Page 18 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
Reagan snickered. “They always bicker like this.”
“We do not,” Carrie Anne and Gabby said at the same time.
Pauline sighed. “Girls, we are in public. Act your age.”
Stephanie snorted. “They are.”
“Shut up,” Carrie Anne and Gabby said at the same time.
Caroline gave the two girls a look, and they settled down. “Molly is going to run away if you three keep it up.” She grinned. “Just so you know, it’s pretty much like this all the time with this family.”
“I love it,” Molly said, and she did. If she had to pick a family to join, it would be this one.
Carrie Anne leveled her eyes at Molly. “Join us.”
“Uh-oh.” Reagan shook her head and looked down. “There she goes.”
“What?” asked Molly, glancing from Reagan to Carrie Anne.
“Josiah likes you. You can see it in the way he looks at you,” Carrie Anne said, seeming to ignore Reagan.
Gabby rolled her eyes. “Carrie Anne is the resident matchmaker. One of these days, she’s going to retire from teaching and open up her own business.”
“Hush.” Carrie Anne side-eyed Gabby. “I’m right about this. Josiah likes you.”
As sweet as that sounded, Molly couldn’t entertain that kind of thought. “I made a rule when I adopted Ellie that I wouldn’t date. I love my mom, but the continual dating was hard on me and my brother. I don’t want that for Ellie.”
Carrie Anne nodded, but Molly got the distinct impression Josiah’s sister wanted to press it. “I respect you for that. It couldn’t have been an easy decision to adopt. Is it finalized?”
“Not quite, but it will be soon. It’s just a matter of paperwork at this point.” If Molly remembered correctly, Derek and Brenda would’ve received their notice of rights termination. Once that was done, the last thing was the judge signing off on it.
“Okay, just one last thing. It would be awesome if Travis and Ellie grew up together. So, even if you don’t want to date Josiah, you still have to visit a lot.” Carrie Anne smiled wide.
Molly snickered. “I’ve wandered into a Borg hive, and resistance is futile?”
Josiah’s sister tilted her head and gave her a puzzled look. “Uh, what?”
“Oh, nothing.” Josiah would have gotten the joke. They spoke each other’s language. Something Molly never thought she’d find in a guy who wasn’t still living in their parent’s basement.
“It sounds like something Josiah would get, though. Am I right?” Carrie Anne asked Molly.
Nodding, Molly’s cheeks heated. Her head was saying she wouldn’t break her rule, but her heart was not listening to reason at all. She liked Josiah. More than liked, she was falling for him. It certainly wasn’t hard. A gorgeous, goofy guy who was kind and generous. What more could a woman ask for?
Nothing. When it came to Josiah, Molly’s opinion was that he was the Danny Phantom to her Sam. Square pegs in a world of round holes. And she liked it. She liked it a lot.
* * *
Black Friday shoppingtook all day. By the time Molly shuffled into the house that evening, she was exhausted. She’d been anxious to get back and see Ellie, so Josiah’s family offered to put her things away.
Josiah met her at the bottom of the stairs, holding Ellie. He lifted her a little and smiled. “And this, Ellie, is why we don’t go Black Friday shopping.” He laughed.
Molly blew out a big breath and sagged. “I’ve never done that before. It was wild.” She held up her hand. “But I got a baby monitor and a pack-n-play for a steal. I even got you a gift.” She rolled her lips in, trying to hide her Cheshire grin.
“What?”
“You heard me.” She waggled her finger at him. “There was too much money in that envelope, mister.”
He tilted his head, and his lips quirked up. “You had fun, though, didn’t you?”
