Waterfall Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (Saltwater Kisses Book 8) Page 5

  I sighed. The last thing in the entire world that I wanted to do was leave Leo's arms. But duty called. My fantasies would have to wait. Next time, though, I was locking that door.

  Leo reluctantly let me go. I took a step to the door before turning to look back at him. He was so handsome that my heart might explode out of my chest with joy. He had kissed me. That man with the beautiful hair and stunning eyes, that made me laugh and smile, had kissed me. He looked as flushed and pleased as I did, yet still managing to pull of debonair and smooth as well.

  “I still get that dance, right?” I asked, stopping despite the coordinator's anxious movements.

  Leo grinned. “I'm counting on it.”

  Butterflies danced and soared in my stomach and I was light headed and just a little giddy. I would go take care of this kitchen thing in two seconds so I could come back to this. To have him kiss me again. Dance with me.

  With one last grin, I turned and hurried after the party coordinator, leaving the love of my life smiling at me on the porch.

  Chapter Seven

  The kitchen was on fire.

  Or at least, it had been.

  The acrid scent of smoke lingered in the kitchen despite the open windows and the industrial fan sucking up as much of it as possible. Luckily, the scent had remained contained and wasn't frightening the guests.

  The chicken however, was very frightening.

  “I'm so sorry Ms. Page- the chicken flambé, it wasn't supposed to do that!” The poor caterer looked to be about two seconds away from bursting into tears. This was probably one of the biggest events on the island, and definitely not how she had planned on making an impression on our guests. “I've done this a thousand times and-”

  “Are you okay?” I cut her off, putting my hands on her shoulders. “Are you or any of your staff hurt?”

  “I'm okay, the staff is okay,” she sniffled, not meeting my eyes. I could smell the scent of burnt hair lingering around her, and upon closer inspection noticed her eyebrows were singed. A single tear rolled down her flushed cheeks. “But the dinner isn't.”

  I took a closer look at the charcoal mess of meat beneath the smoke hood. It looked more like lava than chicken, and there was no way it was even close to edible. I had no idea that chicken was that flammable.

  “It's not the end of the world,” I said, following the line of singed paint up the wall to the slightly melted ceiling. Bastian was going to be pissed that his beloved kitchen looked like this. It was a good thing we were selling this mansion and that Ava was here to mellow him out. I sighed. “Do we have more somewhere?”

  The caterer shook her head no, her chin quivering as she dry-washed her hands.

  “Okay.” I thought for a moment. This was my job. I solved problems before they ever got to Bastian, and burnt chicken was possibly one of the easier ones I'd ever faced. I turned to the party coordinator. “Inform everyone that the chicken dish has changed and there will be a slight delay.”

  The party coordinator nodded. “Luckily, nothing but appetizers have been served so far, so at least no one is waiting for food.”

  I nodded and pulled out my phone, hitting my favorite speed dial while on the island. “Hello? Adele's Restaurant? I need to place an order of Maria's Special Chicken.”

  Luckily, I was on very good terms with the owner and chef of the cute little local restaurant. If anyone would have enough food fit for a party, it would be Adele's.

  The voice on the other line told me I was in luck. Since we were the main event on the island tonight, business was slow and they happened to have a batch of chicken already prepared. They could be here in twenty minutes.

  Thanking my lucky stars, I gave them a few more details and told them to put it on my tab. I let out a little sigh of relief as I hung up the phone and slipped it back into my pocket. Crisis averted.

  “The chicken replacement will be here in twenty. Is there anything else that needs to be cooked?” I asked the caterer.

  “Really, the flambé was the last step and I've never seen flambé do that before,” she answered, her voice slowly gaining strength. For the last ten minutes she had most likely been terrified for her business. A mistake of this size, no matter how accidental, would have ruined her. “All the other main dishes are either on the grill or already cooked... except dessert.”

  “What's dessert?” I racked my brain, but I had finalized the menu months ago and couldn't remember what Bastian and I had settled on. I just remembered that it had been delicious and the reason we had picked her to cater the meal.

