Page 7 of Billionaire Bachelor
The girl never turns down an offer for baked goods.
The excitement in her eyes tells me she has no plans on starting now. “Fine, let’s go, Mr. Impatient. But for the record, you’re acting like a crazy person. And I wanttwomuffins.”
“Crazy about you,” I mumble under my breath.
She freezes for a beat, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of pink. “What did you say?”
I clear my throat. “I said,deal. Two muffins it is.”
Her brows pull together in mild suspicion, but she doesn’t press me on it. Instead, she grabs her coat from the hook by the door and slips it over her shoulders. “Are we going, or what?”
“Now who’s the impatient one?” I chuckle as I watch her hopping on one foot, trying to put her boots on. “Having trouble there?” I pull on the socks that were stuffed in my shoes, and slide into my Air Jordans, giving her a look that says,See how easy that was?
Her brown eyes narrow as she continues the little hop-shuffle-hop thing she has going until both feet are covered. “Ass,” she grumbles. Rosie gasps as we step outside into the crisp winter air, the coldbiting at our faces as snowflakes tumble from the sky. “You can’t just dangle a muffin in my face and expect me not to bite. Sheesh, it’s like you don’t know me at all.”
My lips kick up in the corner. “I probably know you better than most, Morales.”
She bumps her shoulder into my arm. “If that were true, we’d be on the road already. Because someone who knows me as well as you think you do, would know I turn into a beast when I’m hungry.”
Her quippy response makes me grin. God, I’ve missed this. Her quick wit, the way she’s always ready to spar with me.
“Oh, trust me, I amwellaware of that fact.”
Rosie skips ahead a little, flipping me the bird along the way. “Get a move on, Edwards.”
I take a second to appreciate the view—of her and everything around us. Freshly fallen snow, the quiet woods, the crunch of her boots on the icy gravel as we approach my rental.
I open the passenger door, and Rosie pauses before sliding in, eyes locking with mine. “Thanks,” she murmurs softly, her cheeks still a little pink from earlier.
I wink. “Anytime, Pip.”
I climb into the driver’s seat and press the ignition button, the heater humming softly as we make our way down the long driveway. Rosie flips through the radio stations, landing on some pop song that fades into the background of my racing thoughts.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her staring out the window, seemingly deep in thought. But there’s a restlessness to her…her knee bouncing slightly, her fingers absently toying with the zipper of her coat. Rosie’s always had trouble sitting still, but she’s learned how to hide it pretty well over the years. Right now, though? She’s downright twitchy.
The more she fidgets, the tighter her lips press together, like she’s trying to stifle the impulse to blurt something out. Sometimes, Rosie will start a sentence inside her head but finish it out loud—which is what I suspect she’s trying to avoid right now. She calls it one of hermany ADHD quirks. I call it cute as hell. I love those brief glimpses into her mind, unfiltered and real, even in small doses.
I wish she’d let it spill because I need to know if she feels the same buzz I’m feeling. That undercurrent of energy between us has always been there, humming in the background. But when I opened the door earlier and saw her standing on the porch, it surged to life, impossible to ignore.
I grip the steering wheel tighter, forcing myself to focus on the road ahead. I’ve got three days, I remind myself. Three whole days with Rosie Morales. No distractions. No interruptions. And most importantly, no big brothers throwing death glares my way every time I look at her.
For the first time in years, I feel like maybe, just maybe, I have a chance to shoot my shot.
And I can’t fucking wait to see if I score.
3
ROSALIE
Steppingout of the warm cocoon of Logan’s rented BMW into the crisp winter air is a jolt to the senses. The snowflakes are falling thick and fast now, and the wind is blowing lightly.
“Gah!” I shout as a fat flake lands in my eye. “Right in the eyeball!”
Logan laughs beside me, his breath a cloud in the chilled air. “That’s what she said.”
I give him the side-eye. “Real mature, Edwards.”
His brows lift. “Don’t pretend you weren’t laughing on the inside.”
