JADE
A few days later, I realized I was actually beginning to like having Eli Stone as my neighbor.
Honestly, I was starting to like him, and that was going to cause an enormous problem for me.
We hit the beach for a jog every morning, and I was starting to really love having his company. I usually went alone every morning, or one of my brothers tagged along on rare occasions.
Now, Eli was there early every morning with Charlie, tossing a ball with the exuberant canine before I ever hit the sand.
As promised, Eli had spent a few hours in the morning explaining how my portfolio was put together and teaching me about the investments.
I had a whole lot to learn, but I felt better at least knowing some of the basics. He challenged me, but he was never condescending.
I guess I have a thing for hot, tattooed, hard-bodied business geniuses.
The only way I’d been able to resist his innuendos and advances was by telling myself it was just lust.
But I was quickly recognizing that I actually had a gamut of emotions when I looked at Eli, and not all of them were carnal.
Not that I didn’t still think some of the things he did were over the top, but we rarely talked about his extreme hobbies. The more I got to know him, the more incongruent those actions seemed to me now.
Like he’d told me at the cabin, he seemed to be a more private type of guy, and I couldn’t seem to reconcile all the crazy things I’d seen him do on television with the man I was starting to get to know.
We’d enjoyed an entire day on the yacht on day one, including an incredible meal served by a world-renowned chef from the kitchen of the enormous vessel.
Eli had finally gotten his wish when we’d sat down to an amazing meal together. It was pretty much a toss-up who enjoyed the food more. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that he loved food, and we’d lingered a long time over that fantastic dinner.
Day two was a visit to Disneyland in a whole new way. Eli had bought out the entire park, and we rode every single ride as many times as we pleased. I’d enjoyed it because I’d only been to Disney once, and that happened solely because Noah, Seth, and Aiden had saved up the money all year, working extra shifts, to take us all as a Christmas gift. It had rained on that day, but I still remembered it as one of the best days of my younger life.
Days three and four had been a crazy trip to Las Vegas in Eli’s private jet. Since I’d never been to Sin City, Eli had given me a quick introduction into all the ridiculous, extravagant things that could be done there.
By the time we’d arrived home last night, I’d been half-drunk and ready to beg Eli to take me to bed.
Fortunately, I was sober enough to remember that Eli Stone was playing a game with me, and sleeping with him was not in the plan.
Now we were on day five, but I hadn’t yet discovered what Eli had planned.
Since we always went for an early-morning run on the beach with Charlie trailing behind us, it hadn’t taken my brothers long to discover that I was hanging out with one of the richest men in the world.
They’d shown up at my cottage this morning, right after Eli had arrived from next door, and insisted we all go out to breakfast at the best café in Citrus Beach. Eli had agreed wholeheartedly, but I was pretty sure he’d had no idea what he’d been getting himself into when he’d taken my brothers up on a breakfast offer.
Shockingly, even my brother Noah had pushed his way into the group. It was rare when my eldest sibling took time off to go out to eat.
I watched my brothers and Eli as they all huddled together at the table in the Weston Café, talking about investments, commercial real estate, the stock market, and all of the other topics my brothers seemed to have a burning desire to learn more about.
I smiled as Eli answered every question earnestly. He’d been extremely gracious and was treating my three older brothers like they were colleagues instead of the newbie billionaires they actually were.
“It’s so good to see you again, Jade,” a female said as she plopped into the only vacant seat across from me. “It’s been a while.”
I smiled cautiously at the woman who had been my best friend for most of my life, Skye Weston. She looked good but exhausted, which wasn’t unusual for Skye. She owned and managed the Weston Café, which didn’t give her very many hours for things like sleep, and she burned the candle at both ends much of the time.
We’d been really close up until we graduated from high school. I’d gone off to college, and Skye had started dating Aiden. Her relationship with my brother had ended quickly and abruptly, and Skye had hastily married another man and moved to San Diego. Unfortunately, her divorce didn’t happen without a lot of scandal, since her ex-husband had been convicted on several felony counts that had gotten him a life sentence.
Now, Skye was a single mom trying to deal with raising a daughter on her own.
I hadn’t seen her much after her marriage and her move to San Diego. But we’d gotten together a lot since she’d inherited the café from her deceased mother and moved back to Citrus Beach with her daughter, Maya.
Skye and I had almost immediately fallen back into a best-friend type of relationship like we’d never been apart.
