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“So why the venture capital firm then?”

“Why not?”

She rolled her eyes and he laughed in a way that made her warm all over.

“I had a sizeable trust fund I inherited when I turned twenty one, and an insane network of friends with money.”

“So you take from the rich and give to the poor?”

He grinned. “That’s me, a modern-day Robin Hood.”

“Except I’m guessing the companies you invest in aren’t actually poor.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes they’re startups.”

“Like what?”

“Some guy in a basement who has a world-changing idea.”

“You can get people to put money into that?”

“Ideas are the best thing to trade in. They’re easy to sell.” He reached for a fry from her plate so she batted his hand away jokingly. “And it doesn’t cost much to take an idea to a prototype, or into the market. At least, not initially.”

“Would I have heard of anything you’ve invested in?”

He shrugged. “Probably.”

“Are you being modest, Salvatore?”

“Me? Never.” His smile was the last word in sexy. She tried to swallow but her mouth felt all weird and non-cooperative.

“So? What kinds of things?”

He sipped his drink, then named a price comparison app for luxurious holidays.

“That was you?”

“Well, it wasn’t my idea, but the funding for it came from me, yes.”

She gaped. “That business must be worth a fortune.”

He nodded. “Seven other firms had passed on the idea before Shelton—that’s the founder—came to me.”

“Why did you invest, and they didn’t?”

“I liked the guy.”

“Seriously? That’s all it takes?”

“I liked his idea, I liked his work ethic, I liked the fact he believed in what he was pitching. And at the end of the day, his ask wasn’t huge. Low risk, potential high reward.”

“And in the end, you were right.”

“I’ve been wrong, sometimes, too.”

“Why do I suspect that’s not true?”

He laughed. “I have no idea.”