Page 3 of The Elusive Billionaire

Madi groans and drops her forehead to the table. Her grandfather, Pops, is worse than a drunken frat boy out causing trouble. And that’s on a good day.

My phone vibrates in my hand, so I pull away from Grey, thankful for the reprieve a little space affords me, and unlock it.

ChasingColors42: Are you around?

Firefly12: For you? Always. Did you pick a new surrogate yet?

ChasingColors42: How could I when you’re the one that I want?

Firefly12: (eye roll emoji)

ChasingColors42: I won’t even drop off my semen or choose a donor egg until you’ve agreed to be mine.

My chest buzzes with warmth. I know he doesn’t meanhishis, but dang, it’s been a long time since I ever associated belonging to anyone with anything other than dread.

Firefly12: Told you, while I love babies, this is a last resort for me. I won’t be accepting anyone unless life takes away my choices, and if you knew me, you’d know I’ll fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen.

ChasingColors42: You make me want to fix shit, and I don’t even know what’s wrong.

Firefly12: Because you have a God complex?

ChasingColors42: Something like that.

Damn. This got heavy fast.

Firefly12: What are you up to today? Got any good stories for me?

Sometimes he’ll regale me with stories of his grandfather that could rival Madi’s stories about Pops. It always makes me laugh.

ChasingColors42: Have I told you about my nephew?

I nearly drop my phone. So far, he’s kept his personal life private, except for his reasoning for wanting a child—his family has moved on without him, and he has a giant gaping hole in his heart where they used to reside.

My words, not his. I’m not sure ChasingColors is self-aware enough to make that connection.

Firefly12: No! I’d love to hear about him.

I settle into my seat and pull up my knees so my heels rest on the edge of my chair and my shins press into the table in front of me.

It has the added benefit of blocking out Grey.

He grumbles something I don’t hear, and I’m thankful that something has finally dragged his attention away from me.

I watch the bubbles move across my screen as ChasingColors types. It feels like an eternity before his message appears.

ChasingColors42: He’s a genius. He’s been taking college-level courses since middle school, but now he wants to attend college. And play football.

My feet fall to the floor with a loud thunk, and my face nearly smashes into the table.

“You okay over there, Savvy?” Grey’s voice swims in my ears as I stare at my screen.

“Yeah, sorry,” I croak. “I just booked a guest I was excited about. Um, excuse me for a moment.”

I don’t wait for a response. My fingers clench my phone so tightly they turn white as I skirt around table after table and hide in the room Madi has designated as quiet space. From here, I can see Grey sitting at our table, and I swallow hard.

Firefly12: He’s playing football? That’s great. What position?

If he says kicker, I will throw up.