Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) (9 page)

Isabel set her fork down on top of her plate. “That was sincerely the best meal that I have ever had,” she said.

Andrew looked over at her and smiled. “I am glad to hear that,” he said. “I have heard nothing but good about this restaurant for weeks and I’ve been looking forward to taking you here.”

“Oh, that is very sweet of you,” she said.

“Only the best for the best,” he replied. “I don’t get to treat you often enough.”

Isabel smiled and blushed.

“And I have something else for you,” he said as he reached into his jacket pocket.

“You didn’t have to bring me anything,” she said. “You are too much sometimes.”

He set a small box down on the table then slide it over to her. Isabel’s heart skipped a beat. Andrew laughed as she sat there with her jaw dropped open.

“It isn’t going to bite you,” he said.

She laughed nervously.

“And don’t worry,” Andrew said. “It isn’t a ring, if that is what you are thinking.”

Isabel stared down at the box.

“Just open it,” he said.

She slowly reached forward and grabbed onto the box.

Andrew laughed. “Stuck in slow motion, are you?” he said.

She smiled at him as she opened the box.

“Have a look,” he said.

Isabel looked down into the box. She looked quizzically at the keychain that was sitting inside. “Oh, that is very nice,” she said slowly.

Andrew nodded. “A local jewelry designer made it,” he said. “I thought that you might like her style.”

“Thank you,” she said. “That was really considerate of you but you didn’t need to get me anything.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said. “And, anyway, it’s a special occasion.”

Isabel raised her eyebrows. “A special occasion? Is there something that I am forgetting?” she asked.

“Nope,” he replied. “It is something that you don’t know about yet.”

She looked forward expectantly. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense,” she said. “What is the special occasion?”

Andrew reached into his pocket again. Isabel inhaled deeply then held her breath for a few seconds as she waited to see what was in this hand. He leaned forward and set his hand in the middle of the table. He looked at her and smiled as he slowly opened up his fist. She looked down and saw a bright silver key shimmering next to the candle in the middle of the table.

“A key?” she asked quietly.

“Yep, a key,” he repeated. “More specifically, it is a key for my place. Or, really, what I am hoping will be our place. That is, if you agree to move in with me.”

Isabel stared down at the key in silence.

“Well, what do you think?” Andrew asked. “Do you want to move in together?”

She tilted her head. “I don’t know,” she said.

Andrew’s smile fell. “You don’t know?” he asked. “Why not? I thought that we had been having a great time.”

“We have been having a great time,” she said.

“So, what is the problem?” Andrew asked.

“There is no problem,” she said. “I am just not sure. If we move in together, I want it to be for the right reasons.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You know what I mean,” she said. “I want you to really be ready to take things to the next level. I don’t want you to ask me to move in with you because you think that it is something that I want.”

Andrew’s face fell. “Why would you even be thinking about such a thing?” he asked.

“Well, I know that you have been feeling bad about the time that we spent apart but I don’t want you to feel like you need to make things up for me,” she said.

“Come on,” Andrew said. “You know that things have been amazing between us. You know how connected we are. Don’t treat me like I am alone in this.”

Isabel shrugged. “I know,” she said. “Things have been great. I am not saying that they haven’t been. I am just saying that it is important to do things for the right reasons. This is a really a big step for us.”

“I know that it is a big step and I have definitely given it some very serious thought,” he said. “A lot of thought, in fact. This isn’t just some spur of the moment idea. You know that I am not an impulsive guy.”

“I know that,” Isabel replied. “I wasn’t assuming that you hadn’t thought it through.

“Well then, what is the problem with this idea?” he asked.

Isabel chuckled. “I don’t know, I guess,” she said. “I suppose there really isn’t a problem.”

Andrew smiled. “Good,” he said.

She smiled back at him. “It is very good,” she said.

“So then, let’s move in together,” he said. “Come on. It will be great.”

She couldn’t hold in her smile. “Yeah, it would be pretty great,” she said.

