Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire .Chapter 80:.“I’ve gotta say, I’m glad you convinced me to keep the room,” Isabella says.“Me too. Imagine if we had to fight with all the other people—I mean, peasants—over the shared hot tubs instead? That would have been unimaginable.”She swirls the water in front of her with her hand. “Imagine not having our own pool? Imagine having to wake up early every day to scavenge for a lounge chair that isn’t taken yet? I’m not built to withstand that kind of struggle. I wouldn’t have survived.”“Maybe the receptionist could sense it,” Archibald says, his brow furrowing in realization. “She gave us the complimentary upgrade because she knew it would save our lives.”“I forgot to text Dara and brag about it,” She suddenly remembers. “I love making her mad. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I need to send her a picture tomorrow.”“It sounded like she really wanted to go on this trip. If it wasn’t for me, I bet she would have talked you into taking her
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 81:.When Isabella wakes up the next morning, bright rays of sunshine are streaming through the glass wall, reflecting and shining directly into her eyes. She winces, barely awake, shifting her body slightly, trying to orient herself in the unfamiliar bed.As she moves, she realizes there’s something unfamiliar touching her cheek. Warm, soft... skin? She opens her eyes, squinting. She’s greeted by the sight of a tattooed arm so close to her face that it takes a moment for her eyes to focus on it.Isabella wakes up the rest of the way with a jolt, her eyes flying open in panic.She quickly assesses the situation. Archibald still seems to be asleep, and Isabella quickly thanks every single deity she’s ever heard of for that, because the situation they’re in is—well, it’s compromising, to say the least.They must have gravitated towards each other in their sleep. Isabella is much closer to the center of the bed than she remembers, and Arch
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 82: .Isabella raises an eyebrow, lowering her voice. “Wait. Are you the one who got us upgraded?”“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” Warren says in a dramatic whisper.Isabella’s eyes widen. “No way. Warren, you didn’t have to—”“I know,” Warren says, cutting her off. “But you deserve it. So enjoy it. Is your boyfriend enjoying himself?”“Boyfriend? My—oh. Right. My boyfriend. Yeah, he is. He’s just gonna have a lazy day today while I’m occupied. Well, his version of a lazy day, which means he’s going to the gym.”“Going to the gym on vacation,” Warren says, shaking his head. “He’s my friend and I’m sure he’s a nice person, no, but that’s a red flag.”Isabella bursts into laughter. “I’m with you on that one. But no, he is a nice person. He might be coming tonight, hopefully.”“I’ll look forward to it.” Warren slaps Isabella on the shoulder again. “Enjoy yourself this week, okay? I’ll try not to drag out the festivities too long tod
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 83: .Isabella takes a deep breath, turning around in the chair and swinging her legs over to the other side so that her back is facing Archibald. Archibald leans over, picking up the bottle of sunscreen off the ground and squirting some into his hands. He rubs it between his palms to warm it up first—very considerate, Isabella thinks—and then two broad palms are rubbing over Isabella’s shoulder blades, working the sunscreen into her skin.A tiny strangled noise tries to work its way out of Isabella’s throat, but she manages to keep it in.“How was your work stuff?” Archibald asks, thumbs rubbing over Isabella’s shoulders. Isabella is not entirely sure if that particular motion is necessary for effective sunscreen application.“It was fine,” Isabella says. “Oh, actually, I forgot to tell you. I won a prize for us.”“Yeah?” Archibald asks, squeezing more sunscreen into his hands and rubbing it into Isabella’s lower back with firm strokes
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 84: .“Do you feel that way about your job? Like it has meaning?”Isabella nods. “Yeah. For me, I think my primary motivation has always been to help people. Not only in my career, but, like—in life, in general. And I know Hector is only one person, but my job pretty much consists of helping him in one million different ways, so it is fulfilling for me. Especially because I think he’s a really good human. It feels meaningful to help him. He helps a lot of other people in return.”“I noticed that about you,” Archibald murmurs. His gaze is fixed on the ocean in front of them, hair blowing softly in the warm breeze. “The night we met, you were so hellbent on repaying me for helping you. Like you couldn’t accept the help without feeling like you needed to offer help in return.”“I guess I’m…” Isabella trails off. “I guess I’m not used to being the one who’s helped. Usually it’s me who’s doing the helping.”Archibald hums. “That sounds like
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 85: .“Are you ready to get started?” the woman asks. “Our massage therapists are professionals, and they’ve seen it all before. Besides, I’m sure she has too, right?” She looks over at Archibald, winking.Archibald looks like he’s two seconds away from dissolving into laughter. The corners of his mouth twitch.Isabella laughs weakly. “He sure has! Yes. Many times. Ha-ha.”“Enjoy your massage,” the woman says, smiling. She leaves the room, the heavy door closing behind her with a solid thunk. Isabella feels like she’s just been locked inside a death chamber.“Did you know we were going to have to get naked?” Isabella hisses at Archibald in a loud whisper, eyes rapidly scanning the room, looking for something—a robe, a towel, anything at all to cover herself. There’s nothing.“I mean, I kind of assumed,” Archibald admits. “It’s normal for a massage. But I thought you knew that! You didn’t tell me you had never had one before! So I assum
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 86: .---“You did what?” Isabella asks, bursting into laughter so violently she almost topples over onto the brick path underfoot. She grabs at Archibald’s arm to steady herself. “You’re kidding me.”“Nope,” Archibald says, tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. “And it worked, too. I never heard them again.”She’s just been told another Warren story—there seem to be an endless number of them. Apparently when Warren first started dating his private girlfriend, Haley, they were getting it on so loudly that it was keeping Archibald awake at night. When Archibald decided he had had enough, he plugged in his keyboard at full volume and started playing the theme song to every cartoon he could think of. As well as his five-year-old-equivalent skill level would allow, anyway—which is to say, not very well.Warren eventually burst in, yelling over the music, demanding to know why Archibald was ruining the ambiance. Archibald told him tha
Ditch the Ex. Date the Billionaire . Chapter 87: .“Isabella, tell me if this is what you want. I can never tell what you’re thinking,” Archibald says quietly. His eyes are dark and vulnerable, reflecting the glowing light of the pool.“Yes, I want you,” Isabella breathes, one hand moving up to tangle in Archibald’s wet hair. Archibald pushes all the way forward, his chest pressing against Isabella’s body. The edge of the pool digs into Isabella’s back.“Then let me kiss you when no one is looking,” Archibald murmurs.So Isabella lets him. It’s frantic and heated, a blur of hands everywhere all at once, all their clandestine feelings finally flooding out into the open for anyone to see. Their quiet gasps, the nip and pull of Archibald’s bottom lip between Isabella’s teeth, Archibald’s broad hands sliding up Isabella’s stomach—this is the most honest they have ever been with each other.“God, ever since I met you, this is all I’ve been able to think about,” Archibald breathes, his