Page 79 of Billionaire Bachelor

“You told me to call you,” I remind her. “In shouty caps.”

“Who knew caps lock could be so effective?” She giggles. “I should’ve tried that years ago. Maybe my children would visit me more often.”

“Mother, we see youall the time,” I insist. “Well, as often as we can for two adults who work a ton of hours.”

“Well, it’s not often enough if you ask me. Same goes for Logan. Speaking of…”

“Here we go…” I mumble to myself.

“I don’t mean to pry, but… Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, I do. I’ve been waiting for this moment foryears.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Rip off the Band-Aid, Mom. Whatexactlydid you see online?”

“There’s no need to be so dramatic, Rosalie.”

Ha! Who does she think I got it from?

“Mother, please just spit it out.”

“Well, you know I don’t usually pay attention to those gossip sites.”

Sure you don’t.

“They’re so frustrating,” she continues. “You can’t scroll down the page to read an article without accidentally clicking on a damn ad. And sometimes, you can’t close out of the ad and go back to the article. So, you don’t even get to finish reading it, and it was all for nothing!”

“That’s why it’s calledclickbait, Mother,” I inform her. “Get back to what you were saying. I feel like there was a ‘but’ coming. You don’t normally pay attention to those gossip sites, but…?”

“ButI happened to come across an interesting headline with Logan’s name on it. Of course I had to read what it was about.”

“Of course.” I roll my eyes.

“And then, imagine my surprise when I see a picture of him kissing a woman who looksexactlylike my daughter! But then I thought, there’sno waythat could be Rosalie because if she and Logan were dating,surelyshe would’ve told me.”

“Uh-huh…”

I sigh and make a‘hurry up’motion as she continues her guilt trip. My mom goes on and on about how we don’t keep secrets in this family, pointing out how she’s always raised us to be open and honest with each other, no matter how uncomfortable a conversation may be. When she starts citing examples from when she gave methe talk,I can’t take it anymore.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. It’sme, Mom! That’smekissing Logan in the picture.”

She gasps. “I knew it!Oh, honey, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy you’ve finally put that boy out of his misery. He’s had itbadfor you since you were kids. He was so heartbroken when you and Julian got engaged.”

“What the hell?Was I the only person who didn’t see it?”

“Oh, come on, Rosa. You’d have to be blind to miss it. I’m shocked it’s taken you this long to come together. Logan’s not the only one who’s been carrying a torch all these years. In high school, youbothconstantly watched each other. Your bodies would naturally gravitate toward one another whenever you were in the same room. Hell, youstilldo both of those things.

“You two have gotten better at schooling your facial expressions, but back then, you smiled at him like he hung the moon, and he gazed at you like you were a living fantasy. Do you think I didn’t know about all those nights you two spent getting frisky up in the treehouse? I never understood why you started dating that quarterback, but I figured you had to make your own mistakes in life to learn from them, so I kept my lips sealed.”

I blink rapidly, processing everything she just told me. “I… Wha… How… We were justtalkingin the treehouse.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.” She chuckles. “I knew you weren’t having sex. I would’ve put you on birth control a lot sooner if I suspected it. But I thought for sure there was at least some kissing involved.”

“Nope.” I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “No kissing.”

“Hmm. That’s too bad. But anyway, I’m happy for you, Rosalie. You deserve someone who sees the real you and loves you for exactly who you are. So does Logan.”

Warmth spreads through my chest, filling me with a quiet reassurance.

“Thanks, Mom.”