Page 20 of The Billionaires' Prize

Geez.

Stop. Just stop.

Stop thinking of them kissing. Stop thinking of kids.

She stretches up and brushes a quick kiss over his lips and then steps away from him. He stands there like a statue for several seconds, not even blinking. Hell, I’m not sure he’s breathing.

Finally, he comes to life again. “Kat?—”

She jerks a thumb toward the hall. “Go. We’ll talk more later.”

He nods, and I can practically see an alarm clock over his head, counting down the seconds. “Later.”

Then he strides toward the elevator like his ass is on fire.

“I was sure he was gonna stick around and have it out with you,” I murmur. It seems like the two of them still have a lot to work through. We all do.

She shrugs, glancing after him. “He’s not good with heart words.”

“Heart words? What the hell is that?”

She huffs a laugh and crosses to the shelf of plants, turning a pot and tugging a yellowed leaf. “His feelings. He calls them heart words.”

After sticking a finger in a few of the pots, she turns back to me. “With the way we grew up, you’d think he’d be a pillar. Have a wall built around himself. But Kingston’s never met a stranger.”

Grabbing her phone, she tucks herself into one of the two corners of the sectional and pulls the blanket over her legs. It takes all my willpower to stay exactly where I am because everycell in my body wants to go to her, cuddle in next to her, and just soak her in.

She sees people.

She seesme.

“He’s got the nicest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. But that doesn’t mean he’s great at expressing his feelings.”

“Apparently not.” Though he seemed perfectly ready to express his displeasure at having to share his bestie.

Humor flashes across her face. “Yeah. But who is?”

She holds my gaze, a silent question in her eyes. Do I feel it? The connection? Do I have heart words I need to express?

“Good point.”

My phone vibrates, and I fish it out of my pocket. “This should be my attorney.”

7

GABE

I open my messages and glance at the text I’ve been waiting for.

Wallace: According to the investigator, the designer has cancer and is in hospice care. He says she went downhill fast. That doesn’t explain the pictures and messages you’ve received, so we’ll keep digging.

I blow out a sigh. That’s awful.

“Everything okay?” Katherine asks, sincerity ringing in her voice.

It seems like the most natural thing in the world to hand her my phone. She scans the message and her eyes go wide, fingertips whispering over her lips. “That’s awful.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

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