Romance: One Night With A Billionaire by Amy McAdams Read Free Book Online

of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets.
    Turning the corner Owen gave a homeless guy all the loose change he had in his pocket, the random act of kindness making him feel good and in the hope that the Gods will look on him favorably and let things go well between him and Bella.
    Walking into the coffee shop, Owen felt suddenly awkward as Julia bustled in from the back of the shop, a mop in one hand a bucket in the other.
    She looked at Owen and smiled, what he could actually describe as a knowing smile.
    “Well, hello there,” Julia put down the bucket and placed the mop inside. “Your usual?”
    Owen nodded noticing that Bella was conspicuous by her absence. Julia prepared his order and handed it to him.
    “Is umm…is she here?” Owen finally managed to ask. Julia shook her head. “No she had an appointment.”
    Momentarily Owen looked alarmed and Julia started laughing, “Oh, don’t worry. Nothing to do with you but she has had trouble walking since meeting up with you… if you get my drift?”
    Owen gulped. “Right. Well, umm I guess I better be off.”
    Julia walked round the counter, “Why don’t you stay, eat your sandwich and drink your drink here. You always seem in such a rush. I’m shutting up now so we have the place all to ourselves.”
    Before Owen could protest, Julia had moved around him and locked the door turning the sign to closed, she turned and grinned at him. “There, we have all the privacy we need.”
    Julia sat at a table in the far corner and Owen couldn’t really do anything else but sit facing her. Tentatively he opened the bag that housed his sandwich and took it out.
    “You made a real impression on our Bella,” Julia said.
    Owen smiled tentatively, “Really?”
    Julia nodded. “Yup. However, there are a few things you need to know about our Bella before you jump to conclusions in terms of what happened the other night. She has lived a sheltered life in Alabama. She had this flash of guilt about what had happened the other night but trust me, that was just a flash of conscience, nothing more. She isn’t used to living on the edge.”
    “Ok…” Owen couldn’t help but feel like he was getting a lecture.
    “Do you like her?”
    Owen looked at Julia over his sandwich, one piece of ham in his mouth, another threatening to fall out. He nodded, “Of course I like her. I was a bit pissed that she had disappeared, to be honest.”
    Julia leaned forward as if the walls could hear her and she was going to impart the biggest secret of the decade. “She likes you, but you need to know how to play this right. It’s no good to keep coming in here for your ginger latte and your sandwich. You need to take action.”
    Owen thought back to his conversation earlier with Penelope.
    “I am going to take action. That’s why I am here.”
    He finished the last of his sandwich and screwed up the paper it had been wrapped in along with the bag. He handed it to Julia who took it from him and folded her arms.
    “Well, go on then, what have you got planned?”
    Owen hadn’t really planned to do it, but Julia had out him on the spot.
    He took out his silver case that housed his business cards and his black Mont-Blanc pen. On the back, he wrote:
     
     
    Lotus Hotel
    Be there tomorrow evening at 7 pm.
     
     
    Then he handed the card to Julia.
    “There, if you could give Bella that, I would be really grateful.”
    Julia turned over the card and read the message on the back and raised her eyebrows, she looked at Owen and smiled.
    “Yes sir.”
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 15
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Bella returned to the shop minutes after Owen had left.
    Letting her in, Julia could hardly contain her excitement.
    “How did you get on?”” she asked Bella breathily, wanting to get the preliminaries out of the way.
    Bella frowned. “I had my ears syringed. How do you think it went? I was hardly having a life-saving operation.”
    Julia laughed, “Guess