Damaged Billionaire Daddy Bear - Leela Ash Page 0,20

a good job of it, aren’t I?” he retorted, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement.

“Unfortunately,” she agreed dryly. “Fine, we can stop at the stores.”

Another round of screams and delighted whoops from the backseat made the two adults grin at each other.

Almost at once, they realized whom they were each smiling at, and they looked away in strained discomfort.

Dang it, she was quickly forgetting to dislike this guy, Jessica thought with an inward groan. Well, could you blame her? He was a totally different person today from the jerk who had made her wear a suit to work the first day just to get back at her.

As soon as Theodore pulled into a spot in the parking lot of the mall, they all piled out of the car, the kids chattering non-stop. As they made a beeline for the swimwear store, Jessica spied Theodore deftly grab a bottle of non-alcoholic wine off the rack and two wine glasses and shove them at a passing attendant with a whispered instruction and what looked like a hefty tip.

Arizona let out a delighted whoop, just then, and she was distracted at once and forgot about it.

At the checkout counter, they got into a tiny tussle over who would pick up the bills.

“They’re my kids,” Jessica insisted.

“I heard you the first time. Half of America heard you,” he added with a chuckle as he handed some money over to the cashier. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that we invited you on this unplanned picnic, thus upsetting your calendar. It’s only proper that I offset the extra expense you hadn’t budgeted for.”

She stared at him steadily. A man like him didn’t need to budget; he probably had enough income at his disposal to power three small countries for decades.

Her chin went up, “I can afford it. It’s just a couple of bathing suits.”

He froze in the act of collecting some change from the cashier, “When did I imply or state that you could not afford it?”

Jessica fell silent, impaled by the heat of his gaze as they stared steadily at each other.

Theodore broke the gaze first and tucked the change into his wallet. “Fine, maybe I was a bit high-handed just now. But the kids are happy, and that’s all that matters. Next time we have to buy anything, I’ll let you pick up the tab.”

Next time? Did he envision them doing this again?

Her thoughts in a whirl, Jessica turned to herd the kids back to the car and found their path blocked by a familiar figure.

“Uh-oh” she said, under her breath, as Roy turned and saw them. In the time since she had first met him, she had forgiven him for his parting rudeness but he still creeped her out a bit. Although, she had since chalked up her hallucinations to a factor of exhaustion. And maybe he had just been having a bad day too. Fact was, he had kind of saved them.

Roy, however, looked equally unhappy to see them. He was dressed in the same cowboy getup as the other day, and once again, he seemed extremely red and flushed, as if he had been out in the sun about ten hours too long. Mostly what caught her eye, though, was his expression, which was anything but friendly; his upper lip was curled in contempt as he glanced from her to Theodore.

When he looked back at her, his eyes were pitying as he spat, “I see I wasn’t wrong. Few days in that place of his and he’s got you and the kids wrapped around his little finger.”

“Hiya, Mister,” Kal interrupted with a wide innocent grin as all three kids went around him and scampered toward the door, obviously heading for their car parked in the lot.

Jessica could make out their car from inside the store, so she relaxed a little, keeping a watchful glance in that direction.

Roy unbent enough to smile warmly at the departing kids before transferring an arctic gaze back to Theodore’s face. “You always were one for reaching far above yerself,” he began, his tone so frosty and confrontational that Jessica’s gaze whipped back to him, noting how he was addressing Theodore.

Roy wasn’t done.

“Living in that fancy mansion has got you thinkin’ yer just as good as the rest of us. But it don’t matter how many cars you ride or…” he paused to rake another contemptuous glance down Jessica’s slim frame, before continuing, “how many unsuspecting women you bed, yer vermin, and yer