Page 39 of The Runaway Billionaire's Inconvenient Baby
“We are happy,” says Jacob. “Or at least I am. Billie’s really changed my mind about this place.”
“Good,” says Willow. “I was worried she was going to have to take you in a back alley and fist fight you.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I scoff.
“You would win,” says Jacob.
“I would,” I say. “But that’s not the point.”
“The point is,” says Willow, “that it’s good to see you looking out for yourself for a change. Taking some time just for you.”
“I always look after myself,” I huff, too quickly for the denial to stick.
Jacob’s eyes narrow. Despite the fact that he can be a complete prick sometimes, he is observant. He pays attention to everything.
“What do you mean?” he asks Willow. I bury my face in my hands.
“Billie doesn’t do things for herself. You probably noticed this. She’s always way too busy looking after other people.”
“That’snottrue,” I mutter, even though my insistence is a lost cause.
“Uh-huh… Sure, she showers and tidies up and looks after herself, but this girl never takes a sick day. If she has to work late to help someone out, she does. She participates in every community event. She’s never taken a vacation. This is the most days off I think she’s taken in the last ten years.”
“Thank you,” I say with a groan. Through my fingers, I see Jacob nodding.
“She works hard,” he says, and I think it’s a compliment.
“She does, but I’m always telling her she needs to learn to play hard too.”
“I somehow don’t think that’s in her nature,” Jacob says.
Willow grins. “You’ve got billionaire friends, right?”
“Kind of,” says Jacob, his face crumpling in confusion.
I groan again, knowing exactly where this is going.
“Well, just so you know, I’m single, and if you know any other single billionaires who wouldn’t mind a date with an island girl who wants to travel the world…”
She leaves the sentence hanging, and I peek through my fingers again to see Jacob’s brow furrowed as he processes what Willow is trying to say to him. He’s being endearingly slow about it.
“She wants you to set her up,” I hiss through my teeth.
“Oh,” he says, nodding in the way people do when they don’t want to be annoying and ask for clarification again, even though they definitely don’t understand. Then, as realization strikes, he says more loudly, “Oh… I’m not sure if I have any friends like that. Sorry.”
“Damn,” says Willow. “Just my luck. Billie gets the rich guy, and I have to keep on pining.”
“Willow, stop it,” I say weakly, flapping my hand at her even though it’ll have no effect.
She’s always been restless like this. She loves the island as much as I do, but she wants to spread her wings and fly like a bird migrating for the season. She’d come back, I have no doubt, but she’s not a homebody like me. She wants to live life out there in the big, wide world.
“Aren’t you meant to be at work today?” I ask her, changing the subject as quickly as I can.
She shrugs. “It’s not busy, and I promised Mickey I’d bring him an ice cream.”
Jacob looks at her, then at me, confused, and I quickly explain. “Mickey owns the local bookstore where Willow works.”
“Oh,” he says again, quietly. “We should check it out.”