  “Baked Alaska and crème brulee.”

  Of course. Two dishes that required fire.

  “Are you up for it?” I asked, taking in her scorched appearance. She seemed to be calming down and getting herself back together, but I could imagine that she would want to be a little leery of fire after the chicken incident.

  “I think so.” She swallowed hard and her hand unconsciously went to her scorched hair. “It's all table-side, so as long as I don't light the guests on fire, it'll be fine.”

  “Okay then,” I replied, smiling at her attempt at humor. “Then everything is fine.”

  “I'll pay for the chicken, Ms. Page,” the caterer said. Her eyes were bright. “No matter what happened, the food is my responsibility.”

  “That sounds fair,” I replied.

  “Thank you,” the caterer said breathlessly. “This event is the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you for understanding.”

  “Accidents happen,” I said with a shrug. “Lord knows I've done worse things to chicken.”

  There was a very good reason Bastian cooked and not me. I could burn water.

  The party coordinator came back into the kitchen. I turned to her. “The chicken will be here in twenty minutes.”

  “Excellent.” The coordinator let out a sigh of relief. “I can handle the rest of the meal as planned then.”

  “Good.” I smiled at the other two women, glad this had been a relatively easy fix. “Please inform me of any other problems. I'm going back to the party to mingle with Mr. Belrose's guests.”

  And Leo, I told myself silently. And Leo.

  Chapter Eight

  Everyone was seated in the party tents to the back of the mansion. Despite the massive size of the mansion, there just wasn't a good place to seat one-hundred and fifty for a formal setting. Especially not with the unparalleled view of the ocean that the tents offered. Tomorrow, these tents would be used for some of the smaller, more durable pieces being auctioned off.

  White linen and stringed lights gave the dinner a very Caribbean flavor that managed to look both comfortable and elegant at the same time, especially with the perfect ocean view. The tent doors were open to allow in the breeze, but the steady hum of the air conditioners kept the room comfortable. Camera flashes went off at regular intervals as the rich and powerful mingled over cocktails and appetizers.

  I immediately located Bastian, Gabe, and Leo all sitting at the head table. Ava sat next to Bastian, positively glowing with happiness. There was an empty chair next to her and the final two seats contained two friends, Jack and Emma Saunders.

  Emma laughed, her dark hair piled on top of her head in a glorious crown of curls while her billionaire oil-baron husband, Jack, looked on adoringly. I had hoped the two of them would come to our gala and auction, as they were billionaires and had a connection to the island. In fact, it had been Jack that had told Bastain about this undiscovered paradise before he bought the house here. Two years ago, they met on the beach just south of here and fell head over heels in love. It was a love story I loved watching unfold a little more every time I saw them.

  “There you are,” Bastian greeted me, rising from the table as soon as he saw me. Several flashbulbs went off behind me and I knew the billionaires' table, not the woman singing on stage, was the center of attention.

  I took my seat between Ava and Emma and all four men stood in an attempt to be formal. It made me laugh as Gabe, Leo
, and Bastian were perhaps the least formal men I knew. Most evenings, the three of them just sat on a couch eating pizza in sweats. Jack had grown up with money, but even then, it felt strange. It was something that I certainly had never gotten used to living with the upper crust.

  Leo sat across from me at the table. Our eyes met and he grinned. All I wanted to do was talk to him, to make sure that the kiss we shared on the porch was actually real and not just a part of my over-active imagination.

  Unfortunately, sitting at a table with my overprotective big brother and a host of photographers just hoping for the next big news break was not the place to talk, let alone make out.

  “Bastian,” Jack said as our salads arrived. “This is an amazing thing you're doing here.”

  “Thank you,” Bastian graciously accepted. I stared down the pretty arugula salad, not wanting to eat. I wanted to kiss Leo, not munch on rabbit food. Unfortunately, there wasn't an easy way to get out of dinner. Perhaps, after dinner I could pull him aside for a moment...

