Page 3 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
“Bright and early Tuesday.” She beamed and waved bye.
He closed the door and leaned his back against it. With a heavy sigh, he pushed off and went to his small kitchen. Again, it was dinner for one.
It was times like these when he felt the loneliness the most. No family. No girlfriend. He had friends, but Luke Barker was usually on call at the firehouse, and Case Palmer was a lawyer and even more of a workaholic than Josiah.
After a look through the barren fridge, he rifled through one of the cabinet drawers and pulled out a stack of brochures for delivery places. Pizza. Thai. Asian Fusion. Irish-Italian. He needed to get a dartboard, pin the menus, and pick one that way. At least it would be more fun.
He closed his eyes and blindly lifted one up. A quick peek with one eye, and he shook his head. “Meh. Not that one.” A few more blind picks, and he was ordering tacos with some chips and queso. Hopefully, the cheese wouldn’t be a solid brick by the time it arrived…like last time.
Just as he flopped down on the couch, his phone rang. “Really?” He wasn’t sure what frustrated him more. The fact that he’d forgotten his phone in the kitchen, or that he’d just sat down and had to get up again. He stood and jogged to the kitchen, answering the call on the last ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, bud.” His dad’s deep voice filtered out.
Josiah put the phone on speaker and walked back to the couch. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” The last part of the sentence came out in a rush as he flopped down.
His dad chuckled. “Oh, you know your mom. She’s dividing and conquering the holidays. I’m making sure you’ve made plans to be here.”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“She made me promise to ask if you’re bringing anyone.”
Rolling his eyes, Josiah’s shoulders sagged. “If I lie, will she kill me?”
His dad snorted and coughed. “She’d kill us both. You for lying and me for knowing it.”
Josiah laughed. “No, I’m not bringing anyone. It’ll just be me.”
“I told your mom she needed to be happy with the three that are already married off. You and Bear will find your other half when it’s time.”
“At least I’m not actively trying to avoid it like Bear.”
Another deep chuckle rumbled from his dad. “Well, to be fair to your brother, his last girlfriend would have put me on the no-date list too. Then Carrie Anne conspiring with Bandit to put him on a dating website…if I was Bear, I’d be finding a cave to hide in at this point.”
His dad had a point. Poor Bear. When he found out their sister had roped Bandit into putting his profile on Mr. Matchmaker, Bear had wanted to strangle both her and Bandit.
Carrie Anne had struck a bargain with Bear to at least try one date. He’d relented, and the date had been a disaster. The way Bear told it, swimming with hungry sharks would have been more fun.
“I don’t have time to date right now, Dad.” After setting his phone on his chest, Josiah stuffed his hands behind his head as he stretched out. Plus, the women he knew were into art galleries and lobster dinners. He wanted a girl who loved pizza, popcorn with milk duds in it, and movie nights.
“Sure you do. You just chose not to,” his dad replied.
“I guess.” His whole family knew about his last relationship. They’d been on friendly terms, and he’d seen it going somewhere. Until he figured out she knew about his lottery winnings.
It was easy to forget what was in his bank account. His apartment was the same as before he won, his lifestyle was the same, and everything else for that matter. He was still the same guy driving the pre-owned blue F-150. Granted, he’d had it painted, but it wasn’t new.
“Look, bud, I know the last one wasn’t so great, but there are a lot of good women out there. Dip your toe in. It might not be as bad as you think.”
Josiah nodded. “I know, Dad, and I will. Maybe after the holidays, I’ll see how warm the water is.” He chuckled.
The doorbell rang, and he looked over his shoulder. “Oh, hey, Dad, that’s delivery. I need to get that. Tell Mom, yes, I’ll be there, and I’m staying until the new year.”
“Okay, bud, see you in a few weeks.”
Josiah ended the call and rushed to the door. As he signed for the food, he thought over his conversation with his dad. Maybe he was right. This whole meal-for-one business was getting old. He’d go home for the holidays, get some rest, and return to the city refreshed and ready to give dating another go.
Maybe.
He shut the door and dug into the bag, pulling out a taco. Yep, women were smart enough not to order tacos from the same place that sold sushi. Better, they were bright enough not to keep the menu and then blindly pick it.
