Billy & The Beast (Ever After, New York #3) - Eli Easton Page 0,21

a magnificent belly flop into the water.

I went after him, limping and cursing.

When I got to the pool, Billy was there. Thank God I’d gotten dressed already and wasn’t still in my robe. He was patching tile on the pool’s surround, a small container of paste or cement at his side. Another tutorial on YouTube had supplied the know-how, I guessed. He sat back on his heels, laughing at Jack.

“Is it safe?” I asked, rushing up breathlessly. “There’s not too much chlorine in it?”

“It’s fine. I ran a test overnight and the chlorine is in the safe zone,” Billy said breezily. “That’s one smart dog.”

Easy for him to be so blasé. It wasn’t his dog that might be poisoned.

He got up and went over to the water. He rolled up a sleeve and stuck an arm in to the bicep, swirled it around, then smiled. “It feels great. You should try it.”

Jack was paddling down the length of the pool, away from us, with a distinctive body wiggle of bliss.

“Hmmm,” I said doubtfully.

“I can get in if you want me to test it.” His fingers went to the buttons of his shirt.

I glared at him. “That won’t be necessary.”

He stood up, looking suddenly shy. “Hey, Aaron. I . . . um . . . it looks pretty nice out here, right? I was thinking . . .” He cleared his throat. “I cleaned out the grill, and there’s charcoal in the barn. I brought a cooler with hot dogs, and my mom made potato salad? Maybe this afternoon, after I get my work done, we could have a little barbecue. I even brought Frogs on my laptop. Just in case.”

I stared at him.

He looked at the pool, worrying his lower lip. “It’s the Fourth. I just thought it might be nice.”

My eyes stung and a lump burned in my throat. I’d been avoiding the calendar for a few days. But of course. Of course today was the Fourth of July.

I should have said, Why are you even here today? It’s a holiday. Go home! For God’s sake. Didn’t he have friends? Family? A girlfriend? (A boyfriend?)

But I couldn’t say that. Because if I did, he might wise up and leave.

My voice sounded gruff. “Hell, it’s a holiday. You’ve been working so hard, you deserve some time off. You can just . . . hang out until it’s time for lunch. Use the pool if you like. What else do we need for the grill? I’ve got some condiments and pickles up at the house. Chips. Beer.”

His smile was dazzling. “That sounds perfect. You really don’t mind if I swim?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and faux-scowled. “Oh, I see. Now we get to the true motivation in fixing up the pool. Did you bring a suit?”

“Maybe,” he said coyly.

The little shit. I had to bite my lip to keep the weird bubble of happiness in my chest from rising up and taking over my mouth. I wondered again why he didn’t have better things to do. He should. He was young and healthy and smart and damn cute. Why would he want to spend his Fourth of July with me?

But then, with the sunny morning, and the neat garden all around us, and that sparkling pool, and even happy Jack swimming laps, Malfleur didn’t exactly suck. No. In this light, it was practically paradise.

I thought about Emmanuel’s warning that Billy might share details about me on social media. Hanging out on the Fourth of July could give him a perfect opportunity to do that. But Billy had signed the NDA. He understood the rules. Didn’t he?

“No photos—ever,” I warned. “And no posting about this.”

“Of course not.” Billy looked offended that I’d even mention it.

“Hmm. Then I’ll get some towels too. Wouldn’t want you to catch cold.” I headed for the house, feeling excited about something for the first time in a very long time.

Screw Emmanuel. I was doing this.

Chapter 10

Billy

Finally. Finally, I was going to spend time with Aaron.

I’d been trying to figure out a way to get to know him better for weeks now. The truth was, I was kind of obsessed. The more time I spent at Malfleur, the more fascinating I found him. He was an enigma. On the one hand, he reminded me of a tragic figure, doomed to forever lurk in the shadows, weighed down by some mysterious past. And on the other hand, he was here, and real—a living, contemporary man, and one