Page 22 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

I’d considered putting him in a care facility, but not only had the cost been too much, he was my dad. I wanted to help him as much as I personally could.

Duncan’s abrasive words replayed in my mind. About how stupid it was for me to quit when I needed the money so much. He wasn’t wrong. I hated that he wasn’t wrong.

“He’s so insensitive,” I muttered, taking a bite.

“Henry?”

“No, Daddy,” I said, patting his hand. “Duncan.”

He stared at me with zero recognition whatsoever.

“Never mind,” I said.

Duncan had been charming once upon a time when I’d first started working for him. That had only lasted a millisecond before his true personality reared its ugly head.

He used his good looks and quick intellect to command a room. I’d seen more than one woman swoon under the heat of his stare. But good looks were no excuse for bad behavior. I could never let myself become another mindless victim.

And he’d asked me to date him?

Despite the fact that I knew I shouldn’t, I relived the moment. His words, his arrogance, thatlookin his eyes… It spiked the speed of my pulse all over again.

Dark hair, steel brows, petulant hazel eyes. In his black shirt and tie, he’d been like a moving shadow. A gorgeous shadow, yes, but who wanted lurking darkness everywhere they went?

Not this girl.

I knew that. I did. Even so, it didn’t matter how often I reminded myself of that fact, my body couldn’t seem to get the hint. Standing there in his office, my breath had quickened the way it always did when we stood face-to-face.

He was probably unaware of the effect he had on me. The fluttering in the center of my chest. The shift beneath my sternum. With the cleverness in his piercing gaze, the definition of his clean-shaven jaw, and the derisive curve in his lips, Duncan Hawthorne was handsome. Far too handsome.

“Too bad his personality cures any real affection I could ever feel for him,” I muttered, taking my plate to the sink.

Except, he wasn’t always awful. He’d helped me when I’d burned my hand. He’d shown glimpses of scars and secrets in his demeanor. He’d complimented me today, and those words wouldn’t leave me alone.

He’d called me strong. Capable.

For one moment, Duncan had been a decent human being.

I wanted more of that side of him. Not the presumptuous, entitled, selfish side.

Dad stood and shuffled back toward the living room once more, leaving most of his food untouched. I sighed, peered over just enough to make sure he made it to his recliner, and rested my head in my hands.

What was I going to do?

SEVEN

duncan

I never hadthis hard of a time getting a woman off my mind. But Rosabel? She gripped tightly with both hands and refused to let me go.

The last time I’d gotten so thoroughly rejected, I’d signed a Pact in college pledging myself to lifelong bachelorhood. This time, Rosabel’s rejection was a thousand times worse. Who knew what I’d do now? Rob a bank?

I wasn’t that stupid. That didn’t mean the shock of her departure had left me already.

My iPad was propped up on a stand in my apartment near the shopping mall in Westville. Nicole, my housekeeper, was singing in the kitchen while the sounds and smells of something searing on the stove wafted into my room.

I rose and closed the door, shutting both out.

Maddox, Adrian, Hawk, and River all stared at me from their little boxes on the screen. Adrian’s attention was focused on something else. His new baby, probably.

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