“So you had to move aaall the way across the country, as faaar away from New York as possible, for a good school?” She raised a dubious eyebrow. Damn, just like that, she busted him.
He was quiet for a moment, and she misinterpreted his silence.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. That was rude of me to push.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right. I didn’t have to come this far. I was accepted to several fantastic schools, two of which were in New York. I just couldn’t do it.”
She waited while he found the words. “You probably already know my dad died when I was fourteen. And that I have four younger brothers?”
She nodded.
“After my dad passed away, I fell into the role of ‘man of the house’ and spent my teenage years taking care of my mother, my brothers, and all the household stuff.” He paused before plowing on. “It’s not that my mom is terribly fragile. She had just always left everything to my dad, and especially right after it happened, she was in no shape to take care of anyone or anything other than herself. She loved him very much and took his death extremely hard.”
“So you took care of everyone and everything. That must have been difficult for a young kid who’d just lost his dad,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
“I guess.” He sighed. “Luckily, my dad left explicit instructions about what to do with the businesses, how to spend the life insurance money, and all that. He had a great attorney who walked us through everything and made sure we were fine financially.
“It felt like a ton of bricks at the time, but we muddled through. I didn’t want to seem selfish, but when the time came to pick a college, I wanted to get as far away from New York as I could.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Wow, that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all. You spent all those years taking care of everyone. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live a little yourself. By then, your brothers were old enough to shoulder some of the burden, and I’m sure your mom was doing better by then.”
“She was. I never would have left otherwise, but, yeah, they all got along okay without me.”
“Did your mom ever remarry?”
“No, although I’m not sure why. She’s a wonderful woman, and I know she’s had men ask her out and stuff. She said she kept comparing everyone to my dad, and no one could measure up.”
“That’s romantic.”
He smiled. “I’ve never told anyone all that, Annie. I’ve known you five minutes and I’m spilling my deepest, darkest secrets. Please don’t tell anyone. I would be devastated if my family found out.”
“Of course not! I won’t tell a soul. How does it feel to finally admit it?”
“Freeing. Yet, sort of wrong somehow too. What kind of jackass can’t wait to run away from his family?”
“Pft. Only every eighteen-year-old on the planet, that’s all.” They laughed.
“True. Well, thanks for listening and for not judging me.”
“Thanks for confiding in me,” she said with a sincere smile.
She took a final bite and put her fork down, licking her lips with satisfaction.
“That. Was. Delicious. I’ll have to make a note of the restaurant name for future reference. Thanks for dinner.” She stood, picked up her plate, and went for his. He quickly grabbed it and held out a hand for hers.
“You’re my guest. I’ll handle the cleanup.” He walked both plates to the kitchen and placed them in the sink.
She followed him with the takeout containers, which she set on the counter before opening the fridge.
“Wait!” He jogged over to stop her from opening the door, but it was too late. She stood, staring inside the refrigerator.
“What the…” She turned toward him. “How many dinners do you eat in one night?” she asked, pointing to a takeout box, identical to the ones she’d just set on the counter. His name and today’s date were written in the same handwriting, in the same place. The only difference was the time. The box in the fridge was exactly an hour and a half older.
“Ugh.” He felt his cheeks flush. “Fine. You caught me. I was already eating when you called about the flowers. My dinner invitation was kind of spur of the moment. As soon as we hung up, I stopped eating and called in another order.” He shrugged.
“They must have thought you were crazy.” Annie shook her head.
“I told them I dropped the original meal.”
Annie stared at him with narrowed eyes. “I don’t understand.”
When he began to explain again, she held up a hand to stop him. “No, I mean, why me?” she whispered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Annie’s head was spinning. How was she standing here, in a billionaire’s kitchen, having him admit that he’d eaten two dinners because he wanted to spend time with her? This drop-dead gorgeous, yet surprisingly humble, man, with more money than God, wanted to get to know her? This must be a joke. Or a dream. There was no way a man like Sam could be interested in a woman like her. In an instant, all of her old insecurities came flooding back.
It definitely wasn’t the sex. Their first and only encounter had been quick and for him, probably painful. Walking away with a hard-on didn’t make a man want to come back for more.
He wasn’t after her money. He had plenty of his own and couldn’t know about her secret nest egg anyway. That was money no one would ever find.
It couldn’t be her looks. She was just an ordinary, plain Jane. Up until a year ago, she would have considered herself homely. Yes, she’d lost some weight, dyed her hair, switched her glasses
