The Billionaire's Mistaken Match ( A BWWM Romance) by Izabella Brooks Page B

of her head. “It’s not that at all,” she said between guffaws, wiping at her eyes. “It’s just, my best friend is…well, she’s unique.” Reid looked puzzled at her words. She looked into his eyes and sobered up as much as she could. She would have to give him something. They couldn’t go in that vague state they were in. “Kit is gritty. She’s loud and obnoxious and very strong minded. She also isn’t afraid to say what she thinks.” Reid let out a sigh and a smile played at his lips. “Why are you smiling now?”
                  “Well, what you just told me is that Kit is real. Like a real person. She isn’t a cookie cutter, Stepford wife.”
    Paloma lost it again. The vision of Kit in pristine 1950s clothing, hair in a perfect coif, and cleaning the house made her roll.
    “See, she’s real.”
                  “Oh, honey, Kit is definitely very real.” She took his hand and began walking down the street. “She is something else. I like her because she is a tell it like it is woman, you know. She’s a firecracker. Keeps me grounded.”
                  Reid nodded, lacing his fingers between her long digits. “I wish I had someone like that. I think I need some grounding every once in a while.”
                  “You don’t have a friend like Kit?”
                  “I don’t have much of a friend at all.” His sadness and loneliness hurt her. “I know, it sounds pathetic and cliché, right. Poor little rich boy, all alone in his mansion and crying into his Cristal.”
                  “I don’t think its cliché or pathetic. I’ll be that friend for you. I’ll keep you grounded.”
                  He stopped and pulled her close to him, their faces mere inches from each other. “I’d like that very much, though I hoped we could be more than just friends.”
                  Paloma smiled at him and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I think we can manage that.”
                                     ***
                  That night, Paloma staggered into the apartment to find Kit sitting at the table. Kit looked up at the sound of her arrival. “I know, I know, I’m in trouble.” Paloma was fully prepared to be ripped into by Kit. Before the shorter girl could get a word in, however, Paloma’s phone rang. She looked at the readout and saw she had a message from Reid. He wanted to tell her he had a great time and that he would call her after she had calmed the Chihuahua. A smile spread across her face at the message, but dropped away as she looked back at her friend. The idea was funny, but the situation was not. “I did text you, I did.”
                  “This morning! I was ready to call the cops. I thought you got raped and murdered!” Kit was on her feet now, tiny legs covering the distance between them. “Do you have any idea what I went through?”
                  “Yes, Mother.”
                  Kit stopped short at the comment. “You are killing me, you know that?” She turned on her heel and moved back to the table. After plopping down in the chair, she cupped her chin in her hand. “So, you gonna tell me about it or what? What’s he like. Ooh, how was the sex?”
                  “I am not telling you about the sex other than that it was amazing. He is amazing. The whole thing is amazing. I don’t have another word for it. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a good first…and second date. He was a perfect gentleman and we hit it off right away.”
                  “So, is he loaded?”
                  “I guess so. I mean, I don’t know for sure. We didn’t really go overboard on much. He paid for dinner and the hotel room, well, penthouse, I guess. But he didn’t, like, throw money at people. And he didn’t act rich. He was very