Page 57 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

She beamed up at me. “Thanks, Big Dan.”

“Who are the people over here?” I asked.

“That’s you and your girlfriend,” she said with a giggle.

“What makes you think I have a girlfriend?” I asked in surprise.

“Shanna heard her mom talking about it with Mrs. Fenster.”

“What makes them think…”

She put up her hand to stop me and said in a grown-up voice, “I have no idea. You know how gossip is.”

She turned back to her drawings and continued to narrate. Bennett crouched down and gave her a big hug. “These are very good,” he said with pride in his voice.

I watched them. I was happy for my friend, yet I felt a little envious of their bond. “Well, I’m gonna bounce,” I said, dribbling my ball. “Get it, Chloe?”

She laughed. “Yes. See you later, alligator.”

“After a while, crocodile.” This was how we said our goodbyes, and I loved it. She was a great kid.

I heard my phone ringing as I was drying off after my shower. My feet got tangled up in the towel, and I stumbled. I successfully grabbed my phone on the bed as I went down. To say I wasn’t hoping it would be Nicole would be lying.

“Ooof. Hello?”

“Am I interrupting anything?” I heard a female voice that was not Nicole’s. I pushed down my disappointment and looked at the caller ID. It was Heather.

“No, sorry, I just tripped. What can I do for you?”

“I’m in a pickle, Dan.”

“Sounds serious. You’d better tell me all about it so I can tell you where to get help,” I joked mildly.

“Funny. Here’s the deal—I have two clients who have asked me to do the bowling tournament with them. They can’t stand each other, and if I pick one, the other will be mad and probably take their future property purchases to someone else. I asked Nana if she’d go with me, but she is already teamed up with Angus. She suggested I ask you because, for whatever reason, she knew you hadn’t signed up yet.”

“She is correct. I forgot about it.”

“So, will you do me a huge favor and bowl with me? I got game, I promise.”

“You’re assuming I’ve got game?”

“I’m assuming you won’t embarrass me. Besides, it’s all in fun. I don’t really need the trophy. Although come to think of it, I wouldn’t say no to a month’s worth of gas from Ronny’s Station.”

“Okay, put me down as your Player #2.”

“Great. Thank you so much. I owe you. See you then.”

I liked a good game of bowling as much as the next person, and I was glad to help Heather out. I shifted uncomfortably. Honestly, I wanted to spy on Nicole and Cyrus and make sure he wasn’t making moves on her. I wasn’t proud of that, but there it was.

I looked around at all the people in bowling shoes. The bowling alley was fairly new and quite large, with all the bells and whistles. It replaced the old one that had only six lanes. Cooperstown had grown, and the call for a bigger place went out. A franchise opened and now hosted several tournaments each year. One of them was this couple’s amateur competition, where people had to find a partner before signing up. It had its share of married couples too, but mostly single people who were happy for the opportunity to pair up with someone they liked.

“This feels like a high school dance,” I muttered as I looked for a bowling ball that would fit my large hand.

Heather snickered beside me. “Now that you mention it, it does. Don’t worry, you and me are just in it to win it.”

“I thought you said this was all in fun?”

“That was before I remembered about the free gas,” said Heather.

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