Page 21 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

“I’ll name my total figure once we’re finished and we see what actual costs turn out to be. My team will have to weigh in too.”

“Of course.”

“Still interested?”

“More than ever. You’ve got a deal, Shelby Wilde.” I grasped her hand and shook it vigorously, forcing myself to let go when the residual buzz nearly made me hang on. Something about her skin against mine created a damn near chemical reaction.

From the way her pupils blew wide as we touched, she felt it too. And that was more than enough.

For now.

SIX

I feltas if I’d stepped into a fairytale world.

One where my talents were so valued I’d been given what amounted to a blank check to basically create a new home for a virtual stranger. My dream job handed to me on a silver platter. The basic canvas of the place was truly a luxurious playground for a designer like me. His house was huge and spacious with expansive lake views and a budget as big as I could dream up.

What had I done to deserve such a windfall?

I mean, I’d insisted on ten percent down and the guy had upped it to twenty. Was he even real?

He’s real, all right. Really intending on snowing you. Right now, you’re a challenge.

Sitting in the front seat of my SUV, I took a few quick notes on things I didn’t want to forget for the house. I’d already let my parents know I was running late and would be there soon, which they were fine with. Berry was having fun, as she always did with them.

I hadn’t dropped any glass balls yet. Just rubber ones so far. And this money would make such a huge difference in our bottom line, not to mention all the referral business I would get having such a showpiece location on my resumé.

This would be an incredible accomplishment, assuming I could pull off the vision starting to form in my head. Thank God I had incredible partners and we worked with equally talented people, like Gideon Gets It Done’s growing crew, local to Crescent Cove. They kept costs reasonable without cutting corners.

Dex’s house would be exactly what he wanted by the time we were done—even if he didn’t exactly know what he wanted quite yet. But he knew what hedidn’twant, and for now, that was a good start.

The pink light of the imminent sunset crawled across the skyline in the distance as I drove to my parents’ home in nearby Turnbull. In the meantime, I called Isis through my in-dash screen.

She picked up right away. “Tell me he didn’t fuck it up.”

“No. He didn’t fuck anything up.” I exhaled. “We spent the day together.”

“What?”

I had to laugh. “Not like that. Going over the house. Making notes. Laughing here and there when I didn’t want to slug him.”

“You resisted? You’re a better woman than I.” Her voice lowered. “He didn’t put the moves on you?”

“No. Not really.”

“Not really?”

I didn’t want to mention the little—okay, not so little—uplifting situation in his jeans earlier. It seemed too personal to mention. Besides, neither of us had made an issue out of it and it hadn’t come up again.

At the next stoplight, I covered my face with my hand and forged ahead. There was a pun. “No. He’s charming though. You didn’t tell me that part.”

“He is.” She sighed. “Why women fall for him like dominos.”

“But not you?”

“Not me. Not because I’m so wise, but because I love him too much to hate him after he pulls a Dex.”

I laughed. “Why does that make sense to me?”

---