Page 30 of Love your Billionaire Boss

He heard his mom let out a sigh.

“Honey, you can’t be afraid forever. I know what happened with Sylvie was…”

“Please don’t.”

“All right, all right. I’m just saying. It’s been a long time since you’ve gotten back out there. And you know I need grandbabies.”

Kenny smiled. “I know. I’m your only hope.”

“Exactly. Ask this Cleo girl out.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

They talked for a little while longer about his upcoming schedule and about the charity event she was putting on at the local school. They set up a night for the next week for him to come visit her. She only lived an hour away, so it wasn’t difficult for him to get away. They said their goodbyes, and Kenny clicked his phone off. He smiled. He always felt happier after talking to his mom.

He thought about what she said about asking Cleo out, but he wasn’t ready. He didn’t tell her that because he didn’t want to disappoint her. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all, but it was nice to talk about her after the time they’d shared. He sighed. If anything, they could just be friends.

Chapter 11

Cleo

Cleo finished putting away the dishes on the counter. The kitchen was finally back to normal after yesterday. She stacked her mixing bowls in the cabinet and placed the last cupcake tray in the pantry. She breathed a sigh of relief as she took a look around. Thankfully, she would have a few days off from baking. As much as she loved it, all this prep for the party was tiring.

She glanced at the counter where Kenny had been standing yesterday and smiled to herself. It didn’t feel real that he had even been here at all, but he had been. He had watched her do what she loved and seemed to enjoy it. He had wiped flour from her cheek, leaving goosebumps on the back of her neck. It was one of the best afternoons she’d had in a while.

Now it was back to real life. She was working at the bar tonight, and checked her phone for the time. She had a few hours until she needed to be there. A notification popped up just then. It was Kenny. She smiled and opened the text:

Nico loved everything. There’s almost nothing left. Practice is going to be rough.

After walking to the living room, she collapsed on the couch with a sigh. She read his text again and couldn’t help but feel giddy. She felt embarrassed feeling that way, like a schoolgirl or something. She couldn’t help it, though. There was something about Kenny that made her nervous in the best way, and excited. Clearly. She thought about the steamy shower after he left, and blushed.

She hadn’t done that in a while, and even when she had, it had never felt that good or real. She almost felt guilty about thinking of him in that way. Almost. She was sure a lot of girls swooned over him. He was a good-looking professional baseball player. She glanced at his text again. How many other girls was he texting? She knew this was just business, but still felt excited to text him back:

Glad to hear it. Have a good practice. ?

She wondered if the smiley face was too much. Too late now. She set her phone on the coffee table and flipped on the TV to relax a little before work. She found a rom com and lay back, pulling a chunky knit blanket over her.

Two hours later, she woke with a start. The movie credits rolled as she grabbed her phone to check the time. She had to be at work in half an hour. She ran upstairs and rummaged through her closet for her favorite pair of jeans, slid them on, and grabbed one of her Murphy’s T-shirts.

In the bathroom, she brushed her hair out before putting it into a high ponytail. She applied a little lip gloss and gave herself a once over in the mirror. This was as good as it was going to get. She thought about the chance of seeing Kenny tonight, but didn’t have time to put in any more effort. Besides, after yesterday’s appearance, she could only go up from there.

Parking her car behind the bar, she headed in through the back door, and through the kitchen. She grabbed an apron and slid it over her neck while walking to the bar. It was slow, maybe only a few regulars who came after work, which wasn’t surprising for a weeknight.

“Hey, Cleo.” Bridget walked toward her, smiling warmly.

“Hey, Bridget. How has it been here the past few days?”

“Pretty slow. Not a lot to celebrate after the team’s losing streak last week.”

Cleo nodded as if she knew anything about the team and its stats. She couldn’t help but feel sad for Kenny. Baseball seemed to mean a great deal to him, so losing must be hard.

“Bummer.”

Bridget nodded. “It should pick up this weekend, though, since they’ll be playing at home. I’m sure they’ll be in to celebrate or drown their sorrows, which is always good for business.”

Cleo smiled at the idea of seeing Kenny. “Definitely. So what would you like me to do while we wait for it to pick up?”

“A new shipment came in today. I’ve unloaded most of it, but I need to get the bottles on the shelves.” Bridget nodded toward the kitchen.

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