Page 100 of Undercover Billionaire

I could feel my face scrunch up at his suggestion. I’d been quite daring lately, if you asked me. I needed some semblance of my routine to keep me grounded and comfortable.

“I’ll make it easy and order for you.” He moved up to the register.

“What can I get for you this morning?” the lady behind the counter asked.

Adam ordered us both Egg McMuffins and hash browns. “And a cup of hot water for the lady’s tea. She brought her own teabag.”

The mention of me wanting to use my own tea instead of theirs earned me the you-must-be-a-stuck-up-bitch sideways glance from the cashier.

“Will there be anything else?” she asked.

I slunk off toward the tables with my hot water. Usually I was nice to everyone, and I’d really put my foot in it this morning. There wasn’t anything wrong with McDonalds. Hell, I’d been here before. Trying to come up with the last time, though, meant I had to rewind to being in California, which sort of made Adam’s point for him. I took a booth and prepared my tea while he waited for our order.

He brought the tray and sat across from me. “Can we talk about our families for a moment?”

I tried not to seem surprised. “Sure.”

“I think my dad is going to have a fit when he finds out.”

I unwrapped the nearest breakfast sandwich. “Maybe you should tell him, rather than have him find out?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. Sure, I’ll tell him, but I’m worried about how. It’s not like I have the words figured out. ‘Hey, Dad, you know this Benson family you hate? Well, I’m going out with one of them.’” He took a bite.

I finished chewing. “Have you told him what you told me about your uncle? That might be the way to start.”

He shook his head, swallowing. “I did, but bringing it up again implies he was wrong—and he either knew it, or should have known.”

I took a bite of hash brown. “You should expect the best from your dad, not the worst, and lay it all on your uncle… Just a thought.”

He nodded. “Maybe.”

“Doesn’t he deserve the benefit of the doubt?”

“Got me there.” He sipped his drink. “You sure are smart.”

“I’m a Benson. What’d you expect?”

We laughed together at what would have been fighting words a week ago.

“What about your family?” he asked.

I shrugged. “What they don’t know can’t hurt them. I won’t see Daddy till the holidays, so it won’t come up for a while.”

He lifted his cup again. “So youareashamed to tell them you’re seeing me.”

I reached across. “I told you, no, that’s not it. It’s just that I don’t want to upset Daddy, and I have to figure out the words. I haven’t been super open with him in the past, so it’s not like delaying telling him is out of character for me.”

“Don’t you talk on the phone?”

“Not often. Daddy prefers face to face.” And I was hoping it wouldn’t come up, because I had the same wording problem Adam did, and no idea how to handle it. “I guess it’s us against the two families.”

He took my hand while he finished chewing. “I’ll bet on us any day.”

His confidence was contagious. We could handle this.

My phone chose that moment to ring.

Adam produced it from his pocket and looked at the screen. “So much forit won’t come up for a while.”

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