Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (14 page)

“
You're
alive,” he said. “You have friends that care about you.
We all love you. All of the things you lost, we can get again. Some
things can't be replaced, but you have memories. Do you see that spot
on the floor? That was not where you took your last breath. You have
a long life ahead of you. Appreciate it and live every single day
with no regrets. If you ever have a moment that you feel yourself
struggle, think about the fact that you are still alive. You can find
a new apartment and buy new things. We will do it together. Just make
sure you appreciate your life. Not everyone is able to be saved. Some
people don't make it out of situations like this. You did. Everything
will be okay.”

Josh
felt tears in his eyes. He knew he had to be strong, but was thinking
about his own life. She reached up and rubbed a tear from his cheek.
Their eyes were locked. Neither of them moved. She pushed up on her
good foot and covered his mouth with hers. Caught up in the moment of
his own emotions, he thrust his tongue into her mouth and held her
tight. He claimed her mouth hard as he thought about her on the
floor, barely breathing. He tightened his grip on her, afraid to let
her go. Josh kissed her hard as he ravaged her mouth. When he finally
pulled back, he could see that her lips were red and swollen. He put
his lips against her forehead to catch his breath. Her heart beat
hard against his chest. She tightened her arms around him, put her
head on his shoulder, and rubbed his back. They stayed still, as he
soaked up every moment of her heart beating against him. He finally
whispered into her ear.

“
Let's
get out of here.”

“
Okay.”

He
held her crutches in one hand and held her around the waist with the
other, as they left her apartment together. Josh helped her into the
car and walked around to get in silently. In the car, he reached over
and took her hand in his.

“
I
need to stop by one of the restaurants. Will you go with me? We can
have lunch while we are there.”

“
Sure,”
she looked over with sad eyes.

“
Appreciate
every minute, Lisa,” he said, as he squeezed her hand.

It
didn't take them long to get to the restaurant. She had been there
before, but never knew he owned it.

“
I
love it here. I can't believe it's yours,” she said, shocked.

He
helped her out of the car and into the restaurant. The hostess
treated him like a king as soon as he opened the door. Lisa looked up
at him and laughed. He helped her sit down and put her crutches to
the side.

“
What's
so funny?” he asked.

“
King
Josh,” she whispered. “I have never thought of you that
way. To me, you're just the cute guy next door. It feels weird to see
them treating you like that.”

He
laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“
What
can I say? I'm more than just a pretty face and sexy body.”

“
I
never said anything about sexy body,” she answered.

“
That's
not how it sounded when you called out my name in your sleep this
morning,” he said, with a smile that covered his whole face.

Her
mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, as her face turned red. He
couldn't help himself. She put her menu over her face and stared at
it.

“
That's
okay. It sounded hot.”

He
could see her menu shake and he laughed. Josh grabbed the menu from
her hand and looked at her face. She was laughing.

“
Why
were you in my room?” she asked.

“
I
could hear you from the other room. I must have been doing something
right in that dream of yours,” he answered.

She
smacked him on the arm and put her head down on the table. He laughed
and couldn't stop.

“
What
was I doing? Come on, tell me.”

The
waiter walked up with bread and a bottle of wine. Josh poured some
for her and him. He ordered for them and could tell his face was just
as red as hers. When the waiter walked away, she rubbed her foot up
his leg and gave him a flirty smile.

“
Wouldn't
you like to know,” she said, as she winked and blew him a kiss.

Josh
couldn't remember the last time he had taken a woman out to eat and
had so much fun. He could tell that his staff was shocked by his
behavior. There was nobody sitting around them, so it wasn't a
problem. He leaned over before he got up to help her out of her seat.

“
You're
going to ruin my reputation as a hard nose boss.”

“
I
can't imagine you as serious and stern,” she replied, as she
put money down on the table.

“
What
are you doing?” he asked, as he handed her back her money.

“
You
might not have to pay because you're the boss, but we are leaving
that guy a tip,” she said. “I can't imagine having to
serve the owner and his guest. He had to be so nervous, and he did a
great job. He worked on our table along with the rest of his tables.”

Josh
took money out of his pocket to put on the table. She looked at him
and he shook his head as he took out more money. Lisa gave him an
approving grin as he put it on the table.

“
He
deserves it. I bet he was nervous, plus he had to put up with us
messing around.”

Lisa
was getting ready for bed and could hear the television in the living
room. She didn't want to bother Josh, but she wanted to talk to him.
If she went out for a couple of minutes, she was sure he wouldn't
mind.

“
Can
I sit down for a minute?” she asked.

“
Sure,
you can come out here anytime. I've asked you to come out here, but
you refused.”

