Biker Billionaire #3: Riding the Heir
"Wedding? What wedding?" I tried not to sound panicked.
Virginia Sorrenson looked from my baffled expression to Shane's chagrined one. "I was under the impression she knew what she was getting into, Shane. This does not appear to be the case."
I turned to Shane. "What's she talking about, Shane? You said going with you meant it was a declaration that we were together. You didn't say anything about any damn wedding."
I saw Virginia's brows furrow at my vulgar language. Shane winced, and took my hand.
"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. It's not like it's going to be next week or anything, Leo, just..." he scrubbed his face with his hand. "Let's talk about this later, okay? In private?"
I nodded.
Virginia seemed displeased. "Shane, you should have been forthright with her from the beginning. It's not fair to her to be in the dark like this. She should know what she's getting into."
"I know," Shane said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can we just get home? I'll explain everything."
"Everything?" I asked. "Is there more?"
Luke spoke up. "With Shane, there's always more. He's not the most forthcoming man ever."
The three other brothers all chuckled.
"Let's just say there's probably more he's not saying than he is," Jon added.
"We're his brothers, and he didn't tell us about his patents until after he'd made his first billion," Rob said.
I choked on my saliva. "His first what? " I looked from Shane, who seemed intensely pissed off, to Rob. "His first billion with a 'B', or million with an 'M'?"
Virginia sighed. "Billion, dear. With a capital 'B'. My tight-lipped son Shane here is worth nearly as much as his father." She glared at Shane. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. This poor girl obviously knows nothing about you, and not through any fault of her own. This is the kind of thing you can't just spring on a girl, son."
"It's not like I wasn't going to tell her, I just—"
"You want her to like you for more than your money," Virginia cut in. "I know. We've been over this. But obviously things with Leona have progressed rather quickly. If she's to make an informed and responsible decision about her future with you, then she needs the facts. All of them, dear. Not just the ones you decide to part with."
I turned away and stared out the tinted window. Our limo, which I suspected was worth more than my parents' house, was zipping smoothly along a narrow, winding road lined with spreading trees, now changing to brilliant reds, oranges, yellows and browns as fall descended on upstate New York. There was more to Shane Sorrenson than met the eye, clearly. I'd always known that. Even from the first time I met him, I knew he was more than just a biker. His carriage, his bearing, something in the ramrod stiffness of his spine spoke of breeding and sophistication. It hadn't clicked right away though, and he tried to brush it off, especially when it came out that he was the son of Henry James Sorrenson. And now, suddenly, those medical patents he'd so casually mentioned and dismissed weren't a trivial matter, and the company some little dot com existing on paper somewhere. He was a billionaire .
"Shane, you told me you owned a few medical patents," I said, after a long, tense silence.
Shane didn't answer right away. He picked at a thread on the leg of his pants, not looking at anyone. "First, I'm sorry. My brothers are right, in that I don't like to talk about myself. I don't like to flaunt my family name or my own personal wealth. Dad's money is his, earned by his hard work, over a lifetime. Mine is...well that's different. Those patents are meant to make life better for everyone, and it seems wrong somehow to capitalize on them."
Virginia huffed in irritation. "Oh for goodness' sake, Shane. Stop being so ridiculously egalitarian. Those patents are revolutionizing battlefield medicine. You've changed the medical world, son. You'd be a fool not to capitalize on it."
"Mother, I know.
"Wedding? What wedding?" I tried not to sound panicked.
Virginia Sorrenson looked from my baffled expression to Shane's chagrined one. "I was under the impression she knew what she was getting into, Shane. This does not appear to be the case."
I turned to Shane. "What's she talking about, Shane? You said going with you meant it was a declaration that we were together. You didn't say anything about any damn wedding."
I saw Virginia's brows furrow at my vulgar language. Shane winced, and took my hand.
"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. It's not like it's going to be next week or anything, Leo, just..." he scrubbed his face with his hand. "Let's talk about this later, okay? In private?"
I nodded.
Virginia seemed displeased. "Shane, you should have been forthright with her from the beginning. It's not fair to her to be in the dark like this. She should know what she's getting into."
"I know," Shane said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can we just get home? I'll explain everything."
"Everything?" I asked. "Is there more?"
Luke spoke up. "With Shane, there's always more. He's not the most forthcoming man ever."
The three other brothers all chuckled.
"Let's just say there's probably more he's not saying than he is," Jon added.
"We're his brothers, and he didn't tell us about his patents until after he'd made his first billion," Rob said.
I choked on my saliva. "His first what? " I looked from Shane, who seemed intensely pissed off, to Rob. "His first billion with a 'B', or million with an 'M'?"
Virginia sighed. "Billion, dear. With a capital 'B'. My tight-lipped son Shane here is worth nearly as much as his father." She glared at Shane. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. This poor girl obviously knows nothing about you, and not through any fault of her own. This is the kind of thing you can't just spring on a girl, son."
"It's not like I wasn't going to tell her, I just—"
"You want her to like you for more than your money," Virginia cut in. "I know. We've been over this. But obviously things with Leona have progressed rather quickly. If she's to make an informed and responsible decision about her future with you, then she needs the facts. All of them, dear. Not just the ones you decide to part with."
I turned away and stared out the tinted window. Our limo, which I suspected was worth more than my parents' house, was zipping smoothly along a narrow, winding road lined with spreading trees, now changing to brilliant reds, oranges, yellows and browns as fall descended on upstate New York. There was more to Shane Sorrenson than met the eye, clearly. I'd always known that. Even from the first time I met him, I knew he was more than just a biker. His carriage, his bearing, something in the ramrod stiffness of his spine spoke of breeding and sophistication. It hadn't clicked right away though, and he tried to brush it off, especially when it came out that he was the son of Henry James Sorrenson. And now, suddenly, those medical patents he'd so casually mentioned and dismissed weren't a trivial matter, and the company some little dot com existing on paper somewhere. He was a billionaire .
"Shane, you told me you owned a few medical patents," I said, after a long, tense silence.
Shane didn't answer right away. He picked at a thread on the leg of his pants, not looking at anyone. "First, I'm sorry. My brothers are right, in that I don't like to talk about myself. I don't like to flaunt my family name or my own personal wealth. Dad's money is his, earned by his hard work, over a lifetime. Mine is...well that's different. Those patents are meant to make life better for everyone, and it seems wrong somehow to capitalize on them."
Virginia huffed in irritation. "Oh for goodness' sake, Shane. Stop being so ridiculously egalitarian. Those patents are revolutionizing battlefield medicine. You've changed the medical world, son. You'd be a fool not to capitalize on it."
"Mother, I know.
Similar Books
