Romance: Two Nights with the Billionaire Read Online Free PDF Page B

fool stepping off a cliff into the abyss.
    Joshua looks up at me as I make my way down to him.
    I feel his eyes grazing over my curves and flesh as though he was touching me, and I feel a shiver of rekindled excitement.
    But then his jaw tightens and he turns away suddenly, and instead of walking with me, he merely leads the way to the car.
    Rowe, his driver, opens the back door of the limo and I slip in.
    Joshua follows and instead of sitting next to me the way he used to, he sits on the seat opposite and immediately pulls out his phone. The whole journey he gives orders to his personal assistant in a voice much more friendly than the one he used with me.
    Is she the reason why he’s so desperate to be away from me these days?
    If he’s seeing someone else, the least he could do is be honest.
    I mean yeah, I’d be hurt and angry, but anything is better than the chasm between us right now.
    We arrive at the restaurant and as I climb out of the limo, Rowe gives me a sympathetic smile.
    Does she know?
    Who am I kidding?
    Of course she knows, she’s his driver, she’d totally know if he were seeing someone else…
     
     

Chapter 10

 
     
     
     
    As Joshua and I sit across from one another at the best table in the restaurant, the only words spoken are when we order food.
    We sip wine and then eat in silence.
    I feel like I should say something, but why should I be doing all the work?
    I tried to be welcoming and considerate when he came home tired, but he treated me like I was an annoying child underfoot.
    If he gets sick of sitting in awkward silence, he can be the one to break it.
    It takes me about five minutes to regret my stubbornness.
    Even the waiter looks between us like he can feel the tension as he serves our food. I think the whole restaurant would be able to feel it.
    I try to give him a grateful smile but it feels forced and I end up just swallowing another mouthful of wine.
    Finally Joshua clears his throat and looks at me. “Grace tells me you did well at the party.”
    I nearly laugh out loud.
    Unbelievable .
    “Well, isn’t it lucky Grace was there to fill you in on my behavior?” My words come out harsher than I intended, but the wine is loosening my tongue.
    He gives me a dark look and I return it, meeting his gaze evenly.
    Whatever he has to say, he may as well get on with it.
    “She tells me you made a new friend. Spent the whole time cozied up, in fact, with Deidre’s nephew, Damon.”
    “And?”
    “Would you have told me about that?”
    I take in a breath and force myself to count to ten.
    I use the napkin to dab my mouth, feeling my fingers tremble, and I pick my words carefully.
    The final piece of the puzzle slips into place and I feel a strange sort of calm wash over me.
    Grace.
    Perfect, beautiful Grace.
    Well, at least I know now.
    But one thing is for sure: no way is he going to make me out to be the cheater so he can run off with her , guilt free. 
    “So I guess Grace wasn’t on your phone’s ignore list,” I say evenly and don’t miss the way his face twitches slightly.
    “Grace and I are only good friends–”
    “Good friends?” I cut him off. “Sounds to me like there is more to it than that.”
    “There’s not.” His voice is firm.
    “Did she happen to mention that Damon was the only person at the party who could be bothered to talk to me like I was a human being and not just some little toy you’d picked up from the gutter?”
    “You’re exaggerating,” he scoffs.
    “Am I?” I say. “Your perfect Grace led me around and introduced me to everyone as the poor programmer you swept up out of poverty. She may as well have slapped a sticker on my forehead saying, ‘She’s not one of us.’ Everyone took great pleasure in telling me how lucky I was that you saved me from my miserable hovel.”
    His jaw tightens and his gaze wavers. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to make you feel that way on purpose.”
    “Clearly,” I return. “But you know what, I don’t