Healing the Billionaire by Boyd Eliza

Author:Boyd, Eliza
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Choose Love Ink
Published: 2019-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Hailey and Otis both slept on the ride back to Portland. After a quick stop at the grocery store, they got back just in time to make dinner. Jared pulled a chair out for Hailey so she could sit back and watch the magic happen while she rested her shoulder some more. Then he got to work, chopping potatoes and broccoli for the soup he planned to make. He even used the Vitamix since he had it on hand. A half hour later, he had the soup warming on the stovetop.

As he put the garlic bread in the oven, Hailey asked, “So where did you learn this recipe?”

Automatically, he answered, “From my chef, Robin.” The man would be proud of the skills he’d taught him. He’d shown Jared this recipe for precisely times like this: when he’d need a good meal on the table fast when Robin wasn’t around or available.

The only sound that greeted him was the closing of the oven door. Hailey wasn’t responding, and when he thought back on what he’d said, he realized why. When he met her gaze again, her face said the same thing.

“Yeah, I have a chef now.” He sounded self-effacing. He wasn’t trying to boast or brag. It was just part of his life now—and he hoped Hailey would be too.

“Wow.” Her face relaxed from its surprised expression. “Sounds like you have more money than I thought.”

“If that helps make my case for this,” he said, waving a finger between the two of them before stirring the soup again, “then I’m not afraid to use it.”

Her soft smile warmed his heart. “Jared, it was never about the money.” But then she looked away, bringing one knee up to her chest. She put her chin on it and said, “If it were, I would have ignored how hard you were working.”

His shoulders fell as he thought that over. “I know. I’d like to think that I’ve learned better balance now, but I probably haven’t. I haven’t had to.”

Hailey’s head popped off her chin and she perked up at that. “No?”

Inwardly, Jared lit up—she cared if he’d had a relationship in the time they’d been apart. “No, not really. I tried here and there, but nothing ever felt right.” He tasted the soup for flavor and temperature, pleased with how it was coming along. Then he hoped he’d be pleased with the answer to his next question. “What about you? Anything serious?”

She bit her bottom lip, which made his stomach clench. Maybe this wasn’t the time for this kind of conversation.

Then she shook her head. “No. Me either.”

Relief flowed through him at the same time a sadness washed over him. She wasn’t attached at the moment, but she hadn’t found love in over seven years? Longer if he included the time when they had been together but she hadn’t felt like he’d loved her. That only made him want to try harder to be the man she deserved.

They both went quiet as he stirred the soup some more.

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