Read The Unknown Billionaire (Captured by Love Book 6) for Free Online Page A

smiled widely. “Ready to go?”
    “Yes, as soon as I finish putting the flowers in a vase.” She walked to a side table against the wall near the lounge and took the crystal vase displayed there. It was her favourite, and nothing else would do for the surprise gift Jarryd had given her.
    Gah, she’d gone sentimental now, had she? How foolish.
    She turned to head back to the kitchen counter where she’d left the bouquet and was surprised to see Jarryd there, starting to undo the wrapping from around the flower stems. “What are you doing?”
    “I want to help you put these in that vase. Ruby gave me a mini-tutorial.”
    She chuckled at the picture of Lucas’s florist mother teaching Jarryd how to arrange flowers. “What brought that on?”
    “I bought a bunch from Ruby for my mum’s birthday last month. I mentioned to her that when I took the flowers out of their binding and put them in a vase, they didn’t look as good as when they came out of her shop, especially since the container I used had a wide mouth. So she taught me how to rearrange them.”
    “I see,” she said with a grin. “I should let you do it, then.”
    “Yes, let me show you,” Jarryd said with put-on superiority. He put water in the vase and plonked the flowers in it. Then he moved some stems here and there until he achieved the look he wanted. “Ta-dah!”
    She clapped, laughing. “Ruby will be proud of you.”
    “The important question is,” Jarryd said, stepping close to her and taking her by surprise with his sudden seriousness, “do you like them?”
    She swallowed, his nearness robbing her lungs of oxygen. “Yes.” Oh, God, that sounded too high-pitched. “Yes, I love them. Thank you,” she said in a more normal tone, albeit breathless.
    “Good,” Jarryd mouthed, staring in her eyes.
    And she stared right back, finding herself unwilling to break the connection... and wanting so much to kiss him.
    Don’t you dare, Marilyn Grant!
    She stepped back and trained her gaze to the flowers. “Let’s go to dinner so you can tell me what you want to tell me,” she said hurriedly.
    Jarryd inhaled deeply. “Yes. We should.”
    *****
    M arilyn laughed out loud at Jarryd’s description of a funny Christmas party invitation he’d recently received. She should be surprised that she could feel so relaxed with him as he drove them to the restaurant, but she really wasn’t. She’d always known that she and Jarryd had a great rapport. Clearly, that hadn’t disappeared.
    And their physical chemistry hadn’t gone anywhere, either—at least, for her part. Her traitorous body was already seeking some bedroom action just by being with him in the enclosed space of his car. Even as she kept up with their conversation, she couldn’t help but play in her mind how hot sex had been with him. Argh! She wanted her brain to be the one making the decisions tonight, not her body or heart.
    “Here we are,” Jarryd said, turning into the parking area of the Banjo Patterson Cottage Restaurant.
    She hid a rueful smile. She loved this establishment, having been here a few times in the past. The old-world charm of the centuries-old sandstone building which housed the restaurant made everything feel more romantic. But if Jarryd disappointed her tonight by propositioning her for casual sex, it might just forever spoil this place for her.
    Jarryd opened her car door and held out his hand. She took it as she got out of the car, but let go as they started to walk to the restaurant. All she needed to do was hold on to her self-control until this dinner was over. By then, she would know his real agenda and she could decide her next steps accordingly.
    “Miss Grant!” the maître d’ exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”
    “Hi, Hector,” Marilyn said with a smile. “Jarryd here made the reservations tonight.”
    “Of course, sir,” Hector said, acknowledging Jarryd before leading them to a table in a private room with views of the