Passion Abroad – A Billionaire Romance Novel

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Now I have to ask,” she said. He looked at her and she smiled. “And I know how ridiculously hypocritical I sound right now.”    

“Okay. I will bite,” he said as he took a sip of his coffee. “This time,” he added.

“That’s more like it,” she said with a smile.

“Okay, this is what happened. I was trying to make everything work out, you know, at work and at home. And I guess I somehow leaned too much into the corporate and forgot all about life at home. So one day I got back home from work and I was all alone,” he said. “I waited for a few weeks and my girlfriend didn’t show up and she wasn’t answering my calls either. I just put two and two together when she came as my business partner’s date to one of my parents’ events.” He took a bite of his food and looked up at her. “So that’s the story of my life. The sad, lonely story of my life,” he added as he looked up at her.

She took a sip of her juice and smiled sadly. “Your story is really sad. Does it get you laid much?” she asked as she took another bite.

Daniel smiled and then laughed. “What would make you say something like that?”    

“Well, I have worked with enough big players to know that Rolex on your wrist is the real deal and you are a good looking man, a rich good looking man. So there is no way you can convince me that you have never dropped that story just to get laid,” she said.

Daniel looked into her intense brown eyes and smiled.

“Well, I might have gotten a pity lay one too many times but believe me, I have never told that story to anyone before. At least not with that intention,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.

“Aha. So you have told that story before, haven’t you?”    She asked with sly smile.

“Maybe I have. But enough about me. What about you?” he asked as he looked at her. Her gaze dropped as she toyed with her food. She was not sure she was ready to open up yet. It had taken a really long time to even open up to two of her closest people, her sister and Cassandra. She took a long deep breath and looked up. “It’s that bad, huh?” he asked.

“To be honest, it’s really that bad plus a whole lot of sh*t on top,” she said as she looked at him. She shook her head and then looked up. “But it’s kind of almost the same thing as your story,” she added.

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“So you let work get the better of you too?” he asked.

“Not exactly but…” there was no way around this. She had no more words to express herself. She looked up at him and smiled. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her feel so safe with him. Normally, she wouldn’t have said anything to a man she barely knew but she suddenly had an urge to pour her heart out. “I trusted someone, a lot. And he hurt me,” she said in a low voice. “A lot,” she added as she looked down at her plate.

Daniel looked at her and suddenly felt guilty for making her open up.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you revisit a painful past,” he said.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” she smiled.

“Yes it is,” he said as he reached for one of her hands. “Believe me, I honestly didn’t mean to make you relive a painful past,” he said in a soft voice.

“Water under the bridge,” she shrugged as she looked at him. She pulled her hand away from his and took a bite of her food. She then took a long sip of her juice before she put the glass down. She couldn’t help but notice the sad look Daniel was giving her. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said in a low voice.

“Really? Because you are looking at me like some kind of porcelain doll about to be run over by a truck,” she said with a smile.    

“Where do you get your metaphors from?” he laughed.

“I don’t know. I just say whatever feels right,” she said taking another bite.

“Clearly,” he said as he looked at her.

“But anyway, apart from the sob story, I have one sister, a twin Emily. Fraternal not identical and my best friend Cassandra. They are the two most important people in my life,” she went on as she toyed with her food. “We have a younger brother, though sometimes we feel like he is the older one. And that’s that about my family…oh wait, there is my mom and dad… Some crazy telenovela story there. That’s it,” she said almost excitedly.

“Okay, that’s a whole lot about your family.”    

“Maybe you should try and see if you can match it.”    

“Alright. I have one sister, Melanie. Needless to say she is my world. She is five years younger than me and she always acts like she is an adult but she will always be my baby sister. You know, kind of like the situation you guys have with your brother. And then there is my dad and we get along quite well despite the whole Zachary incident when I was younger and I guess that’s that,” he said. She looked at him and wondered where all this was going and how it had started. “I should have mentioned my best friend Vince,” he added. He looked at her and she laughed. She had no idea where all this was going.

“That is the quickest I have ever got to know anyone,” she said as she looked at him.

“Me too,” Daniel said. She put her fork down and looked at him. “So, what now?” he asked.

She shrugged as she dabbed a napkin on her mouth.

“I don’t know about you but I am going to chill out by the pool,” she said. Daniel frowned. “What?” she asked when she noticed his frown.

“You do know that after meals, you are supposed to take at least an hour before swimming, right?” he said.

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes I know but I didn’t say I am going to take a dip in the pool. I’m just going to get a tan.”    

He took a deep breath and put his fork down.

“I have a better idea,” he said as he pushed his seat back from the table. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Come on,” he said as he offered his hand to her. She looked up at him and wondered why she was so trusting of him but for some reason, she just put her hand in his and stood up.

“You do realize that I have a swim suit on? Right?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, the place we’re going doesn’t really require much of a dress code,” he said as they started walking towards the door.

She suddenly stopped and looked at him. “Are you taking me to a nude beach or something?” she asked.      

“You’re adorable,” he smiled as they walked out of the restaurant.

She could feel her stomach knotting up as they walked through the hotel lobby. She didn’t know why she was getting all kinds of weird feelings with him. She could feel the excitement building up as she walked out of the main doors. She smiled at the doorman as he held the door open for her. She put on her sunglasses and crossed her arms over her chest as Daniel waved down a cab. He looked at her and held the door open for her. She gave him an appreciative smile and climbed in. She looked at him as he walked round the car and climbed in next to her. “La Quebrada, please,” he said to the driver before he strapped himself in.

“You do know I am being an idiot for getting into a car with a stranger, right?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t know how many strangers know such intimate details about each other,” he said. She smiled and turned to look out the window. “You don’t have much to say now, huh?”    

“I’m keeping my comments to myself,” she said.

“Trust me, you are going to love La Quebrada,” he said with a smile. She looked at him and flashed him a smile that reached out to parts of him he didn’t think possible.

“I better,” she said in a flirtatious voice even though she never intended to.