  “I plan on bidding on several items tomorrow just to support your cause,” Jack continued. “But, I don't think I've ever actually heard the full story as to how you got here. To be honest, I didn't even know you were in the foster system. You've managed to keep yourself out of the limelight.”

  Bastian took a sip of his wine. “That was intentional. As I recall, the limelight nearly destroyed you and Emma not too long ago.”

  Emma chuckled. “Well, I'd say it brought us together, even if it wasn't entirely planned that way.”

  Bastian nodded and set down his glass. “For a long time, I kept my past a secret. I couldn't keep the car accident a secret since it was in the papers, but I kept what happened to me after quiet. The foster system was rough. I got lucky and had a good family, and I then I got Charlotte.”

  Bastian paused to smile at me warmly. If anything, I was the lucky one. I got Bastian.

  “We had a good family, but a lot of kids fall through the cracks.” Bastian looked around at everyone at the table, his passion vibrating through every word. “There are kids who have been in the system since they were little and don't know what a family should be. There are a lot of very dark things that occur in the world.”

  I stared at my salad. I knew that the world was dark better than most, and I still considered myself lucky. I'd put my past behind me as much as Bastian had. My parents weren't my family. Bastian was. He was the only person who had always been there for me, even after Leo started looking after me as well.

  Thinking of Leo and Bastian made me remember Leo's crazy idea that Bastian and I would end up together. On the one hand, I could see how he might come to that conclusion. Bastian and I had always been close, and he wasn't the first to make the assumption that since we weren't biologically related, falling in love was the next logical step.

  Except, Bastian and I were broken the same way. We shared the same cracks in our armor and similar defense mechanisms. For a romantic relationship to work, for two people to connect on the level needed for that kind of love, they couldn't be the same. Our armor would clash and we'd fall apart.

  And besides that, Bastian was just Bastian. Ugh.

  “Yet, here you are with a billion-dollar corporation. It speaks to your strength,” Jack was saying. I tried to focus back into the conversation. It was hard with Leo literally right in front of me but with no real way to talk to him. So close and yet so far.

  “Thank you, but I think it speaks to my friends more,” Bastian said with an easy smile. He grinned at the other two men sitting at the table. “Without Gabe and Leo, there would be no business. Without Charlotte, we would have been lost in all the details.”

  “Okay, so I love a good origin story and this sounds like it is one,” Emma jumped in. Her dark eyes were bright and interested. She wasn't the typical Hollywood beauty or even model pretty, but she was still stunning. She was real and that made her beautiful. It was easy to see why Jack had fallen so hard for her. “How did you get Kindling Dating started?”

  “Let me, I love telling this story,” Gabe offered. Bastian and Leo both rolled their eyes. Gabe loved attention, especially from pretty ladies. Even if they were married.

  “Go ahead,” Bastian said, leaning back in his chair. I looked over at Gabe, interested to hear yet another one of his infamous versions of how integral he was to starting the business. The last one had him basically creating everything from scratch all by himself.

  “It was all my idea,” Gabe began. Leo made a soft snort and I giggled. He glared at both of us before continuing. “Bastian here had just gotten his heart stomped on. I felt for the guy and wanted to set him up with a girl who wouldn't break his heart.”

  “That's the story you're going with this time?” Leo teased. “Not the finding an easy way to get laid side of the story?”

  Gabe ignored him. “So, being such a good friend, I started looking around and realized that we had an opportunity. There was no good way to sort potential dates on the market, so we made one.”

  It was then that our dinners arrived. I had ordered the chicken and was pleased to see that it was perfect. All the other tables were going quiet as everyone started to dig into the delicious food. I took a bite, savoring the succulent breast combining with Caribbean flavors and heat. Jerk spices, mixed with some sort of sweetness that made the heat tolerable rolled across my tongue. It was hard not to snarf the entire thing in one bite.

