Page 6 of My Ex's Billionaire Brother

“Thank you, Caleb. That’s . . . really nice of you,” I said.

“You’re welcome. You’re nice and pretty cute, and you’ve saved my horse’s life. I’m really grateful,” he said.

The sincerity left me stunned. Did Caleb actually have a cell in his body that showed just a bit of empathy? Was this what I saw? I still didn’t believe it.

I put the check in my bag, flashing a small smile.

“Thank you, Caleb. You flatter me. I should get going.”

It was not like I wanted to leave, but I might let Caleb in if I stuck around. And there was no way in hell I was going to do that.

He was nice, but he was the brother of David. No way in hell I would let a man like him in. I learned my lesson with the last one.

So why did I feel that strange urge to do otherwise?

I went to the car and sat in the driver’s seat, unable to move. As much as I wanted to just drive off and forget that interaction, my heart fluttered just thinking about Caleb. It was not like I could just ignore that.

He did care. And even though he was related to them, perhaps I had him pegged incorrectly. As I grabbed my bag, I looked into Caleb’s eyes, noticing they were a soft, brilliant blue and beautiful.

“By the way, Caleb, keep an eye out on Blaze. I gave him some new food, so it might take a little bit to adjust, so be mindful of that,” I told him.

He saluted me, leaning against the post and nodding. “Will do, chief. So, when will you be back? If you want, we can get some dinner together after and—”

“I’ll be back next week. I’ll nurse Blaze back to health, but I have a job to do, Caleb, and I’d rather not mess with that.” I always put my foot down when it came to my job.

Caleb clearly had a similar womanizing manner that his shitty brother did, but there was . . . something different about him. Maybe he didn’t see women as property and nothing more. Regardless, I wasn’t interested. I had to take care of the animals.

I walked back to my car and then drove back to the clinic. As I did so, I opened my phone up, scrolled down, and looked at my receptionist’s name. She was the one who handled all the scheduling.

I thought about getting rid of Caleb. Maybe I’d give him some excuse that I couldn’t continue this. Then, I could refer him to Sariyah in the next town over. She was a great veterinarian and helped me with some big animals that required a little more TLC.

But I didn’t. I had to continue to see Blaze. And well, the money that Caleb offered me was more than enough for the clinic. If he kept this up, the clinic would be in the black for, like, the first time ever.

That’s why it is tucked around. It was to keep this place going and not get involved with the clients. I had a job to do, and I didn’t trust Caleb. He was nice, but so was David, and I fell for that mess until he cheated on me. I was a fucking moron for that, so I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

I pulled up to the clinic, stepped out, and when I got there, I saw Laura on the phone. She waved for me. And I walked over.

“Hey, so how did it go with Caleb?” she asked.

“Good. He gave us a bonus for a job well done. The horse is doing okay. Why?” I asked him.

She pulled up the screen showing the financials, and there was another deposit there.

Five fucking grand.

Caleb gave me five grand on the way home. That was, of course, on top of the two that he shoved in my hands.

“What the hell?”

“I don’t know what you did, but that Caleb guy is more than grateful for your help. We should definitely keep him around,” she said.

I teared up, and my face was pale with shock. So that was the case. However, Caleb liked us and wanted to ensure the place was taken care of.

Still, the way he did it even subverted my expectations.

Now I knew that I couldn’t give him up. For all the bullshit he did, Caleb helped our animal clinic. And while I didn’t approve of him entirely, I still appreciated the offer. So . . . for now, I’d just have to suck it up. Caleb couldn’t win me over with money, but it helped the clinic, and that’s what mattered.

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