Page 27

* * *
Everything changes on my return.
The words reverberated in her head as the hours passed with excruciating slowness.She showered, she channel-hopped, she rearranged the meager clothes she’d packed.
Then she ordered the most heavenly burger and fries she’d ever tasted.
And still only two hours had passed.
Unable to sit still any longer, Bethany grabbed the glossy Hotel Guide.The boutiques listed in the shopping section had her springing up and snatching up her bag.
As she left the room, she thanked her stars she hadn’t succumbed to Chris’s pressure to use the nest egg she’d received from her grandparents for a deposit for a bigger apartment.Granted, using it to splurge on underwear for her tryst with a hot, sexy billionaire was not quite what she’d had in mind.But what the fuck, Chris-the-A-hole had left her in no doubt that the world could turn upside down and take a dump on her in a blink of an eye.
Go large or go home!
She bought six pairs of matching bras and panties from the first shop.Makeup with heavily accented tips on application came from the assistant in the second shop.But it was the third shop that took her breath away.The dresses were all in shades of indigo.Her heart hammered as she flicked through long evening dresses and short, casual, yet sophisticated, day wear.Touching the color that was so special to Zachary made her feel close to him.
Bethany wasn’t sure how long she was in the shop but she began to notice the curious looks from the sales assistants.
After she was asked for a fifth time whether she needed help, she chose a short, lace dress that ended mid-thigh, along with a silk pantsuit and gold pumps, with hoop earrings to match.
Exiting, she dashed to the last shop, a perfumery, and stocked up on her favorite scents.
The porter was waiting by the doors and held it open for her.“I’ll take your bags, ma’am.”
She laughed.“I’m twenty-four.Ma’am-ing me hurts my feelings.And I can carry my own bags, thanks.”
He nodded with a dignity that seemed at variance with his immense size.He summoned the elevator, and they rode to the penthouse in silence.
A quick glance at her watch as the elevator slid open showed she’d been downstairs two hours.With any luck, she didn’t have much longer to wait till Zach?—
“Where the hell have you been?”
Her bags fell from her hands.
He stood there, larger than life, eyes ablaze with hunger and… anxiety?
“You’re back,” she said stupidly, but once again, the sheer beauty of him had rendered her brains useless.And the fact that he’d been anxious about her sent a thrill of delight surging through her.
Then she noticed his clenched jaw and the whitened skin around his mouth.The guy was seriously riled.
“I thought you’d left.”
She frowned.“Why would I leave?”
He clawed a hand through his hair.“I didn’t intend to be away this long, and when I got back and you weren’t here… I thought you’d changed your mind.You didn’t tell Philip where you were going?—”
“Because I only went downstairs to get a few things…”
His gaze left hers and skimmed over the shopping bags.But barely a second later, that unstoppable gaze was back on her, pinning her to the spot, stopping the breath in her lungs.
He sauntered forward.This time, his fists weren’t clenched.And the look in his eyes had changed from hungry yearning to predatory warning.“You went shopping?”
She nodded, unable to speak past the crazy hammering of her heart.
“Philip would’ve gotten you anything you needed.”
“I didn’t… I was going stir crazy here.I just wanted to step out for a little while.”