Chapter 7 That night, I entered the house to the most amazing smell. Apples and cinnamon, maybe? What the heck was going on? I went straight to the kitchen to find Dorian standing near the oven. I cleared my throat to announce my presence. He turned and smiled. "Oh, hey." "Have I just walked into The Billionaire Bakeoff?" "It would seem that way, wouldn't it?" I sniffed the air. "Apple pie?" "Apple crisp." My mouth went agape. "Dorian Vanderbilt baking apple crisp was certainly not on my bingo card this week." "Don't get too excited. It's the one thing I actually know how to make. My mother's recipe. When I was little, she used to have me help her make it after we went apple picking. I never forgot the steps." "Well, if you're only gonna know how to make one thing, apple crisp is a pretty damn good choice." "I can agree with that," he said as he rummaged through the drawers. "When you said dessert, I was expecting you to maybe pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm impressed that you took the time to make something." "Well, consider it my official apology for putting you through the wrath of my miserable date." "What was her name? You never introduced me," I teased. "How rude." "That's because I knew from the moment I met her that I wouldn't be seeing her again. But her name was Eve." "You said baking apple crisp was an apology for her. But, um, wasn't that enormous tip you left me enough?" "No, it wasn't." Dorian grabbed a mitt and opened the oven to pull out the baking dish. The bubbling crisp looked just as amazing as it smelled. "It's going to have to cool off for a bit. Maybe we go pick out a movie and come back for it." "Actually, I'd like to go upstairs and change real quick. Why don't you pick the movie while I do that? You seem to know my taste." He removed the oven mitt. "Okay." As I headed upstairs, butterflies swarmed in my stomach. I had no evidence that this was anything more than two roommates hanging out, yet I couldn't help how I felt. An attractive man with whom I felt intense chemistry had just baked for me, and we were getting ready to watch a movie together. I couldn't remember the last time anything had made me feel so giddy. It was pretty pathetic that some of the best "dates" I'd ever had were spur-of-the-moment encounters with Dorian Vanderbilt. After taking off my work clothes, I slipped on a crop top I'd been dying all night to wear in front of Dorian and a pair of lounge pants. Normally I would've showered, but I didn't want the dessert to be cold by the time I returned. I fluffed my long brown hair in the mirror. My caramel highlights were fading to more of a blonde, but I kind of liked the contrast, even if it meant I was overdue for a touch-up at the salon. When I got downstairs, Dorian was back in the kitchen. "I set up the theater. Looks like this is cool enough, too." He served generous portions of the apple crisp onto two plates and handed me one with a fork. I sniffed. "This looks and smells amazing." "Well, don't judge it until you taste it." "I never do." My cheeks burned as I realized how that sounded. "Okay, then." His eyes fell to my midriff. "Interesting choice of crop top. That can't be a coincidence." My shirt read: Allergic to Stupid. "In honor of your annoying date. I couldn't wait to get home and put it on." "That's awesome and timely." We walked our plates of apple crisp down to the theater and each took a seat. "What movie did you choose?" "I didn't yet. Couldn't decide. We need to discuss it." I dug into the dessert. My tongue tingled at the sweet combination of apples and cinnamon, complemented by a hint of salty butter. "This is delicious." "I'm happy you like it." "I can't remember the last time anyone baked for me," I said with my mouth full. "I most definitely wouldn't have imagined that the person to break the chain would be you." "Because of the way I was the night you met me?" I nodded. "You're supposed to be an elusive billionaire, not Betty Crocker." He covered his full mouth as he laughed. "And you were supposed to be a slightly odd, crop-top-wearing monkey artist." He paused. "Well, you are those things, but in a good way. You're also someone I quite like spending time with." I felt my face heat as I licked sticky apple off my lips. "I find myself enjoying your company, too, Dorian, which is interesting considering I feared the idea of you for so long." "Well, I'm glad you don't fear me anymore." "You haven't given me a reason to-yet. Doesn't seem like the dogs fear you, either. I haven't heard them barking lately." "Hard to fear someone you've been sleeping with." I stopped chewing. "Sleeping?" Dorian shrugged. "I came home one night to find them in my bed. It was late, and I was too damn tired to kick them out. So I got under the covers and accepted that they were there. Now they won't leave me alone." Laughing, I pointed my fork at him. "Let that be a lesson to be careful about the mixed messages you give women." He licked the corner of his mouth. "Wanna know the strange thing?" "What?" "I've actually come to depend on their snoring to help me sleep." "Your dad would be proud." "Probably the only thing he'd be proud