Page 27 of The Billionaire’s Paradise (My Billionaire #4)

Cal was pacing the living room like a disappointed headmaster, while Mrs. Mulroney and I were planted side by side on the couch like two students who’d been caught carving swear words into the underside of a piano.

The others were out. Rashida had taken Angus and Mr. Banks on a guided tour of Haleakalā—Maui’s dormant volcano. Not for sightseeing. For intervention.

“I’ve been sensing some friendship tension,” she’d said earlier that morning, arms folded. “Ever since Makani came into the picture, something’s shifted between them. Their vibe’s taken a weird detour. If they don’t sort it out, I will be throwing both of them into the caldera.”

She’d looked deadly serious.

Mr. Banks had saluted. Angus had packed cheese-flavored snacks.

So now it was just us.

And the sound of Cal’s loafers clicking across the hardwood as he paced.

“Well,” he said at last. “I don’t even know where to begin. ”

“Start with how well we disguised ourselves. Like camouflage,” Mrs. Mulroney offered. “No one suspected a thing.”

Cal turned slowly. “You were under a table. Dressed as… I don’t even know what.”

“I was Katarina von Kunningsberg,” she said proudly. “And I will not apologize for committing to a role.”

“You launched a mustache at me.”

“I had nothing to do with that flying caterpillar,” she said, hands in the air.

“That’s true,” I muttered. “That was my nose.”

Cal bunched up his fists and looked like he was about to start writing a strongly worded letter to the editor. Instead, he exhaled and pointed at Mrs. Mulroney. “You need to go.”

She blinked. “Go where?”

“Anywhere that is not this conversation.”

“I see,” she said, rising to her feet with exaggerated elegance. “Well, in that case, I shall take my leave. Alone. Like a crusader sent into exile. Like an innocent lamb cast from the village for bleating the truth. Like a—”

“Go!”

She looked between us, gave a tragic little nod, then flounced dramatically out onto the patio and closed the door behind her.

And then it was just me.

And Cal.

He was still standing. Still pacing. Still quiet.

I fidgeted. “Okay, yes, it was a little over the top—”

“No, Matt.” He stopped walking. “It wasn’t just over the top. It was a total breach of trust.”

I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand.

“You spied on me. You dressed in disguise. You enlisted Mrs. Mulroney as your accomplice. And you followed me to lunch because… why? You thought I was cheating on you?”

I winced. “No. Not exactly.”

“Then what exactly? ”

“I—” I swallowed. “I didn’t think you were cheating. Cal, I trust you. I really do. It’s Hal I don’t trust. I know you’ve got this business deal in the works, but the two of you have been spending so much time together, and I’ve been feeling sidelined and—”

“I haven’t sidelined you.”

“Maybe not on purpose. But you’re gone all the time, and when you’re here, you’re still in Hal’s world. And sometimes I feel like I’m not part of it anymore. Like I’m just… orbiting.”

His expression softened. Just a little.

“I’m allowed to have work relationships,” he said, more gently now. “I’m allowed to connect with people who challenge me, or who get excited about the same things I do. That doesn’t mean I love you less.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “But sometimes I forget. Or I start imagining things. And when I imagine things… I act like an idiot with a fake mustache made of cat hair.”

He almost smiled. Almost.

But then he sat down across from me, his voice low. “I need you to trust me, Matt. Because I can’t be in a marriage where I’m constantly under surveillance. Where I have to explain every lunch, every meeting, every laugh.”

I looked at him. “Do you trust me?”

He didn’t even blink. “Yes.”

And I believed him.

Which made the shame sting even more.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m really, truly sorry.”

“I know,” he said, leaning forward. “But this can’t happen again. No more spying. No more disguises. No more sneezing mustaches.”

I nodded solemnly. “I’ve retired from espionage. Officially.”

“Good,” he said. Then after a pause… “Although… you did look kind of hot in that monocle.”

And his smile finally broke through.