Page 16 of The Billionaire's Promise

I was going to have to be patient. I was not a big fan of patience. I saw what I wanted, and I went after it. I never gave up, and I never failed. I'm not perfect. I've had my share of fuck-ups along the way. More than my share.

I was not going to fuck this up. Now that I finally had a shot at Magnolia, I was going to do it right.

Magnolia giggled at something Charlotte said and wiped a tear off her cheek. I couldn't tell if it was a tear from laughing too hard or from crying. At the site of the puffy pink skin beneath her eyes, I wanted to leave the table, find the twat, and rip out his spine. I'd already promised we wouldn't do anything to him, and we wouldn't. Exactly. Okay, that's a lie.

As soon as I had Magnolia tucked away for the night, I was calling Evers. Evers Sinclair was my oldest friend. Our families had grown up together, and he—along with his brothers—ran one of the premier security companies in the country.

While I was more inclined to find Brayden and beat the shit out of him, Evers was well-schooled in the art of sneakiness. And he adored Magnolia. He would be thrilled she was shed of that loser and more than happy to plot some secret revenge. Yes, it's as petty as it sounds. I didn't care. He hurt Magnolia, had been hurting her for years, and now he was going to pay for it.

I thought about the things Evers could do—mysterious parking tickets, fucking with his phone—the list was long, and all of it would be entertaining. Then I thought about Magnolia finding out. Hmm. She'd be pissed if she knew we were messing with the twat, not matter how much he deserved it. Damn it. As much as I wanted to get revenge for Magnolia, I set aside the idea.

I wouldn't call Evers. I'd behave myself. But if that dickhead loser ever gave me an excuse, I was going to beat the shit out of him.

Charlie's phone beeped, and she looked down, her laughing face falling into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Magnolia asked, draining the last of her mimosa. I gestured to the waitress to refill it. Magnolia was a little tipsy, but not tipsy enough.

Charlie shook her head and tapped out a message on her phone. "Just work. You'd think I could leave for a few hours."

"You practically live there," I said. "You know, have you thought about—"

“Don't," Charlie said, pinning me with her ocean blue eyes. Charlotte was perfect in almost all things—perfect grades, perfect clothes, perfect hair, perfect in the board room, perfect at a cocktail party—so seemingly perfect that most people missed her core of steely determination. She had all the patience in the world with the people she loved and none with herself.

"Charlie," Magnolia started to say, but Charlie cut her off with a sharp shake of her head.

"No. Today is about you. We're not talking about me."

She stood, tucking her phone into her purse and pulling out her car keys. "I'm so sorry, Maggie, but I have to go." She leaned down and pulled Magnolia into a tight hug, whispering something into her ear that brought tears to Magnolia's eyes. I heard Magnolia whisper back,Love you, Charlie, before Charlotte stood up, smoothing her suit jacket and turning her attention to me.

"Take care of her," she ordered. "Fun, but not too much more alcohol or she'll be miserable tomorrow."

I saluted Charlotte and sent Magnolia a wink. "Yes, ma'am," I said. Magnolia let out a cute little harrumph.

"You know, I'm sitting right here, and I can take care of myself."

"Not today, you can't," Charlie called over her shoulder as she walked out of the restaurant to her car. Magnolia let out a sigh as the waitress arrived with another mimosa.

She took a sip and said, "I shouldn't drink anymore. I don't want to feel like crap tomorrow."

"I've got a plan," I assured her. "You're having a few more mimosas, we're going to the movies, then I'm cooking you dinner, and you're going to bed early. By the time you wake up in the morning, you'll feel fine. I promise."

Magnolia’s eyes skated away from mine, and I caught the sheen of tears. She was thinking about going home to that empty house, about waking up alone.

I was going to make that asshole pay for doing this to her.

I'd never so much as kissed Magnolia, but she was mine. She was mine in a way no woman had ever been mine. I knew her, in some ways better than I knew myself. It was going to take time for her to get over Brayden's betrayal. I would be there every step of the way, and when she was ready, I would claim her. Finally.

For now, the agenda was mimosas, movies, dinner, and a good night’s sleep. It was a good plan. It would have been better if I'd managed to stick with it. But Magnolia was just too much temptation.

We got through the mimosas part just fine. Magnolia was a happy drunk, even reeling from a breakup, and she happily followed me to the movies and settled in beside me to watch the latest action thriller, even holding my hand when I reached for hers in the dark.

I didn't want the day to end. After the movie, we stopped by the store to pick up groceries, and I took her back to her house to make her some food—her favorite, Linguine Pomodoro with extra shaved parmesan. I could make it in my sleep.

She kept me company in the kitchen, drinking the water I poured her while I chopped tomatoes and basil. It was so easy and natural. I was almost convinced we were together, that she was already over Brayden. That I'd already made my move, and she was mine.

A dangerous line of thinking. Too dangerous. I'd started out cautious, but after a day with Magnolia, I was feeling confident. Reckless.

We ate dinner side by side on the couch, watchingDie Harder. I loved that she liked action movies. The champagne plus the pasta eventually got the best of her, and she slumped into my side, her eyelids drooping. I should have let her fall asleep right there and snuck out.