Page 33 of The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss
Of course, that would be the only reason she’d even consider being with him, but he was okay with that. For one, they hadn’t even been on a proper date. Secondly, he had his career to think about. If he did manage to win Realtor of the Year, there was a chance he’d become really busy. Was it really a good idea to start a family just as his career was taking off?
Plus, they’d just really become friends, which was about as fast as either of them could go. The kissing put a weird spin on things, and he wasn’t quite sure how to make that puzzle piece fit. He just knew it didn’t translate to couple.
Marriage was a big deal, though. It was so much more than physical. It was sharing your heart and soul with someone. But this wasn’t just about them anymore. A little girl was in the middle of this tug-of-war, and whatever advantages marriage gave them was worth it.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. “We’ll wait until the lawyer calls us back and go from there. If she thinks it’s a good idea, then we’ll do it.”
As she lifted her gaze to his, they locked eyes. “That sounds like a good idea.”
He’d also be talking to his dad, but Molly didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t so much that he was looking for approval as much as he was making sure he was considering all the ramifications of stepping up and being a husband and father. It was something he’d wanted, ached for at times even, but fatherhood wasn’t just something that was happening to him. It was a choice he was making. Josiah was confident he could do it. Having his dad back him up was something extra to fortify his confidence.
“I don’t know about you, but I could use someVeronica Marsand some downtime,” he said.
A smile lifted the corners of Molly’s lips. “Marshmallows unite.” She laughed.
He winced. “Oh, don’t mention food. I think I’m going to be sick as it is.”
“I told you you’d get sick. It’s like ordering tacos from that sushi place. It’s just wrong.” She shook her head. “And somehow the queso is always cold. Once is a fluke, but twice is food poisoning waiting to happen.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “You know that place?”
“Well, yeah, they have tacos for fifty cents on Tuesdays. There is no little thing wrong with those…calling them tacos is sacrilegious.” Narrowing her eyes, her mouth dropped open. “Oh my gosh, Josiah, don’t tell me you ordered from that place?”
“Uh…” He rolled his lips and grimaced. “Maybe.”
She gasped. “You did? Those things are lethal. Please tell me you didn’t keep the menu.”
When he’d considered a list of soulmate requirements, this had been pretty high on the list. If nothing else, marrying her would keep him from ordering from a host of Dallas area Chum Buckets.
A smile stretched on his lips. He could live with this. If they did get married, no, it wouldn’t technically be real, but having someone to talk to, laugh with, and keep him from getting food poisoning was a plus. People had married for less noble reasons.
Josiah kissed her and hugged her tight. Yeah, this could work…if they had to marry. He’d just need to remember she didn’t really want him as much as she wanted to keep Ellie. While it stung a little, he understood that. And there was always the possibility of things changing in the future. He’d just hold on to that hope.
* * *
The sun was sittingdead center on the horizon as Josiah walked from the house to the barn. In an effort to give himself some space to think, he’d volunteered to clean the feed room in the barn. It garnered him some strange looks, but it had been worth it to get a moment of quiet to think.
Not that he’d been doing much other than that since he’d told Molly about his idea to get married. With it being Christmas Eve, it would be several more days before the lawyer called, and it seemed that all his mind wanted to do was run in circles.
He’d planned to talk to his dad, but every time he tried, it wouldn’t come out. How, exactly, could he start a conversation like that? His parents thought of marriage as sacred, and they’d instilled that into Josiah and all of his siblings. Marriage wasn’t something you did on a whim or to fix a problem. It was a commitment to another person, and not once did you enter it with the idea that divorce was an option. Whether they would end it was probably something they needed to discuss at some point.
“Josiah!” With the sound of his name, he turned and found Bear quickly catching up to him. “Hey, I thought I’d help.”
Josiah eyed him. “Yeah, right. You just don’t trust me to do it the way you would.”
His brother stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and shrugged. “I live here. You don’t. May as well be the way I want things done.”
Okay, so he had a point, but the idea of cleaning the feed room was to get away and think. Not to be hounded about every detail. “How about you give me a quick tutorial, and I’ll do it?”
“How about we work on it together, and you tell me what’s eating you?” His brother smiled.
“Why can’t a guy just get some peace?”
Bear stopped him as they reached the barn. “That little girl is sweet as can be, and I know the idea that someone could come along and take her is worrisome to you.”
“I don’t want her taken from Mollyorme.”
“I know.” Bear pulled the barn door open, stepped inside, and waited for Josiah to follow him in before shutting it behind them. “I can’t fathom how Molly’s feeling. Birth momma or not, she’s been taking care of her, getting up at night with her, loving her.”
