Page 29 of The Billionaire's Promise

Then again, he'd managed to get himself engaged to a smart, beautiful woman who adored him. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to reject his input. I thought about it for a second then threw that idea away. I didn't need Jacob's help. I'd figure things out with Magnolia in my own time, in my own way.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MAGNOLIA

Jacob and Holden stayed for dinner at the loft. Rosie was asleep, and we couldn't bear to risk waking her up by strapping her into the carrier and driving her home. She'd be awake soon enough. Holden ran out for pizza, and we had a relaxing meal except for the weighted glances Jacob kept throwing at Vance. Vance was ignoring him, and I couldn't tell what was going on.

Whatever. I had more on my mind than the Winters boys.

I'd managed to get the brochure layout done and emailed off to Sloane, so at least she was off my back. I'd face the rest of my workload tomorrow. Once Vance's show was behind us, we could all relax.

Rosie woke up just as we were putting her in the car, starving and with a newly wet diaper. We'd already locked up Vance's building and loaded Scout into the back of the Range Rover. Poor Rosie had to suffer for fifteen minutes until we could get back to the house.

Vance offered to handle the diaper and the bottle while I took Scout for a quick walk in the backyard. He'd been inside all day, mostly ignored as Rosie demanded all of our attention.

I almost missed it, my hand going automatically to the knob on the kitchen door, my eyes on Scout beside me. The door was slightly ajar, the deadbolt mostly disengaged. The house was old, and some of the doors and windows were tricky. This door had to be pushed all the way shut, then pulled out a fraction of an inch for the deadbolt to fully engage.

I always locked it correctly out of habit, but if Vance had let Scout in that morning, maybe he hadn't. I couldn't remember which of us had handled Scout after breakfast. The day felt as if it had been a million years long, that morning a lifetime ago.

"Vance, did you let Scout in this morning?" I asked, turning the door knob in my hand. It moved easily. Not only was the deadbolt open, but the lock on the handle wasn't engaged.

"I think so," he said from the other room. "Why?"

"The door isn't closed all the way." I shrugged and swung it open. It wasn't a big deal. This wasn't a high crime area, and it didn't look like anything had been disturbed in the house, but I didn't want bugs getting in. Every time I forgot and left the back door open while I was outside, I ended up finding a spider in my living room. Yuck.

Vance came back in the room, carrying a mostly naked Rosie. "The door was open?" he asked.

"It's not a big deal," I said. "It's an old house, and sometimes, the latch doesn't close properly. We just have to remember to shut it all the way after we let Scout back in."

"Are you sure we didn't? I don't remember leaving the door open."

"This morning was nuts, Vance. I'm surprised we all managed to put on our shoes. It's not a big deal. Just try to remember."

He was still staring at the door when I slipped outside with Scout, an old tennis ball in my hand. My dog was pretty lazy, aside from jogging with Vance, but he chased the ball for a few minutes before he got bored and nudged the back door, looking for his dinner.

If only babies were as easy as dogs. I remembered the last time Scout had gotten into the trash can and thrown up all over the kitchen floor. Nope, still easier than a baby.

I was glad we'd already had dinner because I was too tired to cook. I was not too tired for ice cream.

Grabbing a pint of cookies and cream from the freezer, along with a spoon, I went in search of Vance and Rosie. I found them in the family room, Vance half reclined on the couch, Rosie tucked into his arm and happily feasting on her bottle. I sat on the other side of the couch and opened the ice cream.

"Hey," Vance said, raising an eyebrow at me and eyeing my spoon loaded with ice cream.

"You want my ice cream?" I asked. He nodded, giving me his sweetest look. With anything else, it might have worked, but this was really good ice cream and it had been a very long day. I was also completely useless at sayingnoto Vance Winters.

I scooched closer on the couch and dipped the spoon into the ice cream, lifting it to his mouth. I hadn't been thinking, or I would've been ready. His tongue flicked out, scooping the ice cream off the spoon, his eyes on mine, hot and blue. I shivered.

I took the spoon back and dipped it into the pint. Sliding it across my own tongue, knowing the cold metal had just been in Vance's mouth, was unbearably intimate.

Did he know I was thinking about that kiss? I pretended like I didn't remember. It was easier that way. I'd been drinking and too much of a coward to deal with the aftermath of kissing Vance.

It had been a bit more than just a kiss to me. A lot more than just a kiss, but I refused to go there.

We’re sharing ice cream, I told myself.It’s not intimate. It’s just dessert. Then why didn't I get him his own spoon? Because he couldn't feed himself while he was feeding Rosalie. That was my excuse for scooping out another bite of cookies and cream and raising it to Vance’s mouth.

A blush rose to my cheeks as I watched his lips close around the metal and his tongue flick across the bowl, making sure he got every drop of ice cream before releasing the spoon. I wanted to pretend he didn't affect me, but the redness in my cheeks made me a liar.

I should have put the ice cream away, but I didn't. We ate almost half the pint like that, Vance silent, his eyes on me, my cheeks pink with embarrassment.