The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,44

excited about it. Blake had found a thoughtful, considerate way to impress her family.

It was just one detail of many that had her continually falling for this man. Even after the doubts—like how distracted he got, or why he never invited her to his house, or any of the other things that had been wearing away her confidence—it was times like these that her heart told her to just run with it.

Blake was true. He was honest.

And he was worth it.

15

Once Monday morning rolled around, Blake felt like he could crawl out of his skin.

Uncertainty over where things stood with Michelle was half the problem. His underlying work anxieties were the other half.

And the only things that would placate him immediately—having Michelle here at his side, or immediately solving all the drama at the club—were impossible options.

So he called up Grayson on his lunch break, which then turned into a group call with Daniel.

“Are we classifying this as a lunch meeting?” Daniel asked once Blake put him on speaker phone. “Because if so, I’m gonna crack open a beer.”

“That’s the upside of working from home, isn’t it?” Grayson cracked.

“You could have opened up a beer in your office before you quit your dad’s company,” Blake said to Daniel. “Not like he would have cared…or noticed.”

“Yes, but I like to remind myself of the immense freedom I now have, working for myself,” Daniel shot back.

“Now what’s on our agenda for this impromptu lunch meeting?” Grayson asked.

Blake heaved a sigh. “Women, basically.”

“Hmmm. Trouble in paradise?” Grayson asked.

“Something like that,” Blake said.

“You know, Michelle seems like a real catch. Maybe we were smarter than we realized with this bet,” Daniel added.

“Well, it’s gone way past a bet at this point,” Blake confided.

“I can still get DJ Fiesta for you,” Daniel said. “You did win the bet. Even if you’re no longer calling it that.”

Blake sighed, surprised by how little that mattered to him anymore. He couldn’t believe how much his whole life had changed in a matter of weeks. And the weirdest part of all was that from the outside…nothing had changed at all.

“I want to see where things go with her. But I think I’m fucking it all up.”

“Why would you think that?” Grayson asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t done this shit before. I don’t know what’s…normal.”

Daniel laughed nervously. “Normal, like…?”

“Like after dinner the other night, we went back to her house. And it was great, but she didn’t want me to spend the night, because her parents would be coming back the next morning with her daughter. Fine. But she didn’t want me to go with them to lunch on Sunday either.”

As soon as the words were out of him, they burned in the air. There it was. His first case of doubt and hurt in a relationship. Somehow, he’d managed to avoid this until age thirty.

“Things change when a kid is involved…” Grayson began.

“Yeah, man. You guys are fresh. It takes time,” Daniel said.

“It didn’t take time for you and Jackie,” Blake told Daniel. “You guys faked a relationship for one week—to win your own bet, may I remind you—and then you were practically married afterward. Michelle and I have been seeing each other for weeks.”

“Dude. What happened with Daniel and Jackie is not normal,” Grayson said. “Besides, she ditched the wedding festivities early, and then they didn’t speak for ages. They are not the norm, so don’t look to them for data.”

“He’s right,” Daniel conceded. “Some people date for months without meeting the other person’s parents or even their kids.”

Blake grabbed for the pen on his desk, aimlessly clicking the top of it as he worked over his friend’s input. “But she doesn’t even want me there, it seems like. Or maybe I’m just good for a fuck and that’s it.”

“Whoa. Now wouldn’t that be ironic? Mr. All I Want Is A Good Fuck,” Grayson cracked.

“I guess times have changed,” Blake grumbled, swiveling in his office chair to look out the big window. Even two months ago, he wouldn’t have been caught dead getting into a serious relationship. And here he was, complaining that Michelle wasn’t as serious as he wanted to be.

“Excuse me, guys, I need to go call the police station,” Daniel said. “I need to file a missing persons report, because this guy on the phone here is not Blake. I don’t know what you’ve done with him, but you need to bring him back.”

Blake cracked a grin. “Trust me guys—still the same old asshole you’ve