A Billionaire for Christmas by Maggie Marr Read Free Book Online Page A

addict and worse. She’d deal with the sour looks from the nonsmokers of the world. A deep inhale pulled the first drag into her lungs. Who knew, maybe she was wrong. Maybe she would kick this habit someday, but she wasn’t starting now, not today, only days before Christmas.
    Shelly glanced at her phone to check the time. She needed to hustle back to Nonna’s and get them to Aubrey and Justin’s. The sun had long since set, and darkness filled the sky. No clouds—just the moon and crystal pinpricks of starlight. Long Island smelled different than San Francisco, felt different too. The neighborhood felt closed in, more tightly packed, and familiar, like a warm jacket you pulled from the back of your closet.
    She hadn’t been into the city yet. What would being downtown feel like? Damn, she’d only started driving again last month. She slid one hand into her jacket pocket, took another drag, and started the short walk home.
    A black car, sleek and expensive, pulled to the curb. Her eyes flicked toward the car, but she kept walking. A Tesla was definitely out of place in this neighborhood. The passenger window slid down and the car stopped.
    Desire flooded her as she realized who was behind the wheel, even before she heard his voice. Damn. The sensation nearly knocked her to her knees. How long since she’d actually wanted a man? Her gut twisted with a desire for Anthony’s touch, to feel his skin pressed to her skin, his hands on her body. How long since she had felt this desire, a desire attached to more than physical pleasure? Her gaze slid toward the car. Maybe since she’d last made love with Anthony. It might have been that long.
    “Shelly?”
    Her gut tightened at the sound of his voice, and a heat pulsed between her legs. Her name on his lips was a long-remembered caress. How many times growing up had she heard him say her name? She’d never be able to remember. She walked to the passenger side of the car and leaned down to look inside.
    Her breath caught in her chest. The streetlight lit Anthony’s features through the windshield. He had always been the type of guy who made women pause, take a long second look. Sharp-cut jaw and full lips, with a smile, one she’d yet to see since she’d returned, that was a panty-melter for sure. There was no smile on his face tonight. He might as well be a dark-eyed stranger, a wealthy man in an expensive car in the wrong neighborhood.
    She rested her hand on the frame of the open window. “Nice wheels, Tony.” She took the final drag of her cigarette and threw it to the ground, then rolled the toe of her boot across the butt. His gaze raked over her. Even through the darkness, the judgment in his eyes, so evident since she’d arrived home, reached across the distance between them and slapped her. “Don’t look like they belong here, though. Neither do you.”
    She pushed away from the car and started to walk home. She didn’t need his rich ass judging her. Who was he, anyway? Yeah, she’d done things that she wished she hadn’t, but she was getting her life back together now. Anthony, with his fancy things, and all that money, and his look-at-how-successful-I-am attitude, wasn’t helping her any. Nope. She didn’t care how much money Tony Travati had managed to sock away in his bank account. She knew from experience that money didn’t make you a good person. She’d seen that first-hand.
    The car rolled forward, tailing her.
    “You better stop following me,” she yelled over her shoulder. “I got the 50 on my speed dial.”
    “I came to give you a ride to Justin and Aubrey’s,” he shouted back. The car came to an abrupt halt.
    She stopped and turned. He now stood beside the open driver door, one hand on the roof of the car. His gaze shifted from her back to the church and the clumps of people lingering on the front steps. Was he embarrassed to be seen with her? She’d run into a former teacher and two classmates in the meeting.
    “How’d you know I