Yours Truly (Billionaires and Brides #2) (3 page)

The woman was clearly drunk and Kat was finding her forwardness extremely amusing. The only reason she was okay with giving up a dance was because the song was half over. As soon as the next song started, she was going to use some of her new-found self-assertiveness and dance with AJ for the rest of the night.

She thought AJ was going to give the woman what she wanted just to get her to go away, but he didn’t. Instead, he said to her, “I’m sorry, but I’ve promised a dance to another lady.”

Then he took a step back so that he and Kat were standing side by side. He showed Kat off like a she was the supermodel and he was the geek getting to bring her to the prom. Kat had never felt so beautiful.

“I’ll get my dance before the night is over,” the woman said. Jealousy twisted her perfect features into something bitter as she turned and stomped off.

AJ looked at Kat and whispered, “No, no she won’t.”

“Did you know her?” Kat asked, as they stepped onto the dance floor.

AJ sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah, her father works at the company. She’s over-obsessed with me, despite the fact that I’ve done everything in my power to make it clear that I’m not interested.”

So, I’m not the only one that thinks AJ is a total catch,
Kat thought. She clearly had a lot of competition, even just among the guests of the wedding.

They danced again, and this time Kat was even more relaxed than the first time. The tequila had dulled any edge that was left and her inhibitions were gone. AJ twirled her around as a swing song came on, using his muscular arms to control her movements. She submitted to him, letting him lead the entire dance. It felt amazing and she was dancing better than she ever had in her life.

When the music stopped after the second song, the two faced each other, embraced in the middle of the dance floor, laughing with delight. AJ’s musky scent filled Kat’s nose once more, sending a wave of heat through her. Her body trembled with desire and all she could think about was how badly she wanted more of him.
All
of him.

F
un
Kat

T
hey were
both breathing heavily from the dancing, and AJ suggested taking a step outside.

“Let’s get some air,” he said. “It’s hot in here.”

This room is not the only place that’s hot,
Kat thought, as she followed AJ’s lead out of the ballroom and into the lobby of the hotel. They walked out the double doors and into the early evening air. The sky was slowly darkening as the early June sun finally dipped below the horizon.

“You know what?” AJ said after a moment. “Feel like going for a limo ride? It’s a beautiful evening and we could get the driver to take us for a quick loop somewhere. I’m sure there’s a park nearby.”

“That sounds great, but where are we going to get a limo?” Kat asked. “Unless you brought your own. I saw you driving that red car earlier, but maybe you switched cars. That would be a little tacky.”

AJ laughed. “No, I didn’t. I drove myself, thank you.”

“So, how are we going to get a limo to drive us around?” Kat motioned to the only limo parked in front of the hotel. “I don’t think Renee is going to let us borrow hers.”

“Who said anything about asking?” AJ grinned and winked at her again.

Boring Kat would have balked. Boring Kat would have felt guilty about even thinking of using her friend’s limo without permission. But she was Fun Kat tonight, and Fun Kat wasn’t about to turn down time she could spend with AJ.

“Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s do this. Let’s steal a limo.”

“Steal? You’re going to get me into trouble, lady,” AJ said, as he grabbed her hand and led her to the limousine. “I was just thinking we’d bribe the driver. It’s easier and there isn’t jail time involved.”

Kat laughed. “That is much easier,” she agreed. “I have twenty bucks on me. If you have some money, we can probably get a quick ride around the block.”

AJ grinned at her. “Oh, I have a little bit of cash.”

Kat was on cloud nine as they approached the limo. Fun Kat was going to take charge. She knocked assertively on the driver’s side window.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.” The driver rolled down his window. “Can I help you with something?”

“I believe so,” Kat replied, hoping that she sounded less afraid than she felt. She’d never done anything like this before. “We’d like to use this limo.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s reserved for the wedding. I can give you the number for our company if you’d like to rent one out.”

“The bride is my friend,” Kat explained. “She won’t mind. She’s not coming out for a long time. She’s even staying in the hotel, so she doesn’t even need a limo.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I just go where I’m paid,” the driver apologized.

AJ held up a hundred dollar bill. “Perhaps we can just borrow you for a little while? If we are the ones paying?”

The driver smiled. “I think that can be arranged.” He jumped out of the car and ran around to the guest door. “If the bride calls, we’ll have to come right back.”

“Absolutely,” Kat agreed, sliding into the dark interior of the limo with AJ right behind her. The smell of fresh leather hit Kat in the face. The interior of the car was immaculate and beautiful, and AJ seemed to know exactly where everything was as he started pressing buttons. She had to wonder how many times he’d been in a limo to be that proficient at it.

“Where would you like to go?” the driver asked through the window.

“We just needed to get out for a bit,” AJ said. “Do you know of a park or somewhere we can visit? We were hoping for a change of scenery.”

