The Player + The Pact = I Do (New York City Billionaires #2)

Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE

Jules

Leo’s working late tonight and I can’t sit still.

Maybe it’s because I’m not used to being here on my own. Or maybe it’s because I miss him. Either way, it feels uncomfortable to be in this apartment without him. I’m used to his easy smile, the crease between his eyebrows when he’s concentrating. I kinda feel empty without him, even though I just saw him this morning.

I’m in dangerous territory. I’m not supposed to get attached to Leo. I know who he is. I know he doesn’t commit. And I know I’m not the exception. I get it. Or at least, my brain understands all this. My heart? That’s another thing entirely.

I pull out my phone and bring up our message thread. It’s no big deal to offer to order food for him, is it? Maybe I should stop pretending that I don’t want to be the exception and start acting like I should be.

Before I can overthink anymore, I type out, Going to order sushi. Want some ?

I send the message and then re-read it. By accident, I’ve also given him the opportunity to make some kind of joke about wanting some.

He replies right away.

Sounds good but no, thanks. I don’t know when I’ll be home.

I know this is his home, but my heart squeezes at the thought that him coming back here, to me, is home.

I miss him.

I read his message again. Something about it doesn’t feel right. Maybe I’m an idiot, but it doesn’t seem like everything’s okay. The vibes are off. I type out another message.

Where are you?

He replies right away.

New River.

Maybe he has a late meeting. It’s nearly nine. Why else would he be there now?

I put my hair up in a bun and head to the door. I grab my sneakers from where I’ve flung them in the hall closet and head out. There’s only one way to be sure if Leo’s okay. I’ll go and check.

Within a few minutes, I’m in a cab heading up to Harlem. I stop for sushi on the way and arrive at the New River building thirty minutes later.

I get out of the cab and suddenly realize Leo might have left in the time it took me to get here. Luckily for me, security is behind the desk and lets me in after I tell them I’m delivering dinner to my boss.

I step into the elevator and change my mind about being here at least five times on the way up.

What’s the worst that can happen?

He can look disappointed to see me. He can ask me to go.

The lights are all on when I step out of the elevator into the penthouse, which looks even bigger than it did the night of the party. It’s empty, for starters, but the unobstructed views of the city out the floor-to-ceiling windows are what make the biggest difference. I think it’s because I see views across the entire city that it looks so big. Like the entire island of Manhattan is up here in this apartment.

I sweep through but don’t see Leo. It’s not until my second walk-through that I spot the back of his head over the top of a chair on the terrace. As I walk toward him, I see he’s in his suit, one ankle crossed over a knee, his hands joined together in front of him.

Why is he here? He’s not working.

I slide open the glass door onto the terrace but he doesn’t turn at the sound.

“Hey,” I say. “I brought you dinner.”

He finally turns in his seat and gives me a half smile. “Oh hey.”

I offer him a tray of sushi, which he takes.

He doesn’t say anything and neither do I. I just take a seat in the chair next to his. We sit in silence as we eat. The air has a chill to it, and I wonder if there’s a blanket I can bring out here.

Or maybe I should head home. Only… something tells me Leo wants me here.

After about twenty minutes, he slides the empty sushi tray onto the table.

“It’s the delivery drivers who know the city better than anyone,” he says.

“I can see how that would be true,” I reply.

“They know the shortcuts, the back entrances, the traffic patterns. Where construction has popped up overnight.”

I nod and slide my half-eaten tray on the table next to his.

“Driving deliveries was how I developed my love of New York.”

“When you were delivering bread with your father?”

He nods. “Yeah. We’d be up so early, before the streets came to life. People are wrong when they say this is the city that never sleeps. It does—but it’s in shifts. Certain areas are quiet at certain times. The early mornings on the Upper East Side are peaceful.”

Leo’s not here because he wants to look out over the Upper East Side in the dark.

“That’s when you met her?”

