Page 35 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

“Don’t be. It taught me a valuable lesson.”

I didn’t even want to go there—and I realized I needed to add a little levity to our conversation. “So…you’ve lost two fortunes and were married. So that makes you…what? Fifty? Sixty?”

At first, he thought I was serious. I could tell by the way his eyes widened. But then they crinkled in the most adorable way. “Ah. Humor. Cute.” Tilting his head, he picked up his fork once more. “I don’t know, Bailey. How old do you think I am?”

Fortunately, he was taking my teasing as intended, so I thought I might push it a little. “I don’t know, Maddox. It seems like you’ve lived a full, long life. Fifty sounds about right.”

“Please tell me you’re not serious.”

I laughed then, unable to hold it in. “I’m not. But please don’t make me guess. I’m not good at games like that.”

“I’m thirty-nine.”

Oh. Would that be a deal breaker for me? I considered teasing him more, calling him an old man—but we weren’t too far apart, were we? Not so bad that it would matter.

I didn’t think so anyway. But ten years was a long time, a big gap.

“So slightly younger than sixty. Would it be considered impolite for me to ask you your age?”

Shrugging, I cut a few green beans in half with my knife, trying to avoid his gaze. “I don’t know.” At this point, my heart was falling for him—and I didn’t want our age gap to stop him from starting to feel the same way about me. “Would it affect the way you regard me?”

“Why would you think that? Did my actual age change the way you regard me?”

“No.”

“It’s all right, Bailey. I know women don’t like to talk about—”

“Twenty-nine. I’m twenty-nine.”

“Oh. Okay.” Maddox dropped his fork first and then his jaw. “Oh, no.”

“What?”

“You were right. Knowing your age completely changes the way I look at you.” He hung his head in mock disillusionment, causing me to laugh, and I playfully slapped his arm.

His eyes made me stop in my tracks. “Oh, sorry.”

Taking my hand in his, he then met my eyes with his, arresting my mind and my heart. “I’m not an easy man to love, Bailey.”

My heart started thudding in my chest but most thoughts escaped me. How had he known what I’d been thinking? “We all have our faults, Maddox.”

“There’s a reason why I’m divorced.”

Now the mood was somber—and my appetite had disappeared. I wasn’t going to argue with Maddox about what kind of spouse he’d be. When I’d flirtingly slapped him, I hadn’t thought of marriage and divorce or even love.

But he’d sensed one thing—I was becoming interested.

Standing, I picked up my plate. “Where do you keep your cling wrap?”

“It’s in one of the drawers. Do you want me to help you find it?”

“No, that’s okay.” Even though I hadn’t personally spent the money on food, I didn’t feel right about wasting it. “I’m holding you to steak for breakfast.”

“You’re on. Guess I’d better stop now, too.”

The mood felt a little lighter now, so I breathed easier. “When are we having S’mores?”

“Ah, I love that you’re eager. Not till tomorrow night.”

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