His to Have: A Billionaire Romance by Piper Hayes

parties I attended before my father had the bad manners to go broke.
    “Here?” I ask. I don’t know where the question comes from, really. It’s not like Blake doesn’t have taste, and it’s not like I don’t want to eat here, (I do) but it’s something else. From what I’ve gotten to know about Blake over the past few weeks, it doesn’t seem very him. “I thought I was learning more about you tonight. This seems more for me.”  
    Blake grins. “You’re catching on. This is our first stop. I have word from a contact of mine that it’s nearly impossible to get a seat at this place.”
    “There’s nothing nearly about it. Even I couldn’t get in, and I used to be able to get in anywhere.”  
    “Did you know there’s a special chef’s tasting, a private table in the back so exclusive that it’s only available once a month?”  
    “Shut up.”
    Blake takes my hand and helps me out of the car. He picks my bag up off the seat after I forget it.
    “When are you going to tell me what that’s for?” I say.
    “As soon as we’ve had some fun.” An anemic looking model opens the door for us. The restaurant is brighter than I expected, open and modern. It’s buzzing with conversation. Blake hands a card to the host. “Hey, isn’t that…” he snaps his fingers “Percy… Patrick… Prentiss… Isn’t that your ex?”  
    “What did you do?” I catch a glimpse of Prentiss, his fiancée and Felicity. “You did this,” I whisper.
    “Yup,” Blake says. He’s grinning, and he’s waving to them.
    “Please tell me we’re not eating with them.”  
    “We’re not eating here at all.” He hands the bag to the host and we head across the restaurant. “What a small world,” Blake says. He holds out a hand to Felicity. “We haven’t met, but I’m a friend of your father’s. Cat and I were just heading back to meet with the chef. If we run into each other again, remind us to show you the private tasting room in back. It’s to die for. Come on, honey, we don’t want to leave Eduardo waiting.” He kisses my cheek, wraps his arm around me and leads me through the doors into the kitchen.
    “What was that?” I ask. We’re standing in the middle of a chaotic kitchen, and I’m fairly sure there’s no tasting room back here.
    “You just showed them up in the hottest restaurant in town. How do you feel?”
    “Honestly, I don’t feel anything. I don’t know why I cared so much about what they thought. I don’t know how to describe the way I feel now.”  
    “It’s called personal growth,” Blake says. “I’m proud of you for realizing that people who don’t care about you aren’t worth a damn.”
    “Is that why we came here tonight?”
    “No,” Blake says, “we came here because I needed a place to dodge our tail, and because the chef really is a personal friend.” He looks up. “Ed, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Ed, Cat. Cat, Ed. Do you have the stuff I sent over?”
    “Of course, in the back office.” Ed says.
    Blake slaps Ed on the back and heads off. “Watch out for this one Ed, she’ll take you for all you’re worth.” Blake disappears and Ed introduces himself. “Eduardo Vega,” he says. His eyes are dark brown, and his black hair sweeps back behind his ears. He’s got tattoos up and down his arms. “ When Blake told me he needed a favor, I dropped everything. You’re a lucky woman. He’s a good man. Best busboy I ever had.”
    “Blake was a busboy?” I say in disbelief.  
    Eduardo nods. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him look at a woman the way he just looked at you.
    I blush. I can’t help it. I know what he means. The way Blake looks at me makes me feel like he looking into me the way no one has before, like he understands the real me, the part of me that has nothing to do with money or status or any of that. I manage to nod in acknowledgement. Then Blake steps out of the office wearing a sweatshirt and a torn pair of