Page 54 of Daddy's Wild Girl

Just one touch.

Just one kiss.

And she leaned in close to him. Until a bird’s squawk filled the air and broke the moment. They pulled away from each other so fast that it might have been comical under different circumstances.

“I . . . I . . .B-bebe . . .” Fuck. He stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say under the circumstances.

‘Sorry I nearly kissed you’ didn’t sound quite right.

Because he wasn’t exactly sorry.

“Do you think the same as Hayes?” she suddenly asked.

“What?” What did she mean by that? What did Hayes think? The change of topic had him struggling to keep up.

“That I’m a spoiled little rich girl with mommy issues,” she told him. “It’s all right if you do. I understand why people think that. I just . . . well, I don’t know why I asked you that. I think I’m going to go back to my bedroom and not come out for another three weeks.”

He hated the embarrassment in her voice.

Almost as much as he detested the note of sadness.

Reaching out, he placed his arm over her to stop her from moving. “Stay right there. We need to talk about this.”

“We really don’t,” she said hastily.

“Bebe,” he warned.

She sighed. “What was I thinking? I should have just pretended I didn’t hear what you were saying.”

“Were you eavesdropping on purpose?” he asked.

Bebe stiffened.

Oh, she had been.

And he was pretty confident she was about to lie about it.

“No, I just happened to overhear.”

“Really?” he asked.

She let out a noise with frustration. “Fine. I accidentally overheard my name and decided to listen in to see what was happening. And that’s when I heard Hayes say that he thought I was a spoiled little rich girl with mommy issues.”

“And did you hear what came after that?”

14

What had she started?

She was a complete idiot. It was official. Only an idiot would have begun this conversation.

Sometimes, it felt like she was a glutton for punishment.

Why couldn’t she just leave it alone?

Because you don’t like the idea of Corbin thinking badly of you.

“Um, no,” she said. “I didn’t stick around after that.”

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