Page 137 of The Billion Heirs Boxed Set
I don’t elaborate. It’s one thing for me to come clean with Mark when he caught me and Miles together. It’s another with Miles’s brother. I don’t know what Miles has shared about us and I don’t want to mess things up further.
“Well, dinner’s ready. You want to join us? Louisa makes enough to feed an army. We always have leftovers.”
I glance at Miles. His expression is noncommittal. I don’t want to leave. I want to stay and have Miles accept my apology.
“Uh…yeah, okay. That’d be nice.”
“Come on in. We eat in the kitchen.”
I’m not sure why Chance is being so nice. He wasn’t thrilled when Mark and I showed up yesterday morning. None of them let us in the house. While I wasn’t going to go snooping, they were right about Mark. He would have taken the opportunity to ferret out any kind of weakness or sign of guilt he found.
From what I could tell—although I didn’t take any real time to look around—the house wasn’t going to have a smoking gun or a blood-covered rock or some other kind of murder weapon lying around.
I have to assume Chance’s dislike is for Mark alone. Whatever the reason, I’m thankful he’s given me the opportunity to stay.
I follow Chance, and I assume Miles follows me. I don’t dare look over my shoulder.
“You know Austin,” Chance says, “and this is his girlfriend, Carly Vance. Carly, Sadie Hopkins.”
“Hi, Sadie.” Carly smiles.
I’ve seen her before, and then it clicks. “Vance. You’re the mayor’s daughter.”
She nods. “I am, but I work here as a vet tech.” She lifts her gaze to Austin. “And this big guy is mine.”
Ah, the girlfriend. They look sweet together, and in love. That was fast. Austin has only been in town as long as Miles.
“Won’t you sit down?” She pats the chair next to her.
Perfect. An ally. Maybe. Someone who understands falling for a Bridger man happens fast.
Everyone else sits around the table, including Miles after he washed his hands at the sink. He settles into the empty seat next to me.
“And this is our housekeeper, Louisa,” Chance says. “She’s an amazing cook and keeps us from withering away.”
I glance up at the older woman who’s carrying in a large serving dish, her hands covered in oven mitts. “Nice to meet you, Louisa.”
She offers me a smile as she places the dish on a trivet. “You too, Sadie. I hope you like lasagna.”
“I love it.” I inhale. “It smells terrific.”
“What can I get you to drink?” Louisa asks.
I gaze around the table. Austin and Chance are drinking beer, and Carly is drinking water. I need to keep my wits about me if I’m going to get Miles back on my side. And back into my bed.
“Just water, please.”
“Absolutely.”
A moment later, Louisa slides a glass of water in front of me, and Carly passes me the salad bowl. I help myself to a modest portion and then hand the bowl to Miles beside me. He takes it.
Is that a good sign?
I guess we’ll see.
Miles downs the brown liquid in the glass he’s been holding since I arrived and then takes a drink from his glass of water.
“So what brings you here on a Saturday, Sadie?” Chance asks.
