The Billionaire's Jackpot: Betting on You Series: Book Four Read Free

had exchanged numbers by the end of the night, and she had hoped to hear from him. She wished it wasn’t true, but there was no denying the disappointment she felt when his call hadn’t come. KJ hadn’t had troubles securing male attention. Yet this one hadn’t called.
    Jill’s situation provided the opportunity to reach out to him without actually being the one to make the first move, not that she normally cared about such petty things. She prided herself in knowing what she wanted and not being afraid to go get it. Good thing I like the simple life.
    But Drew hadn’t been like anyone she’d met before. Yes, he was hot and sexy, and she could get lost looking into his eyes, but he was also laid-back and relaxed, and she envied that. At times, she felt as though she would never feel like that again—relaxed, at peace. When she’d talked with him at the event, and then again on the phone, she had felt the tinge of it creeping back in. It had felt . . . wonderful. She couldn’t stop thinking about him during the rest of the week. And his curls, mmmm . . . She could picture running her fingers through that hair while he made love to her. Wow. Easy girl. He is only coming by for dinner. You hardly know him.
    The past few nights had been filled with detailed dreams of him holding her, loving her so passionately she’d woken filled with an ache both physical and emotional. How could even a dream make her feel so . . . alive? It was something she wasn’t sure she would ever feel again. It felt good and terrifying all at the same time. Am I ready for this? Her heart beat quickened as she was filled with panic. Why did I invite him here?
    It had been more than two years since she’d been intimate with anyone. That night had only been to hide from the overwhelming pain she’d felt at that moment: a need to be held by someone, anyone, so she wouldn’t break down and let her emotions take control. Thankfully there had been ample men to choose from on the base where she’d been stationed in Herzegovina, Bosnia. One of the MPs she had befriended had been more than willing to oblige. Her poor choice for an intentional one-night stand still bothered her. It was a different time. I was a different person. She had been at her breaking point at that time. Never had she acted so rash, even though she had been deployed overseas for longer periods of time . Foolish behavior.
    It had been a night she wished she could forget for many reasons. She had received her weekly call from her sister, whose last two calls had been shorter than usual, and it had been obvious something was up. Katherine had hoped it was a boyfriend monopolizing all her sister’s time, but her hopes quickly shattered. “It’s not good. I really need you. Please find a way to come home.” One moment she knew who she was and where she was going; her life in the Marine Corp was as far as she could see into the future. In the blink of an eye, her world as she knew it crashed down around her. The words written on her reenlistment paperwork, sitting on her desk waiting for her final signature, became a blur. What she thought was going to be her life’s career, one she wasn’t going to ever let anyone come between, suddenly changed. Everything changed.
    When she returned home to care for her younger sister, there hadn’t been time for anything other than what she needed medically and emotionally. Katherine never understood why she had hidden her illness from her. To this day, the oncologist’s words echoed in her mind: “There’s nothing further we can do.”
    Three months. Three awful months watching her sister’s health deteriorate so quickly that there hadn’t been enough time to face the reality of what was to come. After she had passed, Katherine was left all alone, numb and emotionally shut down. Unfortunately death was something she had experienced more than a person should over her years in the Marine Corp. It would be a lie if she said it