Then, a few weeks ago, I’d offered to help her financially so she could spend more time with Maya. She’d refused any help, and had appeared to be offended that I’d even asked.
I hadn’t seen her since.
“I thought maybe you were mad at me,” I finally said.
“Because you wanted to help me?” she questioned. “I wasn’t angry, Jade. I was touched, but Maya and I have always gotten along okay. I thought maybe you were upset. I’ve called you three times and you’ve never called me back.”
Hurt flashed in Skye’s eyes, and I stopped to wonder whether her rejection had all been in my mind. Had I pushed away a good friend just because I’d felt awkward after offering her money?
I shot her a genuine smile. “I’m sorry. Things have been hectic.”
She grinned back. “I can see that. I suppose dating one of the richest men in the world can be time consuming.”
I quickly glanced at Eli and my brothers, noting they weren’t paying a single bit of attention to our conversation. They were too busy with their own. In a lower tone, I told her, “We aren’t . . . dating. We’re experimenting.”
“I hope by experimenting, you mean trying out every sexual position known to mankind. He’s hot enough to melt all of the ice in the Arctic, Jade. And since he seems to hold his own quite well with your older brothers, I’m assuming he’s a pretty decent guy.”
“He is,” I said with a sigh. “Way nicer than I expected him to be.”
Skye lifted a brow. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“I don’t want to like him, Skye. He’s not in my league.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little judgmental?” she probed. “You’re a beautiful billionaire yourself now, and even if you weren’t, money doesn’t make a relationship. Take my word on that.”
I nodded. I knew Skye’s ex-husband had been rich until he’d been taken down with the rest of his Italian crime family in San Diego.
“I guess it is a little irrational to think he’s any different than I am. But Skye, we’ve seen the women he dates. How am I really supposed to believe that I’m just as gorgeous as the supermodels and celebrities he saw?”
“Maybe he’s tired of skinny, superficial women. The glitter wears off pretty fast. And you’re pretty, too, just not in a flashy sort of way. Give the poor guy a chance. It looks like he’s pursuing you if he came all the way here to see you.”
“We’re spending ten days together,” I explained. “I think he’s playing some kind of game to get me into bed with him.”
Skye snorted. “Then for God’s sake let him win.”
I saw Aiden look in Skye’s direction. His eyes stayed on her with an icy look before he finally turned his head back toward the other guys.
I’d often wondered exactly what had happened between Aiden and Skye, but it had been a whirlwind relationship that had been over soon after it had begun. And neither one of them ever talked about it. But it was weird that they completely ignored each other like they’d never met, most of the time. I had to assume the ending hadn’t been all that friendly.
“I guess I don’t want my heart broken,” I finally admitted. “Eli is hot, but he’s not the committed type. What if I end up liking him too much?”
“What if you don’t try and then you always wonder if anything else could have happened between you?” she shot back. “You’ve never been afraid of anything, Jade. Don’t start now.”
“Inheriting money has changed me, Skye,” I confessed. “I know most people would love to be in my position, but I feel like I’m not me anymore.”
“Don’t downplay how hard it is to experience a major change in your life,” Skye warned. “Yes, everybody wants money until they have it, but it’s kind of hard to get used to when you’ve always been poor, and it doesn’t solve all problems. Sometimes it makes them worse.”
I realized that in some ways, Skye had experienced the same things I had when she’d married a rich man. “Do you regret it?” I asked quietly.
Skye had never really talked much about her ex-husband, and I’d never met him. My few conversations with her after she’d moved to San Diego had been pretty superficial.
She nodded. “Everything except for Maya. She’s my everything. If I had to do it all over again to have my girl, I would.”
I smiled. “She’s adorable, and a smart little cookie,” I told her earnestly. “You’re an amazing mom.”
Skye shrugged. “I try. But I’m pretty lucky that she’s such an easy kid. Let’s not talk about me right now. I want to know what you’re going to do with the rich hottie sitting right down the table from you.”
“You’re right. I guess I have to stop obsessing about what could happen with Eli, and just take things as they come.”
I took a few minutes to tell Skye about my adventures with Eli Stone, catching her up on the last several days of crazy things we’d done.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “So not only is he mega hot, but he’s thoughtful, too? Really, Jade. You have to enjoy every single moment you get with this guy.”
“I know,” I answered. “I’m trying to loosen up.”
“That’s never been an easy thing for you to do,” she said gently.
I shrugged. “I’m a science geek.”
