Page 36 of The Billionaire's Secret Kiss

Restless and irritable, I didn't want to hang around the loft, but I didn't want to be with people either. I threw on my running clothes, grabbed my headphones, and drove to Piedmont Park. A slow but exhausting 5K later, I collapsed in my car sweaty but feeling like I'd accomplished something.

I'd only been out of the shower ten minutes when the buzzer at the front door sounded. A quick check of the security camera revealed Holden. I buzzed him up, hoping nothing was wrong. Holden and I were friends, but I didn't think I'd ever hung out with him one on one.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

He gave me a long stare and said, “You okay?"

"No," I answered, honestly. "I broke things off with Noah. I'm terrible. And I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, fair enough. I need your help with something," he said.

When he didn't offer any more information, I realized he was a little on edge. Trying to set him at ease, I said, “Do you want a beer? Cup of coffee? I just got back from a run, and I feel like I deserve a beer."

"A beer would be great, thanks," he said.

I pulled out a microbrew I knew Holden would like and opened my own. "So what's going on? What do you need help with?"

“This is a secret."

"I can keep a secret," I promised, suddenly dying of curiosity.

"I want you to go ring shopping with me."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Seriously? I would love to go ring shopping with you! Oh, I know exactly what she wants." I couldn't help jumping up and down with glee. Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, not that I'm not flattered, and Idoknow what kind of ring she wants, but why aren’t you asking Emily? Jo's one of my best friends, but she and Em are like sisters.”

"That's the problem. See—this is part of the secret—Tate is going to propose to Emily, and he wants it to be a surprise. He asked me not to tell Emily that I’m going to propose to Josephine because he's worried that she'll figure it out."

He had a point. Not that Tate and Holden did everything in lockstep, but they'd met their girlfriends, soon to be fiancées, at the same time and had asked them to move in with them, also at the same time. So it wasn't a far stretch for Emily to expect a proposal if she learned that Holden was buying a ring for Jo.

"Sneaky," I said. "You happen to be in luck, because last week, we went out to lunch and decided to do some shopping. We walked by the window of a jewelry store, and they had a display of engagement rings. Jo was pretty clear on which one she liked the best, though I have to warn you, it wasn't cheap."

Not cheapdidn’t really cover it. We hadn't seen the price tag, but I was familiar with the store, and they didn't carry anything that wasn't the highest of high-end. Besides, just looking at the size of the stone, I could estimate that the price ran in the tens of thousands.

Jo had stared at the ring with wide, covetous eyes. When Emily called her on it, she'd demurred, saying that she didn't need anything like that and she and Holden were happy as they were.

She was lying, but we let her get away with it. No girl wants to be caught admitting how much she wants a proposal that hasn't happened yet. At my comment on the ring’s cost, Holden shrugged and grinned.

"WGC has had a good couple of years," he said. That was putting it mildly.Syndrome, their flagship game, had made a ton of money, andSyndrome IIlooked like it was going to break those records. "What else am I gonna spend my money on, if not my Josephine? Anyway, she needs a big ring to scare off all the geek boys who pant over her."

"Who are you calling geek boys? You run a gaming company."

"True. But have you seen those guys she works with? I swear they worship the ground she walks on. They follow her around like panting puppies. Nothing I do scares them off. At least Tate has Emily in the office with him. None of our employees would dare to flirt with the boss’s girl."

Holden had a point. Jo was the only female on her team, and between her brilliant mind and her bombshell body, the men she worked with were in love. I knew it drove Holden nuts because he'd mentioned it more than once.

"So you're going to buy her a diamond ring to stake your claim?" I asked, laughing. "Maybe you should get her a tattoo on her forehead that saysProperty of Holden Winters.”

He shook his head. "I wouldn't object to tattooing my name on her, but I don't think Josephine would go for it. The ring will have to do. What are you doing Monday? I can sneak out of the office."

"I have to check with Vance and Maggie, but it's probably fine. Worst case, I can bring Rosie in the stroller."

"It's a plan," Holden said, raising his beer in a toast. I clinked the neck of my bottle against his and drank. It was nice to know someone was going to get their happy ending.

Maybe Holden saw the shadow in my eyes because he said, “What happened with Noah?"

"Didn't I say I didn't want to talk about it?" I deflected.

"You did. But sometimes, friends don't listen to other friends when they're making bullshit excuses. Why did you break up with him?"