REMEMBER US: A Billionaire Romance (Part One) Read Free Page A

doctors don’t even know what’s going to happen in the next twenty-four hours. I’d hate to get her parents on a plane if it turns out she’s going to be home, safe and sound, by the time they get here.”
    Jonnie was quiet for a long minute. “Okay,” she finally said. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
    “No. Just keep things running smoothly at the office. I’ll stay in touch.”
    “Okay. Tell Harley we’re all rooting for her.”
    I disconnected the call and stared at my contacts list, wondering if I should call Margaret. I probably should. She would be worried when Harley didn’t show up for work tomorrow. But then she would want to be here, and I wasn’t sure I could do that. I wasn’t sure Harley would want that.
    I knew Harley wouldn’t want that.
    I set the phone on the side table and rested my elbows on the edge of the bed, Harley’s hand caught between both of mine. I pressed my mouth against her palm.
    “I love you, Harley.”
    ***
    “What do you want out of life?”
    I laughed. It seemed like such a college career assessment kind of question that I wasn’t sure she was serious at first.
    She set the cup of coffee she’d been blowing on down very carefully, her fingers playing along the edge of the rim.
    “I’m just curious if you’re the kind of guy with commitment issues or not.”
    “Are we talking commitment already? This is only the first date.”
    “Yes, well, first implies more to come.”
    “I hope so.”
    I sat back and studied her across the table. We’d left the club and wandered into this little diner that was quiet now, but would probably be overrun with drunks and rowdy college kids as soon as the bars closed. She ordered coffee in a proper cup with a saucer while I picked at the flaky crust of a piece of apple pie.
    “What about you?” I asked. “We’ve been so focused on my playboy ways, but you’ve never mentioned anything about your dating history.”
    “It’s not like you’ve actually admitted to a dating history, either.”
    “I do have a history. But most people do, don’t they?”
    “Most.”
    “So, how about a game of I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.”
    She smiled slowly. “And I guess I get to go first.”
    “Of course. Ladies first.”
    She studied her mug of coffee for a long minute. “Okay,” she said on a sigh. “My dating history. Well…” A blush burned over her cheeks. “There’s really not that much to tell. I grew up in a very small town where there were maybe three eligible boys to date. Needless to say, none of them really struck up much interest for me. And then I came to the big city for college.” She kind of gestured toward the windows, drawing my attention to the darkened campus of the University of Texas at Austin that began across the street.
    “And there you met the guy who broke your heart.”
    “There I met many guys who had the potential to break my heart.” She smiled softly, as though remembering something somewhat amusing. “But, yes, I met that one guy.”
    “What was his name?”
    “Philip.”
    “Very mundane.”
    She looked up, surprised amusement again making those big, green eyes even bigger. “Not everyone can have a name as exotic sounding as yours.”
    “Because I am unique.”
    She giggled, pressing her fingers to her lips to mute the sound. “You really are conceited.”
    “No. I’m just confident in who I am.”
    She studied me for a minute before shaking her head. “Anyway,” she said, drawing out the syllables. “I met Philip my sophomore year. He was a year ahead of me, a history major. His father’s into politics and Philip was planning to follow his footsteps after law school.”
    “Interesting. But I’m more interested in the part where he broke your heart and made life harder for the rest of us.”
    She groaned. “It’s called background. And it helps to put things in perspective.”
    “Things are already pretty much in perspective,” I said, purposely