Page 30 of The Elusive Billionaire

“Right,” she purrs again. “Because you said we’re done.”

“Yes.”

Her shoulder tips up, and from my exceptional peripheral vision, I see her reach for the ties of my pants she’s wearing.

I lift the bottle of water to my lips, rinse, then lean to the side to spit right when she allows the pants to drop. Then I chug the rest of the water and exit the room.

I need fresh air. Savvy makes it too hard to breathe, so I find myself on my front porch. In the morning light, everything comes into stark, depressing focus.

My land is destroyed. After promising Moose to take care of it, one hurricane touches down and decimates the land he was building his forever on. The water has receded, but not nearly as much as I would’ve liked, so I can’t tell what we’re dealing with beyond the house.

“What is that?” Savvy’s voice carries humor I don’t feel, and I’m instantly on alert.

How can she find anything about this funny?

“Is—is that Moose?” She joins me on the porch and leans forward on the railing. I grip the hem of her T-shirt and haul her back to me.

“Don’t lean on that. We don’t know if it’s structurally sound.”

She shrugs me off, her face still pointed to the lake that used to be a yard. Her scent wafts into my space when she waves with both hands, and I need to get away from her, so I step to the side. Then I see what she’s waving at.

“What the hell?” My feet hit the stairs before I finish speaking because, sure enough, Moose is in a canoe, and he has a passenger.

“Savvy.” Her friend Clover waves excitedly, causing the canoe to rock and Moose to chuckle.

Moose is in good shape, but for fuck’s sake, he’s got to be close to seventy-five. What the hell is he doing, canoeing in floodwater with a passenger known for dramatics?

“Oh my God, Clover. What are you guys doing here?” Savvy bounces happily next to me, and I ignore the warmth that settles in my chest.

One of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met also has a vulnerability made of glass when it comes to loving and being loved.

Most people never see it, but I have from the moment I met her. She wants to be loved more than anything in the world. The kind of love that has no boundaries. The kind that makes you feel safe.

Only someone with the same affliction would be able to recognize it.

Moose gets the canoe as close to shore as he can, but he’s still a good twenty feet away from us.

“She had to see you for herself, or she’d keep making herself sick,” Moose says with a disapproving glower at Clover.

“Clove.” Sassy stands with her hands on her hips.

“Don’t you ‘Clove’ me. You knew better than to head out into this storm.”

I stand back and watch these two friends scold each other for doing different yet similarly stupid things.

“How ya doing, Greyson?” Moose’s voice is aged with wisdom. He’s not a big talker. Like me, he believes actions speak better than words, so when you do hear his voice, you’re compelled to listen.

My gaze instantly darts to his old workshop—or where it used to be. When he sold me the property, it was with the condition that he could continue to putter around in there. He makes furniture. Sometimes he just whittles wood and whistles, but it makes him feel close to his deceased wife, and it’s not something I ever wanted to take from him.

It’s why I was putting in an elevator and renovating the second floor into an apartment. He has arthritis in his hips, and he won’t be able to live on his own forever. I wanted him to be where he’s happiest.

“I should have had Cian reinforce your workshop, Moose. I’m—I’m sorry.”

“You’re doing it again.” He tuts. “Everything in the universe is not your responsibility to control, handle, or fix. Ya can’t control a hurricane any more than you can control the chemistry blazing between you two knuckleheads.”

Savvy smirks up at me, and I think my face flushes. What the fuck?

“Trust me, Moose. It’s not chemistry, it’s a nuclear bomb.” At some point, Savvy has turned me into a ventriloquist—my words are clear as day as they hiss through my clenched jaw.