I giggle.
“I overheard some ladies at a restaurant talking about Cairo the other day. Supposedly it’s the hottest ticket in town.”
He grins.
“Well, we try. Let me know if you want to go sometime and I’ll take you, sweetheart. It’s no problem.”
My heart races because does this mean Cyrus is okay being seen in public with me? Or maybe I’m misreading things. Maybe he means that me, Alyssa, and him would go together, so he’d be more of a father figure. I have no idea because my head is spinning so fast, but I try to ask insightful questions nonetheless.
“Do you ever get tired of going out all the time?” I ask carefully.
He nods.
“I didn’t used to, but after my last marriage collapsed, I’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet that comes with staying in. Did you ever meet my third wife, Candace?”
I shake my head, although I heard plenty about her from Alyssa, whose comments were none too kind. Cyrus merely sighs.
“Candace was way over the top. My ex wants to be an influencer and was desperate to get to the top tier of her industry. It was a little sad, really. She had an entourage around her all the time, and it was too much with so many people in the house non-stop, day in and day out.”
“But your penthouse is huge,” I venture.
Cyrus grins.
“Yeah, but when you have a constant stream of people parading in and out, it wears on you. So yes, peace and quiet are welcome after living with that.”
I smile shyly.
“When did you guys get divorced?”
He looks down at his food for a moment.
“The divorce was official about six months ago, but to be honest, the marriage was on the rocks way before then. Hell the marriage was on the rocks practically from day one to be honest.”
I smile sympathetically.
“I’m sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel better, Alyssa never really liked Candace.”
Cyrus grunts knowingly.
“Yeah, the two women in my life never really got along, but the marriage is done now, so I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.”
I giggle.
“Well, the entourage is gone at least. What does an entourage even do, come to think of it?”
The billionaire smiles wryly. “Well, my ex had to have a makeup artist and hairstylist with her at all times to make sure she looked perfect, just in case someone wanted a photo. Then there were her so-called friends which consisted of wannabe actresses and a caterer from LA who just hung around from what I can tell. He didn’t cook or cater any foods. He was more of a paid friend.”
My eyes are wide as I stare at him. “I can’t even imagine it.”
Cyrus smiles grimly.
“Yeah, it was bad. I might be in the club business, so I know what it’s like to have hangers-on, but this was a 24/7 thing. Plus, when I’m not working I don’t need all that flash and attention. It’s fucking annoying.”
I try to placate him.
“Well, I guess actresses flourish on attention.”
“No,” he shakes his head, laughing. “Candace wasn’t an actress, she was a wannabe social media influencer, and to some extent, she was successful. She’s got a lot of followers on Instagram, and is building her TikTok fan base too from what I hear.”
I scrunch my nose. “Not to be rude, but I thought that stuff was for teenagers. Isn’t Candace something like thirty?”
Cyrus grins.
“Make that thirty-four. And yes, the fact she was so obsessed with Gen Z culture was a little strange, which is probably another reason we didn’t work out. But that’s enough about Candace. I want to talk about you, honey.”
I smile shyly as my heart pounds. “Well, what do you want to know?”
Cyrus gets up and walks around to my side of the table and holds out his hand. “Everything, sweetheart. But are you done with your chicken? If so, would you like to go out on the terrace and enjoy the sunset? It’s nice out there this time of day.”
Placing my hand in his, I smile as I stand up. “That sounds wonderful.”
With that, the gorgeous billionaire leads me to a large window off the living room and hits a button hidden behind the curtains. The windows automatically begin sliding open with a motorized whirring sound.
“Wow!” I marvel, eyes wide. “This is magnificent!” Cyrus chuckles, making heat flood my cheeks. “Sorry. I’m just not used to places like this because this penthouse is honestly nicer than anything I’ve ever seen.”
He winks.
“You haven’t even caught the view yet, honey. Now that’s the best part of the place. Come on.”
With that, he ushers me out onto the terrace, his hand resting possessively on the small of my back, and I let out a sigh of pleasure because the terrace is a retreat in itself. There’s a fire pit set up with outdoor furniture around it, including a loveseat that looks out over the cityscape. There are beautiful lanterns strung up on lights, and even though the sun hasn’t set, they appear to be glowing from within. I can only imagine how beautiful this space must be at night, but it doesn’t compare to the view.