“No! I mean, he’s not super wealthy. He works hard for his father’s construction business. They do well to live a comfortable life, but I don’t think he can just go out and buy a Porsche. Well, hell, I don’t know. Maybe he can. It was never something I thought about, much less cared about.”
“Got it. So this woman left him because of that? How shallow.”
“I know, right? It makes my stomach sick to think of how she treated Nash. He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met, Millie. He loves his family and friends and would do anything for anyone. He even drove me all the way to Houston because my car was broken down.”
“Wow. Okay, clearly this Lily chick was insane. I’m still not understanding the . . . oh no. Shit. Oh, Kaelynn. You didn’t.”
I pulled my lower lip into my mouth and bit down on it. “I never told Morgan; you know how hard it is when you tell people about it.”
“Yes, I know. I’ve had my fair share of friends and boyfriends only pretend to like me because of the family money. But if you’re thinking of starting anything with this guy, he needs to know. Especially with this history. What is the matter with you? You’re not in high school. Why are you acting like it?”
“Ugh, God. I know! I know! I really like him and I’m afraid if I tell him now, he’s going to walk away. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before and he kissed me earlier. Millie . . . it was the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had in my life. I mean, I’m pretty sure my mind was making all the arrangements for our wedding and how many kids we were gonna have while he was kissing me. I was completely and utterly lost to him.”
“That good, huh?” she purred into the phone. I could see her now wiggling her eyebrows and making a crude gesture with either her hands or her tongue.
“Yes. It was that good.”
“Imagine what sex will be like.”
My face heated.
“That’s the problem. I can imagine it. I have imagined it. I want to tell him the truth. I really do. But this is our first date tonight. He’s taking me to the park to see the tree, and it’s going to be all festive. I mean, what if we date a few times and things don’t work out? It won’t matter that I didn’t tell him I’m the heiress to a billion-dollar fortune.”
“One of the heiresses. I’m the other one. Sharesies, remember?”
I sighed. “I’m serious. I think if he finds out, he’s going to put me in the friend zone again.”
“And the friend zone isn’t enough?” Millie asked.
“At first, I thought it was. Each time I’ve seen him, I fall a little more. So no, the friend zone is not enough.”
“Wow.” Millie stated. The line was silent for a bit. “When Justin and I first started dating, he had no idea about our family. We dated for a few months before it even really came up. I mean, he asked what my parents did, and I told him my father owned a company in Utah that dealt a lot with real estate. I told him what you did, and what Jack does. He was fine with that. As things got heavier and we started talking about meeting the parents, I knew I had to warn him before I pulled up to our folks’ house. I mean, it is a bit overwhelming.”
I laughed, but it came out more like a scoff. “To say the least.”
My parents’ house, well, their main house outside of Salt Lake City, that is, was a rather large house. At just over forty-nine-thousand square feet, it had everything you could wish for, including a two-lane bowling alley.
“He was freaked about it at first, but it never changed his opinion of me.”
“That’s the problem. I’m afraid once Nash finds out, it will change his. He’s been down this road before and it burned him.”
“Not every woman with a large pocket book is going to care what his fortune is.”
“I know that. He’s following me back home, so I’ve got a ways to go before I get home. I’ll think about what I’m going to do. Maybe I’ll tell him tonight. Yeah. I need to tell him tonight.”
“That’s the smartest thing to do. You don’t have to go into detail, but let him know the gist of it all.”
“Thanks, Millie. I always feel better talking to you.”
“Same here. Are you really staying in Austin?”
“I like it here, and if things go well with Nash, I’ll have a solid reason to stay.”
“Give Justin and me an excuse to come visit. It might be nice to get out of the cold weather. You are coming home for Christmas? Right?”
“Yes. I’ll be there for Christmas. I have a ticket to fly up on the twenty-third.”
“Awesome! I’ve got to go. Justin is calling! Good luck, sis. Love you and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”