The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,27
weekend, would be happening as soon as possible.
Blake pinched her side, jostling her out of her thoughts. He waggled his eyebrows. “You ready to win?”
And there it was—the smile to wipe away all her doubts. All her tension.
The smile that might forever hold her heart captive.
Michelle finished the race with a seven-minute mile average. It was almost her personal best time, and she attributed a lot of her success to Blake’s unfailing support and confidence in her. She hung around the finish line, drinking water and keeping an eye out for Blake to run through. Finally, she spotted his red face. He was jogging slowly, but dammit, he was jogging. She clapped for him as he crossed the finish line, and his official time was recorded.
“You did it!”
“Oh, my God, I wanna die,” Blake groaned, receiving the water bottle she offered. He squirted at least half of it on his face, and then guzzled the rest. She guided him away from the finish line by the hand, beaming at him as they found a shady spot under a big oak tree.
“So what now?” Blake asked. “We’ve finished punishing ourselves through racing so now we continue on with our lives?”
She laughed. “Exactly. Some people start day drinking immediately, which I wouldn’t be opposed to.”
“That’s the winning idea right there.”
“How about we cool off with a lap around the park first?” Michelle asked.
His breathing had regulated somewhat, and he wiped at his face with the collar of his shirt. “Sure. Now that I can feel my legs again, I’m pretty sure I remember how to use them for something other than running.”
“You’re a 5k Drama King,” she teased.
“That’s going to be the new entry on my resume,” he said.
She laced her fingers through his as they started a slow, sometimes-limping walk along the asphalt path carving through the park. Other racers had chosen to do the same thing, or were camped out on blankets enjoying the cool morning air and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Blake suggested they sit on a bench after a little while, and he pulled her onto his lap as they sat down.
“I need to keep my lap warm,” he explained. “Post-race procedure.”
She giggled, welcoming the kiss he pressed to her lips. “I must have missed that info in my welcome packet.”
“It’s okay. But the penalty for ignoring the procedure is you get ten minutes added to your finish time,” he said, squeezing his arms around her waist. She laughed, more of her heart melting in the process.
This. Right here. This was what she’d always dreamed of. What she’d imagined for herself, when she thought of a loving boyfriend, a healthy relationship, the man of her dreams.
It was Blake. Simple as that.
“You’re such a good man,” she whispered, the smile falling from her face. “Do you know that?”
He shrugged, squinting out into the distance. “I feel pretty regular.”
“But you’re good. You’re one of the good ones.” She patted his chest. “I’ve had enough experience with the bad ones to know.”
He stiffened beneath her, his grip around her waist tightening. “Who do I need to beat up?”
She paused, weighing whether or not she should go there quite yet. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe the heaviness of her story would scare him away. But it was inevitable that the truth come out eventually, at any rate. Anyone getting to know her would know her past, as well. “Mollie’s father.”
His mouth went thin, his brown eyes darting back and forth across her face. “Was he one of the jerks?”
“The worst. She doesn’t see him anymore, hasn’t since she turned one. But he kept finding ways to nose back into my life and make trouble for me any way he could, even after the divorce was finalized and I was trying to move on. He’s the reason we left Florida and came here. He left his mark on us, that’s for sure. More on me than on her, thank god.”
His brows knit together, concern written across his features. “What did he do?”
“Just your run-of-the-mill emotional and verbal abuser,” Michelle said, trying to make light of memories and a situation that was anything but. It was the easiest way to move forward. In some ways, the past felt like a distant nightmare. One that she still couldn’t believe she’d managed to leave behind. She’d been so in love with her ex. She’d been so ready and willing for him to change. But it turned out her ex