Page 37 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

I pictured the wordsI love youleaving my lips. They built beneath my chest, clogging everything inside so I could hardly concentrate on anything else.

But I couldn’t set them free. They were like a batch of germs that would spread the instant they hit the air and be impossible to entrap once more. I could never say them.

Not when she looked at me the way she was looking at me. Like I was something she’d stepped in.

“Is that all?” I grumbled.

“Almost.” She lifted her chin, stepping closer and driving me wild. “I have one more. While we’re there in—where are we going?”

“Eureka Springs,” I said.

She paused at the name. The town’s unusual moniker often gave most people pause when I mentioned it.

“Okay, then. While we’re in Eureka Springs, you agree to an act of service. Something of my choosing, something that might put you in someone else’s shoes and bring you down a few pegs off your high horse.”

Was she serious? “I’m not on a high horse. I won’t have time for anything else but overseeing my new house and handling my investments.”

And dealing with my family.

And keeping her safe.

“Those are my terms,” Rosabel said without backing down. She heightened her nose for good measure. “If you can’t do that, then I’m not going.”

“I’ll do it,” I said without breaking a sweat.

If this was what it took to get her on that plane with me, so be it. I couldn’t leave her behind in Westville. Not when I wasn’t going to be here. Not with everything that had happened to Gabby, Ella, and Adelie.

Rosabel’s scowl set. Her power trip relaxed just enough to reveal her surprise. “Just like that?”

“Yes. I accept,” I said readily. “I will treat you with respect.”

“That includes good manners, Duncan. Be nice to me. Show interest in what I have to say. It’s called being considerate. Like we could be friends.”

“Friends,” I repeated dryly.

The word was insulting, partly because I thought we already were.

“I assume you have some,” she said. “That owner of Wonderland seems to like you, though I can’t imagine why.”

The twinkle had returned to her eye.

My lips fought a smile. Banter was good. I could stand my ground with her when she was like this. Playful.

"Who’s being beastly now?” I asked.

She narrowed her eyes. The look told me to watch it. If anything, it amused me even more, lightening the mood.

“Okay, Rosie. I’ll be your friend.”

“Rosie?”

I’d annoyed her again? Good. I needed an upper hand in this conversation.

“Friends use nicknames, don’t they? Now, as for this act of service, what did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.” She gave me a satisfied smirk. “I suppose you’ll have to find out when we get there.”

Without another word, she strolled toward the plane, dragging her suitcase behind her, leaving me behind as though this trip was her idea.

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