Page 71 of The Billionaires

“A real smile,” he says.

Should I tell him that it’s hard to smile when you’re trying not to get hard?

“Say cheese,” he urges.

Could Juno’s body heat melt cheese? The thought makes me smile, which brings the photoshoot to a blissful conclusion.

“So, what now?” Juno asks me after we get into the limo.

Great question. Whatever it is, it’ll be best if we’re not alone, or else what happened last night could happen again—and that would be a mistake for many reasons, but especially because she made it clear she regrets it. How else can I interpret her refusal to even talk about it?

To that end, we check out two amazing parks: Ichetucknee Spring and Devil’s Millhopper—the latter being the only attraction I’ve heard of that’s located in a gigantic sinkhole.

With every minute, I feel more comfortable in Juno’s presence. I would even go as far as to say I genuinely enjoy her company. Which is a problem, one to which I think I have a solution. So, as we return to the limo, I ask, “When do you need to go back home?”

She sighs. “Soon, I’m afraid. I have to take care of all of my clients’ plants. They can only wait so long to get watered.”

“That settles it,” I say. “We’ll take you to the plane.”

Her eyebrow arches. “Me? What about you?”

“I’ve decided to stay behind for a few days. I still need to survey the land, sign all the papers, and hopefully get the ball rolling on getting all the permits.”

I’m not great at reading people, but I think Juno looks disappointed—though it’s probably because all our nature hikes have come to an end, not because she will miss my company.

“What about the visit to your grandmother?” she asks. “I thought that was soon.”

“It’ll be the first thing we do when I get back,” I say. “I’ll set it all up, don’t worry.”

“Okay.” She chews on one deliciously plump lip. “But… could we talk on the phone before that?”

I cock my head, puzzled. “Why?”

She shifts from foot to foot. “So we can learn more about each other. Your grandmother is the main reason for the fartlek, after all.”

That makes sense to me. I nod decisively. “Sure. I’ll call you.”

And why not? It should be safe.

It’s not like I can almost-eat her pussy over the phone.

CHAPTER 27

JUNO

I feel melancholy on the flight back to LA.

I clearly liked Gainesville more than I thought I would. I miss it already. And it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: it is not my fake boyfriend that I’m moping about. Nope. It’s the city of Gainesville, and I’m sticking to that.

When I get home, I finally call Pearl back—she’s been trying to get an update on my “relationship,” so I have to very pointedly remind her that a) a lady doesn’t kiss and tell, and b) I’ve signed an NDA.

After Pearl lets me go, I prepare jugs of water with fertilizer in them. These are common tools of my trade, and I’ll need them to revitalize the pothos plants at the Smiths’ Family Estate—one of my key clients.

As I listen to my audiobook and take care of the plants, I almost manage to forget about what happened in Florida—the hot encounter in the kitchen, the terror of Lucius getting hurt, and how date-like all the hiking in the parks felt.

Fine, almost might not be the right word, but at least I don’t dwell on all those things every waking moment.

Only most of them.

---