Page 63 of Dr. Stone (Billionaires’ Club #9)
He looked up the stairs, then back at me, blinked once, and sat.
I didn’t bother looking at Reiner. The last time he’d seen me, he was flying me, my friends, and a handful of gorgeous women to St. Moritz with enough champagne to flood a chalet.
Now here I was, toting a purse pooch like a woman auditioning for a Real Housewives spinoff.
I sighed, scooped Duke up, and trotted up the stairs with him tucked under one arm like I was hauling royalty into first class.
Once inside the jet, I saw that my parents were already settled; my father was reading something on his tablet, while my mother looked up from her drink just in time to see us enter.
Her gaze shifted from me to the dog and back to me again. “Well,” she said, her voice clipped and amused. “This is new.”
My father raised an eyebrow without looking up. “What the hell is that, and why do you , of all people, have it?”
I dropped into the seat across from them, Duke hopping onto my lap with practiced ease like this was his jet, his seat, and his afternoon itinerary, not my parents’.
“This,” I said dryly, pointing at the dog, “is Duke. He’s a Yorkie with a superiority complex, and he believes he outranks everyone on this plane.” I looked at my dad, “Including your ass.”
Duke gave a tiny sneeze and settled in like I’d just confirmed his royal lineage.
My mother’s lips twitched. “And why, son, are you traveling with a Yorkie? Is it yours ?”
For the first time in my life, I witnessed both my parents trying not to laugh. I understood why, and God only knew what I looked like as a bachelor with his bark-sized Birkin accessory.
“He’s not mine,” I said. “Technically. He belongs to Andie. Though he’s decided I’m his property now, so here we are.”
“Is this the same woman from the celebration?” my father asked, still watching Duke as if trying to determine whether he was a biter.
“Yes, and the same woman you met in Costa Rica,” I said, leveling my gaze at him. “The one you assumed was with Titus.”
“And now she’s with you,” my mother said, drawing the connection.
“Was with me. That’s the reason I’m traveling to this wedding,” I looked down at Duke, “and also why I’m bringing this rat along with me.”
My mother leaned forward slightly. “ She ended things with you ?”
I gave a short laugh at the insinuation that I was some treasure because of my station in life. The truth was that if I hadn’t become a changed man, Andie should’ve run away from me long ago like she was on fire. “Yeah. She did.”
Silence settled between us like cabin pressure shifting, while Duke added to the drama by sighing theatrically.
“Interesting,” my father said, seemingly bored with the relationship talk.
His reaction was everything I had always feared about being in a relationship—feeling absolutely nothing, even when I had everything.
It wasn’t like my mom was unattractive or difficult; there just didn’t seem to be any chemistry between them.
They were so emotionally distant. Both were ambivalent to the point that they didn’t even have anything to say—either to each other or, evidently, even to me about what felt like the biggest thing in my life.
The idea of ending up like that baffled me.
They lived like strangers who happened to share a house, a bank account, kids, and nice things, but I honestly don’t know if they ever loved each other.
Their marriage had always seemed more like a merger of two powerful families than anything built on love.
Whatever they felt, if anything, didn’t come close to what I felt with Andie.
She made my heart race with something I hadn’t had in years—hope.
The possibility of a future with her and her son lit me up from the inside out.
That’s why I wasn’t afraid to bring her up to my parents.
I didn’t care if they approved. But I did care enough to draw the line: I wouldn’t tolerate them disrespecting her just because she didn’t grow up the way I did.
If I were going to pursue her, then I was damn sure not going to let my family hurt her the way her ex did.
“Let me clarify,” I said, my voice low and steady. “She didn’t walk away because she didn’t care. She walked away because she was trying to protect me.”
“ Protect you?” my father asked skeptically. “What the hell would you need protection from that you or your family couldn’t provide?”
“She was protecting me from a man who threatened to take away her son and destroy my career if she didn’t cut ties with me,” I answered, locked on his gaze. “She didn’t tell me because she thought walking away from our relationship would keep both of us safe.”
My mother’s expression shifted, concern overtaking her curiosity. This was my mother’s arena. She understood what it meant to be a woman protecting her man and her family. In her mind, there was nothing more important. “That is very admirable of her,” she said. “So, it seems serious.”
“Yeah, it is,” I said. “Or it was.”
“And you’re on your way to…?”
“Show up at the wedding party yacht celebration Seb is hosting and get her back.” Then I smirked, “Hopefully, she’ll let me be her plus one at the wedding since I declined my RSVP.”
My father’s brow lifted, “Do you think it’s a good idea to pursue her now after knowing why she distanced herself in the first place?”
“No,” I said. “I think it’s a necessary one.”
They were silent for a moment. Duke shifted in my lap, one paw stretching dramatically across my leg as if claiming territory, while I absently scratched the top of his head, patiently waiting for my parents to process this.
“She means more to me than any deal, any hospital board, any clean-cut reputation people expect me to uphold,” I said.
“She’s not just some girl. Every day I spent with her, and especially now that I’m without her, I realize more and more that she’s the one for me.
She walked away thinking she was protecting me, and now I’m flying across the world to show her she doesn’t have to. ”
My mother tilted her head. “And what about her son?”
“His name is Brandon, and he’s a year old,” I nodded. “And in the short time I’ve spent with him, we really bonded. It already feels like he’s mine.”
“Well, I’d love to challenge your motivations here, but you never did listen to me when I told you what to do,” my father said, letting out a low breath as he looked out the window.
“I will admit, however, that it seems evident you’ve changed.
” Then he glanced back at me, shifted his gaze to Duke, and back again.
“Bringing a dog like this on board the jet after telling us you are flying to Croatia to attend the kind of event you despise, all just to chase after a girl,” he shook his head in disbelief and exhaled as if he knew it wasn’t worth the fight.
“She must be something special if she’s gotten through to you . ”
“Trust me, I know, and don’t ask me to explain it because it would make less sense if I did.”
“I know one thing to be true,” my mother gave a coy smile, “and that is that you wouldn’t have done this a year ago.”
“You’re damn right about that. I wouldn’t have even let a woman close enough to do this a year ago.”
She nodded, eyes softening. “Then, let’s hope we see you at the wedding as her plus one, and not ours,” my mother offered a smile that I know I’d never seen her wear before.
My father finally looked back at me. “And if this little dog is proof of anything, it’s that you’ve already lost the upper hand.”
I glanced down at Duke, now asleep with one paw over his nose like he couldn’t be bothered with any of our senseless human drama.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I’m painfully aware of that.”
Duke was something I really needed to figure out, especially if I were ever going to move in with or marry the woman my heart was set on.
What the hell was I going to do to help this little turkey find his place once I got the lady back?
He was the best pal a dumped fucker like me could ask for, but when a woman showed up, his whole personality flipped.
Those were problems for another day. At this point, I needed to focus on ensuring that those problems would even exist in the future. Now that I was certain my parents wouldn’t be an issue, my next hurdle was figuring out exactly what I’d say or do when I saw Andie again.