Billionaires Dollar Series

“You’re going to cook me breakfast?”

“Yes,” I say, dead serious. Some things are not joking matters. “Do you like bacon?”

“Of course I do.”

“How do you like your eggs?”

“Anything but poached.” He glances over at me. “Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated?”

I settle back into my seat, smiling at him. “Because you are. I’m not leaving anything to chance.”

“You don’t play fair.”

“And I still haven’t learned anything about what you’ve been up to in the past fourteen years.”

He shakes his head, honey-brown hair falling across his forehead. “I’m not the interesting one here. I want to hear about you.”

“About me?”

“Yes. What was your first job? Did you date anyone in high school? When did you move to Seattle?”

I bite my lip. “That’s not fair.”

“It’s not?”

“You refusing to answer any of my questions but asking me three in a row. How about we get to ask one each?”

His lips quirk. “Sure. You first. Tell me about your first job.”

I settle back in the seat. “Do you remember the small pretzel and hot dog stand in Fairfield?”

The rest of the drive is filled with old memories and stories, ones I haven’t thought about for years. Liam’s are more outlandish-he lived in a two-bedroom apartment with four guys when he first moved to New York-but no less intriguing.

He’s halfway through a story about a terrible boss when his phone rings, connecting to the car speakers.

Liam takes one look at the screen and groans.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

My eyes widen.

Cole Porter.

“Don’t say anything,” he warns me, pressing answer.

“Hey. Everything all right?”

“Yes, yes, absolutely.” Cole’s voice fills the car. “Look, I just got a call from Albert Walker.”

Liam snorts. “I just left his hunting cabin. Seems like he’s acting fast.”

“Seems like you’ve been pretty successful.”

“Is that so?”

“He’s seriously considering it,” Cole says. “Whatever you’re doing is working.”

“I knew it would.”

Cole snorts. “He wants to have a chat with both of us, so I invited him to an event I’m having at Skye Hotel this Thursday. I think we almost have him.”

Liam nods, eyes on the road. “Great news. I’ll be there.”

Cole pauses. “He also spoke of someone named Madison… who you’re apparently engaged to. Have you been living a double life, man?”

Liam’s face is tight. “Not that I know of.”

“Well then, I look forward to meeting her. Bring her along to the event, will you?”

“I’ll see if she’s available.”

Cole chuckles again. “Great. And Carter?”

“I’ll let you break the engagement news to Carter Senior yourself, all right?”

“Thanks, man.”

The line clicks off and the car falls into tense silence.

Liam clear his throat. “Are you free Thursday?”

That seems like the least of our concerns. “What are you going to tell Ethan?”

He snorts, eyes on the road. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“He won’t be at the event?”

“God, no. He only leaves his home when forced to. Trapped in domestic bliss, that one.”

Liam looks over at me, and there’s a hint of triumph in his face, victory in his eyes. “If Albert is calling for a meeting with Cole, we’re close to getting him.”

I roll my eyes. “You have a one-track mind, you know.”

“It comes in handy sometimes,” he says, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

In his dark jeans and white fisherman sweater, a jacket thrown on top, he looks like the Liam I used to know. The one who spent more time outdoors than inside, always quick with a smile and a wink. He looks approachable. Handsome.

Normal.

I look away. “And you need me at the event?”