Billionaire Romance Boxed Set 2(134)
“Right. Fine. You didn’t tell me to do anything, and so I just did whatever I thought of. Also, this place isn’t very comfortable. It’s too clean.”
“No one comes here, that’s why. Do you think Asher has guests all the time? He’s not extravagant like those parodies of rich people you see in reality shows. He has a dinner party maybe once a year, and it’s more of a classy, sophisticated affair. None of that takes place here, mind you. He comes here on his own sometimes, but…”
“Why’s he come here on his own?” I asked, interrupting him.
“I don’t know? The library?”
“What? There’s a library here?” I had been upstairs and down and I had definitely not seen a library.
Jeremy sighed, annoyed. “Yes, there’s a library. Which I thought you’d find, but apparently you’re daft.”
“I’m not daft. Show me the library.”
“You’re really demanding, you know that?”
“I’m not demanding!” Perhaps I was a little demanding. “Please, Jeremy? I’d like to see it.”
“I don’t even know you,” he said, teasing me. “Why should I show you it? For all I know he specifically doesn’t want you seeing it.” With feigned reluctance, he added, “Tell me something about yourself and maybe I’ll agree to show you.”
“What do you want to know?”
He thought about it, but only for half a second. I assume he’d wanted to ask this all along, but was waiting for a good time to do it. “Why you?” he asked. “Why did Asher bring you back here? I don’t understand. He won’t talk about it. I know that… things… but why?”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you,” I whispered. “He might get mad.”
“Right. Just like I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that I wouldn’t do anything if you refused to come with me, or how I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you where the library is, or the fact that I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you I talked to him on the phone earlier and he definitely didn’t sound very happy.”
“Oh,” I said. “Is he mad? Do you think… um… I should leave, shouldn’t I? I know that I…”
“Shut up. Yes, you probably should leave, but you didn’t before so why do it now? Maybe this sounds like I’m trying to start trouble, but I kind of want to see what happens.”
“That’s really mean, you know?” I said.
“It’s not mean, it’s honest. He told me to tell you that I’m here to take you home again, so if you want to go, let’s go. Otherwise you might as well tell me. I’ll show you the library and you can leave a crumb on the rug or something.”
“I’m going to pretend,” I said, huffy, “that you’re trying to help me instead of hoping I’ll cause some disaster so you can watch.”
“Look.” Jeremy sighed. “I can’t say I’m helping you, because I don’t know if I am. I just don’t really know if Asher actually wants you to leave or not. He’s strange, alright? Now, if you’re trying to do something like embarrass Beatrice and ruin Asher’s life, then I’m not going to let you, but…” He gestured to the tissue in the waste basket next to the bed. “All you’re doing is this, so I can’t say I’m too worried.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll answer your question. But you can’t tell him any of this.”
Jeremy grinned. “No, of course not.”
“Asher asked me…” I paused. Did I want to do this? I did, so desperately, because I felt like this might be a way to fix things, except that made no sense when I thought about it logically. I was being mean to get Asher to accept my apology? I lowered my voice, despite Jeremy and I being completely alone in the guest house with no way of anyone hearing us. “His wife—” I knew her name now, but I found it awkward to say. “She went to a doctor and he said she’s infertile. They can’t have children together. Asher asked me if I would consider being… being an egg donor, and, um, well he doesn’t think she’d want to carry a child to term, either, so I’d be a surrogate mother, too.”
“What,” Jeremy said, blinking, barely intoning a question.
“I know it sounds strange, but…”
“So, wait, basically he asked you if you’d be the mother of his child?”
“It’s not really like that. Beatrice would be the mother, I guess, but it would be my egg and…”