Page 29 of Dr. Stone (Billionaires’ Club #9)

TWENTY-FIVE

Andie

“Forgive me for stealing my date away,” Titus announced to the table while extending his hand to mine. “Would you mind joining me on a walk before the staff serves dinner?”

I rose, seeing sincerity in this man’s expression and eyes, more than just flirtatious words.

I placed my hand in his while he nodded toward guests who watched us with curiosity from surrounding tables.

As we moved through the area and down toward a lantern-lit stone path, Titus pulled my hand up into the bend of his arm.

“I must beg your forgiveness for insulting you,” he said, leading me out to a curved stone terrace that overlooked the glowing hues of the ocean below the cliff we were on.

“Insulting me? Never,” I smiled at his concerned expression, his dark, thick eyebrows pulled in tightly with severe focus.

I couldn’t resist but to reach up and gently run my hands over the strong lines of stress covering his handsome face, “You’re acting like you’ve been visited by three ghosts, Ebenezer Scrooge? ”

Titus turned his lips into my palm, gently kissing it. “Perhaps I have,” he said with a tender smile. “I find myself in awe tonight of everything I am so fortunate to have, and most importantly, I am fortunate that you’ve tolerated my nonsense.”

“Titus, you’ve done nothing but spoil my ass rotten since meeting you.

This gown?” I stepped back and did a fancy spin.

“This is the latest couture that you had fashioned for me to wear tonight.” I held my wrist up, the bracelet shimmering in gold and green tones under the brilliant moonlight, “You even provided a priceless bracelet that matches the silk fabric of my dress. So, yeah, I’ll say you’ve made me as happy as the next woman by?—”

“Novelties,” he smiled and then cocked his head, his eyes studying mine.

He framed my face with his powerful hands.

“The bracelet and dress merely match the beauty I found in your eyes and the way they change color,” he brought his hands down and held mine, “the way they never let me look away. The stones in the bracelet are made of green chrysoberyl, gems that sparkle with gold and green, and your eyes echo in the same manner when the sunlight hits them.”

“Wow,” I said, feeling my heart swell that he recognized my green eyes had a hazel glow when the light hit them a certain way. “I’m surprised you’ve noticed my eyes change colors like that.”

He sighed, brows knitting. “Yes. But I realized something—you only get that shade of green in your eyes, with the gold flecks shining, when you’re happy.

Entertained. I hadn’t seen them light up like that with me.

Only when you were laughing with the ladies.

That night, I couldn’t stop watching you.

My business partners were talking, and I…

couldn’t hear a damn word. You dazzled me in a way I couldn’t explain. ”

My heart thudded hard, heat curling through me. Thank God for the breeze, because I was burning up inside.

“We were actually making fun of you, I think,” I teased with a chuckle, trying to ease the weight of his guilt. “Titus, really—I’m not upset. This has been extravagant and lovely.”

He shook his head, voice low. “But not with me. That’s the truth, isn’t it? And you’re right to feel that way. Because last night—you inspired me. To want more than money and investments. To stop burying everything that mattered.”

Something shifted in his eyes—something heavier. “I spoke of my aunt tonight. Mariana. A name I haven’t uttered since she stole my mother’s most personal possessions. She claimed it was for safekeeping, that her family would honor them better than mine. I didn’t fight it. I buried it.”

I touched his hand. “Damn. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that.”

“Never apologize, love,” he murmured, smirking faintly, though his eyes stayed stormy.

“I don’t need sympathy. I was a fool. I only cared about carrying my father’s legacy forward, about making the Hawk name bigger.

But today—sitting with Mariana—I learned my mother’s truth.

She lived a lonely life. She told my aunt she wanted to run away from him, from his greed, his obsession with being the best. All she wanted was something simple.

A beach in Spain. Salt water and freedom. ”

“Wow,” was all I could say when I saw his eyes turn glassy.

“My father adored my mother until the day he died. And she loved him too, I know she did. But she was lonely. Miserably so. Surrounded by wealth, but starved for connection. When he passed, she inherited everything…and I turned it into the empire you see today. I brushed off her vision for this resort like it was a child’s fantasy.

But tonight, I finally understood—she wanted this place to remind people what being alive truly means.

To matter. To give back. I never saw it until now. ”

His hand slid over my collarbone, warm knuckles trailing to my shoulders. My breath caught.

“After Mexico, I was mesmerized by you, Andie,” he said, and the sound of my name on his lips nearly undid me.

