Page 59 of Billionaire's Coastal Haven

I can be beautiful.

When the pasta is done, he coats the noodles in the black truffle cream sauce and serves me as if I were a guest in a five-star restaurant. “Bon appétit.”

The first bite is heaven on my tongue. The earthy combination of mushrooms, cream, and spices is decadent and exotic. I groan despite myself. It’s too good to pretend I am not enjoying every bite.

Way better than frozen pizza.

A self-satisfied smirk plays across Landon’s face. “Good?”

“I would hire you, but I can only afford minimum wage.”

“Anytime, Comet.”

“No, not anytime. This is a one-time thing. I appreciate you cooking for me, but no one can know you’re here.” My reputation can’t handle any more whispers. After my fight with Dad at the Red Wood, his prolonged absence earns new quiet conversations at The Bright Spot every morning.

“Then I probably shouldn’t have parked in your driveway.” Landon winks.

I slurp another bite into my mouth.So good.“They will excuse one meal if I tell them it’s town business. Lucky has the council up in arms about the extra cabins.” I tell him about our repeated debates during town council meetings and the messages she’s left on Dad’s answering machine. “I’ll tell them I convinced you to build the extra cabins.”

“I’m not building them. The location they want isn’t safe. And that’s not the vision. Intimate, boutique, exclusive. That’s the vision.”

“But why?”

“Because it’s a haven.” He closes his eyes and a brief smile flutters at the corners of his mouth. “Our escape. Mine and my brother’s.”

“What do you need to escape from?”

He places a spiral of noodles in his mouth. When he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobs, and I’m not sure he’s going to answer the question.

It might not be easy for him to answer. I can’t begin to understand the demands for his time.

But an escape feels drastic.

As a man with unlimited resources, can’t he reorganize his life to be less stressful, something he doesn’t need to escape from?

I slide my hand to his. “Why do you need an escape?”

He intertwines our fingers. “Nine months ago, my brother’s girlfriend broke his heart, and it almost killed him. He agreed to risky dives in bad weather. He’dstay down longer than was safe and ascend too quickly. It was a wakeup call. I had to drag him out of Turkey so he could see what he was doing to himself.”

“You’re a good brother.”

“I’m not. It never should have gotten that far in the first place. She wasn’t right for him, but I was too busy taking meetings and building my parents’ empire to take a break and talk to him about her. One weekend—that’s all it would have taken. Instead, I waited until he ended up in a decompression tank to come to my senses.”

“You think sitting on a bluff overlooking Rainwater Bay will fix your life?”

“It’s not just the estate. It’s the kind of man I get to be when I’m here.” His thumb rubs circles on the back of my hand, shooting little lightning bolts up the outside of my forearm.

“I don’t understand.”

“With you, I’m not a ruthless dealmaker strategizing how to acquire a corporation that doesn’t want to be bought out.” He gestures to my tiny kitchen. “I’m a normal guy cooking dinner for a beautiful woman so I can get to know her better.”

“I thought you like your job.”

“I love it. That’s the problem. If I don’t have this property, I don’t have a reason to walk away. I will work myself to death, and I’ll smile as I’m doing it. But when is enoughenough? Why do we bother doing any of the work we do?”

“You need to take care of the people who work for you. Their livelihood is on the line if you don’t lead them well.”

He tugs a strand of hair by my ear. “That’s the most mayoral thing I’ve ever heard you say.”