“Indeed it would be,” he said. “And you have been spending virtually all of your time there anyway.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said.

“So, let’s do it,” Andrew said. “Let’s move in together. I love you. I want to be with you every day and every night.”

Isabel stared forward into his eyes. “I love you too,” she said.

“Does that mean that you are going to move in then?” he asked.

She looked down at the key then back up at him. “Well, are you really sure about all of this? We have only really been dating for a few months,”

“Maybe so,” he replied. “But we have known each other for years.”

“Sure, we have been friends but that isn’t the same as dating,” she said.

Andrew frowned. “What’s up?” he asked “I thought that you might be a little more excited.”

“It would be exciting. I just really want to make sure that this is what you want,” she said.

He gazed into her eyes. “It really is,” he said. “There is nothing that would make me happier than to spend every day with you.”

Isabel smiled. “Me too,” she said.

“So, is that a yes?” he asked. “Are you ready to move in?”

“Are you going to get cold feet again?” she asked.

“No, I am really not,” he said. “I am 100% ready to commit. No more cold feet.”

She looked back down at the key.

“Are you in?” he asked.

Isabel nodded. “Alright, let’s do it,” she said.

Andrew looked down at the boy standing nervously beside the buffet table.

“Are you having a good time?” Andrew asked.

The boy looked up at him with wide eyes. “Yes, sir,” he said quietly as he nodded.

Andrew smiled. “Good,” he said. “I am glad to hear that.”

He was leaning forward toward the hors d'oeuvre tray when a couple approached him.

“Hello there,” the woman said as she stopped in front of Andrew. “I am so glad that we ran into you before we got up there.”

Andrew smiled. “Mr. and Mrs. Connolly,” he said. “It is a pleasure to see both of you.”

“Oh, please,” she replied. “Call us Maria and Jason.”

“Alright then, Maria and Jason. Call me Andrew. I am glad that you could make it to the fundraiser tonight,” he said. “I know you two both have incredibly busy schedules and it really does mean a lot to me that you took time out of your day.”

“Of course we came,” Jason said. “We would never turned down a chance to support you and your organization. You have completely transformed our lives.”

Maria nodded in agreement as she reached her arm around the boy’s shoulders. “We would have never connected with this little angel if not for you and your amazing organization,” she said. “We really owe the world to you.”

The boy blushed and looked down at the ground.

“There is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing kids find their very own ‘forever homes’ with loving families,” Andrew said. “You two have really changed this little guy’s life.”

Maria smiled. “And he has changed ours. I know it has only been a few months but it’s hard to even imagine life before he arrived,” she said.

“Well, kids really do change everything,” Andrew said.

“Most definitely,” Jason said. “I am so glad that we were introduced to your organization. Honestly, we had never really considered adopting an older child. We went through such a nightmare with all of the fertility treatments. We even looked into surrogacy. I only wish that we had heard about you guys sooner. It opened up a whole new world to us.”

Andrew smiled. “Well, thank you for coming here to speak and spread the word around. There are plenty more angels where he came from and we need to connect them with more amazing parents like you two,” he said.

“Of course,” Jason said. “I hope that we can help as many couples as possible connect with other amazing kids.”

Maria nodded. “It is truly an honor to be here and have the opportunity to share our experience. It has sincerely been the best time of our lives. I could tell the story of meeting our little guy a million times.”

“You two are lovely,” Andrew said. “I am just confident that you will be the perfect family for this guy.”

Jason nodded. “We certainly will do everything that we can to create a good life for him. It’s a real blessing to have him. I cherish my little family every single day,” he said.

Andrew nodded. “Fatherhood is a true blessing” he said.

Maria smiled. “How many kids do you have?” she asked.

“I don’t have any kids actually,” he replied. “Not yet.”

“Oh, really?” Maria asked. “I am surprised to be honest. I had thought that maybe you had gotten involved when you adopted children yourself.”

“No. Actually my own parents died when I was young and that is what propelled me later in life to try to do what I can to help out,” he said.

