Page 113 of Nailing the Billionaire

I swung out of bed. “What’s the hurry?” I quickly enveloped her. I wasn’t about to give up the heavenly feel of her warmth against my skin.

We rocked in each other’s arms for a minute, and it calmed me.

She, apparently, wasn’t eager to go either. “Ramona has a study group all day, and I have to watch Billy.”

“Great. I’ll watch him with you.”

She snorted. “And hang out at my apartment?”

I pushed her back to look into her face and held her shoulders. “No way. Let’s bring him here for a beach day.”

Her brows furrowed. “You know he’s only seven, right?”

I pulled her back into a hug. “I’m great with kids. I was one once.”

I wandered into the bathroom to get ready.

She was fully dressed by the time I’d finished brushing my teeth.

“I don’t think today is a good day,” she said.

Her face wasn’t the happy one she’d started the morning with.

I spit and rinsed the toothbrush. “What’s wrong?”

She swayed a bit. “We haven’t talked about…”

I waited for the clue. We had talked about a lot of things, but I didn’t know what we’d missed. I passed her to get dressed for the drive.

“Ramona doesn’t want…”

That didn’t tell me enough to guess yet either. I pulled on a pair of shorts, waiting for the bomb to drop, whatever it was.

“She doesn’t think it’s good for a lot of men to go in and out of Billy’s life.”

That was the bomb. The unasked question—what was our future?

This had always been the beginning of the end of a relationship for me. When a girl got to asking about the future, I cut bait and found another, less-clingy one, and then another.

I turned, and the fear in her eyes petrified me. “Come here.” I held my arms out and waited.

A second later, she plastered herself against me.

“I’m not asking for anything.” Her words were muffled by my shoulder.

I stroked her back. This was make or break time, and for once I didn’t feel like running. “I’m not going anywhere.” I smoothed over her hair and kissed the top of her head. “Trust me.”

“It’s just that—”

“I know. Trust me, I know. Angel, you make me very happy, and I’m here for you.”

Her voice was tinged with fear, but it was only half as scared as I felt.

In a typical snap judgment, I’d committed myself to uncharted territory, but I trusted my gut. She was different in ways I couldn’t describe. She felt right in my arms, right by my side in bed, and right across the table at work. Somehow she was what I hadn’t realized I needed.

I let go of her and located a shirt in the dresser.

She wiped her eyes. “Sure you don’t mind?”

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