The Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird Page B

pocket. His loafers were shiny and tasseled and his round glasses were made of tortoiseshell.
     
    He looked very pleased to see Sean. “Sean! How do? I haven’t seen you since—”
     
    “Rolly, it’s good to see you.” Sean stuck his hand out. “How are you?”
     
    “Fine, fine. And you? I’ve heard you’re doing great things with—”
     
    “So how is it possible you’re in town on a sunny Saturday? Is the whole family here with you, too?”
     
    “No, no. Sarah and the kids are at the house on the Vineyard, lucky devils. I had to come in for business. I’m sure you know how that—”
     
    “I’d like you to meet my friend, Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Rolly.”
     
    The man smiled, revealing perfect teeth. “Good Lord, where are my manners? It’s a pleasure.”
     
    Lizzie shoved her spoon into her cone and offered her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
     
    “Enjoying the day with Sean, are you?” he said as they shook.
     
    “Very much.”
     
    “You know, I didn’t think the great SOB ever wandered around—”
     
    “You need to give my regards to Sarah,” Sean cut in.
     
    “Of course, and I hope you’ll come out and visit us sometime on the Vineyard?” Rolly smiled at Lizzie. “Friends are always welcome, too. We have a big house and the more the merrier. Well, I must off to the club. I’m late, which I despise.”
     
    As the man waved and dissolved into the pedestrian stream, Lizzie glanced at Sean. His brows were down low and his mouth set tight.
     
    She was not surprised when he said, “How about we head home? I could use a shower.”
     
    “Sounds good,” she said. Even though it didn’t. She wasn’t in a hurry for the day to end, but she sensed that even if they kept walking around now, it would be over anyway. Sean had gone somewhere in his head and his mood had changed. Which was odd. Rolly Whoever-he-was had seemed perfectly nice, yet Sean had been in a hurry to get rid of him.
     
    They were quiet as they walked down Newbury then went through the Commons and down into the parking garage. Sean didn’t say much on the way home, and when they pulled up to the row house, she had a feeling he was going to make an excuse to go upstairs.
     
    She told herself it was better this way as she could start getting her résumés out.
     
    Yeah…right.
     
    As they got out of the car and went up to the shallow front porch, she said, “Well, thank you for the day. I had a wonderful time.”
     
    Sean stopped. Looked her in the eye. Took her hand in his. “I’m sorry, Lizzie. About being a buzz kill.”
     
    “Why did running into that man bother you so much?”
     
    Sean glanced across the street, but she was sure he wasn’t seeing the other row houses. “He and I went to college together.” In a dry voice, he added, “I was on scholarship, Rolly wasn’t.”
     
    Oh, that explained it. It must be hard to see people who were so much more successful, who had so much more.
     
    “Money isn’t everything, Sean.”
     
    He smiled his disagreement. “Sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes I think my whole life is about chasing the stuff.”
     
    “I totally get that,” she said as she thought about her mom. “But come on, how much did today cost us? The two sandwiches were eight bucks. The cookies were what…four dollars? A six-pack of water was a dollar ninety…on sale, I might remind you. And the cones were nine dollars with an eleven-dollar tip. For thirty-three dollars and ninety cents, which could have been even less if you hadn’t left so much at Ben & Jerry’s, we had a perfectly lovely afternoon. After all, the sun and the Frisbee game were—”
     
    He swooped in and kissed her, his mouth lingering on hers before he pulled back.
     
    “—free,” she finished.
     
    Sean ran his fingertip down her cheek then took a deep breath, as if he were bracing himself for something. “So you wouldn’t think of me differently, rich or poor?”
     
    “I enjoyed today because of