Escorting the Billionaire #1(31)

 

There were lots of noisy children and harried mothers around us; James stood out in the crowd. No, he was not a swan boat sort of guy. I thought that it was sweet of him to offer.

 

We got into the boat and went back and forth a few times. It was anticlimactic and perfect.

 

“Did you grow up here?” I asked.

 

“I did,” James said. “Right over on Beacon Hill.” He jerked his thumb toward the other side of the park, where the Cheers bar stood on the corner.

 

“But you never came to the swan boats?” I asked.

 

He shrugged. “Not that I remember. Maybe one of our nannies took us. Could be.”

 

We were quiet for a second. I wanted to ask him all about his nannies, but I didn’t want to pry.

 

“What about you?” he asked. “Where did you grow up?”

 

“In the lovely city of East Boston,” I said. “I couldn’t wait to get out of there and move to Southie. I felt like I hit the big time.”

 

“Do you have a family?” he asked. “Aside from your pretend dead one in New Hampshire?”

 

I felt a lump form in my throat—those were the exact questions I’d wanted to avoid. But he’d shared his family with me, so I had to be fair. I would still leave out the more exciting bits.

 

“My mother still lives in East Boston,” I said, not pausing long enough to give details. “And I have a brother. Tommy. We’re very close. He lives in a special-needs group home in Southie. It’s really great. They’ve been taking good care of him, and I get to see him all the time.”

 

“How old is he?” James asked.

 

“Twenty-four,” I said. “Two years older than me.”

 

“Does your mother pay to keep him there?”

 

I shook my head no. “I do,” I said, and I heard a note of pride creep into my voice.

 

“You’re taking care of him?”

 

“Yeah,” I said. “My mom couldn’t afford it, but she couldn’t keep him at home. It wasn’t safe.”

 

“Wasn’t safe how?” he asked. He clearly had been curious about me, and unlike me, he wasn’t afraid to pry.

 

“Let’s just put it this way—my mother could drink your mother under the table,” I said.

 

“That’s saying something,” James said.

 

“I know.” I shrugged at him. “Clearly, I don’t love my job. But it’s given me a way to take care of my brother. I couldn’t ever afford his home if I was waiting tables at IHOP.”

 

James gave me a sad smile. “It doesn’t seem fair,” he said.

 

“Duh,” I said.

 

He laughed at that. “And your father?”

 

I shook my head. “Never met him,” I said.

 

James nodded and pulled me to him. He kissed the top of my hair, sending unwelcome shock waves through me. “I’m glad you’re here with me,” he said, “and the fact that I’m here and glad about anything is a fucking miracle.”

 

I smiled at him, but inside, there was no smile. There was that hope again. And I knew, based on yesterday, that when my common sense got its hands on that hope, it was going to be ugly.

 

 

 

 

 

James

 

 

 

 

 

The fact that she wanted to go to a game was almost enough to make me try to buy her outright. But the fact that she was an escort with a heart of gold?

 

She was fucking killing me.

 

Normally in a situation like this, I would have been skeptical. I expected the alcoholic mother and the absent father. But the brother in the group home? If she’d been playing me, I’d either say that she was pushing too hard or that she was predictable.

 

But Audrey was telling me the truth. How did I know? Because she offered nothing, and because she clearly didn’t want my sympathy. She wanted to hide it from me.

 

I understood her perfectly.

 

I called Kai, and we went to the game straight from the Commons. We had box seats, bought from an old friend for an exorbitant fee earlier this morning. “These are great seats, James,” Audrey said, nodding in approval. “Killer.”

 

“I’m glad you like them,” I said.

 

“You know what else I’d like?” she asked me, grinning.

 

I would have given her anything she asked for right then.

 

“A beer, James. A big one.”

 

We ordered enormous beers and later, hot dogs. To my delight, Audrey completely ignored me during the game. She stuffed her hot dog into her mouth unselfconsciously and watched every play.