Loving The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport) by Christina Tetreault Page A

occasions, she and Blake parked out in the parking lot of Easton’s Beach and made out until the windows fogged up. Once or twice Blake tried to push things further, but she always stopped him. While many of her friends were having sex, she’d decided to wait until she was in love. And while she liked Blake and had fun with him, she wasn’t sure she loved him.
    That July evening had started out like any other. They’d gone to the drive-in and then Blake drove them to Easton’s Beach. Unlike in the past, he got angry that night when she refused to have sex. He accused her of being a tease and ripped her blouse open. Scared she’d jumped out of the car prepared to walk home. Blake followed her and tried to drag her back into the car.
    Then, just like that, her knight in shining armor, or in this case, her knight in a shiny Ferrari, spotted them and pulled into the parking lot. When Blake told Warren to mind his own business, Warren turned and asked her if everything was okay. All she’d been able to do was shake her head no. Without a word to her, Warren took her by the hand and pulled her behind him then faced Blake. Enraged, Blake took a swing at Warren. Ruth guessed Blake expected Warren to go down after just one punch. Instead Blake found himself sprawled on the pavement, blood trickling from his nose. From that night on, she and Warren had been friends. Whenever he came to Newport they spent time together. When he was away at boarding school in Connecticut, they exchanged letters. Their friendship continued on like that for years.
    Helen placed two mugs of hot chocolate and a bag of mini marshmallows on the table. “Have you changed your mind about Joanna’s Valentine’s Day party?”
    No, she hadn’t. Except for perhaps death, she couldn’t think of anything worse than attending a Valentine’s Day party alone. Talk about pathetic with a capital P. “Nope.” Ruth added some mini marshmallows to her hot chocolate and thumbed through the magazine.
    “You could go with Mitch.” Helen dropped marshmallows in her mug.
    They’d had this particular discussion on numerous occasions, and Ruth’s answer was always the same. However, Helen couldn’t or wouldn’t accept it, she wanted her best friend married to her fiancé’s twin brother, so they would all be one big happy family. And while Mitch was a nice guy, Ruth suspected his heart’s desire swung in the opposite direction. She assumed it was just a matter of time before Mitch admitted to his family that he’d rather be in a relationship with a man.
    “Or you could call and ask him .” Helen flipped the magazine cover back into place and pointed at Warren. “He came to the New Year’s Eve party alone. Maybe he’s still single.”
    Ruth had invited him to their New Year’s Eve party last month, expecting he’d decline. Every year since 1900, his family threw a huge New Year’s Eve bash at Cliff House. Everyone from heads of state to Hollywood celebrities attended the party. With that type of event going on, she doubted he’d want to hang out with her and her friends, but she invited him anyway. Much to her astonishment, Warren showed up at their apartment around ten o’clock that night, a few bottles of champagne in hand.
    “Why would I do that?” Ruth took a gulp of her hot chocolate and wished she hadn’t when the hot liquid burned her tongue.
    She’d never told Helen about the morning last summer when something shifted inside her. Or maybe it had been a long time coming, she wasn’t sure. She did know the morning she found Warren on Gooseberry Beach alone with tears in his eyes changed everything for her.
    Even now she could recall that morning months ago. She’d worked second shift at the hospital. Wired up after a rough night in the emergency room, she’d gone for a walk on the beach, hoping it would calm her enough to fall asleep. The last thing she expected to find was Warren sitting there staring out at the ocean—not just because