Page 60 of Seeing You

Great.

“If you think telling me that is helping me in any way, shape, or form, you’re crazy.Gah!So not the pep talk I need right now!”

“Billie…”

“And for your information, I have tons of sexy underwear!” She just didn’t wear it very often because…dammit, the cotton ones were so much more comfortable!

“Great! One less thing for us to tackle! Be sure to shave all the pertinent areas, unless you want to come in for a wax? I won’t do it because that would be weird, but one of the other girls can. Let me look at the schedules…”

“No waxing! And why are you suddenly so vocal about my privates? Stop making this weird!”

“Fine, I’ll stick to the flowers and wine. Anything else?”

“Um…”

“You know what? I’ve got it all under control. I’ll be over in a little while, but I’m stopping for cookies first!”

“Thank you! Love you!”

“Love you too!”

The evening nurse assured him his father would be fine overnight on his own.

Then his father chimed in that he’d better not come home tonight.

With any luck, he wouldn’t.

Grabbing the bag of Chinese takeout, Marcus climbed from his car and let out a long breath. He knew he’d read the situation right when Billie left earlier. This wasn’t just dinner; this was a date, and he was going to be staying for more than dinner.

He had an overnight bag in the backseat that he wasn’t going to bring in just yet. After all, he was hopeful, but didn’t want to appear overly presumptuous.

“Okay, just be casual and let her set the pace. We’ve got all night.” The front door opened, and he smiled at the thought of her being just as eager to see him as he was to see her. Slowly, he started walking toward the porch when…

Ashlynn came out.

That wasn’t quite what he was expecting, but he kept smiling as she came closer. “Hey, Ash,” he said. “How are you?”

That’s when he noticed her smile was a little off, like maybe she wasn’t happy to see him. She kind of stomped right up to him and began waving her finger in his face.

“Let me tell you something, Marcus Calloway,” she began in a low, menacing voice, even though her smile was still in place. “For some reason, my sister is willing to allow you back into her life. The rest of us—me, Chloe, and Levi? We’re just waiting for you to screw up again so we can all pounce on you like we didn’t get to do ten years ago.”

“Um…”

“You better make damn sure that you treat her like she’s the most precious thing in the world and not like the corporate robot you tried to turn her into. And if youevermake her cry again, I will find you, and I will end you.” She punched him in the shoulder—harder than he would have expected from her—before she rested her hand on her barely-there baby bump. “Don’t make a pregnant woman turn vicious, Marcus. Enjoy your evening.” And with a friendly little wave, she walked away.

“Well, that was awkward,” he mumbled as he made his way to the door. It was closed, so now he had no choice but to ring the bell.

“Hey!” Billie said as she opened the door. She was smiling and looked beautiful. “Did you get to say hi to Ash?”

“Uh, yeah. We talked for a minute.” She stepped aside so he could come in, but he heard her snickering. “What’s so funny?”

“I saw her punch you. What was that about?”

“Just a friendly warning that your family is watching out for you.”

“Oh God…”

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “It might be nice for me to hang out with your siblings sometime so they can see I’m not such a villain anymore.” She took the bag from his hand and stormed toward the kitchen. The floor plan was fairly open, so it wasn’t like she went out of his view. As he looked around, he noticed a few differences from last night—there were fresh flowers on the coffee table and the kitchen table. Everything looked like it had been freshly cleaned, and he spotted several bottles of wine on the kitchen island.

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