He nods. “It was a long time ago, so why can’t I just move on?” he asks. “Why do I care enough about what she thinks about me that I’m prepared to make someone pretend to be my fiancée?”

“Do you think those old feelings were made worse because of what happened with Nadia this summer?”

“Probably. But I hate that even my subconscious is still so affected by Caroline. Like, why was I taken in by another cold blonde this summer?”

“By the sounds of it, no one could have predicted what she was after with Bennett.”

“True, but what was it about me that meant I was targeted by her? Why not Worth? Or Fisher or Byron or Jack?”

“Who’s to say? It might have been an alphabetical list and she was working backwards.”

He looks at me—really looks at me—for the first time tonight. It feels like his hand around my waist, warm and safe.

“You’re looking for closure,” I say. “That’s normal. ”

“I got closure when she laughed in my face and told me she had no interest continuing our relationship. There was literal closure, Jules. It was a door in my face.”

“I think it’s normal to want to prove to your enemies that they didn’t break you.”

“Maybe she did break me,” he says more quietly.

“I don’t think so. She might have just bent you a little, and now you’re looking to straighten back out. But no one can do that for you but you.”

His eyes slice to mine and we sit there for a few moments, the city in the distance, a backdrop to our whole lives.

“You think someone else could straighten me out? Make me someone who’s less driven to succeed by the knowledge of what it’s like to feel small? Disposable? Someone who’s friendly with a lot of people but who has few actual friends? Someone who carries this anger toward a woman he hasn’t seen for fifteen years. Why can’t I just put it down?”

“I wish you could see yourself the way I do, Leo. You have a small circle of friends who would bury a body for you. You’re lucky. Most people get one of those people in their whole lives. And being a bit suspicious is a smart move. You’re a rich, successful guy, and this is a tough city—a tough world . Someone’s always going to want something from you. I think you’ve kept your humanity when life could have turned you cynical and cold. You’re kind and sensitive and thoughtful and… I’m proud to know you. Yeah, maybe Caroline coming back into town has you shaken up. But maybe she’s the closet you never cleared out—something that’s been on your to-do list for the longest time. Maybe the awards ceremony is the perfect opportunity to?—”

“Purge?” he asks .

I laugh. “Maybe.”

Silence echoes out from our terrace.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come tonight. Just as I’m about to leave, he reaches out a hand and I take it. He threads his fingers through mine. We sit there together in a quiet that speaks volumes.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re worth it,” I say. He turns his gaze full on me again, and it takes my breath away.

What have I gotten myself into?

“I’m considering not going to the awards ceremony,” he says.

I feel like I’ve been dropped to the ground. “You really don’t want to see her.”

“It’s not that. I just feel like I’ve given it way too much attention. Like, no offense, but I knew you for five minutes before I brought you on as my fake fiancée and moved you into my apartment.”

“Right,” I say. I’m getting whiplash right about now. “I can go stay with Sophia tonight.” I manage to keep my voice steady as I deliver the words, but it’s an effort. Is this why he’s up here tonight? Because he wants space? I tug my hand from his. He reaches for me again, but I don’t reach back.

“No,” he says, his tone sharp. “That’s not what I’m saying. I want…” He sighs. He doesn’t know what he wants. “I want you to stay.”

“The awards are in a couple of days. And then it will be over. I’ll be gone.”

“I want you to stay. Not for the awards, but because I…” He looks me in the eye. “Because I like you.”

My heart lifts in my chest, even as my throat goes tight. “I like you, too. ”

He pulls me onto his lap and circles my waist with his hands. “I don’t want you to go.”

This is what I missed when I was back in the apartment. This feeling when I’m with him like I belong. Like I’m someone’s priority. I’m sure Leo doesn’t mean to make me feel that way, but he does. Like I’m special—the only woman he’ll open up to, the only woman he’ll bare his soul to. The only woman he’ll look at just this way.

He makes me feel like I’m his exception, and I can’t decide whether to be moved by the realization, or afraid.