The Billionaire Princess

  ***

  With a hand towel, Christopher cleared the steam from the bathroom mirror. Then he reached for his contact lenses. Without those he ran the risk of slitting his own throat when he shaved the stubble that had grown since he shaved that morning. Two shaves in the same day wasn't his norm. When he could get away with it, he didn't even shave every day, but tonight there was no way around it.

  Using his shaving brush, he covered his cheeks with a layer of shaving soap and reached for the straight edge razor he favored. While an electric razor would be quicker, he preferred the extra close shave the old-fashioned tool gave him. His sister, Caroline, loved to give him a hard time about the fact that his life revolved around the state-of-the-art in technology, yet he shaved with an instrument some men wouldn't even recognize.

  As he scraped away the five o'clock shadow, his mind wandered to the evening ahead and a sharp pang of uneasiness pierced his gut. On so many levels taking Sara out tonight was wrong. Yeah, sure he'd asked her out, under the ruse that they could discuss the senator's new education plan while they ate, something that could wait until he met with them in Washington. The real reason he'd asked her was to spend time with her and get a sense of her feelings toward him. If that night in Hawaii hadn't happened, he'd never even entertain the idea that there might be something between them. Hawaii had happened, though, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. And he'd tried. Man, how he'd tried. He'd been out on dates with two different women since then, but neither had even remotely turned him on the way Sara had. On both occasions he'd dropped his date off at her place and had gone home alone.

  After wiping any remaining shaving soap from his face, Christopher ran a hand through his damp hair, satisfied with the image looking back at him. It was an image that had taken years to develop. The self-assured man gazing back at him now hadn't always existed. In fact until college, he'd been the exact opposite, and he had his friendship with Jake to thank for much of that.

  And how do I repay the guy? By sleeping with his sister. Even worse if the opportunity arose again, he didn't know if he'd be able to pass it up. Sara had intrigued him since the minute she walked into their dorm room freshman year. Back then she hadn't given the geeky nerd with the coke-bottle glasses a second look. Yet after her brother's wedding, she'd done so much more than that. Afterward she brushed it off as no big deal, yet he didn't completely believe her. Sure she showed up in magazine headlines from time to time with her name attached to a man, but nothing like her brother had before meeting Charlie.

  Regardless of what type of life she led, she was supposed to be off-limits to him. You just didn't get involved with your friend's sister… period. Despite knowing this, he still planned to have dinner with her tonight. He just couldn't pass up the opportunity and if Jake found out he'd be able to say it'd been a business meeting.

  “As long as I keep it out of the bedroom, it'll be okay,” Christopher said to the image in the mirror as he buttoned his shirt. “How hard can that be?” Switching off the light he left, eager for the night ahead.

  The candle in the center of the table flickered, casting Sara's face in a warm glow. What had he been thinking when he made these reservations? A private candle-lit room at Lucerne was not the place to bring a beautiful woman you had no business getting involved with. A better choice would've been a family friendly restaurant with bright lights and lots of loud music. Too late now.

  They both remained silent while a waiter presented them with their drinks and promised to return when they had made their dinner choices. So far neither had spoken much beyond the general pleasantries.

  “You said you wanted to know more about David's education plan,” Sara said kicking off a real conversation.

  He tried to maintain eye contact. No easy task tonight. A stray piece of her golden blonde hair had escaped her elegant updo, and it kept brushing against her collarbone. His fingers itched to brush the hair away and tuck it back behind her ear.

  At the sound of her voice, Christopher’s eyes flew away from the teasing strand and back to her face. “Yes. When we played golf he mentioned that he'd put together a new initiative merging technology and education and that it would soon come before the Senate for a vote.”

  “It's a multifaceted plan for improving public education by promoting science, engineering, and technology in our public schools in a variety of ways. First he wants to get the latest technology into schools at all grade levels, whether it's a small school in Greenwich, Connecticut or a large inner city school in Detroit. At the same time, raise the current standards used in schools.”

  The minute she'd mentioned the words education, science, and engineering his interest had been piqued. Yet the way her eyes literally came alive as she spoke and the excitement coming through her voice only pulled him in further. If it hadn't been for his love of science and computers, he'd be just another guy from Wisconsin.

  Sara leaned forward in her excitement as she continued to tell him about the plan, giving him an excellent view of her cleavage. A fact she probably didn't realize and one he had no business noticing. Still he did. Any man in his position would.

  Look away. Reaching for the menu he hadn't looked at, he opened it. He already knew what he wanted. The restaurant was one of his favorites in the city, but the inside of the menu gave him something other than Sara to study.

  “Have you decided on what you're having?” Christopher asked when Sara paused in her explanation.

  He almost sighed with relief when she leaned back in her chair and reached for her own untouched menu.

  “No, not yet. Is there anything you recommend?”

  “Everything is great, but they outdo themselves when it comes to seafood.”

  “Then I'll have to go with the shrimp scampi,” she said just before the waiter returned.

  Throughout dinner they discussed the new education plan. The more she told him about it, the more he felt it was something he could get behind and support. “When you get back to Washington let David know he has me on board.” Christopher rested an elbow on the edge of the table.

  A full true smile, not one of her society smiles, spread across Sara's face revealing a tiny dimple in her check. “Excellent. I think you'll be the perfect spokesperson for it.”

  He didn't know how much Sara knew about him, but nearly everyone in the world knew he'd come from an average background and turned himself into a technology billionaire.

  “I'm surprised he didn't tag you for the role.” With her excitement for the plan and her recognizable name, she'd make an excellent spokesperson.

  Sara's smile disappeared. “He did but I refused. It would feel like I'm using the Sherbrooke name to get it passed. I plan to make my own way in DC without relying on my family name.”

  He understood her reasons, and admired her for her determination.

  With the topic of the new bill exhausted for the time being, he turned his thoughts to other possible topics for conversation while they waited for dessert. “How did your mom handle the news when she learned about Jake's wedding?”

  Sara's delicate shoulders rose and fell causing the stray piece of hair to sway back and forth, taunting him. “I haven't talked to him. But I don't think he has told her yet. If he has she hasn't called me. But he should tell her soon before the media gets wind of it.” Sara paused as the waiter appeared with their desserts. “I don't envy him. I wouldn't want to tell her either,” Sara said with no hint of humor in her voice.

  He smiled despite the seriousness in her voice. “You and me both. I have to confess though, I would love to be a fly on the wall when he does tell her.”

  A sweet laugh escaped from Sara. “That would be entertaining,” she said before turning her attention to the New York cheesecake before her.

  Christopher focused on his own dessert. She hadn't spoken to Jake either. Was she avoiding her brother as well or did they just not talk much? He thought Jake told him once that he and Sara were close.

  “He
hasn't said anything to you?” Sara asked, her face clouded with uneasiness.

  “The last time he called, I was in a meeting.” Although not a lie it wasn't the complete truth either. Jake had called him twice since the wedding. The first time he'd texted Jake back saying he was on his way to a meeting. He hadn't responded at all to the second call.

  Sara nodded and he got the impression that she knew he was avoiding her brother. Probably because she was too.

  Chapter 4