Rocked by the Billionaire: A Billionaire's Club Story by Mandy Baxter
Authors: Mandy Baxter
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handed it to him across the table. “Is this true?”
Luke snatched the article from her hand and glanced down at it before bringing his gaze back to hers. His mouth turned down, his jaw squaring. He focused his attention on Spencer and grated the words from between clenched teeth, “You fucker.”
“Spencer, you have every right to be upset. I’m the one who ended our relationship, not Luke.” Guilt ate at her. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t ended things so badly with Spencer, he wouldn’t be here now trying to publically humiliate Luke. “It’s not fair to come over here and use petty gossip to hurt him when it’s me you should be angry at.”
Spencer scoffed. “Petty gossip? If he’s not trying to get out of something, then why has Blackwell missed two court appearances in the past six months? I checked, Kayleigh. The court records are legit.”
She didn’t want to believe Spencer, but the his expression told her just how serious he was. Had she been a fool to fall for Luke’s romantic, tortured artist sensitivity and his bullshit line that he couldn’t live without her? All along he was hiding out from the press and a woman he couldn’t even be responsible enough to practice safe sex with!
“Kayleigh.” Luke’s warning tone told her that he sensed the storm brewing. “You need to let me explain.”
Luke had never lied to her. Not once in all of the years they’d known each other. Even when he left eight years ago, he’d been up-front with her, no sugarcoating whatsoever. But the care he took with his words now made her wonder if Luke was attempting some sort of damage control. Softening the blow so she wouldn’t freak the hell out.
“There’s nothing to explain.” Kayleigh forced her mouth into a complacent smile and kept her tone soft and even. She refused to add to tonight’s spectacle by making a scene.
“Kayleigh, he’s a loser.” With her attention focused solely on Luke and his on her, she’d completely forgotten there was anyone else in the restaurant, let alone standing beside her. “The entire family is trash. He misled you and I can understand how—”
“Who are you calling trash, you piece of shit?”
Luke pushed out his chair with enough force to topple it backward as he stood. His roots and impoverished childhood had always been a sore spot. Spencer knew that and was using it to push Luke’s buttons. Every set of eyes in the place turned toward them and Kayleigh’s heart fluttered in her chest as a wave of anxiety crested over her.
“Luke.” She reached out in an attempt to get him to sit back down, but his temper flared past the point of reason. She’d only seen him this angry one other time, and it had been after a group of kids had scrawled “white trash” across his locker with a sharpie. He’d been thirteen at the time and was suspended from school for a week after giving Ken Malheur a bloody nose over it. Not only was Luke considerably bigger now, but bulkier, his entire body corded with sinewy muscle. He’d pound Spencer into a pulp before anyone could do anything to stop it.
“Luke, don’t do this.” Kayleigh pushed her chair out and got between him and Spencer. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You can’t afford any more negative press.”
Eleven
She thought he was worried about some bad fucking press?
Luke trembled with unrestrained rage, his hands curled into tight fists ready to strike out. Yeah, he knew that the story made him look bad, and that fucker Spencer hadn’t exactly helped his case. And the fact that Kayleigh was so quick to believe that son of a bitch was a knife straight through his goddamned heart. Hell, he wasn’t even worried about that fucking tabloid article Spencer had decided to wave in Kayleigh’s face. It was total bullshit anyway and nothing he couldn’t explain given the chance. It was the insult to his family that sent Luke toppling over the edge of reasonable anger management.
He was going to
Luke snatched the article from her hand and glanced down at it before bringing his gaze back to hers. His mouth turned down, his jaw squaring. He focused his attention on Spencer and grated the words from between clenched teeth, “You fucker.”
“Spencer, you have every right to be upset. I’m the one who ended our relationship, not Luke.” Guilt ate at her. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t ended things so badly with Spencer, he wouldn’t be here now trying to publically humiliate Luke. “It’s not fair to come over here and use petty gossip to hurt him when it’s me you should be angry at.”
Spencer scoffed. “Petty gossip? If he’s not trying to get out of something, then why has Blackwell missed two court appearances in the past six months? I checked, Kayleigh. The court records are legit.”
She didn’t want to believe Spencer, but the his expression told her just how serious he was. Had she been a fool to fall for Luke’s romantic, tortured artist sensitivity and his bullshit line that he couldn’t live without her? All along he was hiding out from the press and a woman he couldn’t even be responsible enough to practice safe sex with!
“Kayleigh.” Luke’s warning tone told her that he sensed the storm brewing. “You need to let me explain.”
Luke had never lied to her. Not once in all of the years they’d known each other. Even when he left eight years ago, he’d been up-front with her, no sugarcoating whatsoever. But the care he took with his words now made her wonder if Luke was attempting some sort of damage control. Softening the blow so she wouldn’t freak the hell out.
“There’s nothing to explain.” Kayleigh forced her mouth into a complacent smile and kept her tone soft and even. She refused to add to tonight’s spectacle by making a scene.
“Kayleigh, he’s a loser.” With her attention focused solely on Luke and his on her, she’d completely forgotten there was anyone else in the restaurant, let alone standing beside her. “The entire family is trash. He misled you and I can understand how—”
“Who are you calling trash, you piece of shit?”
Luke pushed out his chair with enough force to topple it backward as he stood. His roots and impoverished childhood had always been a sore spot. Spencer knew that and was using it to push Luke’s buttons. Every set of eyes in the place turned toward them and Kayleigh’s heart fluttered in her chest as a wave of anxiety crested over her.
“Luke.” She reached out in an attempt to get him to sit back down, but his temper flared past the point of reason. She’d only seen him this angry one other time, and it had been after a group of kids had scrawled “white trash” across his locker with a sharpie. He’d been thirteen at the time and was suspended from school for a week after giving Ken Malheur a bloody nose over it. Not only was Luke considerably bigger now, but bulkier, his entire body corded with sinewy muscle. He’d pound Spencer into a pulp before anyone could do anything to stop it.
“Luke, don’t do this.” Kayleigh pushed her chair out and got between him and Spencer. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You can’t afford any more negative press.”
Eleven
She thought he was worried about some bad fucking press?
Luke trembled with unrestrained rage, his hands curled into tight fists ready to strike out. Yeah, he knew that the story made him look bad, and that fucker Spencer hadn’t exactly helped his case. And the fact that Kayleigh was so quick to believe that son of a bitch was a knife straight through his goddamned heart. Hell, he wasn’t even worried about that fucking tabloid article Spencer had decided to wave in Kayleigh’s face. It was total bullshit anyway and nothing he couldn’t explain given the chance. It was the insult to his family that sent Luke toppling over the edge of reasonable anger management.
He was going to
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