Top Love: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Young Adult Stepbrother and Billionaire Romance Stories) by Ellen Lane, Taylor Young Page A
Authors: Ellen Lane, Taylor Young
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last ten years.
However…she wondered how Luke might react if he knew that she was having lunch with Riley Thomson. Hell, she wondered what all of her friends from high school would have to say about that. It was easier to wonder these things rather than actually commit herself to the moment—to actually look across the table to see the gorgeous and beyond-wealthy man that had invited her to lunch.
I don’t even care if this is some sort of sick joke, she thought. I’m going to enjoy this now, right down to the stares of the bartender and the wait staff. I’ll endure the embarrassment later like I always have. But for right now, I’m going to enjoy it.
“Okay,” Riley said, his voice like wrinkled silk. “You have to tell me what you’re thinking right now. You look…well, intense.”
She sighed, doing her best to bring the strong-willed woman that usually ran the show to the forefront of her mind. But she came kicking and screaming and when Lauren opened her mouth to speak, it was not the strong-willed woman at the wheel.
“This makes no sense,” she said.
“What doesn’t?”
“You asking me to lunch. If I had more influence with Mr. Farr, it might make sense. But me being here with you doesn’t add up.”
He was about to say something when the waitress came by to take their orders. Riley ordered the house burger and, at his suggestion, Lauren did the same. The also both ordered another drink.
When the waitress was gone, Riley continued on, not missing a beat. “What, exactly, doesn’t add up?”
She frowned at him. “You’re really going to make me say it?”
“No, no, I’ll say it. May I?”
“Go ahead,” she said, not trusting the smile on his face.
“Tell me if I’m wrong,” he said. “But you’re probably thinking that a man as rich as I am—and who is known for being involved with a certain type of woman—doesn’t usually go out with women that work at failing shoe stores. That about right?”
“Partly,” she said. “You’re far too kind to leave out the part about my weight.”
He rolled his eyes at her in a way that was almost demeaning. “You’re overweight,” he said simply. He shrugged and then laid that same smile on her again. “Why would that keep me from wanting to have lunch with you?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve seen pictures of the women you date and I’m nothing like them.”
He nodded, giving a guilty-as-charged look. “That’s sort of the point,” he said. “Look, if you want honestly, I’ll give it to you. Honesty is so much easier…a lot more direct. So yes…I am well aware that you are overweight. Truth be told, I’d guess you’re about seventy pounds heavier than the last few women I’ve dated. But I don’t really care. That type of woman is…I don’t know…they care too much about dumb stuff. I get so tired of women that order a salad or stay up late doing Yoga poses or on the treadmill because they have to burn off those last two hundred calories of the day.”
“But they’re so pretty,” Lauren said helplessly.
“So are you.”
The comment was so unexpected that it came like a slap across her face. She felt warmth swell up in her cheeks and her heart skipped a beat. This was unreal. This wasn’t real. Was it?
“What are you doing?” she asked, the question barbed with an accusatory tone.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re fucking with me,” she said. “This doesn’t happen. You want something…maybe to get closer to Mr. Farr so you can get his business and knock it to the ground.”
He rubbed at his forehead, aggravated. “Lauren…if that’s what you think, then I invite you to get up and leave right now. But I assure you…when I saw you in the shoe store, something about you struck me as peculiar. In a good way, I mean. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it excited me. And it was even stronger when you laid into me…calling me a bully and all that. That takes courage. And if we’re
However…she wondered how Luke might react if he knew that she was having lunch with Riley Thomson. Hell, she wondered what all of her friends from high school would have to say about that. It was easier to wonder these things rather than actually commit herself to the moment—to actually look across the table to see the gorgeous and beyond-wealthy man that had invited her to lunch.
I don’t even care if this is some sort of sick joke, she thought. I’m going to enjoy this now, right down to the stares of the bartender and the wait staff. I’ll endure the embarrassment later like I always have. But for right now, I’m going to enjoy it.
“Okay,” Riley said, his voice like wrinkled silk. “You have to tell me what you’re thinking right now. You look…well, intense.”
She sighed, doing her best to bring the strong-willed woman that usually ran the show to the forefront of her mind. But she came kicking and screaming and when Lauren opened her mouth to speak, it was not the strong-willed woman at the wheel.
“This makes no sense,” she said.
“What doesn’t?”
“You asking me to lunch. If I had more influence with Mr. Farr, it might make sense. But me being here with you doesn’t add up.”
He was about to say something when the waitress came by to take their orders. Riley ordered the house burger and, at his suggestion, Lauren did the same. The also both ordered another drink.
When the waitress was gone, Riley continued on, not missing a beat. “What, exactly, doesn’t add up?”
She frowned at him. “You’re really going to make me say it?”
“No, no, I’ll say it. May I?”
“Go ahead,” she said, not trusting the smile on his face.
“Tell me if I’m wrong,” he said. “But you’re probably thinking that a man as rich as I am—and who is known for being involved with a certain type of woman—doesn’t usually go out with women that work at failing shoe stores. That about right?”
“Partly,” she said. “You’re far too kind to leave out the part about my weight.”
He rolled his eyes at her in a way that was almost demeaning. “You’re overweight,” he said simply. He shrugged and then laid that same smile on her again. “Why would that keep me from wanting to have lunch with you?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve seen pictures of the women you date and I’m nothing like them.”
He nodded, giving a guilty-as-charged look. “That’s sort of the point,” he said. “Look, if you want honestly, I’ll give it to you. Honesty is so much easier…a lot more direct. So yes…I am well aware that you are overweight. Truth be told, I’d guess you’re about seventy pounds heavier than the last few women I’ve dated. But I don’t really care. That type of woman is…I don’t know…they care too much about dumb stuff. I get so tired of women that order a salad or stay up late doing Yoga poses or on the treadmill because they have to burn off those last two hundred calories of the day.”
“But they’re so pretty,” Lauren said helplessly.
“So are you.”
The comment was so unexpected that it came like a slap across her face. She felt warmth swell up in her cheeks and her heart skipped a beat. This was unreal. This wasn’t real. Was it?
“What are you doing?” she asked, the question barbed with an accusatory tone.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re fucking with me,” she said. “This doesn’t happen. You want something…maybe to get closer to Mr. Farr so you can get his business and knock it to the ground.”
He rubbed at his forehead, aggravated. “Lauren…if that’s what you think, then I invite you to get up and leave right now. But I assure you…when I saw you in the shoe store, something about you struck me as peculiar. In a good way, I mean. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it excited me. And it was even stronger when you laid into me…calling me a bully and all that. That takes courage. And if we’re
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