Page 50 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

He took the plate without looking at it. “I thought maybe you’d left.”

“Nah, I went in search of coffee, and—bonus—I found food. I confess I only thought of myself at first and snarfed down a plateful.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, it was kind of like when the airline attendant tells you, in case of a change in cabin pressure, and the air masks drop down, to put one over your own face before you assist small children or others.”

He smelled clean, and the scent of the hotel soap was a good one. His hair was still damp and glistened in the room lights. I wanted to run my fingers through it—mess it up and then smooth it back down.

I sipped his coffee, forgetting I’d already had mine. “So that’s what I did,” I added lamely.

“Oh, here’s your coffee. Take it before I drink it all.” I shoved it at him.

“The roads are clear enough to get out now. And I do need to get to work so… when you’re done eating, can I hitch a ride home?”

“Of course, I’ll take you home. I brought you here, didn’t I? Why wouldn’t I take you home?”

“I don’t know. I’m just making sure,” I said defensively at his tone.

“Why did you leave this morning while I was in the shower? You could have said something to me.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your whistling—Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, I believe it was.”

He stared at me with an expression I couldn’t read. I lifted my chin and met his stare.

He got up and took a step toward me, but I stepped back. “My turn for the bathroom. Good thing I brought a toothbrush, and I was willing to share, huh?”

I shut myself inside and took a few deep breaths. This man definitely had me off-balance. I gripped the sink and leaned forward, staring at myself critically in the mirror. I looked tired. Well, who wouldn’t after an amazing sex-filled night like that? I also looked sad and pathetic. And was that a zit forming on my chin?

I splashed cold water on my face. I needed to get a grip. So what if this man made me tingle in my nether regions? So what if he was kind and smart and funny? He couldn’t be mine.

As I brushed my teeth, I repeated that last thought over and over. Gathering my strength, like I’d done so many times in my life, I walked out of the bathroom.

“Ready?” I asked brightly. “I need to get to work. And Nana was a trooper, agreeing to take care of Buddy, but I bet he needs a quick walk.”

We didn’t talk on the way home. The hairpin turns were making me a little queasy this morning. I guess I missed the queasies last night when I had other things on my mind. My body was making up for it now.

“Can you slow down a little on these turns? My stomach is feeling a little distressed.”

“Maybe it was the cheesecake last night. It was pretty rich,” Dan said.

I slapped my forehead. “Oh no. We forgot Nana’s cheesecake. I hate to disappoint her.”

“There were extenuating circumstances. I’m sure she’ll understand. We can bring her something home next time,” he said.

I didn’t answer. I just looked out the window and thought about the extenuating circumstances.

We got to town and drove through the streets to Nana’s house. There was evidence of wind damage in front yards, with tree limbs snapped and some signs knocked over.

We couldn’t get to the house fast enough as far as I was concerned. I felt relief as we finally pulled up to the curb.

Dan put the car in park and turned to me. “You don’t want there to be a next time, do you?” he asked bluntly. He had a crease between his eyebrows, and his eyes looked stormy.

“Dan, you know I’m a travel nurse, and I’m not going to be here after my time is up. I don’t need another complication.”

“So I’m just a complication to you?” he asked.

“Fuck. What I mean is we have no business getting into bed with each other when it can’t go anywhere. I know I talk a big game, but I’m not a casual sex kind of girl. Not normally, anyway.” I thought about Derek. That was ahugereminder of why I shouldn’t do casual sex.

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