Page 1 of Billionaire Daddies Next Door

CHAPTER 1

Joanie

“P-p-p-poker face!” Shower time was the best time for a concert with a voice like mine and I loved a good performance. Holding my shampoo bottle, I sang into it while I danced along to music in my head. “P-p-p-poker face! F-f-f-fuck her face!”

It was noon and the diner was closed for Independence Day. While everyone else in Lilyfield celebrated with their friends and family and prepared to shoot off fireworks, I was spoiling myself with a nice, long shower and a day without interacting with other humans. My choice of Lady Gaga was proof of my good mood.

I rinsed my hair and scrubbed my body while singing as loud as I could. I knew it didn’t sound great, but I didn’t care. I loved to sing. Most people who heard me didn’t exactly come back asking for seconds, but that was fine. I didn’t need anyone else to enjoy my sounds, especially not when I more often than not kept the sound contained to my bathroom.

“Russian roulette is not the same without a gun. And baby, when it’s love, if it’s not rough, it isn’t fun! Whoa, oh, oh, whoa.” I finished shaving my legs and posed with my razor. “Can’t read my, can’t read my, no you can’t read my poker face!”

The sound of children giggling nearly cost me my life as I jerked around and slipped on the slick bathtub floor. I caught myself on my shower curtain and ripped half of it down before I came to a stop, half in and half out of my shower, staring out at two little girls in matching blue dresses. They were identical and standing just inside my bathroom, giggling at me. Immediately, I just knew they were the ghosts from The Shining. I screamed at the top of my lungs, terror stealing any and all sanity from me.

The girls screamed when I screamed, their eyes going wider than what looked possible. From behind them, a massive dog bound into the room, took one look at me, and lifted its head to howl along with our screaming. I couldn’t remember a dog in The Shining, but I was willing to bet that if the dog was with the creepy twins, it was a ghost, too. I screamed even louder and then stumbled the rest of the way out of the bathtub while holding my fingers in a cross in front of me.

The dog walked closer and opened its enormous mouth, just to gently hold my fingers inside. It looked up at me with giant brown eyes and salt and pepper hair that stuck out in every direction and I found myself considering that a ghost dog might not be so bad. I wouldn’t have to remember to take a ghost dog out so often and there wouldn’t be crazy expensive vet bills. A ghost dog actually sounded pretty great when I thought about it. Ghost twins, however? They weren’t ever going to be less than a complete nightmare. Still, I managed to stop screaming when they did.

We stared at each other while the dog gently sucked at my hands. The girls were young, probably around my friend Violet’s son’s age. With pale blonde hair tied up in pigtails and bright blue eyes, they were beautiful kids, but that didn’t make them any less horrifying.

As we all stood there in silence, another sound registered. Footsteps pounding through my house. None of it made sense. I lived alone. I’d never been haunted before, but suddenly, I felt like I was living in Freddy Krueger’s house. I braced for what I would see next, but nothing prepared me for the moment two giant men filled my bathroom doorway, slightly out of breath and staring right at me.

I gaped at them and then back at the twins. What the hell was happening? I opened and shut my mouth several times, trying to think of what to say, but nothing came to my mind. I was simply frozen.

It wasn’t until I saw the giant with red hair run his eyes down my body that I remembered I was naked and dripping wet. I snapped my arms across my body to hide all my most important bits and looked around wildly for my towel, just to see I hadn’t brought one into the bathroom with me.

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t having a terrible nightmare. When I felt my fingers dig into my side, I whimpered, “No, no, no, no. This is not happening.”

The dog didn’t like that I’d taken my hands away from him so he moved closer, until he was leaning his gigantic body against mine and pushing me until I had to take a step to the side. The other man standing in my bathroom doorway looked like he was fighting the urge to laugh. “Mack! Come!”

The dog looked over at him and leaned into me even more. I grunted and stumbled into the counter behind me, just to have Mack pin me there. I looked down at the dog and back up at his owner. “Not working!”

More footsteps coming down the hall sounded and then my least favorite person in the entire world walked into my bathroom. Chase Daniels. The asshole secret investor who’d come out of hiding not all that long ago, determined to ruin my life. He took one look at me and swore. “What the hell is going on?”

My voice was shrill as I shouted back at him. “I was taking a shower when The Shining twins showed up! Now, it’s freaking Central Station in here!”

The twin on the left grinned. “She screamed so loud!”

Chase looked around the bathroom before ripping his shirt over his head and tossing it at me. “Put that on.”

“Maggie, Macey, go home. Now. When our neighbor isn’t in a state of shock, you’ll be apologizing in a big, big way.” The giant with the red hair met my eyes and inhaled so deeply I saw his nostrils flare. “I’m sorry. I heard the girls screaming and came running. This won’t happen again.”

The twin on the right giggled. “Yes, it will, Daddy. Her lock is pitiful.”

I stared at them even as I pulled on Chase’s shirt. Had she just called my door lock pitiful?

“And Mack just follows whatever trouble is happening at the moment. He clearly likes you, though.” The other man winced. “Unfortunately, he’s filthy from playing in the field all day. I’m sorry, Ma’am.”

I looked down at where my bare thighs could just be seen around the giant dog and let out a huge, long-suffering sigh. I could see mud coating my legs.

“Sorry to invade your space even more, but I need to grab his collar.” Bending slightly to grab Mack’s collar, the guy met my eyes from that close up and I saw they were a vibrant green. He gave me a slow smile I was sure usually knocked women’s panties right off. Unlucky for him, I wasn’t wearing any.

“Think you can get it done today?” I expected annoyance or anger to flash across his face, but he just smiled even wider.

Chase grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him out of the bathroom. Once everyone and their charges were out of my bathroom, Chase reappeared in the doorway. “Get a better fucking lock, Joanie.”

I stood there, gaping at him and then the space he’d just been after he walked away. Even after I heard my door slam shut, I was stumped by his audacity and rudeness. It was like he was blaming me for half the town showing up in my bathroom when I still didn’t have a clue what had just happened! I hadn’t even gotten a chance to appreciate his shirtless body in all the confusion. Not that I wanted to. It was just something I felt like I should’ve done.

I wrapped myself tighter in his shirt and then swore. Ripping it off, I tossed it away from me. I wasn’t getting caught in the asshole’s clothes.

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