Page 102 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

Then his dog scrabbled at the door.

It took me a few minutes to realize what I’d heard was doggie claws since I didn’t have a pet at home, but once I did, I shot straight up on my elbows in bed, making Dex jerk up mid-lick and look around blearily. “What? What happened?”

“Berry. Bob.”

“What about them?”

I rolled over and grabbed the sheet, awkwardly yanking it off the bed and hauling it up over my bare breasts. Dex flopped onto the mattress, as naked as could be, pressing his face into his arms on an aggrieved groan that would’ve made me laugh if I hadn’t been worried.

“Why is he coming to us? He could get her to take him out. Though what time is it?”

“Late for her,” Dex mumbled.

I hopped up and started searching for my clothes. Somehow my bra was under the chaise, my panties nearby. I put on my panties then I spotted my skirt and one heel and put on my top sans bra. Skipping my thigh-highs seemed prudent too.

After I grabbed my sweater and shoved my arms into the sleeves, I scanned the room for my other heel. It was almost under the bed. I slipped my foot into it gratefully and rushed to the door, throwing it open.

“Um, Shelby—”

I turned back, belatedly realizing Dex was still ass up and still naked. Whoops.

Hot damn, I was a lucky woman.

Thankfully, just Bob was in the hall, not my daughter. Near miss there. My brain was addled from too many orgasms.

There was something I didn’t think often. Or ever.

I crouched to pet Bob before I hightailed it down the thankfully very long hall to my daughter’s temporary room. Tentatively, I inched open the door, already imagining worst-case scenarios. Though it was past ten, so she should be long asleep.

And so she was, curled up on the floor amidst a million pillows and blankets, far more than she’d started with, surrounded by a dozen dog toys and Uni and Bobbie the pug, who was still wearing her face bandage.

Bob immediately trotted over to Berry and licked her cheek before settling at her side and sticking his nose under her arm. She clutched him close and fell back to sleep without even opening her eyes.

Love squeezed my chest so hard that I had to take a long, steadying breath.

Dex appeared at my side, fully dressed in a pair of silky pajamas, moving as silently as a ghost. He stuck his head in Berry’s temporary bedroom and, once he’d ascertained Berry and Bob were asleep, he used the opportunity to kiss my neck.

“Everything okay?” he whispered.

I gestured and his eyes crinkled in the way that never failed to make me want to climb on top of him. “They’re so cute. Wonder if I can join in?”

He didn’t wait for my answer, just nudged me aside and grabbed a pile of blankets and pillows and camped out, grinning like a loon.

I could fall for this man.

The knowledge settled in my belly as I tightened my fingers around the doorjamb. I didn’t run from it. Didn’t try to deny it, even to myself. Just let the certainty wash over me and tried to come to terms with the reality.

Here I’d thought he was so crazy, and apparently, I was the same. Or more alike than different. Or maybe it was just chemical and not involving love at all.

Bob jumped up and scampered over to his owner, clomping onto his stomach and making him howl from the weight of his bulk. Berry woke up and started giggling as Dex tried to wrestle Bob off him.

He did not succeed.

Soon enough, I was laughing too. Helplessly. Kind of shocked that this was now my life and so, so grateful for it.

And I wanted to get in that pillow fort really badly. So, screw it, I was going to.

I crossed the room and snagged a couple of pillows and a blanket from the pile on the other side of Dex before wading into the fray. I picked a spot and fell backward laughing as Bob decided to show his excitement for my presence at the party.

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