Page 5 of The Billionaire's Christmas Baby Surprise

“It’s been nice chatting with you, too. Maybe we should get out of here. I know a nice bar just down the street where we could grab a drink and talk more.”

“Unfortunately, I have lots of fundraising to do, so I can’t exactly duck out.” Billie had found Max’s flirtations charming at first, but she was getting annoyed now. Max should realize that she had bigger concerns than grabbing a drink. “If you’d like to hear more about Sweetest Surprise’s programming, I’d be happy to tell you.”

“As long as it’s you talking, I’m ready to listen.” Max winked, and Billie sighed. She took a step back.

“Listen, Max. It was nice to meet you, but it’s clear that you’re not really interested in what Sweetest Surprise does, or in funding us. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re here to get a PR boost. After all, you’ve never shown an interest in charity before, and you’re barely showing one now.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with a little positive PR?” Max winked. It was a very attractive gesture, but Billie was almost too annoyed to notice.

“I’m sorry, but I need to find donors who are actually interested in my cause. There are a lot of kids who won’t have anything under the Christmas tree if I don’t.”

“That makes sense. Have a nice evening, Billie.” Max nodded to her, and Billie nodded back, then peeled off to work the room. She was so busy with her work that she rarely flirted with anyone, and some part of her had enjoyed flirting with Max. Still, he’d been annoying and was clearly a very different person than she was — and more importantly, she really did have a lot of fundraising to do. There was no time for her to get distracted by a handsome man.

For the next few hours, Billie made her rounds of the room. She laughed and chatted and oohed over photos of dogs and boats, then handed over her fliers. Lots of people seemed interested in talking to her, but no one was willing to agree to a donation on the spot. As the night wore on, she began to feel discouraged. This evening was her last best hope to get the funds she needed for the Christmas gift-giving program. If she didn’t get the money she needed today, she had no idea what she’d do.

“Thanks for telling me about your charity. Sweetheart Surprise sounds lovely, though I have to say, there are a lot of worthy causes here tonight.” The middle-aged couple Billie had been talking to held out their hands for her to shake.

“There certainly are. I appreciate you taking the time to hear about mine,” Billie said. She didn’t correct the couple about the name of her organization. It was clear that they wouldn’t be donating. Billie scanned the room for her next target and saw, to her surprise, that the ballroom was rapidly clearing out. Only a few waitstaff remained, and they were busily packing up the remnants of the food and clearing up the hall.

Billie deflated as she realized that she’d really missed her mark for the evening. There was always a chance that someone would reach out later, but as of now, she was no closer to herfundraising goal than she’d been a few hours ago. She was just in a considerably worse mood.

“Hey, Billie.”

Billie turned to see Max Grayson striding across the room towards her.

“Hey, Max.” She smiled wearily.

“How did your evening go?”

“Not as well as I’d hoped.” Billie hesitated. She was tired and frustrated and stressed about the gift-giving program. Maybe a little flirting with a handsome man would take her mind off all that. At least she could be annoyed with him instead of anything else. “You mentioned a bar nearby?”

“I certainly did.” Max grinned and held out his arm. Billie took it. Together, they crossed the ballroom to the coat check, where they got their jackets and headed out into the cold November air. Billie’s breath formed a white cloud in front of her mouth.

“So, tell me,” Billie said as they walked. “You really were there just because you’ve gotten some bad PR lately, weren’t you?”

“You’ve caught me red-handed.” Max sighed. “But let’s not talk about that. I’d like to hear more about you.”

“About me?” Billie considered. “There’s isn’t a lot to tell.”

“Oh, that can’t be true. How about your name. Billie. Is that short for something?”

“Nope. My parents just liked the name. How about Max? Is that short for Maximilian?”

“No, it’s just Max. See, we already have something in common.” He winked.

“Tell me, ‘just Max,’ what’s it like to run a restaurant conglomerate?”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Max told her. His tone was a little more earnest now than the casually flirtatious one he’d had before. “My father opened the first Bluebell Diner when he was a young man. When I was very young, there was only the one restaurant, right here in Denver. My mom was a waitress, my dad was a chef, and they had a small staff of employees who I knew by name. They’d set me up in a back booth with a glass of lemonade and a stack of coloring books and I’d watch the hustle and bustle of the restaurant.”

“That sounds nice. It must be really different running a huge chain of restaurants than it was having just one, though.”

“True. It was… a big shift, for all of us, when Bluebell began to open more locations and really took off. Luckily, I enjoy the corporate side, too.”

“Do you?” Billie wrinkled her nose. “It would be hard for me to go to work with nothing other than profits in mind.”

“Would it?” Max raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you always have to look for funding for your programs? Every business is concerned with money in one way or another. Companies like mine just deal with money on a larger scale.”

They stopped in front of a small bar, where Max opened the door and let Billie in. The bar was filled with a Friday-night crowd of first dates and groups of friends talking and laughing. Max led them to a small table in the far corner and pulled out her chair for Billie. Billie knew that Max was probably this charming withevery woman he met, but she couldn’t help smiling at the gallant gesture anyway.

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