Page 58 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Monday

Alina

I slowly opened my eyes. For a moment I thought it had all been a dream.

But my head was definitely pressed against Bryce's chest. It wasn't a dream.

I breathed in his heavenly scent and listened to his steady heartbeat.

If it had been a dream, it really would have been more of a fantasy than anything else.

It was tempting to close my eyes again and fall back asleep, but I was too giddy.

He's really here. I wanted to kiss every inch of his perfect body.

But I didn't want to wake him up. I tried to focus on how secure I felt with his arms wrapped around me.

I had no idea what the future held, but I knew I wanted to wake up every morning intertwined with him.

Maybe I was being naive. Bryce seemed just as eager to be with me as I was to be with him, though.

I looked up at his face. He looked like he was sleeping so peacefully. I couldn't believe everything he had been through in the past few weeks. And he had kept me out of the loop to protect me. He was trying to keep me safe. Because he loves me. Bryce Walker loves me.

I couldn't resist touching him anymore. I reached up and ran my palm across the scruff on his chiseled jaw line. God, he's so sexy.

Bryce groaned in his sleep.

I didn't bother moving my hand.

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "Are you watching me sleep?"

I shrugged. "Maybe."

He laughed and rolled over on top of me, pinning me to the mattress.

"I really like waking up next to you."

He smiled and ran his hand down my back until he was grabbing my ass. "I love waking up next to you, Alina." He kissed the side of my neck.

"Is this place really yours?" For some reason I had this fear that he was going to say, "Just kidding," and hop on a plane and leave forever.

This apartment was really nice. I knew how expensive real-estate was on this street.

That was part of the reason why I couldn't afford to keep the bakery without the money for winning gold.

He kissed the side of my neck again and rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him.

I loved the feeling of his muscles beneath me.

"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about that," he said.

I swallowed hard. I shouldn't have said anything. I should have just savored this moment. "You're not staying?" Of course he's not staying. I tried to sit up, but he grabbed my waist.

"Alina." He smiled as he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Of course I'm staying. What I was hoping was that you'd want to stay here with me."

I looked into his blue eyes. The way he was looking at me made me feel warm and fuzzy. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Too fast and crazy?"

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. If I let him see the huge grin I was holding back, he'd think I was a lunatic.

"So, is that a yes?"

"But I don't have a job. I don't even know what I want to do."

"And I don't know what I want to do either. Maybe we can figure that out together."

The smile that I was trying to hold back was escaping. Before he had walked into the bakery, it felt like my life was over. And now it felt like it was just beginning.

"I love your smile."

His words just made me smile even more. "I think I like fast and crazy."

"So that's a yes?"

I nodded my head.

"And just so we're 100 percent on the same page here, I want to be exclusive. So, no more giving random guys blowjobs."

I winced and laughed at the same time. "I swear that was just a onetime thing."

"I just wanted to make sure."

I lightly shoved his shoulder. "Let me make you the best breakfast of your life to help make up for it." I climbed off his lap and grabbed the clothes that I had been wearing yesterday.

He sat up in bed and watched me get dressed. "Yeah, I could get used to this."

I smiled at him and walked out of his bedroom.

It looked like the apartment had been recently remodeled, especially the kitchen.

Dark wooden cabinets and marble countertops, topped off with brand new stainless steel appliances.

I hoped he didn't use too much of his gold medal winnings on this place.

He said it was for Em's college tuition.

I opened up the fridge. It was completely empty except for a case of water bottles.

"I literally don't have anything to eat in there," Bryce said.

I looked over my shoulder and watched him walk into the kitchen. He was pulling a T-shirt over his head. I could definitely get used to this too. I smiled to myself. "I can't exactly make anything out of water. Except boiling water."

Bryce laughed. "I've heard about this place that has great pastries down the street. Do you want to check it out?"

"My grandma's bakery had the best pastries."

He wrapped his arms around me. "It's going to be okay."

"I know. And I'm sure this other place is good too. I just..." I let my voice trail off.

He placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Let's go check it out. Maybe I can get a job there in the meantime."

He looked down at me and smiled. "Maybe I will too. It would be cool to be able to walk to work."