“And an extremely brilliant one,” Skye said. “But you’re also a woman, Jade.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes I have a really hard time getting in touch with that side of myself,” I answered.
Until I met Eli, I hadn’t ever been consumed with lust. Now, I could hardly think about anything else except sex.
“You still haven’t done the wild thing with him? How does that happen? You’re attracted to him, right?”
“Incredibly so,” I told her unhappily.
“Enjoy yourself, Jade, and worry about the fallout if and when it happens,” Skye advised. “He’s obviously got the hots for you. He’s looked over here like a million times since we’ve been sitting here. He wants you. You’ll never know what could happen unless you let go of everything and just live in the moment.”
“I’ve never exactly done that,” I argued.
Skye nodded. “Your childhood was rough, but you all had each other. And you were the bravest one of the bunch. Don’t wimp out now. You were the girl who wasn’t afraid to go out to the middle of nowhere by herself just to commune with nature. You were the girl who would fight anybody who was a bully. And you were the type of girl who would run toward danger instead of away from it like any normal person would. You’re still that woman, Jade. You’re just confused right now. But all that will go away when you realize that you are still you, with or without the money.”
Over the last few days, I’d begun to understand that everything Skye was saying now was true. Maybe I could lie back a little, learn to manage my wealth, and keep applying for the positions I wanted. My inheritance had done that for me. I didn’t have to take a job I didn’t want just for the income. In the meantime, I could do all I could for conservation by putting my money to work on research and projects to help rebuild dwindling populations of endangered wildlife.
The more I learned about my new wealth, the more certain I was that money was not going to alter my life. It wasn’t going to make me different. But it could help me do some incredible things that I’d never imagined I’d ever be able to do in my lifetime.
I hadn’t changed. But I did regret that I hadn’t had a chance to do all of the good things I wanted to do with it now.
“You’re right,” I replied. “I’m starting to understand that I don’t have to be terrified of my bank balance, and that I can learn to manage it. That’s my main goal. Taking control of my own fortune so my half brother doesn’t have that responsibility anymore. I think Evan has done more than enough for all of us.”
Skye reached out and squeezed my hand. “You’ll be okay, Jade. It’s perfectly fine for you to just do nothing until you adjust. The money will still be there.”
I felt tears spring to my eyes as I looked at Skye. She was a strong, resilient woman, and I was glad that we hadn’t ended up drifting away from each other just because I was feeling confused. Skye was the type of friend who would be there no matter what. “Thank you,” I said softly.
“Where exactly are you taking our sister today?” I heard my brother Noah ask as the guys all stood up.
Eli looked at all of them grimly. “It’s a surprise, but I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m not sure I like her flying off without us knowing where she’ll be,” Aiden added.
I rose to my feet and got into the fray. “I’m an adult. I can take care of myself,” I told my three brothers firmly.
“No offense, dude,” Seth said. “But we want to know where she’ll be.”
“No offense taken,” Eli answered smoothly. “I’ll text you so it doesn’t ruin the surprise.”
My brothers grumbled, but seemed to accept that they weren’t going to get an address.
We said our good-byes, and I promised Skye I’d call her so that she and Maya could come to my place to swim and hang out at the beach.
I felt awkward getting into Eli’s expensive Bugatti Chiron. I’d teased him that I felt more like I was riding in the Batmobile than a sports car. But I got into the high-tech vehicle anyway.
“Why did you agree to text them?” I asked curiously as I fastened my seat belt.
He maneuvered the high-performance vehicle onto the street before he answered, “If you were mine, I’d want to know where you were going, too. And they’re your brothers. They took care of you growing up. I can’t blame them for being concerned that you’re taking off with somebody they don’t really know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m almost twenty-seven years old. I have a PhD. It wouldn’t be the first time that I took off by myself.”
“You’re not alone. You’re with me. I think that’s what they’re worried about.”
“Why?” I asked in a confused voice.
“They know I want to fuck you.”
“How could they possibly know that?” I questioned.
He shrugged. “I guess it’s a guy thing. We learn to read other guys so we don’t step on any toes.”
“And you think my brothers picked up on those male signals?”
“I know so,” he said confidently.
It felt awkward to know that my brothers might know just where Eli’s mind was going when he looked at me.
It felt even stranger that they might have noticed that I felt the same way.
I relaxed back into the plush seat of Eli’s vehicle, wondering whether my face was as red as it felt.