“
I
don't want you to live different because I'm here. I just wanted to
talk to you for a second,” she said.

“
So,
should I walk around in my boxers? What's up?” he asked.

She
sat down, held her hands together in her lap, and kept her eyes down
on them.

“
I
wanted to thank you for today.”

“
What
do you mean? I didn't do anything.”

“
Thank
you for insisting to go to my apartment with me,” she said.

“
I
wasn't sure it was safe,” he answered.

“
That's
a bunch of crap and you know it. It had nothing to do with it being
safe. You knew I was going to lose it. You went for me. Why can't you
just admit it?”

He
didn't respond. She saw him watch her hands as she shifted them
around.

“
You
knew how bad it was. You had already been there, hadn't you?”

He
still didn't respond. She reached over and took his chin in her hand
and looked into his eyes.

“
Talk
to me. I totally lost it in front of you today. You have seen me at
my absolute worst. Answer the question. You had already been to my
apartment, hadn't you?”

He
scrunched his eyes closed tight.

“
Yes,”
he grunted. “Please don't be mad. I wanted to see how bad it
looked before you went in.”

“
Why
would I be mad? You did it because you care. There is nothing wrong
with that. It's okay to care, Josh.”

He
sat quietly looking down for a few minutes. She wasn't sure what to
do or say. Lisa waited patiently for him to say something. He let out
a huge breath.

“
It
was a fire. My dad died in a fire,” he choked out quietly.

She
hadn't expected that to be what he said. Her stomach dropped. Lisa
fought to hold back her tears.

“
What?
How?” she asked, as she scooted closer to him and put her hand
on his back.

“
I
was in college. He was home by himself, asleep. There was a fire and
he didn't wake up. By the time they got him out, it was too late. He
didn't make it. My mom was with my sister at a school function, and
my dad was at home sleeping for work.”

“
I'm
so sorry. That's horrible. Is that why you became a firefighter?”
she asked, as she rubbed his leg with her other hand.

“
Yes,”
he said. “I want to save people. If I would have been there,
maybe he would have lived. I don't want other people to go through
that. I want to help as many people as I can.”

Lisa
put her head on his shoulder as she rubbed his leg. He put his head
down on hers. She could feel his heart beating and could hear his
deep breaths. She thought back to what he had said to her.

“
Is
that why you are afraid of love? You said you don't want to lose
anyone. That's why you won't let anyone near you,” she
whispered.

Lisa
looked up and put her forehead against his cheek. She wrapped her
arms around him and pulled him close to her.

“
I'm
so sorry that happened to your dad. That is so sad. Tell me about
him, please. I remember seeing him outside with you sometimes. He
seemed so nice. Tell me some of the good memories you have of him.”

Lisa
kept her arms around him while he told her stories about his dad
teaching him to drive and playing baseball with him. She could feel
the sadness he held tight and the love he had for his father. Her
heart broke for him. He became a firefighter because of his father.
They sat in silence when he was done. She knew he needed the time to
think.

“
Why
do you fight it?” he asked.

“
Fight
what?” she shrugged.

“
Love,
why do you fight love? You said you don't believe in it. You don't
believe in happily ever after.”

“
Do
you believe in love?” she asked.

“
Yes,
I believe in it. I just don't want it,” he answered.

“
I
don't believe in it. I don't think people should get together
thinking they will always be together. It doesn't seem to ever work
out. Sure, there are some couples that stay together. Do they do it
because of love, or because of obligation?” she said.

“
I
believe my parents were meant to be together. They loved each other
very much. A horrible tragedy tore them apart. I think people are
capable of loving each other forever. I just don't want to risk
losing the one I love or leaving them alone. If I never find them,
then it will never happen.”

“
I
look at my parents,” she said. “I thought they would be
together forever. They weren't, and then my father, who I thought
loved me, was gone forever. My mother never cared again. She moved
away once I was eighteen and never looked back.”

“
Have
you ever been in love?” he asked.

Lisa
closed her eyes and didn't answer. After a couple of minutes, she
stood up with her crutches and turned to go to bed.

“
Will
you stay out here and watch a movie with me?” he asked.

She
looked down at him.

“
Come
on, I'll make some popcorn for us. Stay out here, please.”

Lisa
sat back down on the couch and shook her head. Josh hurried out of
the room. He came back with two sodas and a bowl of buttery popcorn.
He put them on the coffee table and walked back out of the room. He
came back with a pillow and a blanket. She gave him a strange look.
He laughed as he covered them with the blanket and turned on the
movie. She grabbed the bowl of popcorn and laughed.