Page 47 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Holden
I didn’t have any to offer today, but he didn’t mind. He was too busy chatting with Greer about the trio of lollipops she pulled out of her purse to give to him when he mentioned his kids.
She made a point of inviting all of them to Sweet Indulgence’s store next week for a private testing of a new candy that’s about to hit the market.
Her heart, head, and soul are in that business. Jameson is a fool if he thinks she’ll ever sell her half to us.
“When you texted me earlier, you said we should talk,” I remind Greer. “Do you want to do that here or at my place?”
Her answer is swift and concise, “I want that to happen at your apartment.”
My hand immediately darts in the air to motion for the waiter to come over. “I’ll settle up.”
She scans her phone’s screen as I do that, even though it takes longer than I’d like, since the kid who served us is determined to talk baseball with me. I’m surprised he remembered that we had a brief conversation about his favorite team the last time I was in here.
As soon as he takes off, I glance at Greer. “Are you ready?”
She drops her phone into her purse and smiles. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
So am I. I have no idea what the topic of discussion will be, but I’m all in regardless. I could sit for hours and just stare at this woman. The fact that I get to do that in the comfort of my home is a bonus.
I stand and place a hand on the back of her chair as she slides it back a few inches.
She gazes up at me. “You’re kind of charming.”
“Kind of?” I laugh.
“That’s what I said.” She stands, too. “I kind of like that about you.”
I’ll take the compliment. I wish to fuck I could snap a picture of the way she’s looking at me, but if I drag my phone out of my jacket pocket now, the moment will be lost.
I stare at her to cement this moment in time to memory.
A soft smile coasts over her lips. “What are you thinking about?”
“I kind of like you too,” I say. “I kind of like everything about you.”
As soon as we’re in my apartment, Greer slips her shoes off. She lets out an audible sigh of relief as she does. “Finally.”
I toe out of mine, too, but there’s no relief to be had since my shoes are custom-made. It’s money well spent. Jameson has told me more than once that it’s wasteful, but he has yet to discover the comfort that comes with shoes that are designed to fit your feet like a glove.
“If you have a seat, I’ll rub the pain away.” I wiggle the fingers on my right hand. “I promise it’ll be relaxing.”
“Can you promise it won’t lead to you massaging other parts of me?”
“I can’t promise that.” I shake my head. “A guy can dream, can’t he?”
Rubbing the back of her neck, she smiles. “I’ll take a rain check on the foot rub.”
“Cash it in whenever you want.”
She watches intently as I slide my suit jacket off and place it over a decorative chair in the foyer.
The designer I hired to help me decorate this place thought it added a ‘touch of whimsy’ to the room.
It might, but it’s become more of a spot for me to deposit my jackets, keys, and whatever else I lug in here.
My cuff links end up on the chair’s cushion, followed by my tie.
“You’re not getting naked, are you?” Greer asks through a stuttered giggle. “I mean, I wouldn’t complain about it, but we do need to talk.”
I wade my way through all of that to come to the conclusion that she’s not against seeing me nude at some point tonight.
“I’m getting comfortable.” I point at her. “You can lose the jacket if you want.”
She doesn’t need to hear anything else to be convinced to shrug off her jacket. When she does, she lets out another sigh. This time it’s louder.
“Maybe you’re the one who needs to get naked, Greer.”
Her eyes light up. “I need to talk to you about that.”
“What’s there to talk about?” I stalk toward her. “I have no issues with you stripping right here.”
Her hands leap to the center of my chest. The fingers on her right hand skim the buttons on my vest. “I have an issue with doing that and being your business partner.”
This conversation is going just as I wanted it to. I anticipated that she’d want to steer clear of partnering with Carden if she was interested in me on a personal level.
It may break Jameson’s heart not to get his hands on Krista’s half of Sweet Indulgence, but he’ll get over it. He’ll have to.
I reach down to cup her hand in mine. “Tell me what you want, Greer.”
Silently, she scans my face. Her gaze locks on mine. “I know you said that you’re not interested in more than what happened at the beach.”
“That was then. This is now.” I kiss her palm lightly. “You said the same to me.”
“This is now. That was then,” she says, smiling brightly.
“I want to see where this could go,” I admit. “I want to take you to dinner, lunch, drinks. I want to talk to you, laugh with you, and fuck … I want to fuck you again.”
“To be clear,” she starts before she plants a soft kiss on my chin. “I’m not partnering with Carden. I won’t approve a deal between you and Krista.”
“Understood.” I smile broadly.
She bites the corner of her bottom lip. “You don’t have to look so happy about it.”
I fake a frown. “Is that better?”
“Your brother will be upset, won’t he?” she asks, genuine concern in her tone.
“For a split second.” I kiss her cheek. “He’ll get over it.”
“Krista will, too,” she says, but I hear the uncertainty in the words. “She’ll have to.”
“Do you have another partner in mind?”
Shrugging both shoulders, she gives her head a shake. “Not yet, but I’ll contact a few people who may be interested.”
“No one who swims naked in pools, right?” I tease.
She kisses my jaw softly. “Definitely no one like you.”