“I am so sorry to hear that,” Jason said.

Andrew smiled and shrugged. “It is long in the past now,” he said. “These days, I am more focused on looking forward at the future.”

“And children are our future,” Maria said. “It is important that we all leave a valuable legacy behind.”

Andrew nodded. “Indeed and I am sure that there will be children in my not too distant future,” he said.

“Well, your future children will be lucky to have such a thoughtful and considerate father,” Jason said.

Maria nodded. “And your wife is very lucky as well,” she said.

Andrew smiled. “I’m not married quite yet either,” he said. “But hopefully that will all be coming along very soon.”

Maria and Jason both smiled.

“Well, speak of the devil, there is my lovely lady right there,” Andrew said as he saw Isabel from across the room.

She smiled and began to walk toward him after he waved to her.

“Hello, my dear,” Andrew said as he leaned forward to kiss Isabel on the cheek.

“It’s good to see you,” she said.

“And it is very good to see you,” he replied.

Isabel smiled and gazed into Andrew’s eyes. 

“Isabel, this is Jason and Maria. They are the couple who adopted Oscar here,” Andrew said as he gestured down to the young boy beside them. “Maria and Jason, this is my girlfriend Isabel.”

Jason reached forward to shake Isabel’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “I have heard a lot of good things about you.”

Isabel smiled as she let go of his hand and reached forward to shake Maria’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” she said.

Maria took a firm grasp on Isabel’s hand. “You are a very lucky woman,” she said. “Andrew is an absolute delight.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I think so too.”

“You two are an adorable couple,” Maria continued. “We were just pushing Andrew to hear about when you will be having babies of your own.”

Isabel blushed. “Well, I don’t even have a ring yet,” she said.

Andrew leaned over and took a hold of her hand. “All in good time,” he said.

Isabel took a step closer to him and smiled. He squeezed her hand as they heard his phone beep.

“Oh, I bet that is my assistant,” he said as he pulled his phone from his suit pocket. “I suppose it is about time to do the presentations.”

Maria and Jason nodded in unison.

“Are you two ready to get up there on stage then?” Andrew asked.

“I think so,” Jason said.

“Yeah,” Maria added. “We are probably as ready as we will ever be.”

“Great,” Andrew said. “I am sure that you will be fine. Just forget about everyone that is sitting out there and imagine that you are simply sitting at your dining room table telling your story to friends and family. People are going to love it.”

“I can only hope so,” Jason said.

“Thanks again for everything,” Maria said. “Hopefully we will get to see you again before we leave.”

“Definitely,” Andrew said as he extended his hand. “Until then.”

Jason shook his hand.

“Best of luck,” Andrew said as he turned to walk away.

Isabel followed closely beside him.

“I just need to head backstage now,” Andrew said. “You should come with me. You can watch the show from beside the stage rather than sitting out at one of the crowded tables.”

She smiled and nodded. “It is a great event as usual,” she said. “You guys certainly know how to throw a party.”

“Thanks,” he replied. “I can’t take much credit for the whole thing though. My assistant really organized everything. It has been so hectic with me flying back and forth to San Francisco for meetings that I haven’t gotten much of a chance to do anything.”

“You must be exhausted,” she said. “You got back into town so late last night.”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal. They are making it work,” he said. “Everyone out there has been great about accommodating our whole bi-coastal situation and, as long as they are happy, I am happy.”

Isabel looked at him. “I really do appreciate you going back and forth like this,” she said. “I know that things are really chaotic at the moment. I wish that I could go out there with you more often. I hate being apart as often as we are.”

Andrew nodded.

“It is just impossible with work at the moment. I can do a few things online here and there but, for the most part, I need to be there and present in the studio to make things happen,” she said.

“I understand that,” he said.

“I know that you do,” she said. “But I still feel bad about it.”

“Well, it isn’t forever,” he said. “And I told them that I simply can’t continue doing it forever either. I explained that we are hoping to settle down soon.”

Isabel raised her eyebrows. “Are we?” she asked quietly.