like she was supposed to. She did everything I asked her to. I had convinced myself there was something growing between us, but there wasn't. She just wanted to have fun—I’m the one that changed the game, and I didn’t have the right to judge her.

Damn it.

I was an idiot and the hurt that radiated over me was deserved. I'd played women all my life and had been a complete bastard.

My friend Geoff had only one person at his funeral, but I was quite likely going to beat his record and have none.