Page 91 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

The shitty day—hell, week—I’d had suddenly became so much better. Spending time with Shelby had started it, but Berry’s obvious joy at my presence was the capper.

“Bob’s not with me,” I shouted out the window as she began running despite her mom’s admonitions. Then her mom gave in and smiled too.

Was there any bigger gift than having these two beautiful ladies in my life, in whatever capacity that turned out to be?

“Hi!” Berry surprised the hell out of me by opening my door and flinging herself into my arms.

“Hey, kiddo. Missed you.” I wasn’t even laying it on thick, just the honest-to-God truth. I returned her hug, marveling at how she smelled like peanut butter and grape jelly. Childhood in one whiff.

“Are you guys done fighting?” she demanded, easing back to put her hands on her tiny hips as she looked back and forth between us.

“We are done fighting,” I announced, not even checking in with Shelby. If she had lingering concerns, we could talk them out like adult-like people.

“Good. Now let’s go get Bob.” She opened the passenger door and tossed her book bag inside before climbing in.

“You heard the woman,” I said to Shelby, who stood motionless beside the open door.

When she didn’t say anything, just stared at the ground, I angled my head. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Her breathing was way too fast. “Just…assimilating.”

I got out to give her a hug, since she seemed frozen in place. “She seems fine,” I said in a low voice. “It’s not the most horrible thing in the world, Sherbet.”

Her gaze flew up to mine as I gripped her shoulders. “Having a diagnosis means you’re on the path to figuring stuff out for the better. Remind me of this, would you, when I forget in like ten minutes?”

Her lips curved. “Yeah. We can remind each other.” She reached up to cup my hands. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad I am too. And I’m going to ask you to spend the night. Both of you. So, we’ll get her dog and then I’ll take you back to work to get your stuff and then you can pack a bag for you and Berry. Tomorrow’s a school day but—”

“Actually, no, it’s a resource day. Almost summer. Though I have work—” She cut herself off, stepping closer to lift her face to mine. “Guess who my main client is now? You might know him.”

I captured her soft warm lips with mine, savoring the now familiar taste of her peach lip gloss. We got all of two minutes to dive into the kiss before Berry started making retching noises in the car.

“Ewww.Disgusting!”

Shelby pulled back, laughing as she rubbed lip gloss off my mouth. “Messed you up already.”

“Hope you intend to do more of it.” As Berry’s puking noises got louder and more inventive, I turned back around to face the car and made a horror movie slashing motion in front of my neck. “Can it, kiddo, unless you want me to keep what I got you.”

Instantly, she quieted and cocked her head. “You got me something?” She leaned up and braced her hands on the front seats. “Let’s go!”

“It’s at Grams and Pops’. We’re going to stop by and pick it up.”

Berry flopped back down in her seat. “Why is it there?”

“To heighten the surprise,” I replied.

No need to mention more about the fight that no longer mattered. At least I hoped it didn’t. Every couple had to have a first fight. Now we had that out of the way, I hoped we wouldn’t have to have any others.

Yeah, sure. Right. Dude, an optimistic attitude is one thing. Complete denial is another.

Berry pelted me with questions all the way to her grandparents’ house. What color was it? What size was it? Could she carry it in her backpack? Did it have regular feeding times?

“You wish, kid.” Shelby shook her head. “But remember we have that speed-dating thing coming up at Kitten Around.”

“Oh, yeah. I want a kitten. And a dog. Or a puppy.”

“A puppy is a dog,” I reminded her gently.

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