Seduced by the Billionaire

4

The next morning, I declared war.

Not on Evan Novell though Lord knew he deserved it but on my own brain. Because apparently, my treacherous neurons thought it was cute to replay his words all night like a broken record.

I want to burn with you, Carina… You’ll be back, Carina…

Ugh. I threw flour into the mixing bowl harder than necessary.

“Someone’s in a mood,” Lila sang from the counter, scrolling through her phone.

I shot her a glare. “If the next words out of your mouth are ‘Evan Novell,’ I will ice you into a wedding cake.”

She smirked. “Fine. I’ll just say your billionaire admirer.”

I groaned, burying my hands in the dough. “He is not my admirer. He’s a stalker in an Armani suit.”

Lila hummed. “A stalker with great taste, though. Did you see the way he looked at you at dinner?”

My cheeks betrayed me, heating despite my best efforts. “I told you never bring that up again.”

“Uh-huh.” She winked. “Sure, boss.”

By mid-afternoon, the shop was packed. A birthday party pickup, a dozen walk-ins, and a bridal consultation had the bell above the door jingling nonstop.

And of course because fate hated me the bell jingled once more, and silence rippled through the shop.

Evan Novell had arrived.

This time, he wasn’t in a suit. No, he was in dark jeans, a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled, and an aura that screamed trouble. His presence sucked the air out of the room.

Whispers broke out instantly.

“Oh my God, that’s Evan Novell…”

“He owns half the hotels in the city…”

“Why is he here?”

I froze, spatula in hand, as his eyes locked on me.

“Carina,” he said smoothly, like we were the only two people in the room.

I clenched my jaw. “Mr. Novell. You’re blocking my line.”

A ripple of laughter moved through the customers. He didn’t flinch. He just kept walking straight to the counter, straight to me.

“Good,” he said, leaning close enough for only me to hear. “Maybe now everyone will understand you’re not available.”

My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

He straightened, voice louder now, pitched for the entire shop. “I’m here to pick up my order.”

I blinked. “What order?”

“The one I placed this morning.” He smirked. “Two dozen red velvet cupcakes. For us.”

Gasps rippled through the shop. Lila choked on her latte. My face burned hot enough to rival the ovens.

I hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Making it clear,” he murmured, his gaze wicked. “You’re mine.”

“Newsflash, billionaire,” I snapped, “I’m not a damn cupcake you can claim!”

“Then stop looking at me like you want to eat me,” he shot back smoothly.

My breath caught. Damn him. Damn the way his words landed, heavy and hot, like they weren’t entirely wrong.

The crowd was eating it up. Phones were out. People were whispering, giggling, taking pictures.

I slammed the spatula down. “Everyone out! Shop’s closed!”

Groans filled the room, but slowly, reluctantly, the crowd trickled out except for Evan, who stood there smug as sin.

I rounded on him the second the door shut. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “I staked my claim.”

My jaw dropped. “This isn’t medieval times! You can’t just march in here and ”

“Carina.” He stepped forward, voice dropping low, dangerous. “You can fight me, insult me, push me away all you want. But your body betrays you every time I’m near. You want me. Deny it all you want, but I feel it. And so do you.”

My chest heaved. My pulse thundered. And for one terrifying moment, I almost admitted it. Almost.

Instead, I shoved him back with both hands. “Get. Out.”

He didn’t budge. Didn’t even sway. His smirk was infuriating. “You’ll thank me one day.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

Finally, finally, he turned and walked out leaving my shop in shambles, my reputation buzzing across social media (thanks to the dozen phones I saw raised), and my heart a reckless, traitorous mess.

Lila peeked from the kitchen, eyes wide. “Sooo… do I update your relationship status to ‘taken by the billionaire,’ or…?”

I threw the spatula at her.

That night, my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

Messages. Tags. Memes.

#CupcakeQueen trended locally.

Half the internet seemed to think Evan Novell and I were some kind of fairytale power couple.

The other half called me insane for not jumping into his arms already.

I groaned, burying my head under the pillow.

Because the worst part wasn’t the gossip.

It wasn’t the chaos.

It wasn’t even his arrogant claim.

The worst part was the truth pounding in my chest.

I wanted him.

And that terrified me more than anything else.