The Virgin Cowboy Billionaire’s Secret Baby(26)

“He went right back to work?”

“Yep. He didn’t pull quite so many hours at first, but that didn’t last long.”

“What about the others? Are they still in?”

“For the moment. Ron scaled back after David’s heart attack, and Donna just wants to hold out for a couple more years. Kevin…” Matt sighed. “He’s always been more of a workaholic than any of us, and after his second wife left, he put his whole face to the grindstone. I don’t know if he’ll ever stop until his body gives out.”

“Shit, that’s brutal.”

“It is. I couldn’t watch them keep killing themselves, and I didn’t want to give them more work, but I couldn’t keep killing myself either.”

“No, you have to take care of you.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts. “I work myself into the ground, and it’s still hard to imagine living like that.”

“Believe me, I know.”

Her lips quirked. “Well, it doesn’t sound like you’ll ever have to worry about money again.”

“No, probably not. But sometimes… I don’t know. I wonder if it was all worth it. I could have any toys I wanted, go anywhere in the world if I felt like it, but I didn’t have time. I didn’t have time for anything. I couldn’t enjoy life. I mean, those sports cars? Like I said, I got to a point I couldn’t even drive them because just the smell of the interior stressed me out.” He exhaled hard. “I know, I know. Poor me. I’ve got more money than I know what to do with. But I missed out on a chunk of my life getting that money. So yeah, sometimes I wonder if it was worth it.”

She studied him for a moment. “Can I ask something personal?”

“Of course.”

Dara shifted her weight. “I know you were working yourself to death. But you said one of your business partners had time to get married and divorced twice, and let’s face it, you’re a good-looking man. Even if you didn’t have time for a relationship—”

“Why didn’t I ever sleep with anyone?”

“Basically, yeah.”

Matt avoided her eyes. “Well, like I said, I worked so many hours, ten years of my life basically disappeared into the company. And back in college, I was studying my ass off, but I was also…you know…”

“Shy. You always were.”

“I was going to say I was awkward as hell with women, but okay, let’s go with that.”

“Not really.” Dara shrugged. “You’re just an introvert.”

“We can argue about the semantics all day long, but the bottom line is that even if I could get a woman to talk to me, to put it crassly, I never quite, um…”

“Figured out how to close the deal?”

“Something like that. The thing is, I can get a date now. And I have time, thank God. But I’m…” He swallowed hard and met her gaze. “How many women our age are going to be interested in someone who’s completely inexperienced?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “God, I sound fucking pathetic. Would you believe I’ve seriously considered just hiring someone?”

“Like a prostitute?”

Lowering his hand, he smirked. “That’s what you’d call someone you hire for sex, yes.” He sighed. “You must think I’m a complete idiot.”

“No, I don’t.” She came closer and took his hand. “I’m not judging, Matt. I promise.”

“Still. I’m thirty-six years old. I should have…” God, where to even start. “I don’t know. It’s just a tough spot to be in, you know?”

She held his gaze, and there was nothing but sympathy in her eyes. Then she broke eye contact and chewed her lip.

His throat tightened. Shit. Awkward. There was no one else in the world he could talk to so candidly about this, but it still must’ve been weird for her. He took a breath and was about to change the subject to something more comfortable, but she spoke first:

“What about me?”

He lifted his eyebrows. “What about you?”

“You said you wished there was a class in understanding women. And I guess that got me thinking… What if I can teach you, you know, the physical side of things?”

Matt’s stomach flipped. “Are you offering to sleep with me?”

She held his gaze, and some color bloomed in her cheeks as she nodded once.

“You’re serious.”

“Yes.” She took a breath. “Look, I’ve been there, done that, and—”

“Dara, I…” He shook his head. “I can’t use you like that.”