Page 16 of Starting Over with Her Billionaire Boss

Despite Daegan’s desire to know more, he didn’t ask. If he didn’t want her to know about his love life, then he didn’t wantto know about hers. “Well, I am sure the books will get read in due time.”

“Of course.” Kinsley smiled, locking eyes with him for just a moment as they stopped at the front door. “Thank you again for letting me borrow them. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Drive safely,” Daegan replied as he watched her walk down the steps to her car.

Perhaps the most confusing thing of all was trying to understand why he’d felt jealous about Cameron. The thought of him potentially being the one to come visit Kinsley this weekend stoked a fury he hadn’t felt in years.

In his bedroom mirror, Daegan’s reflection stared back at him with eyes dark from anger and regret. He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “Why do you care, Westerhouse?” he whispered, his voice almost mocking. The man in the mirror looked back, unflinching, as if daring him to admit the truth. “I don’t,” he muttered, though the words felt empty. He turned away, but even as he walked to his room, the thought lingered like a shadow—what if he did care?

Kinsley couldn’t getout of Mr. Westerhouse’s house fast enough. Heat flooded her cheeks as she hurried to get the car out of park.What was she expecting him to say?It was absurd for her to think he would open up like that. Why would he? He owed her nothing more than a paycheck.

Yet she wanted to know. She allowed her curiosity to get the best of her, expecting answers to a question that she had no business asking.

She called Cameron back, putting the call on hands-free mode as she drove home.

“You seem busy tonight,” Cameron said, answering the phone.

“I had to stop by to see Mr. Westerhouse at home. I just left.”

“You werewhere?” Cameron’s shock came through the phone a bit too loud.

“At my boss’s house,” Kinsley repeated, rolling her eyes. She did not want a speech about him right now.

“Why? Is there something happening?—”

“No,” Kinsley was quick to stop Cameron from completing that sentence. “I stopped by for maybe ten minutes to borrow a couple of books from his library.”

Silence.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Kinsley let out a frustrated sigh. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as a car sped past.

“I mean…”

“Nothing happened.” Kinsley articulated her words so crisply that a fall chill would be jealous.

“Books? Is that what they’re calling it now?” Cameron wasn’t buying it.

“Yes,” Kinsley didn’t miss a beat.

“Your clothes didn’t accidentally fly off in a wind tunnel or anything? You didn’t get a sudden promotion fromvisiting?”

“Cameron,” Kinsley emphasized her exhale as Cameron’s skepticism lingered in the air.

“If you say so, then I will trust you. In other news, Brienne and I bought those plane tickets to come out to see you this weekend. Our flight lands tomorrow evening around seven, I think. I’ll text you the exact time, though.”

“Brienne actually got off work? I thought maybe it would be just you.”

“Yeah, her boss isn’t exactly thrilled about it, but all that matters is that her project gets completed on time. She can work remotely anyway, so I’m not sure what the big deal is. Ireminded her once again that she needs to ditch that place and just work for herself.”

“Well, it will be great to have you guys here for a couple of days.” The chatter of the GPS and the distant roar of traffic filled the silence as Kinsley waited for Cameron’s response. Having a little slice of the home she’d always known was the positive boost that she needed right now.

“Hey, did you ever figure out who sent that bouquet a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah, remember, the card said it was from an investment group?” As each word left her mouth, realization dawned on her, like a blindfold being slowly removed from her eyes. It had been right in front of her.

“Cameron, I gotta go.” She hung up before she caused an accident.

Kinsley slammed her car door shut as soon as she pulled into her driveway. She hurried inside, throwing her keys onto the table with more force than intended. The echo of the keys hitting the wood seemed to reverberate through the empty house. Bare feet hitting the cold floor, the creak of the floorboards was her only companion as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

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