“From the moment you stepped off my jet, I saw it—you weren’t impressed.

Not by the driver, not by the champagne, not by the resort.

None of it lit you up. And it hit me…that was my mother.

My father gave her everything, except the one thing she wanted most—his undivided smile. ”

A lump thickened in my throat. “I’m glad you’re beginning to recognize this,” I managed. “Because I was worried…worried success might keep you company, but not give you love. Or intimacy. Or peace.”

“I won’t let that happen. Not anymore.” His voice roughened, desperate. “I want more than another deal, another hotel. I want to feel what I saw in you last night, Andie—laughing, alive, untouchable. I want that .”

Oh, shit.

“Well…” My smile wavered, heart pounding with guilt.

How do I tell him my heart is already with someone else—while I’m standing here, with him?

“Your thoughts are with him even now, aren’t they?”

“I know that you know about Jace,” I said.

“And I want you to know that I’m not trying to play any games here, or maybe I foolishly was.

Listen,” I said, flustered at this sudden turn of emotional events, “I was just enjoying the company of two cool, fascinating gentlemen. I guess Jace and I sort of have…”

Hell. How do I tell him what I want to tell him? Or do I?

While my thoughts shuffled in my head, my eyes turned to find the answers out in the sea beyond where Titus stood in front of me, but it was only a moment before I was in the man’s arms.

He pulled me firmly into him, kissing me with a voracity that erased any thoughts from my mind about him being uninterested in me romantically. His kiss was raw, urgent, and as powerful as he looked in every room he walked into.

Titus kissed like it was the only language he spoke.

The moment his mouth met mine, everything else vanished—the ocean, the breeze, the low hum of music from the event behind us. It was just him and me. His lips were warm and firm, moving over mine with unrelenting precision. Titus didn’t ask, he took like he already knew I’d give.

He tasted like heat and spice, dark rum, and something smoky. When his tongue brushed mine, my knees almost buckled. My body leaned into him like it was under his spell. His scent wrapped me further into this moment—sandalwood, amber, and a hint of something primal. It was dizzying.

Titus’s hand slid up my spine, then curled behind my neck, tilting my head just enough for him to deepen the kiss. And dear God, he kissed deeply, like he was pouring every unspoken promise and buried need into that moment. He devoured me, hungry, slow, and controlled.

Suddenly, my mind was ripped from the pleasurable moment.

Jace.

I saw Jace’s eyes. I heard his voice and that memory of how he touched me like he knew me on Jake’s yacht. My breath caught.

I pulled back fast, chest heaving. “Titus…” my voice cracked. “I can’t.”

His hands loosened around me reluctantly.

I gently pulled away and offered the man a smile of gratitude and happiness.

“I really messed it up,” he said.

“No,” I smiled faintly. “That was… unforgettable. You kiss like a man who doesn’t leave women standing.”

A low, humorless chuckle left him. “Not that, love,” he said, sadness crossing over his features.

His voice softened, “The kiss told me everything. It wasn’t mine—it was his.

The way you gave, the way you pulled back…

I’d have to be blind not to see that it already belongs to Jace.

I’ve known him most of my life, and I’d sooner cut off my own hand than steal what belongs to him… ”

I swallowed hard and paused momentarily, “How can you see that in my eyes when I’m just now figuring it out?”

He smiled the sexiest smile that lit up his beautiful eyes, “Because a woman has a certain look when she’s in love, like she’s looking at you but sees someone else.

It’s actually very beautiful, and you are even more beautiful with it.

I saw it last night and knew my good friend was a most fortunate man. ”

“You like him a lot, it seems,” I said, curious about how Titus really felt about Jace.

“As if he were my own brother,” Titus said.

“However, my love for the man only goes so far, and if he dares to neglect or hurt you the same way I have proven to be capable, then I will kick his ass and work to ensure you are mine. I don’t mind second place if it means I might still have the privilege of securing you for myself should the first-place winner screw everything up,” he winked.

“Now, let’s rejoin the others. I’m sure Jim, Spence, and Alex are already complaining about their appetites, and I’d like to enjoy dinner with the loveliest woman I’ve ever known. ”

And that was that. No drama. No punches thrown. No best friends turned enemies over me. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to close the chapter on whatever complicated thing Titus and I had been circling. The best part? Realizing we might actually make better friends than lovers.

And with the pace he was setting—this new way of seeing what it truly meant to have a woman in his life—I couldn’t help but believe Titus had a future. A damn good one.