The Billionaire's Longshot: Betting on You Series: Book Three (7 page)

“Great, be sure you pack your bathing suit. The water is perfect this time of year.”

Thankfully the waiter had arrived, “May I interest you in dessert?”

Ross looked at Jill, who shook her head. She couldn’t think about eating another bite.

Within minutes they were back in his car, heading for her apartment. If the kiss on the ride earlier was a prelude of what was to come, she wasn’t ready. Letting him come up to her apartment would only give him the wrong impression. Well, not exactly wrong, but one she wasn’t ready to fulfill. She wanted to touch him, explore what he had ignited in her with just a kiss, but she couldn’t trust her judgment.

Does he want more from me?
As much as she had enjoyed their time together thus far, she didn’t really feel she knew the man himself. He was aloof. Reserved. She thought he was physically attracted to her, but could he feel more? He hadn’t said as much.
Is the ball in my court?
She couldn’t risk the success of the fundraiser on a fling with Ross. No, too much was at stake.
If there is anything between us, it needs to wait.

As they approached her apartment, she was hot from his touch on her thigh and the nuzzling at her neck; she knew what she had to do. When they arrived, she would thank him for a wonderful evening, let him know she would see him in Napa, and give him a kiss on the cheek. She could do this.
But how I secretly wish I could throw caution to the wind. The man is hot. No, whatever this is between us, it needs to wait.

She would make her way to her apartment
alone.
She could do this. And it was only a week. She had waited this long, what was another seven days? As they approached their destination, Ross placed his hand on her thigh.
Oh yes, this is going to be seven days of hell.

‡

W
alking the vineyard
brought back many memories. Not all bad. His father had spent many hours explaining the various types of grapes, where each vine had come from, so on and so on. Even to this day, he wanted to care about it, to be passionate about it like his father, but he couldn’t. When he stood among the rows of vines that rolled smoothly over each hill up to the estate, all he smelled were grapes, and to him, they all tasted the same. As an only child it must have crushed his father to know the legacy ended with him. Guilt filled him no matter how he tried to deny it. If he stayed and learned the business, he would fail the family, as it never would be for him what it had been for his forefathers.

“There you are, son. I didn’t expect to find you out here,” his father said from behind him.

“I was looking for you.”

“Hiding from your mother I take it?”

He laughed. At least his father understood him. “This is going to be an interesting weekend. I saw her barking orders at the men putting up the tents. She does understand this is a casual affair, correct?”

His father rested a hand on Ross’s shoulder. “You can tell her a million times what you want, but she is going to do it how she wants. I think you would know that by now.”

“How do you do it?” He couldn’t believe the words actually came out of his mouth, but they were ones he’d wanted to ask for a long time and hoped his father would answer.

“She wasn’t always like this. When we first married we worked together well. Over the years, her insecurities took over, and she became who she is now. I’ve learned when she is on a tangent, all you can do is stay clear and let it pass.”

That explained why his father spent hours on end in the winery. “How did I let her get involved?”

“You don’t
let
her anything. I was there when you called and asked about donating the wine. I don’t remember you asking for her assistance or even the use of the property. That’s your mother. Once she is fixated on something, she can’t let go. The good news is that in twenty-four hours this will be over with. Things can go back to normal.”

Normal.
That was not the way to describe their lives. But his father was right. Whatever happened, it was short-lived and soon forgotten. Jill would come, the event would be a hit,
hopefully
, and they would all return to New York. If only he believed it was going to be that easy. Nothing in Napa Valley ever had been; why should he expect it to be different now?

“I thought I would let you know, the guests are allowed to bring their dogs.”

A long silence lingered. His father removed his hat, ran his fingers through his hair. “Let’s not tell your mother about this. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think.”

He’s right; it probably will be worse.
All he could do was hope she didn’t make an issue of it
until
the guests left. The odds of that happening were slim to none. He meant to warn Jill about it, but if he had, she most likely wouldn’t have agreed to show up, and he would be hosting the whole thing alone. This was going to be the longest twenty-four hours of his life. Everything in him screamed,
get in your helicopter and get the hell out of here
. One thing stopped him: Jill. She was arriving first thing in the morning with Lizette and Jon. Besides, he had a special plan for them afterward, and he had no intention of missing it. Throughout the week, he had spoken with her a few times. Her passion for life was catching . . . well, except when he was in Napa Valley. He wanted to see her. She lit something in him he hadn’t realized was dormant, if it had even existed before.
Have I ever felt like this for a woman?
She was driven, fun, intelligent, and he felt alive just talking to her. On the way to her apartment, he sensed her pulling away a little. Was she not as interested in him as he was in her? Their kiss had caused his blood to heat, and it had taken every ounce of restraint to not reach into her sexy-as-hell dress and take her nipple into his mouth.
How I want to taste her. Soon, Whitman. Soon.

“Roosevelt. Are you there?” His mother’s screeching voice echoed through the valley.

Both men smiled, and his father said, “Good luck, son. I think I’ll take another walk through to check everything.”

Some things never change.

A private jet
was followed by a helicopter ride over the most amazing landscape she had ever seen. Miles of rolling hills were lined with what she could only imagine were the best grapes around. As they approached the landing pad she saw a vehicle waiting for them. Her heart skipped a beat.
Please be Ross.
She’d spoken to him a few times on the phone after their date, and she was looking forward to seeing him again.

She was the first to exit when the doors opened and quickly made her way to the car. Disappointment filled her as it became apparent Ross wasn’t in the vehicle. Now joined by Jon and Lizette, a distinguished man in his mid-fifties got out of the car and greeted them.

