Page 29 of Billionaire Games
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Rollingup to the house Cait had given him the address to, Phoenix got out of the Rolls Royce he’d hired for the day and went up to get his date for the afternoon. Buttoning up his black Armani jacket, he smoothed out his matching slacks and rubbed the tops of his shiny leather shoes on the backs of them to make sure they were clean.
He pressed the doorbell but didn’t hear it ringing inside the house, so he knocked on the green door. “Coming!” a woman shouted.
A gray-haired lady, wearing a light blue dress with a white apron covering it, opened the door. “Well, you’re not the Scot, so you must be Phoenix, here for Caitlyn.” She let him in as she looked him up and down. “I’m her mother.”
Phoenix saw the yellow roses and box of candy on a small table in the living room. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking to bring those things to Cait. He reached out to shake her mom’s hand and found she’d already retreated to take a seat. She wore a friendly smile on her wrinkled face, and was a bit older than he thought she’d be.
“Um, should I go up and get her myself?” he asked as he stood at the foot of the stairs, feeling the need to grab Cait up and get the hell out of there.
The woman wore a sweet smile as she said with the most pleasing tone to her voice, “You go up those stairs, boy and you’ll be met with a baseball bat to the head.”
“Oh,” he said as he stood where he was. “Um, then how will Cait know I’m here, Mrs. Flannigan?”
“These walls are paper thin,” she said. “I can assure you that she’s aware of your arrival, fancy pants.”
His brows arched with her words. He ran his hand over his expensive suit jacket. “I don’t usually dress so formally. I have kind of a special day planned for us, and I wanted to look my best for your daughter, Mrs. Flannigan.”
“Did ya, now?” she asked as the squeaking sound of a door came from behind him down a darkened hallway.
Phoenix watched a man wearing a white T-shirt and black, loose-fitting slacks walk toward him as he wiped his hands on his pant legs. “And you are?” the man asked, gruffly.
“I’m Phoenix Nelson, sir,” Phoenix held out his hand. “You must be Caitlyn’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Her father shook his hand then shouted up the staircase, “Cait, get your arse down here. Your fella’s here.”
“Coming,” she shouted back.
Her father made his way to take a seat in an old recliner. “Are you gonna tell Cait’s mother and me why you really want to take our daughter out? Unlike the man who picked up our Jessica.”
Phoenix shuffled back and forth, wishing like hell Cait would hurry up so they could leave. “I like your daughter. She’s great. That’s why I asked her out.”
“Butyoudidn’t ask her out,” her mother said with a smile. “The girls told you, fellas, to take them out.”
“Oh, yeah.” Phoenix wasn’t aware of how much the women had told their parents.Apparently, everything!“Well, I mean, I was going to ask her out anyway. Even before she told me to. And I do like her. I like her a lot.”
“And how much did you like, Julia Loveless?” Mr. Flannigan asked him, making him nearly drop to the floor with surprise.
“Huh?” Phoenix asked as he was in shock.
“The Loveless girl?” Mr. Flannigan asked. “What was she to you?”
“Um, how do you know about her?” he asked as he shook his head to clear it.
“The other boy,” Mrs. Flannigan answered. “So, how did you know the woman you went to the funeral for?”
“She and I were friends,” he finally said as he looked up the stairs, praying Cait would be at the top of them. She wasn’t, and he looked back to find her parents looking him over.
“Friends with benefits?” her father asked.
“Um, uh,” he had no idea what to say. “Not really.”
“What exactly kind of an answer is that?” her mom asked him as she picked up a couple of sharp knitting needles and some yarn from a basket next to where she was sitting.
Thankfully, Cait appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a deep green dress and black heels. A row of pearls hit her right at her collar bone.
“Oh, God, Cait!” Phoenix could think of nothing else as he looked at her. Her auburn hair was pulled back with a headband made out of glittery beads, the rest of her hair spilled in loose waves over her shoulders as she walked down to him. He took her hand, placing a kiss on top of it. “You’re gorgeous.”
