Page 88 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

I should have known he was hiding more than I knew.

TWENTY-THREE

rosabel

Duncan was toouptight in the car. He sat rigidly on the seat. He kept his gaze out the window. He barely looked at his phone or at me but kept his fists on his knees and stared straight ahead as if at nothing.

I wondered if it had been a mistake to nudge him to take me out. I’d tried mending the hurt I’d caused earlier, but what if he was right?

Maybe itwould bebetter if I left.

I made a few attempts at conversation, each of which earned me either silence, grunts, or one-word answers. At length, I turned to my phone and texted Sarah.

Me:How’s Dad doing today?

Sarah:Better than usual. He had a few lucid moments and talked about your mom.

Me:He did? I’m sorry I missed it!

“There it is,” Duncan said, breaking the silence.

Across a spread of green lawn, an eye-catching rock face displayed the nameEureka Springs. Clive turned at its corner, but the street dropped so suddenly and unexpectedly, I couldn’t see our destination.

I rested a hand on the back of the empty passenger seat in front of me. My stomach gave the same little swooping sensation I got at the top of a roller coaster’s peak before the cars plunged.

“What’s down there?”

“The historic sights,” Duncan said.

I inched forward in my seat, attempting to take in what I could. Each side of the road was met by retaining walls of stone and trees, making me feel as though we were about to take some kind of dive.

“Gives a new meaning to going ‘downtown,’” I said.

Duncan didn’t laugh. He was too distracted by the view over the dashboard as Clive signaled toward a parking lot on the left. He waited for several trolleys to pass before turning in.

“We aren’t driving there?” I asked.

“The town is old,” Duncan said. “Even though it thrives on tourism, there isn’t much by way of parking. Plus, you miss a lot if you spend the entire trek in the car. It’s much better to walk.”

Clive pulled into a parking spot and killed the ignition. To my surprise, Duncan fished another golden ticket from within his jacket and passed it over the seat.

“Here, Clive,” he said. “Take the evening. See the town.”

“Thank you, sir,” Clive said, resting a hand on the vacant passenger seat, first for a better glimpse at his boss and then to slide me a meaningful glance as if to say,“See?”

I bit back a smile.

Had Duncan always been so thoughtful, and I’d just been so preoccupied with his grouchiness that I never noticed before?

He got me that punching bag. The ring. He’d even offered to pay for Dad’s medical care.

There were other moments, though, like the time he’d held a company party at the ballfields in neighboring Bennington. I hadn’t thought to pay for my parking, but after talking to severalof the other employees who’d complained about the high fees, I realized Duncan had already covered mine.

I’d been so focused on the rumors that had spurred because of it, I’d cast it aside. What else about him had I missed? The reason he’d gotten me the punching bag—because he’d wanted my safety. He’d wanted me to be able to defend myself.

He’d been looking out for me.

“We’ll be in touch when we’re done doing the same,” Duncan said, his words cutting into my thoughts.

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