Page 47 of Flirting with My Billionaire Enemy

Dad has been gone to Singapore for the last week, and Mom has been lonelier than ever. She and Ariana have seemed to get along great, and to help Mom out, she reached out to the Blue Mountain knitting group to have them hold their next meeting here at the house.

After I finish my breakfast, the doorbell begins to ring, and the grannies start to arrive. I can see now why Mom wants grandkids so badly. All these women talk about are what their grandkids are doing. A couple of them even have great grandkids.

At least Mom has Angel, thanks to Weston marrying Callie. She spoils that baby rotten and shows her off at every possible moment.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Kaison,” Maybelline says to me. Her red hair is wet from the rain we’ve been having, but that hasn’t stopped her wild curls. They’re still going strong.

“Hi, Maybelline. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you could make it. My mom needs something to distract her from how stir crazy she’s been feeling.”

“What are friends for, anyway?” Maybelline says. She winks at me. “I’m never one to turn down an invite to this ritzy place.” She looks over at the Christmas tree we’ve already set up. “It looks like you’ve got your tree up early.”

“We figured it might cheer Mom up. I even got the staff to decorate it like a tree from the 1800s. That little antique shop on Main Street had these old fashioned ornaments that Mom has been going on and on about. I surprised her with them.”

“Oh wow. That’s very thoughtful of you. I know the menfolk in my family never would have thought of something like that.”

“I can’t take all the credit. Ariana was the one who told me she wanted them.”

Ariana looks up when I speak her name, and when she hears what I’m saying, a warm smile lights up her face. It is sweet to see how much she seems to care for my mom. And it isn’t like she’s doing it to schmooze the boss’s wife. It’s clear Ariana deeply cares about my mom and her well-being and happiness. It only makes me want her more because I’m a Momma’s boy at heart, and I can’t help but melt when I see someone being good to her.

But it’s complicated too. Seeing Blair come back has shaken me and reminded me that relationships are scary. If Ariana ever decides to let me out of the boss zone, I plan to take things a bit more slowly. But who knows if she’ll ever let me back into her good graces?

Maybelline looks over at Ariana. “Oh, that sweet girl. How very thoughtful of her. You’ve really picked yourself a good one this time, Kaison. Not like that other girl who couldn’t keep her hands off another man.”

How can I make this woman stop talking about this? Ariana’s focus in on us, and I have to think fast. “Do you have your tree up yet?”

“Oh no. My husband told me I’m not allowed to put it up until after Thanksgiving. But mine is just a regular one. Not all fancy like the one you have.”

“Don’t let her fool you. Her tree is full of handmade ornaments from when her kids were little. And now her grandchildren are adding to it,” Mom said. “I say that’s the best kind of tree to have. But I do like the one you guys put together for me this year. One day, I’ll have one with the grandkids ornaments on it.” She looks at me and raises her eyebrows. “You’d better take note of that, Kaison. It’s time for you to do your duty and find yourself a wife. No more of this playing around you seem to be doing here lately.”

“Playing around?” Mrs. Angelo says. “I thought he had himself a girlfriend finally.”

“Maybe we should see if Lidia can bring out some cookies or something,” I say, hoping the mention of food would be enough distraction for them to stop talking about my pitiful lack of a love life.

A grateful look crosses Ariana’s features, and I get the impression that she wasn’t excited about the conversation either.

But my attempt at creating a diversion wasn’t very successful because Mom says, “Kaison and Ariana aren’t dating. They’re just coworkers. But you never know when that might change.” She wiggles her eyebrows and gets a few hoots and hollers from the knitting group.

“Sounds like the romance novel I just finished,” Mrs. Angelo says. “You’ll have to let me know how this one turns out.”

“Oh,” Mom says. “You’ll hear every detail. They’ve kind of backed off each other here lately, but a week or so ago you should have seen them. Getting all cozy in the hot tub.”

“How scandalous!” Mrs. Angelo doesn’t look offended, though. She looks delighted, like her favorite book characters are finally getting their happily ever after.

But my life isn’t like a romance novel. There’s nothing happening. Not very novel-worthy. I could go back to my old life of chasing tail at the club, but somehow it’s lost its appeal for me. It doesn’t matter that Ariana has put her walls back up. I’ve tasted a little of what life with her might be like, and I’m hooked. This is the most pitiful and rejected I’ve been since Blair left me. It’s not as bad as it could be because there’s no Grady around, but I’ve fallen and I can’t go back to where I was before. It’s too late for that.

Okay, so maybe it’s a little like a romance novel, but our story may never have a happy ending. It takes two people to say yes to have a future together, and right now Ariana is saying no. Not directly with her words, but she’s rejecting me with her actions. And her lack of actions. And that’s driving me up the wall.

I want her in my life. I crave her arms around me and her lips on mine.

This woman has captured my heart, and I’m not even sorry about it. That’s not to say that I’m not worried about how easy it will be for her to stomp on my feelings. It could be a lot worse. She could be rude or after my money, like Blair. Somehow, that makes her rejection sting a bit more. Because she’s no diva. She’s selfless and kind and caring. And extremely smart and hardworking. Pretty much perfect for me.

As scary as it is, I’m finding myself falling. And I might be doing it all on my own.

23

ARIANA

Around four, Kaison turns to me. “Hey, you want to go horseback riding?”

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