“I don’t even know what she looks like or who she is,” Lia pondered.
“Doesn’t matter,” I reassured her. “There isn’t another woman in the world who’s as beautiful as you are, Lia.”
“Maybe she has a skinnier ass,” she joked halfheartedly.
“Then she’d definitely be a lot less attractive than you are, Jellybean,” I retorted.
If any guy didn’t lust after a woman with a body like Lia’s, there was something wrong with him. She was built like a damn goddess, and her curvy ass and rounded hips were definitely an asset, not a deficit.
She laughed as she tossed back a few more jelly beans. “If you keep feeding me Jelly Bellies like this, I’ll gain back the weight I lost in a couple of days.”
“Good,” I said happily. “I have a pretty large stash at my place. That will help.”
She sighed. “You have to adore a best friend who doesn’t care if your ass is too big.”
“Any time you have to practically starve to maintain a certain weight, you’re too damn skinny,” I grumbled. “I used to keep you well supplied with jelly beans every single day, and your ass looked just fine.”
“Says the man who has never seen me naked,” she teased.
I nearly swallowed my tongue. She had no fucking idea how badly I really did want to get her naked, and that I sure as hell wouldn’t be disappointed if I got that wish. “Feel free to take your clothes off anytime, and I’ll still tell you that you’re fucking perfect,” I answered, trying to keep my tone lighthearted, even though I had visions of a nude Lia dancing in my damn head.
“Please,” she drawled. “I’m your best friend, and probably the last woman you want to see naked.”
Hell, if she only knew! Honestly, she was the only female I wanted to get naked.
Lia was quiet for a few seconds before she asked, “So are you going to tell me how you ended up a billionaire? I knew your mom and dad were well-off, but I had no idea they were quite that wealthy.”
“So you think a guy like me must have inherited all my money from my parents?” I said in a pseudo-offended tone.
“Stop stalling. You know that’s not what I think. Tell me.”
I shrugged. “You already know that I did a duel degree at Harvard, so I came out of school with a law degree and an MBA. Law was my passion, and investment analysis was more of a hobby until I lost my dad.” I stopped to clear my throat. Even though it had been several years, the wound of losing my father still felt pretty damn fresh. We’d only worked together in his law firm for a short time before I’d had to take over after his death. “After Mom retained more money than she could spend in several lifetimes, I did inherit several million dollars, and one of the best law firms in the country, when Dad died. So I started investing, and some of those companies I bought into early are enormous corporations now. My law firm does well, so I never really stopped investing. I guess you could say that I did inherit some of my money, but not the majority of it.”
“God, you’re an amazing man, Zeke Conner,” Lia said, sounding slightly awed. “You already had enough on your plate when you were taking over the firm. I don’t know where you found the time to manage a large portfolio.”
It was funny how much a guy could get accomplished when he had no life. Yeah, I’d dated. Occasionally. I’d even had a few girlfriends. But for the most part, my personal life was fairly uneventful. “It wasn’t really all that difficult,” I answered.
“Don’t do that,” Lia scolded. “I hate it when you do that. Don’t downplay the fact that you’ve accomplished something that very few people could do. You’ve always been the smartest and most driven person I know, and I don’t like it when you don’t take enough credit for some of the amazing things you do.”
“So you’d rather have a best friend who’s a blowhard?”
“Like that’s ever going to happen?” Lia asked drolly. “You’re the most humble person I’ve ever met. I doubt you’re going to turn into a braggart tomorrow if you toot your own horn occasionally.”
“Completely unnecessary. I have you to do that for me,” I teased.
Lia rarely missed an opportunity to brag on my behalf. I never had to say a word. I hadn’t lacked for effusive praise and support from Lia over the years. She’d tell me, and anyone else who would listen, every single reason why I was such a great guy.
She let out an exasperated huff. “Someone needs to do it,” she replied defensively. “And is it really that bad having somebody who’s so proud of you that they can’t stop talking about you?”
Hell, no. It wasn’t bad at all. Lia’s willingness to notice all the good things about a person, and easily forgive the bad, was one of her most endearing qualities. “Not at all,” I assured her. “I just hope I’ve been half as supportive of you as you’ve been with me over the years.”
She snorted. “Zeke, you helped me get Indulgent Brews by being my silent partner in that coffee shop. I wouldn’t have a successful store of my own if it wasn’t for you. You’ve help me through every challenge, disappointment, and difficult event I’ve ever had in my life since I was a freshman in high school. You’re the one who’s with me right now, after getting dumped at the altar by a man who was cheating on me for God only knows how long during our engagement. So yeah, I think you’ve been plenty supportive.”
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as we inched forward on an extremely busy street. “I have to tell you something, Lia, and it might piss you off.”
“Just tell me,” she said encouragingly.
“When I saw you in the hallway at the church, I had every intention of stopping the whole damn wedding. I don’t know why it took me so long, but I had a gut instinct I couldn’t ignore. I knew you weren’t going to be happy with Stuart, and just hauling you out of that church, whether you wanted to go or not, wasn’t an option that was completely off the table, either. I can’t explain what really happened at the church earlier, but I was terrified you were making a huge mistake. Hell, somehow I actually knew you were.”
A minute ticked by, and then two.
I was getting nervous when she finally answered. “I’m not pissed off. You were right. Marrying Stuart would have been the biggest mistake of my life. I have a confession of my own.”
“What?”
She sighed. “I was looking for Stuart when I ran into his brother. I was going to call off the wedding myself. Stuart just saved me the trouble by being a cheating bastard who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. The ceremony wasn’t going to happen, Zeke. I was a wreck this morning, but by the time I had this stupid dress on, I was completely freaked out because I knew I couldn’t go through with it. Your intuition was right. Maybe you were picking up on my panic. I don’t know why it took a whole year for all those warning bells to go off for me, but I’m not heartbroken that this wedding never happened.”