The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,20
the real thing.
Which she wasn’t sure she would ever get.
Not when Blake apparently made it a habit of taking her out, showing his sweet and sexy sides, and then keeping things platonic. She shouldn’t complain, she supposed. Spending time with Blake was nice, even if it didn’t end in kissing, or sex, or his big, deft man hands wandering between her legs. No, she really valued their time together. No matter how it ended.
But not knowing where it was headed was the other thing driving her crazy.
So she made a decision. She wanted to surprise Blake, and return some of the sweetness he’d shown her. His birthday was Wednesday, so she sent a text Tuesday afternoon asking if he wanted to come to her house for a little dinner the following night. When he agreed, her plan kicked into action. She and Mollie went to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients for their home-cooked specialty, lasagna, as well as the items to make pineapple upside down cake. Mollie was excited at the prospect of witnessing the baking since she assumed it involved an entire pineapple sprouting from the middle of the cake.
The two of them spent time picking out some balloons and cards as well, and then when Wednesday came, Michelle had a hard time containing her excitement throughout the workday.
She could already imagine his face. The slow-creeping smile that made that dimple flash, and the way he’d tug nervously at the longish hair at the front of his head. He was equal parts sweet boy and confident man. And she thoroughly enjoyed both sides. Hell, she enjoyed everything that she was learning about Blake.
She just wished he felt even slightly inclined to push her up against the wall and have his way with her.
Once the Wednesday work grind came to a thankful end, she raced to pick up Mollie, and the two began chattering excitedly about what they’d do for Blake. He was scheduled to come over at seven, which gave them plenty of time to get organized, prepare the cake, and then start dinner.
Mollie was a dutiful helper in the kitchen. She gathered the onions and garlic for the lasagna, pulled out the lasagna noodles, and even told Michelle which bowl she needed. Every day was a new adventure in motherhood with this little one, and little moments like these reassured Michelle that even though she was doing it alone, Mollie would turn out all right in the end.
The lasagna came out wonderfully, but Michelle was nervous about the pineapple upside down cake. She’d never made it before and had little experience with baking outside of the classic chocolate cake her family loved, so this was outside her wheelhouse. By the time Blake knocked on her front door, her nerves were hopping and she was fairly certain this attempt was a pineapple upside down fail.
“Come on. Let’s go open the door and shout ‘happy birthday,’” Michelle said in a hushed voice, guiding her daughter by the hand toward the front door. “On the count of three…”
Michelle counted down and then flung the door open. She and Mollie shouted, “Happy Birthday!” to a very shocked and pleased-looking Blake.
“Wow! Thank you,” Blake said as Mollie launched herself into his arms. He carried her inside, sending Michelle a warm smile. “I wasn’t expecting all that.”
“It’s your birthday, silly. What else would you expect?”
He laughed dryly as he set Mollie down. “I have some stories to that effect, but I won’t share them now.”
“Mr. Blake! Mr. Blake! Come see what we did!” Mollie tugged on his hands, guiding him toward the kitchen.
“There’s more?” he asked.
“So much more,” Michelle said, following the two of them into the warm and fragrant kitchen. The lasagna was cooling on the stovetop, while her near-fail was under a dishcloth on the counter. “I’ll warn you now—we did our best, but only half of it promises to blow your pants off.”
He smirked. “Oh, please. With the way it smells in here, I’m sure I’ll be pants-less by the end.”
She laughed, steering him toward the dining room table by the shoulders. “Now sit down. We’re going to serve you the best dinner of your life.”
“With no pants by the end,” he added.
“Exactly as God intended it for your birthday,” Michelle said with a laugh, breezing into the kitchen. Mollie followed her, and Michelle instructed her to carry in each plate once Michelle had served a heaping portion of lasagna. Mollie then carried in silverware and napkins,