The Billionaire's Longshot: Betting on You Series: Book Three by Jeannette Winters

Jill. It will fall on deaf ears. No apology is needed.” Jefferson gave her a warm smile and a brief hug, two things she needed desperately at that moment. “I would recommend you to anyone looking for an event planner.”
    Her eyes welled up with tears. She had been waiting a long time to hear something like that. It was times like this that the loss of her parents hurt the most. No matter how much time had passed, instinctively she wanted to share both the highs and lows with them. Closing her eyes briefly, Jill could picture calling her mother to share the good news that all her hard work had paid off. Her mother would tell her how proud she and her father were of her and go out to eat at her favorite restaurant to celebrate when she got home. The world is such a lonely place sometimes. She was grateful for the kindness Ross’s father had shown her, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t family. If she called Donna, she knew exactly what her response would be. “That’s great, but imagine what it could have been like if you had a degree.”
    Though she enjoyed talking with Ross’s father, she needed a few minutes alone. That wasn’t something she’d had in the last twenty-four hours. “Thank you for everything, but I better get back to packing.” She forced a smile and headed to the guesthouse alone. Don’t you dare cry. It was a success. Be happy damn it. It had been an emotional past few weeks, and it was finally over. The tears now flowed uncontrollable as she entered the guesthouse. Over. She sobbed. It had come so soon. Too soon.
    “Hi Dad, did you see Jill? She wasn’t in the guesthouse,” Ross asked his father who was still in the vineyard.
    “She was here earlier. Come sit. I want to talk to you for a minute.”
    I just want to find Jill. His father had a serious look Ross had not seen before. “What is it Dad? Something wrong? Mom still upset?”
    “That’s a given; you should know that by now. But this isn’t about your mother. It’s about you and the sweet young lady you brought here.”
    He was way too old for the father-son talk, which had never happened. “Dad, I’m kind of in a rush.”
    “Sit,” his father said sternly. Ross sat on the wall next to his father and waited. After a few minutes he spoke. “She is a special one, Ross. You might not realize it yet, but she is a gem.”
    He knew there was something about her. His father didn’t need to inform him of that. “Dad, I know, but I really need to get going.”
    “Do you know? Have you taken the time to really get to know her? She has such a sweet innocence about her. This is not the type of woman you have a causal relationship with. If you aren’t careful, you could break her heart.”
    Ross wasn’t planning on hurting her, but he wasn’t thinking anything long-term either. Long-term didn’t suit him. Growing up in a loveless house was one of the reasons he was drawn to boating; there was nothing like the freedom and solace of the open sea. He wasn’t leading Jill on; he hadn’t pledged his undying love to her or made any promises of a future. No, he kept it to the here and now and believed she understood that. Yes, she was twenty-six, and he was thirty-four, and normally he would consider that too large an age gap for a companion, but he’d also seen her as a strong, driven woman with the confidence of a woman twice her age.
    The first time they’d met, she’d put her hand out for a dance and hadn’t backed down until he’d agreed. It was nice his father liked her, but a delicate wallflower she wasn’t. She was carefree and sweet, yes, but innocent, no. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m not a child anymore. I know what I’m doing.”
    “I hope so because you won’t find another one like her, do you hear me? She’s the marrying type.”
    Marriage. I’m only taking her boating. His father must’ve sampled too much of the wine, if he saw wedding bells in his son’s future. Disputing the fact would only