Page 14 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
Just as quickly as the moment started, it was over. If Molly was a betting woman, she’d have bet the farm he was about to kiss her. And if she was sincere, she’d have let him. Which meant it was a good thing he didn’t.
“Thank you for helping with her.” Molly curled her fingers around his hand and squeezed. “I can’t tell you how much it’s meant to me to have a little break.” She hung her head. “That makes me sound horrible.”
He tipped her chin up with one finger, and the normally funny, goofy guy was looking at her with such intensity she nearly gulped. “No, it doesn’t. You’re a great mother, and she is blessed to have you. You didn’t have to step up and adopt her, but you did. I think you deserve a Mom of the Year award.”
Tears pooled in Molly’s eyes, and Josiah gave her a one-armed hug. “I like helping, okay? If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have invited you. I wouldn’t have offered to watch her. You’re awesome…and I thought that before I knew you had Ellie. Now you’re awesome with a cape.” He smiled.
“‘No capes!’” She laughed.
His shoulders bounced as he laughed and took his finger from her chin. “I should have known you’d come back with that.”
“I think I could hold an entire conversation using movie quotes.” She grinned. “Thank you.” She looked down. “That barely scratches the surface of how grateful I am.”
“My surface feels very scratched.”
She jerked her attention up and snickered as his entire head turned beat red.
“I’m going to go now before I choke on my own foot.” He walked to the door, and she followed him.
“Josiah?”
He turned, and his gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “Yeah?”
“I’ll see you downstairs in a few.”
“Okay.”
She walked into her room, shut the door, and groaned. That man. He crossed her t’s, dotted her i’s, and made her winded. She’d been in trouble before they got to Caprock Canyon. Now she was white-knuckling the side of a cliff, tempted to just let go.
Her head and her heart were in a mud-wrestling contest, and neither knew which end was up.
No dating. No dating. No dating. Maybe if she repeated it enough times, she wouldn’t forget it.
Chapter 7
She’d scratched his surface?Inwardly, Josiah groaned. He was an idiot. Who said stuff like that to a woman? Apparently, he did because he liked the taste of leather. Or, well, whatever his house shoes were made of. Maybe terry? He looked down and then wanted to smack himself. It didn’t matter how the shoe tasted, just the fact that he’d stuffed it in his mouth.
Add to it the near-kiss. If he hadn’t stepped back when he did, he would’ve kissed her. Talk about blowing it. They still had weeks left of the holiday, and the last thing he wanted was her upset with him.
Ellie gurgled in his arms as he sat in the recliner in the living room. He smiled down at her. Every minute he spent with her, he only wanted more.
“I see you're using your baby powers,” Carrie Anne said as she took a seat on the couch adjacent to him. “She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, she is.” He smiled.
“And you like her mom too.” Carrie Anne wagged a finger at him. “A lot.”
He couldn’t deny that. “I do, but as a friend. Molly doesn’t want to date, and I need to respect that.”
Besides, he didn’t want to start a relationship with Molly—ifhe could start one—unless he told her about the money. No, it didn’t change him as a person, but what if it changed her?
Plus, his real estate career was his first priority. He’d helped his latest commercial client narrow down the properties that would work. When he got back to Dallas, he’d be focusing on that for a while. Not that he didn’t want to help Molly—he would do that—but full-time care was something he couldn’t do at the moment.
His sister lifted an eyebrow. “Doesn’t want to date? Why?”
Josiah shifted Ellie to his shoulder and patted her bottom. “On the way here, she told me about growing up. Her mom divorced her dad when she was young. With all the dating, men would come in and out of her life. She doesn’t want that for Ellie. I respect that. I respect her, so I’m good with friends.” It was a total lie, but he figured he needed to get used to it.
“You are as terrible a liar as you are a secret keeper.” Carrie Anne chuckled. “It’s okay to want to date her. Show her you’re not like those guys.”
