Naked Canvas (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (23 page)

“Well, don’t seem so upset. This is good news, right?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Mrs. Hamilton. I have to go.”

I gathered my things and rushed out of her office. Out in the quad, Dominic was waiting for me.

“How did your last final go?” he asked cheerily.

“I can’t believe you,” I said, furious.

“What? What did I do?”

“You paid my tuition even though I told you not to.”

“Oh,” he said, smiling. “That.”

“Yeah. That. I can’t take your money.”

“You didn’t take my money. The school did. And rather eagerly, I might add.”

“I’m serious, Dominic.”

“I’m serious, too,” he said. “They were like, super eager to take it. They didn’t even ask my name.”

When I didn’t laugh, continued. “Look, I wanted to help you out, so I did.”

“I don’t want your charity.”

“And I don’t want to see a brilliant young woman miss out on her education because of something so trivial as money.”

“Trivial to you,” I said.

“Yes, exactly. I’m sorry if that sounds arrogant, but the money I spent is a drop in the bucket for me. And what’s the point of having money if I can’t help the people I care about?”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“The fact that you’re so reluctant to take my money is the exact reason I have no problem giving it to you. Plus, it’s kind of turning me on.”

“Well, prepare to get rock hard because I really can’t accept it.”

“Can you just let me play the hero this one time? Please?”

“I don’t know.”

“If it really bothers you, you can punish me later.” He winked at me.

“I just don’t want to feel like I owe you anything.”

“Well, I can’t take the money back. They were very clear on that. So there are no strings attached. You could walk away right now and never speak to me again, if that’s what you want. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not,” I said.

He pulled me into his arms. I lay my head against his chest, my anger melting away from me.

“Thank you, Dominic. For being my hero.”

“Thank
you
.”

“For what?”

“For letting me.” He gave me a tight hug and then pulled back. “Now. Since you’re finally done with finals, I have a surprise for you. Come on.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him. Cavanaugh was waiting for us at the curb beside the sleek black car.

“Lovely to see you again, Angie,” he said, tipping his hat to me.

“Cavanaugh,” I said, nodding. “Meddled in anyone’s private affairs today?”

He winked at me. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I hopped into the back seat beside Dominic, and Cavanaugh glided the vehicle out onto the street.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked. “Are we going to dinner?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. I nestled against him and breathed in his cinnamon and citrus scent. Finals were over and so were my money problems, allowing me to relax and just take in the joy of the moment. The steady rhythm of Dominic’s heart beat a soothing lullaby in my ear. My eyelids drooped and I drifted off to sleep.

A gentle hand on my arm awoke me. I opened my eyes to see Dominic leaning over me. It felt like I was still dreaming.

“We’re here,” he said.

I looked out the window. The car was parked in what appeared to be an airplane hangar. This suspicion was confirmed by the gleaming metal jet parked several yards away from us.

“What’s all this?” I asked sleepily.

“The plane. My plane, I guess, if you want to get technical.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“On an adventure.”

I sat up straighter in the seat. “You can’t just spring this on me. I don’t have any clothes. I don’t have my toothbrush.”

“We can buy you lots of clothes and toothbrushes when we get there.”

“Get where, Dominic?”

“Well, I was thinking breakfast in Paris. Dinner in Rome. Or maybe Spain. I know a great tapas restaurant where the owner owes me favor.” He looked down at my shocked face. “What? Too cliché?”

Only Dominic would think a spontaneous flight to Paris was cliché. I shook my head. “That sounds perfect.”

“Oh,” he said, relaxing. “Good.”

“Wait. I need my passport if we’re going to leave the country. We have to go back to my apartment.”

Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled my passport out.

“How did you get that?” I asked.

He smiled guiltily. “I might have bribed your landlord to let me in.”

“Seriously?”

“If it’s any consolation, his assistance didn’t come cheap. Besides, I’ve waited a week for this. I don’t want to wait one second more.”

“How long will we be gone?” I asked.

He turned to me. “When do you have to be back at school?”

“The middle of August.”

“The middle of August it is. Come on.”

I followed him out of the car, feeling dizzy at how fast everything was moving. Dominic led me up the stairs of the jet. The cabin of the plane was all sleek leather and gleaming fixtures. He guided me to a seat that felt like sinking into a cloud.

Dominic disappeared into the front of the plane, and a young stewardess approached me with a glass of champagne. I took it without thinking.

“If you need anything at all, miss, don’t hesitate to ask,” she said.

I thanked her and she glided away to the back of the plane. Dominic returned and sat down next to me.

“Everything’s all set. We’ll be taking off in a few minutes.”

I looked around the cabin. “And Cavanaugh? He’s not coming with us?”

“No, he’s staying here to look after things. Don’t worry. He’s basically got the summer off. He’s thrilled.”

“So that’s it?” I asked. “We’re going away for the summer. Just like that?”

He smiled at me. “Just like that.”

The plane taxied out to the runway. With a burst of speed, we sped down the tarmac and up into the sky. I stared out the window. The familiar world below shrank away until we were surrounded by clouds. The setting sun behind us painted the world a lovely shade of gold.

I had no idea what the future would bring, and, for the first time in my life, I was okay with that.

Epilogue

Dominic took me on a magical journey. He showed me the world and opened my eyes to the beauty all around us. Being with him was like a dream come true, only I never had to wake up.

I never believed in happy endings before, but now I realized that sometimes things can work out for the best. Sometimes two people from different worlds can find each other. Sometimes they can save each other.

When our whirlwind trip from Europe was over, I returned home with more than just a gorgeous tan and a million photographs.

I was pregnant.

The news brought us closer together than ever before, which I hadn’t thought was even possible. I moved in with him, we set the date for our wedding, and yes, we lived happily ever after.

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