Page 127 of The Boss Situation

“This has been going on for twenty years, Nick. She’s always been my dream girl, and I finally have the chance to make her my wife.”

He chuckles. “Too bad she doesn’t have a sister.”

“No, but she does have a best friend who just happens to be your brand-new step-sis,” I say.

Nick laughs. “Harper has always basically beenmylittle sister because of Zane. A relationship with her willneverhappen.”

“That’s too bad. She seems like a lot of fun,” I say.

Billie sitsbeside me on the couch in her loft.

“Today, I told Josh I’d never see you again. I’m breaking a contract right now.”

She snorts. “He believed you?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, and she leans in and kisses me, pushing me onto my back. “I’m still trying to understand what you saw in him.”

She sucks in a deep breath. “I had his attention, and he understood my world. He’s attractive. Small penis. Could barely get me off. I usually had to finish myself, but he tried. And he still had the audacity to cheat on me. He broke my trust and once that’s lost, it’s over.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, knowing she deserved so much fucking better than that.

“The sick part is, had he not cheated, I probably would’ve settled for him,” she says. “No one wants me.”

I grab her hand, pulling her closer to me. “Please shut the actual fuck up. Everyone wants you, trust me.”

“No, they don’t. I’m not approachable.” She grins wide, flames dancing in her eyes.

“You just need a strong man,” I say. “Someone who isn’t intimidated by you. Most are.”

“You’re not?” she asks.

“No, princess. I like that you don’t back down in what you believe in or how you feel. You’re authentically you in whatever situation you’re in,” I tell her, stealing a kiss, wondering if she knows what she’s done to me. “It’s admirable.”

Flickering candles burn on the coffee table, casting a warm glow around us as she lies on my chest.

“I have a confession to make,” I say, rubbing my thumb gently on her bottom lip.

“Okay,” she says.

“I applied to Stanford because I’d read that was your dream college and I wanted the chance to see you again.”

“Really?” she questions. “That’s actually kind of cute.”

“I made sure I was the best version of myself when I found you again.”

“And then I instantly hated you,” she whispers, her voice softer now. “I’m sorry. To be fair, I was really intimidated because I literally would’ve given you my virginity. When our eyes met, I was … pissed. The first cute guy I ran into gave me butterflies …weak ass.”

I chuckle. “I’m kind of glad, to be honest. I think I would’ve had a different life had we found each other sooner. Not a bad one, just a different one.” I imagine us, married, working for our parents at jobs we hated and going through the motions of life. “I don’t regret it.”

“I don’t either,” she says, grinning. “I’d probably have ten kids by now.”

“Do you want children?” I ask, knowing this isn’t something we’ve talked about.

“I don’t know. Right now, I’m happy with my life. And Lexi is due in a few months. I’m going to see how I feel about motherhood after their triplets are born because I promised Lexi I would help her as much as possible …”

“I forgot it was triplets. Wow.”

She kisses me. “Did you really hate me?”

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