Free An Escort for Christmas: A Billionaire Novella by A. Zavarelli Page A

was doing. Like he wanted more but knew he shouldn’t. And then he did the worst thing he could possibly do.
    He put distance between us and left me standing there, feeling completely exposed and vulnerable.
    “I need to get a drink,” he muttered.
    He needed an out. Why, I couldn’t say. Because he was still in love with Katherine? Maybe. Or was it because he thought I was really an escort. My heart fractured a little as I nodded and watched him walk away.
    I walked back to the table and found Lily, who was drowning her own sorrows in a gin and tonic. Her boyfriend wasn’t able to make the wedding and wouldn’t be flying in for another two days. She told me weddings always reminded her of how badly she wanted her own.
    I smiled and offered to drink our sorrows away together.
    After about an hour and four drinks later, I felt a little better. Jameson still hadn’t made an appearance, and I’d done a rather good job of not thinking about him. But as my eyes wandered over the room, I couldn’t help but feel a stab of pain when I saw him. He was standing beside Katherine, and she was blatantly flirting with him. Her hand was on his tie, smoothing her fingers up and down as she looked up at him with big doe eyes.
    I sucked in a harsh breath and tore my gaze away, which caught Lily’s attention. When she glanced across the room and saw what had upset me, she cursed.
    “I’m going to kill him, Harper,” she said indignantly. “Why is he letting her touch him? That stupid conniving…”
    “It’s okay.” I attempted to play the unaffected card. “They’re just old friends, right?”
    Lily knew I didn’t really mean it because my voice was wobbly and my eyes were glassy. And I was humiliated. I was falling for the man who brought me here to make his ex jealous. Talk about pathetic.
    “Do you want to get out of here?” she asked.
    “God yes,” I blurted.
    “C’mon.” She stood up and grabbed my hand. “We’ll take a cab. Leave that dickhead to wonder where you’ve run off to.”
     
    ***
     
    Jameson came in two hours later, and I pretended to be asleep.
    He turned on the light and sat at the end of the bed.
    “Harper?”
    I didn’t respond. But he continued anyway.
    “I’m sorry about the reception, for leaving you alone like that. Lily told me you saw me talking to Katherine, and I just want you to know it wasn’t what it looked like…”
    I rolled over and flaunted a bored expression. How many times had women all over the world heard that line before?
    I wasn’t going to be another one. And if Jameson wanted to treat me like an escort that’s what he was going to get. I’d had two hours to numb myself and think this over. To realize that I couldn’t let myself get invested in something that was one-sided. This was just business.
    “It doesn’t matter,” I told him in an emotionless tone. “I don’t care what you do or don’t do with Katherine. The only reason I’m here is because you’re paying me to be. Remember?”
    He flinched away from my words and looked at me like a wounded puppy dog. I turned my attention to my hands and picked at my nail absently so I didn’t have to see it.
    “Is that all?” I asked. “I’m tired.”
    “I guess that’s all,” he agreed. “Goodnight, Harper.”

 
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
    I spent the entire next day in the kitchen helping Julia prepare for dinner.
    It was another big King event, she explained, and the entire family would be there tonight. She put me in charge of desserts, and I went a little crazy baking while she prepared the roast and side dishes. I relished the opportunity to avoid Jameson and the tension that seemed to grow between us with every passing day.
    Lily was beside me, mixing up various batches of liquor concoctions.
    “Tonight’s going to be fun.” She wiggled her nose. “Just you wait and see.”
    “Do I even want to know what’s in that?” I asked in a teasing voice.
    In response, Lily poured a glass of the