  “Anyway,” Gabe continued once the servers moved on to the next table. “We built the core business together, and then focused on our strengths. Bastian figured out how to make it all work, I did the marketing, and Leo was our money guy.” He took a bite of his steak, making a pleased face before swallowing. He put his hand on Leo's shoulder. “Actually, Leo deserves a lot of praise. I don't know how he did it, but he got us a sweetheart deal on a loan. Enough for us to really get going. I don't know if we would be where we are without those start-up funds.”

  Leo turned bright red and nearly choked on his chicken dinner. “It really wasn't that important-” he stuttered.

  “It saved our asses, Leo,” Gabe insisted. “Don't be modest.” Gabe looked around the table with smile. “And that was the beginning. Everything just kind of snowballed from there and the next thing you know, we're sitting at the billionaire's table.”

  “Don't forget Charlotte in your story, Gabe,” Leo reminded him. I blushed as Leo grinned at me. Leo always had to make me feel special.

  Gabe swallowed his bite of food. “Of course! Charlotte here was our first employee. She's the one who made sure we all stayed sane by doing all the paperwork and making sure we made it to meetings on time.” He paused for dramatic effect and then in a loud stage whisper added, “Don't tell her, but she was kind of important. I don't want her to know her nerd skills were actually kind of useful.”

  I laughed. “I really just wanted to show these guys they were wrong.” I turned to Emma. “They used to tease me about taking accounting classes in high school. Called me a numbers nerd.”

  “You still are a numbers nerd,” Leo teased gently. His blue eyes sparkled at me from across the table, knowing that this was something that always got me riled. It took everything not to retort back that he had just kissed a numbers nerd and liked it.

  Not appropriate dinner conversation, I reminded myself. Not to mention that Bastian would probably get up and punch him on principle. I was still his little sister, even if Leo was his friend.

  “How did you get that loan?” I asked, trying to deflect the conversation away from me. “I remember writing the checks for the interest payments and wondering how you got such a good interest rate for us. I couldn't find anything close at any of the banks I tried.”

  Leo turned on his business smile. I had learned that every businessman had one and that when they wore it, they couldn't be trusted. Even Leo.

  “That's my business secret and I can't give them all away,” he replied, the smile never faltering. He turned to Jack a
nd Emma. “But, now Jack, how is it being back on the island? I know that you met your lovely wife Emma here. Are you two staying at that resort again or somewhere else on the island?”

  I frowned slightly at the sudden change in topic, but let it slide. The loan was five years ago. It wasn't something I needed to press, especially if it made Leo uncomfortable. I had always secretly suspected that he had asked a wealthy relative or done something similarly embarrassing to help us all succeed.

  “We're staying at the resort for nostalgia's sake,” Jack said, taking Emma's hand in his. His eyes lit up with a love that made me weak in the knees as he looked at her. “I think it's even better the second time.”

  It was all I could do not to let out a huge, “Awww!” I glanced back and forth between Jack and Emma to Bastian and Ava. Love was sweet, and looking across the table at the man with the blue eyes, I couldn't wait to find out just how sweet it could be.

  Leo grinned and pushed back his seat, apparently thinking along the same lines. He sidestepped the waitress picking up dishes who Gabe was busy flirting with to come over to me. He held out his hand. “While we wait for dessert, would you like to dance?”

  “I'd love to,” I replied honestly. He wrapped my smaller hand in his. I hoped he couldn't feel my heart pounding through my skin. I wanted so much more than a dance, but if a dance was all I could get right now, I would take it.

  Leo led me to the open dance floor, spinning me expertly into the music as a fresh song began. I fit into his arms like I was made there. Leo was an excellent dancer and following his lead into a waltz was easier than breathing. Cameras flashed and zinged as we danced, and as I looked up at my prince charming, I felt like a princess.

  “So?” I looked up at him, half expecting him to tell me it was all a mistake, or even worse, that I would wake up and find this all a dream.

  “So.” He grinned at me and spun me around, making my skirt flow out in a shimmer of blue fabric before pulling me back into the safety of his arms. “I wish we could get out of here. I'd like to kiss you some more, but-”