Page 52 of Flirting with My Billionaire Enemy

I grab the bottle and right it before it can cause further damage. Lidia rushes into the room and lets out a string of words in Spanish when she sees Mittens digging her claws into the tablecloth. The frightened kitten bounds off the table and dashes off down the hall.

“I guess they were hungry,” Langston says with a chuckle, coming into the room with a trivia game tucked under his arm.

“Why don’t you just fix them their own Thanksgiving dinner plate?” Ariana suggests.

“They have food in their bowls, and it’s not the cheap dry stuff either,” I say. “This kind of food isn’t good for them. It could upset their stomachs.

“We’re playing Risk,” Callie says, pointing to the trivia game Langston is holding.

“Yeah, but there are too many of us to really play that, so I thought I’d start another group in the family room.”

“Good idea,” Mom says.

“So it’ll be Callie, Weston, me, and Ariana?” I ask.

“Sounds good to me,” Weston says.

Lidia and a couple of other staff members start clearing off the table.

“I can help with that,” Ariana offers, handing a plate to Lidia. When they’re out of earshot, Callie leans over to her. “You’re supposed to let them do it. They don’t want to lose their jobs because they’re letting you do it for them. I had to learn that the hard way.”

“It just feels so weird to have someone waiting on me hand and foot.”

“You should be used to it by now,” I say. “You’ve been here for a month now.”

“I’m not sure it’s something I could ever get used to,” Ariana admits.

But if she ever really did join our family, she would need to. At least when she was at Mom and Dad’s. At our place, she could have as many staff members around as she wanted. For some reason, it doesn’t make me feel panicky to think about a life with Ariana and how we might choose to live. Maybe I’ve healed more than I realized from what happened with Blair.

Seeing her again helped me recognize I wasn’t missing out on much. She’s not the same woman she was when I was dating her. It’s been good to see that firsthand. She’s not even my type now. Normally, the girl Ariana was at the club was my type, but that’s shifted for me. Every version of Ariana is my type. I’m finding her appearance doesn’t matter as much as I’d originally thought. It’s what’s inside of her that matters most. And she’s beautiful inside and out whatever way she chooses to dress, whether that’s her in braids and a flannel shirt or her in pajama pants with her hair down or her all dressed up in her work suit with her hair pulled back into a severe bun.

Once the table has been cleared, we settle around it and set up our game.

“Are you one of those players who tries to hunker down in Australia and build up your forces while everyone else is spreading themselves thin?” I ask Ariana.

“What makes you think I’m going to reveal my strategy to you? You’re the enemy.”

“We could always build an alliance,” I suggest, taking the red pieces out of the little plastic bag they’re stored in.

Ariana looks over at me, and a shock of electricity jolts up my spine as our gazes collide. There’s something so exciting about competing with her, even if this is a board game. It makes me want to take her in my arms and kiss that competitive expression right off her face.

“You do know all alliances have to end in this game, right?”

“But they can still be beneficial if you do it right,” I say, keeping my gaze on hers, my ears getting hot under her scrutiny. The words between us feel heavy with a double meaning.

An hour into the game, we end up forming an alliance, and we wipe out the entire board over the next hour.

“Well, you guys make quite the team,” Weston says. “I don’t think you’ve ever beat me at Risk before, Kaison.”

“Usually, I’m the one taking him out,” Callie says.

“That’s because I let you win.” Weston grins. “I don’t like sleeping on the couch.”

“You can tell yourself that if it makes you feel better,” Callie says. “And what kind of monster do you think I am? I wouldn’t make you sleep on the couch. We have plenty of guest bedrooms for you to choose from.”

“See what I mean? I have to go easy on her for my own good.”

The two of them stick around to watch the rest of the game.

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