“Of course, sir. There’s a park not five minutes from here. I’ll take you on a loop.”

The engine started and Kat grinned as they began to move forward. She hadn’t been in a limo since her high school prom and it was fabulous to be inside one again.

“You know, I have a limo just like this,” Kat joked, as she slid across the seat to make room for AJ. “I don’t take it out much, though. It gets horrible gas mileage, so I prefer to drive my Ferrari instead.”

“Oh yeah?” AJ asked, playing along. “I see you as more of a Bentley kind of girl.”

“No, no.” Kat shook her head and frowned. “Bentleys aren’t for me. I prefer to be as conspicuous as possible.”

Kat had managed to surprise herself with how she was acting. She was usually so calm and reserved and yet, it seemed that AJ brought out a truer side of herself that most people never saw. Something about him let that part of her personality shine. And it wasn’t just the tequila either. AJ allowed her to be her sassy self, and it seemed as though he almost encouraged it in some ways.

The two sat next to each other as the driver took them into a park with a large lake in the middle. They rode slowly through the double lane road that circled the lake, but neither of them took in the beautiful view. They were too enthralled with each other to care about what was outside.

“Are you going to dance with me again once we get back to the reception?” Kat asked, hoping that the answer would be yes. She wanted to be the only one he danced with tonight.

“No,” AJ stated, as he brought his beautiful blue eyes to hers. “I don’t want to dance any more.”

Kat felt defeated, but she shouldn’t have. AJ wasn’t finished.

“I want to spend more time with you. But just you. I’ve had enough of the party,” he said.

Kat’s eyes lightened and an uncontrollable smile crossed her face. “That’s kind of what I was hoping you’d say,” she responded.

AJ’s hand dropped to Kat’s bare knee, which was exposed just below the bottom of her dress. The night was quickly turning out even better than she had hoped or planned. It seemed she was going to get a real taste of Mr. Sexy-wink and he was going to have a chance with Fun Kat. It was a combination that could only end in pure bliss.

A
J

“
S
o
, tell me about yourself, Kat,” AJ asked, getting comfortable in his seat. He couldn’t believe his luck. He had the most beautiful woman at the party alone with him in a limo. He wanted to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“What do you want to know?” Kat asked, smoothing the fabric of her skirt.

Everything,
AJ thought to himself. It was taking some self-control not to reach out and touch her. It wasn’t just her physical beauty that attracted him. She was witty and funny with just enough sass to keep him on his toes. The fact that she’d approached the limo without waiting for him to take charge was a huge turn-on.

Instead, he played it cool. “Anything you want to share.”

“Um, well...” Kat shrugged. Her movement was easy and graceful. “I am able to kill any houseplant.”

“Seriously?” AJ chuckled.

“Yes, and I know that’s a weird thing to admit to someone you just met, but...” she grinned. “It’s a good conversation starter.”

“That it is. Any houseplant?” AJ asked.

“All kinds. I’ve killed cacti, palm fronds, trees, flowers, shrubs, and I even managed to kill a fake orchid,” she said, putting up fingers with each kill.

“You killed a fake orchid?” he asked. “Isn’t it already dead because it’s fake?”

“I managed to light it on fire.”

“With a lighter?” He was completely intrigued by this woman. This was possibly the most entertaining conversation he’d had all week.

“With a glass of water.” She blushed and bit her lip. “I set a glass of water next to the window, and it acted like a magnifying glass and lit the fake flower on fire.”

“I didn’t even know that was possible,” AJ admitted.

“Neither did I,” Kat said. “I’m pretty sure it’s pretty close to impossible, but when it comes to me and plants, I have the black thumb of death.”

AJ laughed. “How are you with outdoor plants?”

“Not much better,” Kat admitted. “Luckily, I live in an apartment right now, so I’m not responsible for any. But, growing up, I wasn’t allowed to do anything with the lawn.”

“That would have made it hard to go outside,” AJ said, feeling completely at ease with her. “How did you play outside?”

“My dad sent me over to the neighbor’s house quite a bit. Which was fine with me, since my best friend lived next door,” Kat explained. “Luckily, her mom had an amazing green thumb that was able to combat short periods of time with my black one.”

AJ laughed. For the first time in weeks, no months, he could feel himself smiling. He had forgotten how good it felt just to laugh.

“Do any of your siblings suffer from this curse?” AJ asked.

“I’m the only one,” she admitted. “My younger sister has no plant-killing abilities that I’m aware of.”

“So, you have a younger sister? Are the two of you close?” AJ loved that he was getting to know her. He was attracted to her body, but the longer they spoke, the more he wanted to know what was going on inside her mind.

