Page 44 of The Billionaire's Promise

"I don't know. He's going to have Aunt Amelia and the nurse. I think you should move in next door to lawnmower hottie. You don't even have to talk to him. Just watching him mow the lawn is entertainment enough."

"That is true," Charlotte agreed, but she dropped the subject of the house and asked me about Rosie. I knew her well enough to know when she was done talking about something. I let it go.

I was more than happy to talk about Rosalie. How was it that I'd been away from her only two hours and it felt like I'd left a limb behind? Not to mention Vance. Lunch with Charlie was fun, but I was ready to get home to my family, even if they were only mine temporarily.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MAGNOLIA

My mind was racing as I drove home from lunch with Charlie, thinking about everything she'd said about Vance, wondering if she was going to work up the nerve to put an offer in on that house, and if she did, if she'd ever talk to lawnmower hottie next door.

On the surface, lawnmower hottie was the polar opposite of the kind of guy I would've imagined for Charlotte, but then again, so was that house. And she wanted the house.

My mental wanderings ground to a halt as I pulled into the end of my driveway and saw a familiar car. Brayden had purchased the luxury sedan a few weeks before he'd officially finished his internship.

He couldn't afford to buy me an engagement ring, or help with the bills, but he had no problem coming up with the down payment for a $70,000 car. Asshole.

What was he doing here? What could he possibly want from me?

I parked my car at the front door and jumped out. I could hear voices at the side of the house by the back gate, and Scout barking. I rounded the corner to see Vance, shirtless and wearing a pair of athletic shorts, his fingers gripping the handlebar of the stroller, his shoulders set.

I couldn't see Brayden's face, but I knew that tone of voice. Neither of them had noticed my arrival. I stopped for a second, curious to know what they were arguing about.

"You're just a fucking opportunist, aren't you?" Brayden said. "You've wanted Magnolia for years, and the second I'm out of the way, you just fucking move in?"

"Are you callingmean opportunist? You? You, who let her take care of you for years while treating her like shit and cheating on her? Get the fuck off her property before I call the police," Vance growled.

"Nobody's calling the police," I said from behind them.

Vance didn't take his eyes off Brayden when he said, "Magnolia, go in the house. I'll take care of this."

"Brayden, what are you doing here?" I asked, ignoring Vance. Brayden stepped to the side, away from the gate and toward me, allowing me to see his face. All signs of temper were gone, replaced by a smooth, almost smarmy, smile.

How had I ever fallen for this guy? With his perfectly pressed chinos and his starched button-down shirt, he was bland and dull.

Vance's golden skin glowed from a light layer of sweat, the lines of his tattoos stark and bold, his muscles tight with anger. Vance was so much more alive, more compelling, moreeverythingthan Brayden.

"Do you want to go put a shirt on, guy?" Brayden said to Vance, and I giggled. He gestured at Vance and muttered, "Ridiculous, running around without a shirt on."

Letting my eyes skim Vance's six-pack as he turned to face me, I winked and said, "Don't get dressed on my account."

"Wasn't planning on it, Sugar," Vance said with an exaggerated leer that prompted another giggle for me and a sneer from Brayden.

"Are you two together now? Is that what this is?" Brayden demanded.

Still ignoring him, I said to Vance, "Why does everyone keep asking us that? Why do these people think it's their business?"

"Because they're nosy and their lives are boring," Vance said, grinning at me.

"Charlotte's life isn't boring," I said.

"Yes, it is," Vance said. "Her life is beyond boring. Is that what you were talking about at lunch? You and me?"

"It's none of your business what we were talking about at lunch," I said, coming around the side of the stroller so I could check on Rosie. I barely got a chance to see that she was fast asleep when Vance's hand closed over my upper arm and he hauled me back, away from Brayden.

I realized Brayden's presence was bothering him a lot more than he was willing to let on. Then I realized it wasn't bothering me that much at all. Weird. Maybe all I needed to get over Brayden was to see him in the same space as Vance, to realize how little he meant in the big picture of my life.

He'd been a mistake, a waste of my time, and that was sad. But it was over, and I'd moved on.