The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,12

no proof, and there was no word from him.

Still, her monkey brain kept chewing on the idea. She entertained the notion that he was taking it slow, since she was technically his employee, even if she didn’t report to him. Or maybe taking it slow because of Mollie—that seemed logical. Or maybe there was no sexual interest at all, and this was just two happenstance events that occurred randomly? That didn’t seem quite right either.

She couldn’t stop herself from mulling over it in the back of her mind throughout the weekend. And things got even more complicated when Blake wrote again on Sunday morning.

“Hey, Michelle! Do you and Mollie want to come out this afternoon to the youth sports arena?”

She bit at her lip, re-reading the text a few times. She wasn’t sure if this was a date or not. Again, the suggestion skipped happily through the gray zone of platonic outing. And God, the more this indecision ran rampant within her, the more she wondered what it would be like if she really did date him. It had been so long since she’d been on a real date, since she’d had the chance to get excited over seeing someone and wondering whether they were excited to see her, too.

Maybe, if they kept taking it slow, she’d actually be ready to try? She was still hesitant to trust another man. She was still hesitant to trust herself, since her judgment had been so bad last time. But something about Blake made her want to at least see where things might go.

She wanted Blake, way more than she wanted to admit. Watching his quiet confidence, his smooth responses and his good-natured joking…it was all an aphrodisiac for her. He was friendly, easy to get along with, great with her daughter, and jaw-droppingly hot.

But with texts like these? She couldn’t find even a hint of sexual suggestion. Did he want her, or was he just being friendly? What was he really after?

Before she could respond, he sent another text.

“I’d love your professional opinion about the complex. You have an eye for this stuff. Let me know if you can make it.”

Aaaand there it was. The crushing confirmation. All of this was only about work, would only ever be about work, and would absolutely never lead to them both being naked in the same room.

Dammit.

Though, she supposed she should be thankful. Blake could have any woman in the world, so why would he pick her? And if he did pick her, what then?

Michelle was still recovering from her ex. The man who’d given her Mollie but taken away her self-esteem. He was completely absent from their lives, and they were both all the better for it, even though it was getting harder and harder to explain to Mollie why her daddy wasn’t around. Truth was, the man had only been interested in controlling Michelle.

And even though they’d broken it off four years ago, when Mollie turned one, he’d continued casually harassing Michelle, inserting himself into her life and making trouble for her every chance he got. She’d kept him away from Mollie, but she hadn’t been able to avoid him completely until she’d finally seized an opportunity to move out of state. In California, she and Mollie had a fresh start. What she wasn’t sure of was whether she had the energy to date again. There was still the lingering fear that she’d pick wrong for a second time.

It was better that she didn’t pick Blake, and that he didn’t pick her. So she’d have to just enjoy him for what he was: an impossibly handsome billionaire who valued her professional opinion.

Still, disappointment lurked inside her.

Michelle quickly tapped out a response. “I’d love to help in whatever way I can. What time should we be there? Mollie and I can be ready to go ASAP.”

His text arrived quickly. “Practice starts early and different teams go all day. We can meet there around noon, and I’ll show you both around!”

Even though there was no promise of romantic goodness on the horizon, she was still excited. She liked varying Mollie’s routine, especially with things like sports, which usually weren’t part of her day-to-day. She wanted to get Mollie into soccer this fall, but it was anyone’s guess if Mollie would take to it. At the very least, her daughter loved accompanying Michelle to the gym on her workout days, and counted the treadmill as her favorite activity there. So she was heading in the right