Page 7 of The Billionaire Benefactor

“How is that giant dog afraid of anything?” one of the guys behind Roman said. He had blond hair tied back in a ponytail and leaned forward to shake her hand. “Hey, I’m Blake. Is your arm okay?”

“It’s nothing,” she said.

“That’s not a dog, it’s a horse,” said the other guy. He was a tall black man with a friendly smile and shaved head. He shook her hand as Blake stepped back.

“He’s a Great Dane,” Jenny said. “He’ll probably spend the whole time y’all are here hiding under the kitchen table.”

“He can fit under the kitchen table?” Roman said. His face finally had settled into something approaching normal.

Jenny smiled. “Great Danes don’t understand their size. They’ll be lap dogs if you let them.” Suddenly she realized they were all still standing on the porch. “I’m sorry! Come in, come in.”

Scooting back into the house, Jenny waved the guys inside. They all moved into the open kitchen and family room, where Lucy was still staring at the TV. Tiny was, as Jenny predicted, cowering underneath the table. She could see Roman staring around the house as though appraising, judging. Heat flew to her face again, more irritation than anger. That was the thing about meeting your celebrity crush—maybe Roman was as handsome as he was in photos, but wasn’t as nice as he looked.

“Mom?” Jenny’s eyes shifted to the hallway. Matt stood next to the kitchen with the iPad in hand, eyes wide, flicking between Roman, Tony, and Blake. “Is that—why are—uh…”

Tony stepped forward first. “Tony Davis.”

“I know. But why…?” Matt’s eyes were huge as he shook Tony’s hand, dropping the iPad in the process. “Shoot.”

“It’s okay,” Jenny said, trying not to wince.

Tony picked it up and made a face. “Dang. Cracked.”

Matt looked to Jenny. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just put it on the counter.”

“I can help pay for it,” Matt said. “I’ve still got some allowance.”

“It’s really fine,” Jenny said. Her stomach clenched, though. That was an expense they couldn’t afford right now. Maybe it would still be usable. She tried not to look at the screen. She could worry later when there weren’t three pro athletes still standing awkwardly in her house.

“Matt, this is Blake and Roman,” Jenny said, gesturing to the men, who stepped up and shook his hand as Tony had done. Matt looked like he was about to faint.

“Yeah, I know. But, like, why are you in my house?”

Blake grinned. “Just here to help out with a few things around the house. Want to give us a hand?”

Matt looked to Jenny. She nodded and smiled. This would probably be the first time Matt voluntarily did any kind of chores without arguing.

“Yeah, sure. What are we doing?”

Everyone looked at Jenny then. She touched her hair. “I guess I should have made a list or something.”

“We could start with mowing the yard or replacing the fence. Or maybe putting some sod in the backyard. Why isn’t there grass back there?” Roman said.

Jenny stared. “Hang on a minute. I don’t know if—”

Roman kept going, looking around at the house and through the window at the yard. “The trim needs to be replaced under the eaves, too. Or maybe sanded down and repainted. It’s all in bad shape.”

“Roman,” Tony said. Roman stopped talking and looked to her just as Jenny realized she was glaring.

“What?”

Tony stepped in front of Jenny, smiling apologetically, and put a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Let’s go check out the back. Is the mower in the garage? We can get started on the front if that’s okay.”

Roman narrowed his eyes and Jenny looked at Blake and nodded. “Sure,” she said. “The mower is in the garage and I think has gas still. Or maybe there’s a gas can somewhere…”

“We’ll find it,” Blake said, shoving Roman toward the back door.

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