Page 133 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

Its owner stood unexpectedly close to me. Startled, I jumped away from the man wearing a black hoodie. A medical mask covered his face, so all I could see were his eyes. Green and remarkably so.

“Yes?” I looked around to see what others’ reaction was to him. Had he taken anyone else by surprise like this?

So far, only a mom pushing a stroller glanced in my direction.

“I wonder if you could help me with something,” the hoodie man said. His voice was mildly scratchy.

“Um, sure,” I said, not wanting to take my attention from Duncan. He was still on the other side of the lobby, closer to the museum entrance than its exit where I stood.

Hoodie Man was slightly hunched over. He lifted a thumb toward the main doors.

“My grandma is out back, and she needs some help getting into her vehicle. Sounds like she just left a pretty intense party.”

Though I couldn’t see much of his face, this guy was no grave-walker. Based on the lines I could see on his forehead, he had to be in his late twenties or early thirties. A robust youngish man like this neededme?

“You can’t help her?” I didn’t mask my skepticism.

“She’s picky,” he said, lifting a single shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Her name is Eudora—she’s just out here. She told me to get you. I guess she had something she wanted to tell you away from your boyfriend.”

He indicated where Duncan stood, talking heatedly on his phone.

That changed things.

“Eudora?” I said.

For some reason, my heart picked up speed. I tiptoed around him, trying to catch a glimpse of her through the main windows. The cement-like fortress blocked much of the view, except for a few men on mountain bikes.

He nodded and retreated toward the door. “She’s just right out here. It’ll just take a second, I promise.”

I peered toward Duncan once more, hoping to catch his attention. His back was to me, and his hand flailed with exaggeration in that way he had when he was super frustrated.

Hm. Not the time to bug him.

I met Hoodie Man’s eyes again. He gave me a little nod. “Just a second,” he said again.

“Okay,” I said with reluctance.

Hoodie Man nodded and shuffled toward the doors. I followed him, stepping through and talking myself through it the whole way.

I’ll just be right back in. It’s just Eudora. How else does this man know who she was if she’s not his grandma?

It made me wonder what Eudora had to say that she couldn’t have said in front of Duncan. I ignored the warning in my stomach and stepped out into the gray day. Clouds covered overhead, adding to the ominous feeling coursing through me.

I took several steps and then stopped. As far as I could see, it was just the concrete walkway from the parking lot to the museum. Eudora wasn’t in sight.

“I don’t see her,” I said.

“She’s in the car. It’s parked just up here,” he said.

I stared at him. His eyes were a different shade out in the light. Their green was muted, and wholly unreadable.

“I thought you said you needed help getting her into the car.”

“She’s just right up here. Come on. Let’s go.”

“No,” I said. I took a step back.

The man moved faster than I expected. Before I knew it, he hooked a hand around my elbow and the other around my waist and began herding me down the sidewalk toward the end of the concrete arch.

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