Page 30 of The Billionaire Experience

“I won’t report you to the onsite golf pro, I swear.” Ike grinned.

“You are the epitome of ornery.” Kelly hoisted an eyebrow, and Ike grinned wider.

They played the final hole, Reagan’s grandfather scoring a bogey, Kelly coming in at an ugly six over par, and Reagan, despite this being her first time out this year, managing to par the hole.

“Are you coming to the clubhouse for a beer, Ike?” Kelly asked. “I’m buying. Least I can do since I played so poorly.”

“You girls go ahead. It’s time for my Sunday nap.”

Back at the clubhouse, Ike drove the golf cart home and Kelly and Reagan grabbed two ice-cold beers from the cooler and poured them into plastic cups. Inside, they found a table in a sunny corner. Reagan was glad to be out of the wind.

“I didn’t think I’d drink again after Friday. As you may have noticed, my hangover was not pretty yesterday. But hey, back on the horse.” Kelly tapped her cup against Reagan’s.

“I drank beer on Friday.” Reagan took a sip of her light beer. “At Brody Crane’s house.”

Cheeks filled, Kelly made a show of swallowing before asking, “Excuse me, what?”

“I went over for a late-night call…sort of. I left my ice cream behind when I was there earlier.”

“Wait, what!” Kelly waved her hands in front of her face. “You are going to have to back way the fuck up. How did you manage to keep this to yourself for so long?”

“You were out on Friday, and I ran errands on Saturday. I hardly saw you!” Reagan said in her own defense. Then she told Kelly the story about Jean calling while Reagan was leaving the grocery store, showing up at Brody’s to save the tree, and going back to his house for pizza. “I installed the sink while I was there, and then he did some writing. And then”–she took another hearty sip from her cup, stalling before blurting out—“we kissed?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“I’m telling you. We kissed.”

“How hot was it?” Her friend was grinning from ear to ear. “I know it was hot. I know it was absolute perfection. He has a mouth made for sin.”

Reagan could not argue that fact. “It was hot. And he asked if I could work on the house alongside running my monthly client calls. He offered to pay me double my normal rate.”

“And you accepted. Correct?”

“I accepted.”

Kelly let out a loud whoop. “He’s paying you double and he’s kissing you? Home run, babycakes!” Kelly lifted her palm for a high five, which Reagan gave her.

“I obviously have to stop kissing him if I’m working for him.”

“Why?” Kelly narrowed her eyes. “Is he married?”

“No! Oh my God.” She decided not to mention Brody’s sister being none too happy to find him and Reagan in a clinch. “I want to keep things aboveboard in case he decides to sell the house when he’s finished writing his book. I could have a chance at buying my old house back.”

“Have you shared this plan with him?”

“No. He doesn’t know I’m Ike’s granddaughter, so it’s kind of a peel-the-onion reveal. I can’t lay out everything at once.”

“But you can make out with him on his couch after installing a sink. Don’t get me wrong, Ray, I approve of the kissing, especially kissing a gorgeous Crane man who’s in town temporarily, but if your plan is to bribe your childhood home out of him?—”

“It’s not bribing. I am going to be there working. What better way to show him I’m the perfect person for the house than by taking excellent care of it?”

When and if he moved. Her plan had holes, she’d admit.

“Do you think he’s big-hearted enough to sell it to you at a reasonable price? Or will he be an opportunistic asshole and jack it up to take advantage of the real estate boom in this area?” Kel gestured at the pristine golf course outside the windows. “Merriweather is about to be swarming with wealthy residents. He’d be crazy not to quadruple his price and put the house on the market for the highest bidder.”

“Quadruple?” Reagan’s heart sank.

“Unless you’re really good in bed.”

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