“As much as we can be,” Kat said with a shrug. “She’s ten years younger than I am, so she’s just getting ready to graduate high school. She’s an awesome kid, but I just don’t get to see her that much.”

“That must be hard,” AJ commented, thinking of his own brothers. “I have two younger brothers. They’re two and four years younger than me, so we used to do everything together.”

“Do you get to see them often?” Kat asked. Her knee bumped against his and his heart sped up a little at the innocent touch. He wanted it to become something much less innocent.

“Not as much as I’d like,” AJ replied. “I’m so busy with my work and they’re both successful in their own lives.”

“What do they do?” Kat asked, appearing genuinely interested.

“Chris is just finishing up law school and Frank is a stay at home dad to two amazing girls,” AJ told her.

“It must be nice to have nieces,” Kat remarked. “I loved going home and getting to be a kid again with my brother.”

“They’re the best. Melanie is so smart you wouldn’t believe it and Meredith is already walking,” he gushed. He was about to rattle off more about them before he caught himself. She just met him, she didn’t want to hear all that. “But, you probably don’t want to hear me talk about them.”

Kat smiled. “Actually, I think I do. They obviously make you happy.”

He grinned. He could talk about his family for hours if anyone let him. Especially Frank’s two girls. He couldn’t wait to have children of his own, though he made sure to keep that information on the down-low. He tried to keep his personal life as private as possible.

“Sir, ma’am,” the driver interrupted, saving Kat from AJ telling her his niece’s life stories. “We’ve arrived at the park.”

“We’d like to just sit here, if that’s okay,” Kat told him. AJ liked how she took charge.

“Whatever you two want,” the driver replied. AJ could hear him put some music on in the front part of the limo to keep himself entertained.

“So, you like to swim and you have two amazing nieces,” Kat said, getting their conversation back on target. “Time for a hard question. What do you do for a living?”

AJ shook his head. “Not telling,” he said with a smirk. He was enjoying their time together. He could tell she didn’t know who he was. If she did, she wouldn’t have looked nearly as shocked when he handed the driver a hundred dollars. He had nine more just like them in his wallet and it was a low cash day for him.

Kat pouted. “So, you won’t tell me anything?”

“I’ll tell you that I run a business.” He just wasn’t going to tell her which one. “And that I love it. Right now, it’s stressful, but...”

“Did you start it yourself?” Kat asked. She held up her hands. “I’m just curious. We can switch topics if you want.”

“I did start it. My mom actually gave me the idea when I was in college and I started up a small business out of my dorm room with my roommate, Paul,” he told her. “It grew from there.”

“Do you still work with Paul?” Kat asked.

The weight from work fell back on his shoulders. “Not anymore. Paul is out of the company now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Kat chewed on her lip again. AJ had to wonder if she had any idea she was doing it. “What do you like best about your company?”

“My employees,” he answered automatically. “They are the reason that the company is half as successful as it is. My dream is to be able to give them the kind of jobs that will allow them to provide for their families without stress.”

“Wow.” Kat looked impressed. He wasn’t intending to try and use that as a line, but he wasn’t going to complain that it worked.

“What about you?” AJ asked, switching the focus off of him and back to her. Honestly, he wanted to know more about her. He knew enough about himself.

“Since we’re not sharing details, I can’t give you specifics,” she teased. Her eyes went distant and a smile crept across her face. “I’m working on this big project. If my boss approves it, it will change everything for me.”

“Sounds important,” AJ said.

She grinned. “For me it is. It would change my life. It would be something that I could really be proud of. Something I built and created. I’m putting my heart and soul into it.”

“If you do that, then it’s sure to take off,” he promised. He had a feeling that if Kat put her mind to something, she would succeed. She had this amazing light to her that he just couldn’t get enough of. She was vibrant and happy.

Not only was she exactly what his company was always looking for, she was exactly what he needed in his life.

A thought like that was a little scary, so he switched gears. “Would it be terribly wrong for us to break into this champagne?” AJ asked her, pulling out the bottle from the drink holder.

Kat grinned. “After the day Renee gave me today, she owes me a glass of champagne. Besides, we can always replace it with one from the party when we get back.”

“I like the way you think,” AJ told her.

She laughed. The sound was possibly the most pleasant thing he’d heard this week. In fact, the last thirty minutes had been the highlight of his whole month. He didn’t want to go back to the party. He wanted to stay in this limo with this sexy and vibrant woman, drinking champagne and talking about their families.

Or kissing her.

The longer he sat next to her, with her leg pressing against his, the harder it was to just talk. He wanted to kiss her. To feel her skin. He was starting to wonder if she bit her lip like that during other things, too. He wanted to bite that lip.

He decided right then and there that they weren’t going back to the party. There was no way he was going to let some other guy come in and possibly steal her for even one dance. He was keeping her for the night.

Longer if he could.