Page 37 of Baby for My Billionaire Rival

Jude emerges from the house and flanks me. “Oh my gosh, did Jake send you –”

“Yeah,” I say, unable to hide my smile.

She snatches the card before I know what to do with myself. “Caroline, he’s inlovewith you.”

“Let me see that –” Chase appears next.

I shoot up to my feet and try and retrieve the letter from my brother, but it’s of no use. “Okay, Leslieisa funny middle name,” Chase says, slipping the card back into the envelope.

“Don’t make fun of him!” I say.

“Listen to her. Defending her man,” Jude swoons, grabbing my shoulders. “Sounds like it’s love, right, Chase?”

I hide my face in my hands. “Stop, stop,stopit’s just a nice gift! Nothing more!”

“Sure, Caroline,” Chase says. “And Jude and I were going to get married because we were just friends.”

“This is nothing like that,” I reply defensively.

My brother’s lips quirk to the side in a curious smile. “You’re right. This is the normal way people do things.”

Jude squeezes my arm. “Just think about it, huh?”

I think about it the rest of the night, the scarf tucked safely in my purse. From time to time, I reach in and touch it to remind me that Jake Simmons thought of me on Christmas.

And Christmas is, in fact, one of the most romantic days of the year.

Chapter 12

Jake

It’s our first lecture back and Caroline hasn’t even looked at me. We sit in our usual spots, listening to Fig give her breakdown for the semester.

I rest my chin in my hand, anxiously rubbing my jaw. How can I focus on the lecture when I haven’t seen Caroline in a month and she hasn’t even acknowledged my existence?

Furthermore, how am I supposed to make sense of it when her pretty blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail, the scarf I gave her wrapped around it like two little tails to her shoulders? That has to mean something, doesn’t it?

On one hand, maybe it’s a sign she’s accepted the token of my affection. On the other, maybe she’s rubbing it in my face.

I knew the scarf was a bit of a risk. But, on my part, it was a very calculated one. I asked my mother for her advice without going into the nitty-gritty details. However, since Caroline visited the farm, Mama has been asking about her with a not-so-secret wish we’d become more than project partners.

“How do you let a woman know you’re thinking about her without making her feel like you’re forcing her into something romantic?” I asked as I helped her wash the dishes.

My mother cocked her eyebrow at me and smirked. “You’re a scamp just like your father, aren’t you?”

The scarf, we determined, was the most innocent expression of my thoughtfulness. Although, given the price tag, I’m sure to many people that would be basically a proposal of marriage.

And Caroline is wearing it. Right in my face, waving it like a flag. Whether it’s meant to surrender or warn, I don’t quite know yet.

Halfway through the lecture, I realize I haven’t retained even a word Fig has said. Caroline said that we shouldn’t continue our little affair because of how much of a problem it would pose to our program. If that works for her, great. But the fact we are pretending like nothing has happened has made things worse for me. Couldn’t there be a middle ground? A delicate space where Caroline and I can exist in the way we did that one cold night in December?

I notice movement a few rows forward, Caroline leaning over to whisper in Amy’s ear. She hands her something which Amy takes with a smile. Then Amy hands it to Schwartz next to her and on and on it goes. It popcorns across the room and then up to the row in front of me. I watch the parcel move, realizing it’s just a grade school style note.

It lands in front of Greg Pollard in front of me. He considers the note and then turns to look at me. “This is for you.”

I stare at the note. And then back at Caroline. She’s looking at me, finally, but her face is nearly blank and unreadable. Except for the tiny twist of the corner of her mouth.

I take the note, muttering a small thanks, and as soon as the paper touches my hand, Caroline gets up and leaves the lecture hall, ascending the stairs in her impossibly high heels.

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