Page 108 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

Uh-oh.She’s upset about the stripper thing.Aunt Phyllis isn’t normally the judgmental type, but maybe it’s the shock of finding out the way she did that’s got her knickers in a twist.

“I would appreciate it if you would cut her some slack,” I say.

Aunt Phyllis slaps my arm.“I’m talking aboutyou!That woman is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.Don’t let her slip through your fingers.You do right by her.Do you hear me, young man?”

I nod, but I’ve already made a promise to Frankie to let her slip through my fingers.I promised to help her disappear.

No matter how much I want her to stay.Or how much it hurts.

Unless…

Evander asked me yesterday if I planned on disappearing with her.

Maybe I do.It wouldn’t be forever.Once she’s safe and the threat’s been neutralized, we can both come home to Yosemite Ranch.

If she’ll have me.If she wants this to be her home.With me.

I’ll be damned.

I never thought that in my life’s most pivotal moment, I’d be standing in a closet with Phyllis while Declan’s words of wisdom floated through my head.

“Fuck it.I’m goin’ in.”

CHAPTER 53

Frankie

After the barbecue, Special K surprises me by telling me he’s taking me on a date.

We’re going on a horseback ride.

He walks me to a sprawling horse barn complex that looks like it should be a movie set and shows me to a room stocked with riding gear.“Anything you need you’ll find in here.Even boots, Boots.”

I find a pair of jeans that fit like a glove, a pair of comfortable, lived-in boots that are my size, and a long-sleeved moisture-wicking shirt.I step outside to find Special K waiting for me with a cowboy hat.He spins it on his index finger, then plops it on my head.

“Now it’s official,” he says.“Not only are you the prettiest girl in the world, you’re the prettiestcowgirl, too.”

He introduces me to Joe Valencia, his friend and ranch staff manager.The two of them show me the horse they’ve chosen for me to ride.It isn’t the small mare Special K brought up for me, the one Emma rode to the ridge yesterday.This is something altogether different.

“Is this an Appaloosa?”I ask.

“You got a good eye,” Joe tells me, grinning.“This is Athena.She’s a four-year-old with a lot of get up and go, but she’s a good listener and not a complete idiot, like Diego Guapo over here.”

“Watch it,” Special K says, laughing.

He walks me over to introduce me to Athena, and the fair-haired horse with dark brown spots sniffs my hand.She’s beautiful, with a snow white blaze down her nose.“When you told me you learned to ride as a kid, I figured you might like to have some fun.Ready?”

“You know me,” I say.

Special K chuckles low in his chest as he gives me a boost into the saddle.He checks the stirrup length and the tightness of the girth, then mounts DG.

We walk off, side by side down the lane.

“I’m going to take you to the real hot springs, not the piss ant version in the mountains.”

“I loved that version.”

“Then you’re really gonna love this place.We can watch the sunset from there,” he says.