Page 99 of The Billionaire's Wife

“It works. Mostly.”

I pointed at her. “Exactly.”

She finished getting in and I closed the door, then went around to my side.

“Will you let me get you something else? Something better?” I glanced over at her as I fastened my seat belt. “Please?”

“I don’t think I need one. I can walk to the bookstore.”

I started the engine and backed out of the spot. “Sure. But it’s going to get cold in another couple of weeks. And the summer is hot and muggy. Not to mention rain, sleet, snow.”

“You left off gloom of night.” She laughed as she said it.

“You kid, but tell me honestly you felt one hundred percent safe walking home last night after girls’ night.” I checked both ways, then pulled out of the parking garage and started toward the road that would carry us along the river to Mount Vernon.

Faith stayed silent.

“You’re quiet.”

She sighed. “You have a point. But my car is really fine. I have money and can fix it up if I need. I also thought about buying a bike, believe it or not.”

“I have money, too.” I glanced over at her. “Or we could go halfsies.”

“Halfsies?”

“What? It’s a word.”

“It’s absolutely not a word.” She shook her head. “At least I think I understand what you’re getting at. And as awful as you may think me, I guess I’d like that better.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Just like that?”

I shrugged. “Sure. You have money, like you said. Now that the Ortegas are out of the picture, there’s no reason you can’t access all of it, right? So if you feel better splitting the cost of a car, I’ll feel better knowing you’re driving something completely reliable.”

“Okay.” She turned her head and looked past me. “Is that the bike trail?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“It’s not flat.”

I chuckled. “Virginia isn’t flat.”

“Well, sure. But I just thought…you know what, never mind. I’ll simply say I’m extra glad that we aren’t biking today. I think I probably need to do a lot of shorter trips and get back in shape.”

I glanced over at the trail. “That’s fair. We can rent bikes once and make sure we like it. If we do and it’s something we’re going to do, we can invest in our own. Sound good?”

“It does.” She paused. “Since we’re making future plans…”

I waited, but she didn’t continue. I slowed as we hit the change in speed limit that announced we were nearing the giant roundabout in front of Mount Vernon. “What?”

“Did you ever decide about getting a dog?”

I shook my head. “It’s been busy. And honestly, I mostly wanted a dog so I wouldn’t be so lonely if you left.”

Faith reached over and rested her hand on my leg. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. We’re good. Right?” I glanced over and frowned slightly at her expression. “Is there something else?”

---