about." "I highly doubt that. You seem to be doing everything you can to make him proud." He shook his head. "He always found reasons to criticize me. My father and I had a very difficult relationship. Things might've been easier if I'd had siblings. At least some of his attention would've been dispersed among us. Being his heir apparent wasn't a responsibility I signed up for. There are a lot of people who think I should be grateful for the empire he built. But it comes with a lot of headaches." "Don't you have the option to sell the business and just live your life?" He let out a long breath. "That's easier said than done. The need to please him doesn't just end because he's not physically here anymore. I'd feel a lot of guilt for throwing away everything he built. Not sure I could live with myself. I'm better off trying to figure out a way to put my own stamp on things while keeping it going, even if it kills me." "I hope it doesn't kill you." I frowned. "Stress is no joke." "I know," he said with a sigh. "You're brave for taking it on when you could've walked away." "A less-than-perfect life is better than no life at all. I've tried to just be grateful to be alive since they died. To pause and appreciate the little things." "Like apple crisp late at night in the theater." He smiled. "Like an unexpected connection with a mysterious artist." That gave me chills. "You find me mysterious?" "I do. You haven't shared too much about yourself. You come across as this carefree, creative, and caring person. While you appear to be an open book at first glance, you haven't offered me too much about your life before you came here." I sighed. "The truth might not match up with your preconceived notions." "That's okay." He set his plate on an adjacent chair. "I want to know anyway." He reached for my empty plate and set it atop his. He looked into my eyes, waiting for me to speak. "I was a very sad and depressed person before moving to Orion Coast," I admitted. "Well, you know I'd lost my mom. It was hard for me to be back in Ohio without her. It's a weird feeling to have no family left. I'd always believed the only people to truly love you are your family. I had a few friends back home, but they were all busy with their boyfriends or jobs. For the first time in my life, I felt totally alone, like an adult orphan. It's strange to feel like if you died tomorrow, no one would be particularly devastated." "I feel that in my soul, Primrose." He placed his hand on my arm. "I really do." The contact sent shivers through me. "The decision to sell the Ohio house and move here was the easiest one I'd ever made." "Did you feel less lonely here?" "A little. Christina and I were never close enough for her to be anything like my mother. But the fact that she was my mother's sister made me feel closer to my mom." I took a deep breath. "The ocean brought me some peace, too. It was all so different from home, and that was what I needed at the time." He rested his chin on his palm. "It was good for a while-until it wasn't, huh?" I nodded. "After they died, I had to adjust to yet another new reality." "I'd ask how that's going, but I understand, because I'm living it." "I throw myself into my art. That's pretty much how I handle it. And I'm grateful to still have school to distract me. That's thanks to you for allowing me to live here, since I might've had to drop out if I had to pay for an apartment." I paused. "Anyway, I'd stopped practicing my craft for a while back in Ohio, but enrolling in art school ensures that I stick to it." "What do you hope to achieve long term?" "I don't expect miracles. If my art ends up in some big gallery someday, I wouldn't be mad at that." I smiled. "But honestly, I'd be just as happy as an art teacher. As long as I could still draw and paint for me, I'd be happy." He stared at me so intently that I had to look away. "Should we start a movie?" He looked over at the screen. "I almost forgot we were supposed to be watching one." "We don't have to, if you'd rather keep talking." "That's the weird thing, Primrose. I do want to keep talking, and normally I hate talking. But this isn't small talk. It's more meaningful. I could talk to you all night." Dorian settled into his seat, turning toward me. My arm leaned against his a little, and I could feel the heat of his body. This had started to feel intimate, though not necessarily in a sexual way. He went on to tell me stories about his childhood, growing up in the mansion. He said after his mom died, Benjamin was almost like a second father to him, since his dad worked so much. He told me his mother used to have a beautiful rose garden out back, but after she died, no one kept it up. He felt sad that he hadn't tried harder to maintain it in her memory. I talked about my childhood, too, admitting that it wasn't the greatest. My mom had a lot of boyfriends, none of whom ever turned out to be the one for her. Watching her bad luck in the love department had made me wary of trusting men in general. Dorian and I stayed in the theater talking well into the middle of the night. And the movie never happened. In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...