Only A Millionaire

Chapter 18

JADE

I knew he was there from the moment he entered the restaurant.

    Not  that  I  saw  him. I  didn't  have  to. His  presence  made  a  zing  of

awareness move  up  my  spine, a  sensation  that  was  so  uncomfortable

that I had to force myself not to squirm in my chair.

    I turned my attention back  to  the  large  table  of  people, all  of  them

family. Brooke had put her departure  off  for  another  day  so  we  could

all have dinner together before she left.

    We'd picked a nice  restaurant  in  San  Diego, a  place  owned  by  Eli

Stone. Even so, I'd figured the  chances  of  him  showing  up  personally

had been almost nil.

    I'd been wrong.

   Dammit! What is he doing here?

   Sure,  he  owned  the  place, but  he  owned   plenty   of   world-class

restaurants.

      I  turned  my  hand  searched  him  out. It  didn't  take  long  to  see

him being seated in a  private  booth  with  another  man  in  a  custom

suit. I didn't recognize his friend, but by all  indications, he  looked  just

as wealthy as Eli Stone.

         "Jade? Are you okay?'

         I had no idea how long my twin had been  talking  to  me, but  I  was

jolted back to reality at the sound of her concerned voice.

     "I'm fine," I said immediately.

    "You don't  look  fine,"  she  observed. "You  look  like  you  just  saw  a

ghost."

     "I  thought  I   saw   somebody   I   knew,"  I   explained.  "But   I   was

wrong."

    Brooke was seated  right  next  to  me,  her  new  fiancé  on  the  oppo-

site side. She shot me an inquisitive look, but I smiled back at her.

    This  was  Brooke's  night. We  were  here  to   celebrate   her   engage-

ment. I refused  to  let  some  whole  in  a  perfectly  fitting  suit  spoil  my

evening.

    I  hated  the  fact  that  Brooke  was  going  to  be  living  on  the  other

side  of  the  country,  but  I  was  willing  to  suffer.  My  only   sister  was

happy, and if I had to get my  ass  on  a  plane  to  go  see  her, I  had  no

problem with that. it  would  be  worth  it  if  she  stayed  just  as  content

and jubilant as she was right now.

     "I'm worried about you," Brooke said, sounding uneasy.

     "Don't," I insisted. "I'm good."

      Hell,   who   wouldn't   consider    themselves    downright    blessed

when they'd inherited a fortune?  Eli  Stone  was  nothing  more  than  a