Chapter 6

After her divorce, Celine sat down and started a list of new rules. She learned her lesson. She was never going to make the same mistakes again. She wrote her first rule. Rule #1 No fraternizing with the Billionaires. Never ever fall in love with a billionaire. Over the months, she added things to the list. She was going to learn to cook. Become financially independent. Stop pleasing everyone. Wait until thirty to have a family. Read more books. Speak her mind. The only one she practiced, thought about and was determined to follow was Rule #1.

“Come on. Please! Come with me. Are you afraid of running into Phillip?”, Kim asked. Celine rolled her eyes, she took the phone away from her ear and looked at the time. Kim’s voice was inaudible and for a second, she considered walking away. If it would get her out of this party, she would do it. Celine put the mobile back to her ear. Kim was still talking. “will have fun and I don’t want to go alone. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. I won’t stop until you say yes.”

Was there an off button? Celine sighed; she knew Kim and she was unrelenting. “Why am I friends with you?” Celine asked half joking, half-truth.

“Because you are head over heels in love with me.”, Kim said earning herself another eye roll.

Celine looked down at her muddy riding boots. “But I don’t wear heels. Are you sure you have the right person? Maybe you have me confused with someone else?” There was silence and for one horrible moment, Celine thought she had insulted her dear friend. She was about to say something, anything to make it better.

“Whatever, you love me, and you know it. The more you deny it the more I know you do. I’ll pick you up at seven.”, Kim said, and Celine hung her head. She knew when she was defeated. Just the fear of hurting her friend made her want to console her so she was going to go. Damn it, why was she so soft-hearted.

“You're sure, Sebastian won’t be there?”, Celine asked. She could hear the anxiety she felt echoing in her voice. “It’s his company that is sponsoring the event. I find it hard to believe he is not attending.” Something in her gut was telling her not to go, but ever since Phillip, she had lost trust in her instincts. Clearly, they were broken.

She heard Kim sigh and knew she was annoying her friend, but how could she not understand that seeing Sebastian was like opening a doorway to hell? The only thing worse would be running into Phillip. There was no danger of that. Phillip would never be seen at a Gale business function. The Bloombards were old money, and the Gales were new money. Never the twain shall meet. Some Billionaires Club meaningless hierarchy thing that she never understood.

“Like I told you. I spoke to his assistant personally. Sebastian is in Italy procuring a piece of property for a new hotel. I promise the CEO of Gale Hospitality will not be attending this event.”

At six-fifty-five, Celine stood by the front door waiting for Kim and ran her hand down the old wooden door. This door had seen a lot of action, like that notch near the bottom. She left that mark when she fell and chipped her tooth. Above that was a dent from a polo mallet courtesy of her little Sister. Collette was told a hundred times, “Do not swing mallets in the house. You’re going to kill someone.” Collette didn’t kill anyone, but she did lose control of the mallet, and it struck the door.

Celine jumped when Kim honked. She looked at her phone, seven on the dot. She better stop daydreaming, Kim hated to wait. “Dad, Kim is here. I’m going.” Celine said and opened the door.

From the depths of the house, she heard her dad yell, “If you see that son of a gun, kick him in the nuts for me. Celine’s mouth opened into a big O and her eyes widened. Had her daddy, the most calm and measured man that she knew just told her to kick Phillip in the nuts?

“Okay, Dad. Bye, Dad. Don’t wait up.” She could see her dad swinging the very polo mallet she had just been thinking about around the kitchen. Dad hadn’t been “right” since her mother died and had not taken it well when he found out about Phillip. She wondered if she needed to stay home. What crazy scheme was he hatching in there? Then Kim honked her horn.

She jumped into Kim’s new beamer. “New car?”, Celine asked smoothing down her beautiful pale green silk dress. A sign she was nervous. Celine grunted. She was busy entering the destination into the fancy computer on the dash. “You must get paid well at Gale Hospitality.” That got Kim’s attention because she paused, and Celine saw her ears flush. Oh ho, she was going to have to investigate that later. Something was up. Was her bestie keeping secrets? Was there a man?

At eight o’clock, Celine had her elbows on the table and one hand shielding her red face. Kim was looking anywhere but at Celine. “You said he wouldn’t be here.”, Celine said.

“His assistant said he was in Italy, and he wasn’t coming back until next week. He must have finished early.”, Kim said. Her brows were pushed together, and she was frowning. Celine could tell she was genuinely sorry.

Peaking between her fingers at Sebastian, she recognized the framework of the boy she had befriended in the man who stood at the bar. He was still tall, had dark brown hair and olive skin, and grey eyes. But he was more. It was like an artist added details. Improving upon the immature model she still held in her mind. Turning him into a jaw-dropping drool-worthy man. His cheekbones were softer now and his tender bow-shaped mouth fit his face. She smiled and remembered how wide his mouth had seemed when they were young the same mouth, she had given her first kiss to.

Everything about him exuded masculinity. The broadness of his shoulders, the way his muscled torso narrowed like a vee into his abdomen. His lean thighs and elegant long legs. His neck was thicker now and when he swallowed; she swallowed too. Swallowing down her desire. He screamed billionaire and she wanted nothing to do with him. Too bad, he was quite handsome, and oh, crap. He was looking right at her.

Damn it. Celine knew it was a mistake to come. What voodoo magic had Kim done to get her to come to this stupid party? “I’m leaving.”, Celine said. Leaving was her only chance of preserving her oath to Rule #1. No Billionaires.

“Is this about Rule #1?” Kim asked. Her guilt was gone and replaced with narrowed eyes and a frown. Wow, she shifted through emotions like a NASCAR driver shifts through gears after the green flag was waved.

“Yes, it is.”, hissed Celine. Of all the billionaires, Sebastian Gale was the most dangerous. The last time, she saw him she was having her heart ripped out of her chest in the parking lot of her old penthouse. Where she saw her husband trying to inhale his mistress’s tonsils the night her mother died. And she wanted to keep that as the very last time she ever saw Sebastian Gale. There was still a chance to avoid him if she hurried.

"Have I told you how much I hate you?", Celine asked. She grabbed her clutch and stood.

"Several times.”, Kim said, and Celine glared at her. “How are you going to get home?”, asked Kim. She leaned back in her chair. Confident she had me.

Celine pointed to her phone. “Dad didn’t want me to come. He will be here in fifteen minutes.” Kim’s face drooped then one side of her mouth tilted up in a sassy grin. Uh oh. Nothing good happened when she smiled like that. Before she could enact whatever, it was, she had up her sleeve, Celine was going to leave. “I’ll call you when I get home.”, she said.

Then Celine turned around and ran smack into Sebastian Gale.