Page 80 of The Rebel Billionaire

Dammit.

"Fine." Igroundout.

"Dinner is at seven. Be here by six." Aidenhungup.

Asshole.

I got in a few hours of work before I closed my laptop and headed to Winters House. Charlie had given me the gate code, so I didn't have to go through the pain in the ass of calling the house to get on theproperty.

I liked living in the Highlands, liked the energy and the people. But there was something awe-inspiring about rolling down the long drive, shaded by old-growth trees, to discover Winters House nestled in thehills.

On ten acres in the heart of Buckhead, Winters House was a fairytale, the kind of house I'd thought royalty lived in when I was a poor kid growing up in atrailer.

Built in a square around a central courtyard in a Mediterranean-style, the red tile roof and creamy walls were warm and welcoming despite the dark iron gates blocking access to the inner courtyard. They opened smoothly as Iapproached.

I'd been in houses like this before, mostly on the job or meeting clients. Rarely as aguest.

My years in the Army, and those I'd spent on my own after I went private, had given me the confidence to deal with people on every level ofsociety.

Money didn't intimidate me. Neither did power. If I was here on a job, it would be business as usual. No big deal. I wouldn't have this niggling certainty in my gut that I didn't belong anywhere near Winters House. OrCharlie.

Day by day, being with Charlie was so easy, so natural, I forgot who she really was. I'd started calling her Princess to poke at her, but lately to me, Princess just meantCharlie.

MyCharlie.

But Charlie had grown up here, like a real princess behind castle walls. She was so far out of my league it was like looking at the sun. I'd been right to try andcancel.

I already knew I was in too deep with her, but I wasn't ready to lethergo.

Notyet.

Deep down, in the hidden parts of my heart I rarely examined, I had the fear that seeing me in Winters House, surrounded by her family, she'd realize I didn't belong and that would betheend.

I was here now. It was too late torunaway.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

LUCAS

Iparkedin front of the garage beside a Range Rover and let myself into the house. I couldn't picture myself ever living in a place this size. It was fucking enormous. I'd stayed in hotels that weresmaller.

Everything about the house spoke of old-world quality. I'd spent enough time rehabbing my own place to appreciate the smooth grain of the quarter-sawn oak and the way the ivory walls contrasted with the dark wood trim withoutbeingcold.

Winters House smelled of beeswax and faintly of flowers. My mother's trailer had reeked of stale cigarettes, undercut by the bleach that clung to her skin after long days of scrubbingtoilets.

Memory and reality clashed, shoving me off-balance.

I followed the sound of voices through the front hall to what looked like the formal living room. The heavy crown molding, silk drapes, and expensive furniture called for cocktail dresses and suits, but the Winters clan was having noneofthat.

Even Aiden wore jeans with his button-down shirt. I didn't think I'd ever seen him without a tie. Despite his casual dress, stress had drawn grooves on either side of his mouth and the dark circles beneath his eyes wereworse.

When he saw me, he grinned in triumph. I stopped myself before I could growl inresponse.

I spotted Charlie a second later, curled up on one of the couches, trying gamely to hang onto her cousin Vance's daughter, Rosalie. The baby was five months old and didn't seem to want tocuddle.

Beside her sat Maggie, a shapely redhead I'd met a few times when she came by to see Charlie. Engaged to Vance, Maggie already seemed to think of Rosie as her own. Charlie looked up to see me and her eyesbrightened.

"Hey. You're here. Do you want anything todrink?"