Page 2 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

“Open your presents!” Jennie, my coworker, called out.

“You guys. You shouldn’t have. Unless it’s cash or gift cards,” I joked, rubbing my hands together and wiggling my eyebrows. “Really though, thank you so much.”

I was bone tired by the time I finally got home. Shutting the door behind me, I had my bra unhooked and off before I could even sayjammie pants, stat. After changing, letting my long hair down, and giving it a good brushing, I headed towards the kitchen for a glass of wine.

I looked at the emptiness of my tiny apartment. Everything was pretty much gone except for the few boxes I was taking with me.

I’d already packed the wine glasses, so I did what any sensible person would do and sipped straight from the bottle. I took it into the living room and sat my butt down on a box. I’d already sold most of my furniture, not that I had a lot to begin with.

The pieces that were left were being stored at my parent’s house in my old bedroom. The room was now crammed full of my stuff, but it didn’t matter. I hadn’t slept in that room since I’d moved out years ago, and I had no intention of ever staying there again. Whenever I returned to New York City to visit, I would stay with friends. It was so much more comfortable, even if I had to sleep on lumpy couches.

Thinking of friends, I pulled out my phone and Facetimed Lexi, my favorite gal pal. We hadn’t talked as often as we used to, and I missed her. Lexi’s cute face filled my screen. Her hair was all over the place, and there were circles under her eyes. She looked even more tired than I felt.

“You look exhausted, Lexi. I take it business at the coffee shop and bakery is going well?” I asked.

Lexi pushed the mass of strawberry blonde hair away from her face. We looked so different, me with my dark hair and olive skin contrasting with Lexi and her lighter hair and fair complexion, but we were thick as thieves. I made a mental note to look up the origins of that expression later. It sounded badass.

“Very busy,” she confirmed, her eyes lighting up. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every day is still so exciting to me, and I love, love, love getting out of bed.”

“Oh wow, why on earth would you ever want to get out of bed when you have Mr. McHottie in it?” I asked.

Lexi chuckled. “I knew I would regret saying that to you the moment it left my mouth. But seriously, the orders are way up. I’ve had some challenges, but all in all, I finally feel like I’m successful.”

Lexi now had a thriving bakery in New York City, plus a new coffee shop and event space in Cooperstown. She’d moved from the city permanently and lived with Matt right next door to her Nana.

“How is Matt? Wonderful as ever?”

“Of course,” Lexi stated, and she couldn’t help but smile. “But let’s talk about you. Tell me about your last day.

I filled her in on everything—the goodbyes to patients and the surprise going-away party. There were so many farewells and hugs. Sad, yet gratifying.

“Is Cooperstown, New York, ready for me? I am thrilled that I made it my first location. And more importantly, is Nana ready for me?

“She is more than ready. And I’m so excited to see you! When you were here last year, it was summer. It feels different now in the late fall.”

“There’s a lot more of the town I need to explore. I wasn’t there long enough to check out everything on my virgin visit. I can’t wait. Hopefully, you’ll be able to stop making cow eyes at Matt long enough to spend some time with me.”

“Of course! I’ve got some ideas already. One fun thing is a big music festival that’s coming to town for the first time this year. The fall festival just finished with its biggest crowds yet, and this music festival is riding on its coattails this year.”

“That sounds great. You know I love music. So how’s Nana?”

Nana had had a mild heart attack, which was what took Lexi from the city back to her hometown in the first place. Then she and Matt fell in love. Lucky her—true love with a billionaire—and she gets to bake cookies and cakes as a bonus.

“She’s doing well. Promise me you won’t teach her any new swear words this time?”

I laughed. “I can’t promise. You know, sometimes they come out of my mouth when I’m not looking.”

Lexi made a face. “Also, sorry again that the renovations on her house have finally started. They’ll be working on the addition first, so they won’t actually be tearing up the kitchen yet. Your microwave mac and cheese can still be your thing.”

“Good. I hope they carry my favorite brand in Cooperstown.”

“Remember, you’re welcome to stay with Matt and me at the big house if the construction gets to be too much at Nana’s. His mother’s suite is available.”

“What? And miss the opportunity to sleep in your brother’s old room with the Hot Wheels and Destiny’s Child posters?”

Lexi laughed. “I told you the mattress is much better in that room than the one in my old bedroom. The only thing you’ll be missing out on is my boy band posters.”

“I’m good with Nana’s place. I don’t need an up-close view of you and Matt making out all the time. Makes me jealous.”

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