The Teacher's Billionaire

at the cover, which featured a photo of Callie the night of the fundraiser. She looked absolutely gorgeous. “You came all the way here to give me this?” He reached for a slice of pizza wondering what Jake was up to. Tabloid headlines never bothered the guy. Or if they did, he never let on.
    “I meet her this weekend. She’s staying in Newport for a little while.” Jake explained between mouthfuls of pizza.
    Dylan’s hand stopped on its way to his mouth. “So? What does that have to do with me? Tell me you didn’t come here to tell me
that
.”
    Jake dropped his pizza, folded his arms across his chest, and leaned forward. “She’s not Francesca, Dylan.”
    “What the hell are you talking about? Why would you think I’d compare those two? I barely know Callie Taylor.” He knew every word coming out of his mouth was a lie. He knew her in the most intimate way possible. Dylan bit into the pizza which, although smelled heavenly, tasted like saw dust.
    Jake opened the magazine that Dylan discarded and pushed it back toward him. “I’d say you know her fairly well.”
    Damn it. P
ictures of them together gazed back up at him. Who else had seen these? Maybe a better question was who hadn’t?
    “It doesn’t take a genius to see she cares about you. She nearly broke out in tears whenever I mentioned your name.” Jake paused for a moment as if to let his words sink in. “And I’d bet my new car you feel the same way, bro.”
    “When did you become Dr. Phil?” Dylan asked sarcastically. Although his brother was right about his feelings, he didn’t have to like it. And he certainly didn’t want to be getting relationship advise from his kid brother.
    Finishing off his beer, Jake went to get another. “I don’t know what you did, but you should try to fix it.”
    “She didn’t tell you?” He’d been wondering if she’d told Warren. Dylan didn’t know how his stepfather would react to the fact he’d gone along with Phillips’ plan. And Warren’s opinion mattered to him.
    “Nope. Don’t think she even muttered your name. I brought you up, not her.”
    For the next few minutes Dylan told his brother about his agreement with Marty Phillips and how Callie learned of it.
    Jake whistled low. “Ouch. I can see why she’s pissed at you.”
    “That’s putting it mildly,” Dylan laughed bitterly. The pizza he’d eaten now felt like a lead weight in his stomach.
    “You should still try to undo this mess with her.” Jake fell silent for a moment looking much more serious than Dylan had ever seen him. “I know you, Dylan. You never would’ve let things go as far they did if you didn’t care about her.”
    Dylan opened his mouth to protest. His brother didn’t give him a chance. “She’s about as different from Francesca as they come, so stop using her as an excuse. Yeah, Francesca was a bitch, but she was only one woman. You can’t judge them all using her as the standard.”
    Dylan stared at the younger man. When had his baby brother become so insightful?
    Standing, Jake gathered up his plate and empty beer bottles. “I’m going to watch a movie. Something with a lot of violence. All this Dr. Phil shit is getting to me,” he joked. “But seriously think about what I said. Not all women are like Francesca. Definitely not Callie.” Jake got rid of his trash and disappeared down the hall leaving Dylan alone at the table.
    In the other room he could hear the opening music to the movie Iron Man, but he had no desire to join his brother. Looking down at the open magazine, the pictures brought memories flooding back. He rubbed at the dull ache in his chest. Most of the photos had been taken without their knowledge, which wasn’t unusual to him. Thanks to who his family was the paparazzi often took photos without his permission. But it wasn’t something Callie was used to. He wondered how she was coping with it. Maybe staying at Cliff House was her way of avoiding the spotlight and chaos Warren’s announcement had caused.
    Dylan’s eyes kept focusing on one particular picture. It was taken at the Red Sox game. The night they’d first made love. From beginning to end it had been a perfect evening. The best date he’d ever been on. And they’d only gone to a baseball game. He’d felt content and liked for who he was as a man, rather than liked for
what
he was. Callie always made him feel that way.
    And he’d gone and blown things with her. Jake was spot on. He did care about