Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 76 "We'll need comfortable clothes," Christian said, stepping into our room just as I finished getting ready for dinner. His eyes lit up when he noticed the amethyst necklace at my throat. "You like it." It wasn't a question, but I caught a faint trace of insecurity in his voice-a crack in the confident manipulator Francesca had painted him to be. "It's beautiful," I answered honestly, touching the tiny grape cluster. "I've never had anything like it." "It suits you." He came closer, his fingers brushing the base of my neck where the pendant rested.

"Amethysts are almost the same color as the grapes in Zoey Vineyard when they're perfectly ripe." "That's why you chose it?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light despite the doubts still echoing in my mind. "Color coordination?" Christian laughed. "Among other reasons." He touched one of the little stones. "They also say amethysts ward off negative thoughts." Francesca. Isabelle. Doubts. Did he know how much I needed that protection? "Comfortable clothes for what, exactly?" I changed the subject, stepping away slightly.

"I thought we had the formal dinner 's been planning for the past two days." your "I canceled.' " hristian's grin carried something mischievous, almost rebellious. "Isabelle will have to postpone her plans to torture you with another pompous wine-tasting evening." "You canceled an event Isabelle organized?" I asked, genuinely shocked. "She's going to disown you." "I own the vineyard," he said with a careless shrug. "And tonight, I've got better plans. If you're willing." There was something in his gaze-a mix of expectation and vulnerability-that made it harder to keep my emotional guard up.

"What kind of plans?" "Surprise." He went to the wardrobe, pulling out clothes for both of us. "But I promise it's worth missing Isabelle's brilliant monologue on how you hold a wineglass wrong." Despite my doubts, I laughed. It was hard to resist this side of Christian-less calculating CEO, more mischievous boy. Half an hour later, we were winding through narrow Castorian roads in a vintage Alfa Romeo, lovingly maintained. Christian drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually on my thigh.

and for a moment, I almost forgot Francesca's poisonous insinuations. "Where are we going?" I asked again as he turned onto a secondary road that climbed steadily upward. "Patience has never been your strong suit, has it?" he teased, eyes on the road. "We're almost there." Finally, the car rolled to a stop on a small plateau overlooking the region. Below us, the valleys spread out like a mosaic of green and gold

ahead of time," I noted, helping him spread the blanket. "Since yesterday. I checked the forecast, and it's a moonless night perfect for stargazing." He began setting up the telescope with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd done it many times. "Whenever I need to think or

Bonus "And you're sharing this place with me?" Something vulnerable flickered across his face. "I guess I am." For some reason, that simple "I guess I am" felt more genuine than any grand declaration he could have made. It wasn't rehearsed. It was... real. We opened the picnic basket, which held a simple but delicious spread-artisan bread, local cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, homemade salami, and of course, a bottle of wine. A Kensington, but not one

the best harvest to make a wine that's never sold. It's our... secret." I tasted it, surprised by the complexity that unfolded slowly. "It's extraordinary." "It's authentic," he corrected softly. "No filters or tricks to impress critics or markets. Just what the grape and the earth wanted to express that year." We ate in comfortable silence, watching the sun disappear completely as the sky transformed into a velvet canopy scattered

city, we forget this is here every night," he said, his voice lower, almost reverent. "Look." He pointed to a cluster of stars. "Cassiopeia. And there, Cygnus. And that one, glowing alone hear the horizon? That's Antares, the brightest star in Scorpio." "How do