Page 41 of Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss

Damian glanced toward the bathroom. “Um, no. I’m afraid not.”

“Her sink is fine,” Kat whispered. Aloud, she said, “Damian’s here to help with the fundraiser.”

“Oh, the fundraiser,” her mother said, obviously not knowing what that meant. Her gaze traveled around the room. “I forgot about that.”

“It’s okay, Mom. They’ll have games later today. I know you like the games.”

“I do.” She smoothed out her house dress. “Who are you again?”

“I’m Kat, Mom.” Her voice betrayed her emotion as it cracked. “How was breakfast?”

“It was nice. I ate a cinnamon roll. I always like those.”

“Yes, I know you do.” Kat swallowed the lump in her throat.

Her mother smiled, an empty look in her eyes. “Who did you say you were looking for again? I’m afraid she’s not here right now.”

Unwanted tears swelled in Kat’s eyes. She blinked them back. “That’s okay. I have to go now.” Kat leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek. “See you next week.”

As she walked out, she wiped at her tear, hoping Damian hadn’t noticed. He didn’t say anything, but he did put his hand on her shoulder. It was a comforting gesture.

Chapter 14

Damian’s heart swelled for Kat as they left her mother’s room. It was hard on her, seeing her mother unable to remember her, that much was obvious. And Kat’s mother was so young, which had to hurt even worse.

Kat swiped at her cheek, her eyes forward, her jaw clenched. Damian leaned closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Kat shook her head. “Not really.”

“Then let’s go bid on some dessert.” He squeezed her shoulder and dropped his hand. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was attending a fundraiser. His world was full of them.

They entered the large room and walked by the plates of delicious items. It looked like a good turnout, the room was crowded and more people were coming in. Half the town must have shown up.

Kat pointed. “The deserts on this table are set up for a silent auction. The rest they’ll auction off live in a few minutes.”

Damian spied a plate of Hilary’s dark chocolate cookies and headed toward them. “Perfect. I’ll bid on these.” He leaned over and wrote a figure on the paper.

Kat gasped. “A thousand dollars?” she whispered. “Are you crazy?”

“I want to make sure I win them.”

“Well, a hundred would have done it.”

“I’m sure they can use the money.” Damian slid his hands into his pockets.

Kat seemed to appraise him with her gaze. “You’re right. Thanks for giving to the center.”

He bid on a few more items before they chose two empty chairs to sit on and wait for the auction to start. Damian found himself thinking about Kat as people filed into the room. She was a strong woman, but yet there was a part of her that was tender. He could see it in her eyes. She cared about others. He liked that about her.

She was also spunky, and witty. She liked to have fun. And surprisingly, he enjoyed being with her. Before thinking about it he reached over and patted her leg. The gesture felt intimate, and he grew self-conscious. He shouldn’t be connecting with her like that. He withdrew his hand.

Kat leaned over to him. “That’s Gerry. He’s the center’s director.” She gestured toward an older gentleman. His white looked like he’d tried to tame it, but it rebelled and stuck up anyway. He had a plump figure and his smile was wide and genuine.

Gerry picked up a microphone and tapped on it. “I’d like to welcome you all to our auction today. Like a cow walking through tall grass, I’m udderly tickled to be here.”

Damian chuckled as the crowd responded with laughter. He liked this guy.

“First of all, let’s give a hand to everyone who brought in such wonderful desserts.” Gerry motioned to the crowd, as most people attending had brought something in.

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