Page 21 of The Billionaire Boss and the Barista

Mariana had ‘spent time’ with several of the town’s eligible men. And a few of the married ones too. It was one of the reasons Emma hadn’t dated in high school. She’d been so determined not to make her mother’s mistakes.

“One thing I’m not sure you know…” Jesse hesitated. “Rumor had it she moved on with Teddy Bronson.”

“Oh.” Well,fuck…

Teddy was his aunt Phil’s ex-husband. He’d been ten years younger than her. They had divorced after eight years of marriage around the time Garrett left Verdant Falls.

Jesse’s grunt was clear over the line. “Yeah. I don’t want to gossip because I really like Mariana, but you should know there was a lot of talk about Teddy being Stella’s dad. Some even suggested the inheritance Mariana got—the one she used to buy her house—was a payoff from him.”

Naturally, his aunt Phil hadn’t told him any of this.

“I can pretty much dispel that last one for you right now. Geoffrey got alimony after the divorce, but nothing near enough to buy a house for himself, let alone anyone else.”

“Really now?” Jesse was skeptical but Garrett didn’t fight to convince him. It was enough that he knew the truth.

His aunt had usedhislawyers to handle Teddy’s settlement after the divorce.

Whatever had gone down between Teddy and Emma’s mother, Garrett didn’t think it had been the reason his aunt had filed for divorce. At least not the only one. Teddy was a womanizer who’d had several affairs.

“Tell Emma the case is still open, if she’s interested, that is,” Jesse said. “But there’s no need to dredge it up if she’s moved on and doesn’t want to dwell on the past. Last I heard she was hell-bent on doing that.”

“Yeah,” Garrett mumbled. “Understandable.”

He hung up a few minutes later, giving the cat a meaningful look.

“Jesse brings up a good point.”

It was the same one Bethany, the surly barista, had made. Emma didn’t want to interact with anyone from before her accident.

Rising, he bent to pick up the kitten, putting it in the box before it could pee on him.

“You’re going to have to do me a solid and help me get my foot in the door,” he told it. “Remember to be extra cute when you meet your new mom because daddy has some karmic debt to clear.”

Chapter Ten

EMMA

She wrapped her jacket a little tighter around herself, but it didn’t do much good. The zipper was broken, and she hadn’t been able to find a tailor who was willing to fix it.

It hadn’t seemed like a very big deal earlier this week when the weather had been in the eighties, but the temperature had dropped precipitously the last couple of nights.

Everyone and everything is disposable these days,she grumbled to herself.

It didn’t help that the wind on the waterfront was always colder than the rest of town. It always managed to blow straight through the narrow window of the coffee kiosk like a knife, chilling her to the bone.

Which was worse? This cold or getting sexually harassed on the regular by a bunch of overstuffed suits? It didn’t matter. She could never go back to the café. Not with that man there.

Which meant she needed to get a new coat. Pedro was sure to have one in those crowded clothing racks. The only trick would be getting him to loan it to her.

Yeah, you’re going to be cold until summer.

The icy chill dissipated in a rush of heat when she stepped out oftheDe Ollakiosk to lock up for the night. Garrett Chapman was standing a few yards away.

Emma’s lips parted with a gasp.

“Hey,” he said, lifting his hand in an awkward wave.

She froze, despite his nonthreatening posture. Keeping her eyes on the threat, she reached behind her for the handle of the kiosk door, seconds away from diving back inside.

---