Page 44 of The Billionaire Benefactor

“It would probably be easier for you to sneak around the back,” he said. “I want you to be able to enjoy tonight and not worry about what people might say online.”

“Sure,” Jenny said. She turned her phone on and off again.

“Are you waiting for a call?” he asked.

She slipped the phone back into the dress pocket. “Sort of. Not really. Lucy’s just been having these nightmares ever since…Well, for the last six weeks. I told my mom to call or text if she can’t calm her down.”

“Oh,” Roman said. He wanted to say something else about Lucy or ask a follow-up question, but his brain shot right back to his worries about being a dad. His worries were about bad press. Jenny’s worries were about Lucy’s nightmares. Was this too much? Were they too different? Was he ready for her life? Was she ready for his?

Once the tiny doubts had taken root, Roman struggled to shake it. Jenny had agreed to go around the back, but he regretted it as soon as she left the car without him, arms wrapped around herself even though the summer heat was still sweltering. But she was already out of hearing by the time he thought to call her name. She didn’t look back once as she walked away. Maybe he’d made her feel unwanted.

The press took longer than he thought it would. Roman answered the same variations of questions again and again with his public smile. He talked about the preseason and the off season and about the upcoming season. He rattled off answers to questions about the charity, which he’d prepared for earlier. No one asked about a new relationship or his date for the evening. They were probably used to him coming alone.

But as he walked the carpet by himself, doing his duty, he wished that Jenny was still on his arm.

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