Rocked by the Billionaire: A Billionaire's Club Story by Mandy Baxter Page B

throat. “And I’m not going to let a bunch of lies someone told give you an excuse to push me away.”
    “Mr. Blackwell, would you stand up please?”
    The cop didn’t sound too happy with him. Whatever. Looked like it was never too late to live up to one’s nickname. He turned his back to the officer and put his hands behind his back. All around him, cell phones continued to snap off shots but he ignored every last one of those voyeuristic assholes. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on Kayleigh.
    Silence answered him, as though she couldn’t bring herself to speak. “I’ve never lied to you, baby. Don’t forget that.”
    “Luke Blackwell, you’re under arrest for assault …”
    The cop’s words were nothing more than inane chatter in the back of Luke’s mind. Who gave a shit about going to jail when a possible future with Kayleigh balanced on a razor’s edge? As he was dragged away, Luke fought to turn. To get just one more eyeful of her. She slumped down in her chair and buried her face in her hands. Goddamned Spencer. Because of his bullshit, Luke might have lost the only thing in this world he gave a shit about.
    Oh, who in the hell are you kidding?
Luke thought as he was dragged from the restaurant to more eager amateur paparazzi.
You have no one to blame for this but yourself
.
    ***
    Kayleigh sat in her chair, her skin crawling with the multiple sets of eyes on her, unable to move.
    She was too numb for embarrassment. Too stunned for confusion. Much too concerned for Luke to think about her own hurt. The crazy thing was, she
did
trust him. Even so, by the way he’d spoken to her, Kayleigh knew that no matter how much of the article Spencer had shown her was a lie, somewhere buried inside of it was a kernel of truth.
    Did she really want to know how much?
    “Um, here are your dinner specials and desserts.” The waiter gingerly set a white plastic bag on the table along with the check. Kayleigh looked up at him, incredulous. Not only had her date been arrested, she was now saddled with more food than she could eat
and
the bill. Riotous laughter bubbled up Kayleigh’s throat and the waiter looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Tears pooled in her eyes as she fished her credit card from her wallet and plunked it down on the table. The waiter retrieved it like he was reaching into a bowl full of scorpions and another bout of uncontrollable laugher burst from her that quickly turned into painful, wracking sobs.
    She wiped at her eyes in a desperate attempt to stem the flow of tears. She stared at the table, unwilling to acknowledge the people still staring at her when the waiter returned with her receipt. As she gathered up the bag of food she dialed Ryder’s number on her cell. “It’s Kayleigh. Luke’s been arrested. Can you meet me at the county jail?”
    “
Shit
.” She could only picture Ryder’s enraged expression. “What did he do?”
    “He punched Spencer in the middle of Angus.”
    “Is that all?” Ryder snorted. “Hold tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    ***
    Kayleigh sat outside of the county sheriff’s office, the keys to Luke’s rental car clenched tightly in her fist. Was it stupid to trust a man that she hadn’t seen in years just because of something they’d shared almost a decade ago? And why did the prospect of hearing his explanation for the magazine exposé make her stomach tie up into myriad unyielding knots?
    “You’ve been sittin’ out here all night?” Ryder took a seat on the bench next to her and leaned against the brick wall, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
    Kayleigh let out a slow sigh and allowed her head to fall back. She turned toward Luke’s brother. “You look nice.” His custom-tailored suit probably cost more than she made in a month. “I’m sorry if I ruined your date night.”
    “You didn’t ruin anything,” Ryder remarked. He tilted his head up toward the star-filled sky. “Luke, on the other hand, owes me big