Page 121 of Where We Bloom

I tuck Billie into my side as I turn to my ex-wife and smile at her. “Hello, Fiona. This is Billie Blackwell.”

Billie tenses beside me, only enough for me to feel it, but then she immediately walks forward, offering her hand to my ex.

“Pleasure,” Billie says, shaking Fiona’s hand.

Fiona raises an eyebrow and looks at me over Billie’s shoulder, and I know she’s about to underestimate my girl.

“How lovely to meet you,” Fiona says. “And a beautiful girl you are at that. That’s a lovely blouse.”

Billie stiffens as she steps back. “Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work tosee to.”

She smiles at both of us, then crosses to her computer bag and pulls out her laptop.

“Connor, can I sit at your desk, or should I?—”

“Make yourself comfortable, angel,” I reply easily, still watching Fiona. “I’ll be a couple of hours. If you need anything at all, Scott is at his desk, and he can help you. He’s Fiona’s and my assistant since I’m not in the office often.”

“Thank you,” Billie says with an easy smile. “I’m fine for now.”

“Everyone is in the conference room,” Fiona says, waiting for me.

I nod, but I don’t move toward her. Instead, I cross to Billie and press my lips against her forehead, then lean down to her ear and whisper, “I love you to distraction,a ghrá. Make yourself at home.”

She smiles up at me and doesn’t bother to whisper when she replies, “I love you, too.”

With that, I walk toward Fiona, not missing the way her eyes have widened, and when we’re in the hallway and my office door is closed, she immediately starts asking questions.

“This is serious, then? And how old is she, Connor? She looks like a bleedin’ uni student.”

I stop and turn to her. “You’ll want to be careful how you talk about her. I won’t warn you again.”

She scowls, but I keep walking into the conference room. She’s my friend, but she’s also my ex-wife, and I won’t confide in her about my relationship with Billie. I know that’ll piss Fiona off,but I don’t care.

I want to get through these meetings quickly so I can take Billie home.

The sooner I get out of here, the better.

Chapter Twenty-Two

BILLIE

So that was Connor’s ex-wife.

Sitting behind his desk, staring at the black screen of my laptop, I nibble on my bottom lip until it’s swollen. I saw the way her eyes moved over me, assessing me. I felt the cold judgment and could almost hear her thoughts.

This girl is too young and definitely not good enough for the likes of Connor Gallagher.

At any point since he told me he’d been married and who his ex-wife was, I could have searched for Fiona online, to look at photos, to dig into her life a little, but I purposely didn’t do that. However, after being blindsided today, maybe I should have.

Fiona is beautiful. There’s no denying it. Long blond hair cascades down her back, her blue eyes are sharp and don’t seem to miss anything, not to mention, she has a figure to die for. Perfectly hourglass, that woman is the epitomeofbombshell.

And he hasn’t been with her in a dozen years.

I’m not jealous of his ex. Connor has made it abundantly clear that I’m the center of his universe, and that didn’t change when Fiona came into the room. I have no reason at all to feel insecure when it comes to my relationship with Ireland’s most eligible bachelor.

But something there made me uneasy.

Something I can’t put my finger on, but I learned a long time ago to trust my gut.

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