Page 13 of Her Billionaire Hero
“Why?” He pushed his cart up next to mine then let go of it to open his arms.
I looked at them then shook my head. “No hugs, Preston.”
“I see.” Shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks, he frowned at me. “It’s not like we parted on terrible terms, you know. I don’t know why we can’t be cordial to one another.”
“Am I screaming and running away from you?” I didn’t know what he expected from me. “And we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms either. It’s been months since I’ve even seen you.”
“Two months. Not since the divorce hearing. I have to admit I have missed seeing your face.”
Blood began to boil in my veins—my face and my mother’s face were very much the same. “Only that, huh? Wonder why that is.”
“We’ve been together for ten years, Sloan. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing that face of yours.” Reaching out, he tried to run his fingers over my cheek, the way he’d done millions of times before.
Moving back, my eyes narrowed. “No touching, Preston.”
“You are in a mood, aren’t you?” Shoving his hands back into his pockets, he seemed to have to house them or he’d keep trying to touch me. “How’s life treating you?”
“Great, actually. I’ve got a job now. One that will surely spark my career as an engineer.” It satisfied me to no end to see the glisten in his pale blue eyes.
“Good for you, proving me wrong.” A half-cocked smile told me I’d surprised him. “And where are you residing now? I’ve gone by your place and the car I gave you hasn’t been there in a month.”
“I’ve moved into an apartment near the worksite. Quite a few of us moved in there while the construction phase is going on. It makes it easier to keep things on track.” I didn’t want to say too much about how I got the apartment, afraid he’d make a big deal about it.
“The pay must be good if you were able to move.” Shuffling a bit, he looked up at the ceiling. “But of course it has to be good if you’ve been hired as an engineer.”
“Yes, the pay is good.” I didn’t want to chit chat with my ex. “I’ve got to get my grocery shopping done.”
Before he could say anything else, my cell rang and I pulled it out of my pocket, finding it was Baldwyn. Swiping the screen, I didn’t get to say a word as he said, “Where’d ya go?”
“To the store. You need anything while I’m here?” I tried to ignore Preston’s disturbed expression. He wasn’t used to me having friends, since he’d monopolized my time since I was eighteen.
“No. But I did want to ask you about lunch today. Wanna go somewhere?”
“I was thinking about cooking a meal for you and your brothers. But if you’d rather go out, that works too.” It became harder to ignore Preston, who was now watching me with a frown.
“Don’t cook. Let’s go out. I want you to show me around your town. Wanna leave around eleven?”
“Sure. I’ll get finished up here at the store then I’ll be home. See ya soon.” I ended the call then put my phone back into my pocket. “Well, I need to get going, Preston. It was nice seeing you again. You take care.”
Before I could speed off, he caught me by the arm. “Who was that? I heard a man’s voice. And you said you were going to make something for him and his brothers. What’s that about? Do you two live together?”
“That was the man I work for. We don’t live together. He’s my next-door neighbor though, and his brothers live in the same complex.” It wasn’t any of his business and I had no idea why I was even answering his questions. But there I was, answering away.
A perturbed expression told me he wasn’t keen on anything I’d said thus far. “You’re going out with this guy?”
“Not like a date. We’re just friends.” Did I want to be more than just friends with Baldwyn? Sure. But things hadn’t exactly gone in that direction yet.
“I don’t think going out with a man is in your best interests,” he stated, as if he had any idea what I wanted or needed in my life.
“I’m not going to just sit home and grow old alone, Preston.” I pushed my cart away from him, walking quickly.
“Dating a man you work with isn’t a good idea.” He had no problem keeping up with me.
“We’re not dating. As usual, you’re not listening to me.” The whole idea of shopping had flown out the window. Now all I wanted to do was get the hell away from my ex.
“You’re lying to me, Sloan. That sounded like a date to me.”
“I don’t know what else I can say to you.”
