Page 46 of The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

She giggles. “You sure will. But don’t worry about it.”

Going on errands I suspect she made up? Or spending time with Caleb when I tried so hard to avoid him today after I slept with him?

Or both.

“Have fun. Take your time and enjoy the night out. You don’t have to rush back here.”

I nod and smile, grateful she’s letting me have the option to fill my time with Caleb as I please. Marian is a fairy godmother, best friend, motherly figure, and excellent boss all wrapped in one package. “Thank you.”

Before she can delay me any longer, I jog over toward the truck. Caleb is waiting there, leaning back against the driver’s door. In jeans and a plain white t-shirt, he looks casual, like he’s just another country guy hanging out in the fresh air. It’s hard to remember he’s supposed to be this wealthy CEO from Manhattan, and when he lowers his sunglasses and takes me in, I don’t care who he is, so long as he never stops checking me out like that.

He whistles as he pushes off the truck and steps toward me. “Damn, Lauren.”

I grin, charmed at how easily he’s affected.

“Can you twirl for me?”

I bite my lip and do so, squeaking in surprise when he’s right there when I make a complete spin. He catches me in his arms and lifts me off the ground. If this is any indication of how he sees the night going, I’ll be shocked if we cross off a single thing on Marian’s list.

“You’re beautiful.” He presses a soft kiss to my cheek before he lowers me to the ground, and I don’t care that my cheeks must be turning pink from how warm they feel.

I smile wide and let him take my hand to lead me to the passenger door. “So, chivalry isn’t dead?”

“Not according to me.” He winks once I’m seated, and he rounds the hood to get in and take off.

“Where’s this list?” I ask once we head down Meadow Lane.

“Hmmm. I lost it.”

I gape at him and he shrugs, smiling almost sheepishly.

“Whoops.”

I narrow my eyes. “Was there a list?”

“Yeah. Wait.” He chuckles and hands me his phone, telling me the PIN to unlock it. I’m shocked at how quickly he trusts me with his personal info. Jeremy would have blown a gasket if I dared to touch his phone. “She wrote a list, and I took a picture of it. I tend to misplace papers and I got into the habit of snapping pictures of what I don’t want to forget.”

“You do, huh?” I ask softly, gazing at the pictures of me. He’s taken just a few, not enough to make me worry he’s acting like a creep or a stalker, and he’s got an eye for it. And me. I smile at the candid shots he took of me doing work around the Goldfinch. It’s endearing how he wants to capture these moments with me here.

“Sorry.”

“No.” I shake my head and scroll to the image of Marian’s list. “It’s…cute. Okay.” I clear my throat, tamping down the emotions that clog there. “Check that my PO box isn’t blocked by the pot of flowers at the post office,” I read aloud.

Caleb chuckles. “What?”

I shrug. “That’s what it says.”

We go to the post office and see that the one pot of flowers in the small lobby space is on a table, not anywhere near the counter below the location of her PO box.

“What’s next?” Caleb asks, swinging my hand as we return to the truck.

I still can’t get over the way he lets me handle his phone. He really doesn’t have any secrets from me?

“Buy a bag of peppermints from the old country store to replenish the dish in the foyer.” I roll my eyes. “I could get those at the grocery store when I go!”

When he cages me in against the passenger door, though, I remember her advice not to rush.

“Are you in a hurry to get back?” he asks honestly.

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