“Welcome.”

Jon extended his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Whitman.”

“Call me Jefferson. Jon Vinchi, if I remember correctly.”

Jon nodded.

“No beer I assume?” Jefferson asked with a warning grin.

Smiling, Jon replied, “No, sir.”

“Good. It’s bad for business,” he joked. “And who are these lovely ladies with you?”

“This is my fiancée, Lizette Burke, and her friend, Jill Aragao.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Then he turned to Jill and said, “My son regrets he could not meet you himself, but his mother has requested his help with some of the final arrangements. The guests should be arriving in a few hours, so he asked me to meet you.”

“Totally understandable. Thank you.” At least the excuse took away some of the sting. She wanted to give him heck for not being there, but she didn’t doubt there was a lot to do. She had seen the white tents from the air. This was going to be grand, and it was going to take all hands on deck to pull it off. She was relieved to know he was handling things until she arrived. She’d spoken to him a few times on the phone, and for the most part, it was only to discuss the fundraiser. Once they finalized the details he had actually been extremely helpful. It appeared that the aloof, too-busy-to-talk-to-her businessman was gone. In fact, she found it easy to get the results she was looking for.
Maybe too easy.
No matter what, it looked like they made a good team. She wasn’t ready to admit it out loud, but she was looking forward to seeing him again. Maybe this was the start of something new.

“Let me show you to the guesthouse. From there you will be able to make your way to the main reception area through the garden.”

The guesthouse was huge. If this was for guests, she couldn’t imagine what the main house looked like. Exploring was not an option at this time. She needed to get out there and give Ross a hand. Dropping her bags at the entrance, she did as Mr. Whitman instructed and made her way through the most amazing garden. It smelled heavenly. When this was over she would need to ask Ross to take a walk here with her. Kissing him here in the moonlight would be beyond romantic.

As she exited the garden she heard a woman shouting orders. “Roosevelt, I don’t care where you think that should go, I want it by the table with the wine and cheese.”

Roosevelt?
She couldn’t picture calling him anything but Ross, definitely not Roosevelt. Just thinking about it made her laugh. He was there, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, moving things from one end of the tent to the other. Scanning her surroundings, one thing came to mind:
His mother likes perfection.
Between the large white tents, white pressed linens, crystal glasses, and towering vases filled with exotic flowers, you would think there was a wedding about to take place rather than a fundraising event for pet therapy dogs.
Oh my. The dogs.
This wasn’t good. There must have been a misunderstanding about what kind of event this was.
What part of casual didn’t they understand?
His mother was wearing high heels, dressed in a cream silk pantsuit. Every hair on her head was in place. She looked as elegant as the surroundings.

As Jill moved closer, Ross noticed her. His mother was still pointing and ranting, but he seemed to be unaffected. He came over and placed a light kiss on her cheek. “How was your flight?”

If she wasn’t so concerned about what she saw, she probably would have appreciated his warm greeting. “Ross, what is going on here? This is not what we talked about a few weeks ago,” she said firmly.

Ross took her by her elbow and led her out of earshot of his mother. “Jill, I tried to explain to you that my mother is overbearing. There is no stopping her now. We will make this work.”

Crossing her arms, she looked up at him and tapped her foot. “The guests on my list believe this is a casual party, jeans and shorts. They also have been informed this is a dog-friendly party.” Waving her hand around at the opulent setup, she said, “Nothing here says that.” Looking at the exquisite bone china, she shook her head. “People are going to be bringing all different types of dogs. We are not talking about little toy dogs you carry in a purse. We are talking about the running, jumping, playing, and pulling dogs like most people have, some big dogs. And I don’t mean Labrador big, I mean Newfoundland big.” Pointing to his mother, she questioned, “Does she even know that part yet?”

Ross looked at his mother then back at Jill. He tensed, and her fear was confirmed with his simple answer. “No.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
Don’t panic.
She had time. This could all be fixed if they acted quickly. Put the china, crystal, and everything breakable away. The problem would be eliminated, and everything could go on as planned.
Simple
. There was only one thing that had to be done first.

“I have to tell her.” She took a step to go around Ross, but he stretched out an arm to block her way. She looked at his arm then to him.
This better be good.

“Jill, trust me from years of experience, you can’t fix this. No one can. If you go over there now, she won’t take the news well and will most likely call the entire thing off. It would be over before it even started. All we can do now is ensure the guests have a good time. It’s only for a few hours. How much can go wrong? We’ll be here, and we’ll pull my friends in as decoys if things do get out of hand. I am sure Lizette and Elaine will support you, too. See, we’ve got this.” Meeting her gaze he asked, “Deal?”

Maybe he was right. It’s not like she was on her own. Her entire support system was here.
Sink or swim together.
If he wanted to let this play out without any warning, it was his home. His mother had noticed Ross’s absence and was now making her way toward them. Decision time. Follow her gut or do as he asked?
His mother, his choice.

Her tone commanding, and without a single sign of the tenderness Jill would have expected from a mother speaking to her son, she said, “Roosevelt, the guests will be arriving soon. You need to get ready. I won’t have my friends seeing you looking like the help.” She then turned to Jill, looked her over, and snorted in disgust. “And who might you be?”

Excuse me?
It took all her strength not to tell her to get off her high horse, but once again she remembered this was her home, and the timing was bad.
Ross, you’re right; she’s a piece of work
. Offering her hand, which was ignored, she said, “Jill Aragao. I’m co-hosting this fundraiser.”