Page 39 of Loving a Billionaire

“No, you don’t have beer breath. You have peppermint breath.”

“Isn’t that better than beer?”

“Tons better.”

“So...” He shrugged. “Should we try it again?”

Talia didn’t need to ask what he meant. The direction of his gaze was on her mouth. Her heartbeat increased. She couldn’t count how many times she had wanted to kiss him, but she knew it would always be in her dreams. And yet, if she kissed Kurt now, would she be betraying Austin? She really did like him, too.

Oh, decisions, decisions...

When he leaned closer, she didn’t stop him. She closed her eyes as his lips caressed hers. At first, he hesitated, but when she remained still, he continued. Relaxing into his arms, she kissed him back with the same tenderness he showed to her.

The kiss was nice, and exciting, keeping her heart speeding faster by the second. This was something she’d wanted to do ever since she’d first seen him. And yet, here they were, making out in a parked car, but the man on her mind was Austin. Why couldn’t she see Kurt’s face in her thoughts?

Slowly, the confusion in her head grew, making her head throb. She needed to end this with Kurt. At least until she could straighten out her thoughts.

She broke the kiss and pulled back. He continued to stare into her eyes as he stroked her face.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes. I... I just need more time to think about everything.”

He nodded and positioned himself behind the steering wheel. He started the car and drove it out of the parking lot. For the first few minutes they were silent, but then he cleared his throat.

“I’m not going to Isabelle’s Escort Service now. It’s probably too late, anyway. We’ll go tomorrow.”

“All right.”

“Nine o’clock in the morning?”

She nodded. “I’ll meet you at the station.”

As silence came between them once again, she watched the road and tried to get her thoughts in order. Because her feelings were conflicting with her thoughts, she wanted to scream in frustration. Why did she get this way around Kurt? And why now did he choose this time in her life to confess his love? If only he’d done that before she’d met Austin.

Now what was she going to do? For being a woman who was always in control, she felt as if she was on a spinning ride at the amusement park that had kicked into overdrive. There was only one thing she could do – go and see Austin tonight and finish telling him what she’d started at the waterfront.

She only let Kurt kiss her briefly when he’d returned her to her car. From there she drove to Austin’s hotel and hurried up to the penthouse suite. Knocking on the door, she prayed he’d be home, and he’d be alone.

Austin answered the door wearing the same clothes he had on when they’d met at the waterfront. His eyes widened, and he took her arm to pull her inside.

“What are you doing here?” he questioned. “Not that I’m disappointed, though. I’m just surprised.”

“I just had to see you tonight. I desperately need to finish our talk that we had earlier.”

“I would like that very much. I also have something to share with you.” He motioned his hand to the sofa. “But you go first. By the determined look on your face, I assume it’s more important than what I have to say.”

She nodded and followed him to the sofa. They sat close by each other, which was good. She had always been a touchy-feely person, and she needed that contact with him, if only to help get rid of the confusion still lurking in the dark recesses of her mind.

Once she was comfortable, she took a deep breath of courage. “Austin, I’ve been hiding something from you since we met, and I can’t go another minute without confessing the truth.”

Worried lines appeared on his forehead and around his eyes.

She quickly continued. “You’re such an awesome person, and I feel you need to know what’s really going on with me. I don’t want to lie to you any longer, but when you hear my explanation, I hope you’ll soon forgive me.”

“What’s this all about, Talia?”

She swallowed hard and then licked her dry lips. “Before I entered your suite that Tuesday afternoon, I was waiting for backup so my partner could come in with me. You see, I was given the assignment to interview you, but I was in the middle of my father’s engagement party, so I was rather dressed up for the occasion.” She swept a hand over her clothes. “This is what I usually wear when I’m fighting criminals. And this,” she reached into her purse and pulled out her badge and G42, “is usually what I wear in plain sight while I’m at work.”