The phone at her bedside rang, and she rolled over to answer it. “Hello?”
“Ms. Moore? This is the concierge at the front desk. Someone is waiting in the lobby for you.”
The driver. Perfect. “Thank you. I’ll be right down.”
She grabbed her suitcase and opened the door to the guest bedroom, looking around. “Travis?”
No answer.
Risa frowned. Had he gone to work? He hadn’t even bothered to say good-bye to her? It just confirmed everything she thought about him—he’d never make time for a personal relationship. His business was all he needed in his life. Poor Gregory.
She hefted her suitcase and closed the door to his apartment. It had been a lovely week, she thought wistfully. Something to fuel her dreams while she moved on with the next chapter of her life. But there was no sense in dwelling on what couldn’t be.
Risa headed to the elevator, and took it down to the main lobby.
When the doors opened, she stopped in surprise. Bouquets of roses lined the elevator exit on either side, and curved a path along the far end of the lobby. She walked through the rose path, wondering what the occasion was.
She paused when she saw Travis at the end of the path, standing in front of the entrance to the double doors that led to the personal movie theater in the building. He was dressed in a suit, of course, but Gregory was leashed at his side and Travis was trying (unsuccessfully) to prevent the pig from eating a fallen rose.
Was this who was waiting for her in the lobby? She smothered a laugh with her fingers and moved toward the pair, her heart thumping.
Travis watched her approach and gave her a smile. Not his faint, amused smile, but a truly warm one that made his eyes crinkle at the corners, and made her want to drop her panties. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but pigs like to eat everything.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” she said with a laugh. “And I’m pretty sure I warned you.”
“So you did,” he said, shortening the leash before Gregory could attack a bow dangling from one of the standing vases. He crooked his elbow and extended it to her. “Will you join me?”
Risa glanced at the lobby doors. “I’m waiting for the car.”
“I canceled it.”
“You what?”
“I canceled it. I’ll call it back if you really want to leave, but I thought we could have our movie date first.” He hesitated for a moment, and then added, “Please.”
How could she resist a billionaire who asked nicely? Her heart melting, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “What movie are we watching?”
His lips twitched with amusement. “It’s a double feature. First is Charlotte’s Web. Next is Babe.”
A pig double feature? She laughed. “What an incredible coincidence.”
When they entered the private theater, she gasped in surprise again. A catered table had been set up on one end of the room. Mixers for mimosas had been set up in one corner, and a gourmet breakfast buffet complete with croissants, eggs, fruit, and the works lay spread out. On the floor was a small bowl full of crunchy vegetables for Gregory to snack on.
The pig immediately began straining at his leash, and as she watched, Travis unhooked it, gave the pig a scratch behind the ears, and released him to chow down. He looked over at her. “Before you ask, I double-checked to make sure that everything is okay with his diet.”
She smiled. “I guess you learned some stuff this week after all.”
“I did,” he said quite seriously, and moved to one of the seats to pick up a small box with a bright red bow on it. “This is for you.”
A present? Risa raised an eyebrow at him, but at his expectant look, she tugged the lid off.
Her stomach sank. It was a BlackBerry. As if she wanted one of the hateful things. “Travis, I don’t think—”
“Before you say anything, let me show you something.” He took it from her and punched a few buttons, and then handed it back to her.
It was set on the business calendar. To her surprise, she realized this was Travis’s BlackBerry. Why was he giving her his BlackBerry? She glanced over the calendar . . . and stopped.
His days were still full of meetings Monday through Friday. That was no surprise. But she noticed that at four P.M. on every day of the week, a new meeting had been added that extended through the rest of the evening. Time with Risa. She flipped to the weekends. They were blocked off as well. Both Saturday and Sunday read: Time with Risa.
Oh, heck. Now she was going to cry. Her lip trembled a little and she swallowed hard.
“My Japan trip next week is canceled, too. We can negotiate in a videoconference. I really don’t have to be there this time,” he said, expression serious. “I told them something had come up in my personal life.”
And was that . . . her?
“I don’t want you to go. It’s going to be hard for me to walk away from the work sometimes, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.” His eyes were serious as he stared down at her. “Everything you said was right. I have been spending too much time working. I’m losing track of everything that I should be enjoying in life. There has to be a balance, and I want you to keep reminding me of that. Will you stay and give me another shot?”
“Stay?” she choked out.
“I’ll give you the thirty grand I promised, but if you want to stay this time, there’s no money involved. Just me. I said that everyone had a price, and you told me yours. You wanted time. I’m willing to give it to you. Every evening and every weekend, I’m yours. You could try to get a teaching job here in Houston. And we could see if we’re a good couple, or if—”
Before he could finish the sentence, she was kissing him, her arms around his neck. He hauled her against him, his tongue slicking against her own hungrily. They continued to kiss for a long time, until Gregory gave a squeal as he ate and Risa began to laugh against Travis’s mouth.
“Is that a yes?” he murmured to her.
“It’s a definite yes,” she told him. How could she resist such a determined man, after all?
* * *
They spent their one-year anniversary back at Pearl’s house in Bluebonnet. It had taken a few weekends, but they’d cleaned out a lot of Pearl’s old things and donated them, replacing her old furniture with new and making the house their own. Whenever they needed time away—her from teaching in the city, and him from the latest round of meetings—they drove up to Bluebonnet and spent a weekend in the house and swimming in the pool. They walked Gregory around Bluebonnet early in the mornings and spent their evenings curled up by the fireplace, just enjoying spending time together.