After The Dark (Billionaire In Love 3) Read Online Free

take as long as you want. It's, um, it's a nice place your parents have.”
    “Yeah...” she said, and there was an awkward tension. Should she invite him in? It felt like she had waited too long, so now it was even more awkward. Thankfully, her mother was there to defuse the tension.
    “Who is it, Scarlett?” she asked.
    “Mom, this is... Jack.”
    “It's nice to meet you,” Janice said, leaning past Scarlett and holding out her hand.
    “Likewise,” Jack said.
    “Well, Scarlett, where are your manners? He's come all this way; are you not going to invite him in?” There was a twinkle in her mother's eye and Scarlett vowed to throttle her later. She turned back around to Jack and flashed a wide smile, inviting him in for some iced tea. Jack gladly accepted.
    “Why don't you go out to the garden? It's a pleasant day,” Janice said. Scarlett and Jack made their way outside.
    “Thanks for nothing,” Scarlett whispered as she passed her mother. Janice only smiled in return, and went to the kitchen to finish off the lunch that Scarlett had started.
    “Did you really just come here for that? Is that part of the service?” she asked.
    “I also came to tell you that the company will pay your father's medical bills.”
    “Jack... you can't do that.”
    “It's not me doing it; it's the company.”
    “Don't twist things around on me like that. You don't owe me... you don't owe us anything,” she said. His secret past was hanging between them. It was palpable in the air, and it prevented them from even looking at each other properly. Scarlett was standing with her body turned slightly away from him, while Jack was holding some flowers between his fingers.
    “It's not anything to do with that...”
    “Why did you come here today? Really.”
    “Because I wanted to see you. I miss you, Scarlett. You have no idea how much. I told you that I didn't want to share my past with you. I hope you understand why now.”
    “You should have told me from the start.”
    “I... couldn't,” he said. Being in his presence again was difficult and Scarlett felt the pull of arousal again, and it was hard to fight the natural inclination to be close to him. It was like her body was hardwired to be near him, to touch him, but she managed to steel her resolve.
    “I know it's difficult for you…” he began, but Scarlett interrupted sharply.
    “You don't know anything. I can't do this right now, Jack.”
    “Then when can you? Or are you going to walk away from this like it's the easiest thing in the world to do?”
    “There's nothing easy about it. I want to be with you, but after what you told me... part of me wants to know more, and another part just wants to run. But I don't want something this complicated in my life. I've already got so much going on with work and my dad… I don't need another source of stress. If you can promise me that we can be fully open and honest with each other, then maybe we can give it another go... but I'm just not sure.”
    Jack nodded slightly. He seemed to have something on his mind, but whatever it was he wasn't sharing it.
    “In that case, I think maybe it would be best if we took some time. You should take care of your father. It's important to be there for the people in your life.” The way he said it was strange, as though it had a double meaning, but before Scarlett could question him about it, he was gone again.

Chapter 5
    “Do you think I did the right thing?” Scarlett asked her mother as they were relaxing. Steve was sleeping and the two of them were sharing a hot chocolate in the late evening.
    “Part of me wants to say that whenever you come across a man who looks like that and is a billionaire that you should do anything you can to land him. But I know it's not as simple as that,” Janice said. Scarlett still hadn't told her the truth about his secret and she had no plans to. “I think the most important thing in a relationship is trust, and if you can't trust him, then there's