Page 118 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

Then he was kissing the holy hell out of me and from habit, I stiffened, imagining little eyes peeking out from somewhere and potentially seeing something that would cause a need for future therapy.

But he whispered “She’s not here,” and I sagged against hm with relief before yanking him up the drive toward the steps.

“Why are we out here talking? Faster, dammit,” I said to the sound of his laughter as I tugged him across the porch.

And mine. I was laughing too. Because every moment was precious, and we didn’t have any more of them to waste.

TWENTY-SIX

“Get moving,Berry! We have to be at the shelter in under an hour.” I was running around like a lunatic, trying to collect all we needed for a weekend at Dex’s.

After a week at Dex’s—or heck, the better part of two weeks there—I was starting to just leave stuff there to save on the packing time.

I loved my little cottage so much, but I knew I’d be leaving it behind soon.

As if the universe was giving me a not-so-subtle nudge, Mr. Farley next door had even stopped by yesterday and left a long note in my mailbox.

Handwritten even.

His nearly middle-aged son had finally—finally!—found a good woman to marry and she had two little ones and they needed a house. ASAP.

When they’d visited him the week before, they’d taken a liking to my house, if I happened to be thinking of selling.

I mean, what were the chances? Not very high.

As I’d read the note, I’d half imagined Dex going over there to pay him off to make the offer. I could see him doing that. He was so romantic in his own cutely devious way. He also had a truly staggering amount of money that had multiplied even more over the years through good investments. He still had a tight bunch of college friends, and one of them had become a financial planner who’d guided Dex well.

Another was a cop in Crescent Cove. Clint was a vet, as we well knew. And yet another was a real estate investment professional, also in the nearby Cove.

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he had a friend who was a high-ranked politician too. The man seemed to know everyone.

Even my ex-husband the dick, through his father. But Dex had made it clear he’d never had a personal conversation with my ex, unless one counted Judge Dick’s rude “nepo baby” comment to him a while ago.

But no, Dex hadn’t prodded Mr. Farley. I’d questioned him thoroughly and the older man had been clear that he knew no one named Dex or Shaw and he definitely didn’t have anyslimylawyers as personal friends.

I still couldn’t believe any of this was happening, but I told him I’d be sure to let him know first if I decided to sell.

Theifwas becoming more and more likely every day.

Berry and I were spending so much time at Dex’s and for the last few nights, he’d even been helping her with her homework at the brand-new child-sized desk he’d put together and placed in her soon-to-be rainbow-filled room.

Rainbows done in the bright colors of paint they’d picked out together at the paint store while I’d been meeting with a new client in Dex’s home office.

I’d come out after the meeting to stacks of paint cans in the front hall and Dex wearing an innocent expression that fooled no one, especially not me. Even Berry was onto him, although she had no reason to try to dissuade him from his antics that benefited her.

I could only imagine what would happen today while we were volunteering at the shelter. God help us all.

I headed upstairs to check if Berry was almost ready and was surprised to see her at the small desk in her room she basically hadn’t touched for the last year or two. I hadn’t really noticed because I’d been too busy, but since I’d been talking to her teacher and now her doctor about her potentially having ADHD, I’d realized all the small changes I’d overlooked.

She’d started hiding homework because she’d run into things she couldn’t do, so she’d made up excuses to her teachers and hidden the half-done papers in a secret compartment of her book bag, where I neglected to check.

If we moved in with Dex, we’dbothbe able to keep up with her schoolwork. Not that I’d ever put that on him, but he seemed so willing to be involved—excited even—and Berry seemed to relate to him in a different way from how she and I handled things.

Maybe this would be a positive change for her too. Nothing was set in stone. We would all be flexible and see how things went.

“Hey,” I said softly, knocking gently on the doorjamb. “Getting a jump on homework?”

“No.” She shut the bound notebook she’d been writing in and stroked the cover. “Dex got me this. We saw it at the drugstore next to the paint place. It’s a journal.” She turned on her chair and swung her feet. “That way, I won’t keep my feelings inside.”

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