Seduced by the Billionaire

2

By morning, I’d convinced myself the entire Evan Novell episode was a fever dream. Billionaires didn’t just waltz into bakeries twice in one day, declare war on your sanity, then disappear into the night.

Except billionaires also didn’t send delivery trucks at dawn.

“Carinaaa!” Lila’s shriek nearly split my eardrum as she burst into the kitchen. “You need to come outside right now!”

I wiped powdered sugar from my hands and trudged toward the front, muttering, “If this is another cockroach ”

But the words died on my tongue.

Outside, parked right in front of Sugar & Spice, was a gleaming black van. Men in uniforms were unloading wait for it boxes upon boxes of imported Belgian chocolate.

“What on earth ?” I gaped.

One of the men approached, clipboard in hand. “Delivery for Miss Carina Williams. Compliments of Mr. Evan Novell.”

Lila squealed like she’d just won a lifetime supply of romance novels. “Oh my God, girl, this is it! He’s courting you.”

I scowled. “He’s harassing me with cocoa.”

Still, I couldn’t ignore the staggering value of what sat before me. This wasn’t just chocolate; this was luxury. The kind of product small shops like mine couldn’t dream of affording.

And he’d just dumped a mountain of it at my door like it was pocket change.

The delivery guy cleared his throat. “Sign here?”

I crossed my arms. “Take it back.”

He blinked. “Ma’am?”

“Return it to Mr. Novell. Tell him I don’t accept bribes.”

The man hesitated, then muttered something about billionaires being difficult before hauling the boxes back into the truck.

Lila grabbed my arm, scandalized. “Carina! Do you realize you just sent away enough chocolate to make us rich?”

“I don’t care if it’s dipped in gold. I’m not his charity case,” I snapped, slamming the door shut.

But my chest was tight. Because underneath my righteous fury was a spark of something else something dangerous.

Thrill.

By noon, business was steady. Cupcakes sold, custom orders picked up, and for a blissful hour, I almost forgot Evan Novell existed.

Until he showed up.

Again.

The bell above the door jingled, and I didn’t even have to look up. The energy shifted. The air thickened. And I knew.

“Did my gift not please you?” His voice was silk, carrying just enough mockery to rile me up instantly.

I slammed the register shut. “Newsflash, Mr. Novell: showing up uninvited is creepy. Dumping expensive chocolate at my door is manipulative. And walking in here like you own the place well, that’s just your oversized ego talking.”

He smirked, unbothered. “So you liked the chocolate.”

I blinked. “Were you listening to a single word I said?”

“Every one.” His eyes glinted as he stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You called it expensive. Which means you noticed. Which means I got under your skin.”

My cheeks heated. “You are insufferable.”

“And yet…” His gaze swept over me, slow and deliberate, “you can’t look away.”

Damn him. He was right. I hated that he was right.

I forced a laugh. “You know what your problem is? You’re used to women melting at your feet. Well, not me.”

He tilted his head. “Not yet.”

I bristled. “Not ever.”

Something dangerous flickered across his face hunger mixed with determination. Then he leaned across the counter, so close I could feel his breath ghosting over my cheek.

“Carina,” he murmured, “you can fight me with that sass all day. But one of these nights, when you’re alone, you’ll think of me. You’ll imagine what it feels like when I finally kiss you. And you’ll moan my name.”

My heart thudded wildly, betraying me. My body wanted what my mouth refused to admit.

I swallowed hard. “You’re delusional.”

He straightened, adjusting his cufflinks like we hadn’t just had a moment that could set fire to the entire shop. “Perhaps. But I always get what I want.”

With that, he dropped a sleek black card on the counter.

“What’s this?” I asked, suspicious.

“An invitation. Tomorrow night. My hotel. Dinner.”

I shoved the card back at him. “Not interested.”

He smirked, pocketing it again. “Then I’ll come back. Every day. Until you are.”

And just like that, he was gone again leaving the bell jingling, my pulse racing, and Lila squealing from the kitchen.

“Oh my God, Carina,” she sang. “You’re living in a romance novel!”

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “More like a horror story.”

But deep down, I knew the truth.

Evan Novell wasn’t giving up.

And maybe… just maybe… a small, treacherous part of me didn’t want him to.