I grabbed his hand. "I didn't realize that you were so passionate about bakeries."

"Well, I'm passionate about you. And eating baked goods."

I laughed.

He kept his hand in mine as we walked along the sidewalk. It was a beautiful summer day. It was like we had walked along this path a million times together. I just felt so comfortable with him.

"Close your eyes."

"What?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"But I'm going to trip."

He laughed and picked me up in his arms. "Close your eyes now."

I followed his instructions. "You showing up was the only surprise I needed. Asking me to be your girlfriend and to move in with you was pretty great too though."

"I think you're going to like this one too."

"Well, you're whisking me off my feet."

"Keep your eyes closed." A few seconds later he placed me back down on my feet. "Okay, open them."

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "You're very handsome, Bryce." I clasped my hands around his neck.

He smiled. "Turn around, Alina."

I looked over my shoulder. We were standing in front of my grandmother's bakery.

Only, it had a fresh coat of paint. It looked amazing.

Maybe the new owners were going to take good care of it.

And then I realized that Kristen, Tim, Alex, and some slutty looking girl that I didn't recognize were inside, painting the walls.

"Bryce, what did you..."

"I bought it for you." He grabbed my chin and turned my face back to his.

I thought about his fancy new apartment. And how much money it was going to take to put into the bakery. "Bryce, you can't buy the bakery for me. I can't pay you back."

"I don't want you to pay me back. And the sale was final." He reached into his pocket and handed me the key. It was the same one I had been using ever since I was a little girl.

"Bryce." My eyes started to water. He really was my knight in shining armor.

"I was hoping to make you smile, not cry." He ran his thumb under my eye, wiping away my tears.

"I don't...I don't understand. I thought you were using your money from winning gold to help pay for your sister's college tuition?"

"I did. But I recently came into a lot of money."

"How?"

"Remember how I mentioned Rodrigo last night? Well, I got Isadora to steal his betting ticket." He nodded toward the window. I looked over my shoulder. He must have been talking about the girl that was currently making out with Alex.

"The one with Alex?"

"Yeah, Alex has a thing for Brazilian prostitutes." Bryce cleared his throat. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that."

I laughed. "So...she stole his ticket and...?"

"And split the winnings with me."

"What were the winnings?"

"Millions."

I laughed. "Right."

"No, really. It was a parlay. Rodrigo needed all these super unlikely things to occur in order to win. And the payout was huge."

"So, you're a millionaire?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am. But without you winning the tiebreaker, we wouldn't have won anything." His arms tightened around me as he smiled.

"That doesn't mean you had to buy my bakery back. Bryce, that's your money. I can't accept this."

"Well, I was kind of thinking we could run it together. My degree is in marketing, and I think I could help make it grow."

I shook my head. "You're the fastest man alive. You're a millionaire. Any minute, people are going to be calling you for endorsements and all sorts of stuff. Why on earth are you in Wilmington, Delaware hanging out with me?"

He laughed. "There isn't any other place in the world that I'd rather be."

"I don't understand it, but I am so glad that you're here." I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him. "Why didn't you tell me last night?" I laughed. "I was so upset about losing the bakery."

"I wanted to make sure you wanted to be with me for me. Not just because of this. Despite what you seem to think, you're the one that's out of my league."

I laughed and moved my hands to the sides of his face. "Bryce Walker, I am head over heels for you."

He pressed his forehead against mine. "I love you, Alina."

"Yo!" Alex said, poking his head out the door. "While you two were shagging all night, we've been doing all the work. Get in here."

Bryce laughed. "That's actually pretty accurate."

I lightly pushed his arm and laughed. "Is Isadora really a prostitute?" I whispered to Bryce before we walked into the bakery.

"Not anymore. I'm pretty sure Alex and her are together. She's a millionaire too. If there's one thing Alex wanted besides a prostitute, it was a sugar momma."

I laughed. "I don't know why that doesn't surprise me at all."

Everyone turned toward us with huge smiles on their faces when we walked into the bakery. Except for Tim, who was kind of hovering behind Kristen.

"Guys, thank you so much."

"Just hit me and get it over with," Tim said and stepped out from behind Kristen.