Page 86 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

“Why? What does one have to do with the other?”

I gestured to my mom. “See? She knows me.”

Shelby’s smile faltered but she made a concerted effort to shore it back up. I could tell how hard she was trying from the furrows in her brow. “He started saying he might just move on the way over here. So, it makes sense I’d be…concerned.”

“Oh, don’t listen to him. He says a million different things every day. Stream of consciousness thinking defines my boy.” My mom reached up to give my cheek a pat.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Shaw,” Shelby said belatedly, holding out her hand.

“Ditto, Shelby. She’s gorgeous, Dex,” my mom said out of the corner of her mouth. “You weren’t lying there.”

Shelby flushed. “He told you about me?”

“Just a little here and there.” My mother grinned. “Now what’s this I hear about you using him for sex?”

“No.” Shelby flushed practically to the roots of her hair. “And if I was, I haven’t gotten much return yet.”

“Her fault, not mine,” I said easily, knocking my shoulder into hers as we entered the backyard.

My mom winked at us. She wasn’t one to get all uptight about such things, unlike Shelby. But already the tightness in her shoulders seemed to be abating.

“Shelby’s redesigning my house, but I’m thinking maybe I should just sell the monstrosity and start over. I shouldn’t have had Dad help me with the sale. What do you think?”

“In this market, it would sell fast,” my mom said, rubbing the back of her hand over her cheek and sighing when it came away dirty. “I put in some new perennials. Wanna see? You too, Shelby. Do you garden?” she asked as she led the way into the fairy-garden-like backyard space.

Shelby was too busy marveling at the large space crammed artfully with growing things to answer. She craned her neck in every direction, checking out the riot of exploding colorful blooms around the many stone walkways, offset by the occasional stone gnome or dragon. Whatever caught my mom’s whimsical eye.

“She does garden,” I answered for Shelby while she darted around the yard to check things out. “She has such a pretty yard, Mom. You should come see her cottage.”

Shelby finally turned back, her face glowing as she gestured to one of the flowering trees. “I mean, nothing like yours, Mrs. Shaw. I got some native talent from my mother. She gardens too. But I’ve only been trying to build mine for a couple of years and I don’t give it enough time because I work too much—” She paused to huff out a breath.

My mom wandered over to Shelby and rubbed her arm. “And you have a little one. They eat up a lot of hours in the very best way.”

“They do. Especially mine. She’s all over the place.” She swallowed audibly. “You have your son’s smile.” She sounded dazed as she looked between us. “His eyes too.”

“Yep and his distractible nature. My boys are so different. Preston can focus like a laser. Dex and I can’t keep our thoughts from darting off in twenty directions at once.”

I started to blow off my mother’s comment as I normally did, but instead, I widened my stance in the bright sunshine and faced the music. “I have ADHD, Mom. It’s not just a distractible nature. I was diagnosed some time ago.”

Deliberately, I avoided Shelby’s sharp look. It might’ve been cowardly to tell people this way with no warning, but at least I wasn’t hiding it any longer.

“That’s what you started to tell me in my office,” Shelby said slowly.

“Yeah. I’ve been mostly in denial for a long time.”

“Oh, my sweet boy. We will figure it out.” My mom crossed the yard to give me a tight squeeze. “But Shelby’s here, so let’s talk about that later, shall we?”

“Sure.” I rubbed her back before letting her go. “We can’t stay long because we have to pick up Berry from school soon.”

My mom let out a bright, choppy laugh. I supposed I’d laid too much on her all at once. “He adores your daughter, Shelby. In case you hadn’t figured it out yet.”

“She probably has,” I said easily, dropping down on the nearest bench and kicking out my long legs.

Shelby pushed back her wild hair. She still hadn’t tied it up. Maybe because she knew how much I loved it when she left it loose?

Or maybe she knew bigger things were afoot than her chaotic curls.

“Berry loves you too,” she said quietly. “We should stop and snag the stuffed pug on the way to get her at school. She’ll be so excited.”

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