Page 69 of The Billionaires' Gamble

Fuck, I want to touch her. Pull her against me and feel her arms tighten around my waist. All our problems dissolve when we touch. They have from the very start.

“So fucking sorry.” I stare down at the gap between us. A foot, a foot and a half. Might as well be the Grand Canyon. “That doesn’t begin to excuse what I said. Any of it.”

Like King said, I’m going to have to grovel. And I’m okay with that because my end goal is crystal fucking clear to me now.

I shove my hands in my pockets so I won’t reach for her. No touching until we’ve cleared the air. Until I’ve earned her trust. Until I’m the man she could love and depend on.

My dick is not on board with this plan, but that’s too bad.

“Let’s go home,” Katherine says softly, her tone urgent.

“That’s going to be a problem,” Alex says.

25

KATHERINE/KINGSTON

Katherine

The front door of my father’s Hamptons estate opens, sending a shard of pale light over the drive. Ford races across the porch and down the steps as I take Alex’s hand and get out of the Land Rover.

Turns out, when he said “That’s gonna be a problem,” he meant that the media was camped out in front of the townhome, waiting for us. Apparently, news of my kidnapping spread through the city like a fire on a breezy day.

So here we are. Back in the Hamptons. At my dad’s place, where a very worried Ford is barreling toward me.

“You’re okay!”

He sweeps me into a very uncharacteristic hug. A long, tight, rocking hug that soothes me.

Did I really worry that I wouldn’t be missed? I suppose we all suffer those doubts sometimes.

Footsteps crunch along the pea gravel, and I glance over Ford’s shoulder to see my father closing the distance. He’s wearing a light, pale blue sweater that makes his eyes glow in the soft exterior lighting.

“Honey.”

My dad opens his arms, welcoming me like no time has passed. I can’t remember the last time I hugged my father. Heat scorches my cheeks, and shame fills me as Ford lets go and steps aside.

I don’t know how to explain the switch that flipped inside me.

One day, I was towing the family line, doing my duty. The next, everything cartwheeled on its head, and I withdrew so fiercely from the life I knew. Now I question every conversation I ever had.

And it all brought me to this moment where I crave the comfort of my father’s embrace. Strong arms and the familiar scent of his aftershave engulf me. Of course, he’s clean-shaven, and of course he’s still using the same products he did a decade ago. It’s nice that some things don’t change.

“I’m sorry,” I say, needing to get the words out there. But my throat feels tight, my tongue thick and dry.

“What could you possibly be sorry for?”

Tears well in my eyes. I thought I was done with the tears for the day on the helicopter ride out here, but apparently not. “Because I believed her lies.”

“Oh, Katie. We all did.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did at first.” He pulls back, looking down at me with so much concern. “Come on, let’s get you settled.”

A car door slams, and a wave of tension moves through the men around me as they brace and turn toward the sound.

“Where is she?” LaShonda’s voice cuts through the night like a boom of thunder.