Page 22 of Triplet Babies for the Billionaire
Sure enough, she comes around the bar to me, her eyes narrowed.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, her voice dripping with suspicion. I freeze for a second, unsure of how to respond.
I quickly cover up my smile, looking at her innocently. “Nothing,” I say, shaking my head. “Miguel told a joke.”
Courtney eyes me like she doesn’t believe me. She’s got that look in her eyes; the one that says she’s looking for something to latch onto. Then, she scoffs, shaking her head as if she’s just about had enough of me.
“That’s a stupid name you have, by the way,” she says, her voice dripping with disdain. “Blossom? What kind of name is that? Sounds like something a seven-year-old girl would come up with. Or maybe a trashy teen mom.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I can feel my face flush with anger. But I swallow it down, not letting her see how much her words sting. I’m not going to rise to her bait.
I force a smile, tight-lipped. “Thanks for that,” I say, my voice flat. “See you later.”
Without waiting for a response, I grab my things and leave, the weight of her words still hanging in the air.
I sit in the subway, the rattling of the train doing nothing to distract me from the insult Courtney just threw at me.
Trashy teen mom.
The words echo in my mind, and I can feel my anger building with every passing second.
I’ve always hated when people make assumptions about my mom, about the sacrifices she made for me. Sure, she was young when she had me. Sure, she named me after the main character of her favorite show when she was a teenager.
She told me that she rewatched the whole series over and over during her pregnancy because all of her friends quit talking toher, and her parents threw her out. The characters ofBlossomwere her family when she had no one.
She wasn’t perfect, but she did everything she could to make sure I had a good life. She worked hard, sacrificed everything, and never once made me feel unloved.
But Courtney doesn’t know that. She doesn’t know what it’s like to have a mom who fought tooth and nail to give her kid a shot at a better life. I want to scream, but I bury it.
I pull my coat tighter around me and try to breathe.
I know why Courtney’s acting like this.
She knows.
Shehasto know.
How could she not?
The way she’s been watching me and the way she’s been acting ever since I started working with Noah. She’sfigured it out.
And I’m not sure how to feel about that. What if she knows what’s going on between Noah and me? What if she’s going to use it against us, make this worse than it already is?
I lean back against the subway wall, my thoughts swirling in a storm of frustration and worry. I need to keep my head down, focus on my job, and hope that Courtney doesn’t do anything to blow this wide open.
But deep down, I know it’s only a matter of time before something gives.
Chapter Eight
Noah
I wake up in the early light of the morning, my body still tangled in the sheets, and for a moment, everything feels strangely still.
But then the thoughts come rushing in, thoughts of Blossom.
Of her lips on mine, of the softness of her skin, the way she fits against me, the way her body feels under my touch.
I get out of bed, trying to shake the lingering images of the past few nights, trying to clear my head. A shower might help, I think, stepping into the bathroom and turning on the hot water.
