Billionaires Dollar Series

I put a hand over my heart. “Thank God. I’d hate to be told… what, four years after the fact that I embarrassed myself completely.”

“Your dignity is intact.”

“In that way at least,” I say with a grin, and she smiles back. “So systems engineering, huh?”

She nods. “It’s interesting.”

“And very male-dominated,” I say. It’s impressive, what she’s studying. Makes her even more intriguing. The watch on my arm gives me an annoying buzz to let me know the pace is too slow. I won’t reach my target. I ignore it.

“Yes,” Bella says. “I’m the only female PhD student in the department.”

“I’m not surprised.”

She gives me a crooked smile. “I’m brought out for every photoshoot the department has. It makes them look better.”

I roll my eyes, annoyed on her behalf. “Of course it does. Want to head up here?”

She looks at where I’m pointing-Brownell Drive, which will eventually loop back to our street. “Lead the way,” she says. “You know this area better than me.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. If I wasn’t a runner I’d be lost.”

“Yes, people don’t really socialize here, do they? I haven’t seen a single one of my neighbors. Apart from you,” she says.

“Much obliged,” I say and pretend to tip my hat at her. A silly gesture-one my eldest daughter enjoys-but Bella smiles at it. “People enjoy their privacy here.”

“And to think I just barged into your house with brownies.”

“Well, I think I violated your privacy first,” I say, and because I’m awful and I can’t resist, I look straight at her as I say it. She smiles at my teasing and looks away, biting into her lower lip.

“Lesson learned,” she says. “And the worst part is, I can’t pay you back in kind, either.”

I blink. Twice. “No, I don’t think you can. There’s no tree on your side of the hedge.”

“Shoot.”

Does she mean-would she want to? Are we really joking about her seeing me undressed?

“And even if you had, I don’t have a pool installed,” I say. “So no such luck.”

She snorts. “You’ve covered all your bases.”

“It’s what I do best.”

We turn onto our street. The sun is completely up now, chasing away the dew still clinging to the greenery. “Do you often run this early?”

“No,” she says. “I was woken up today by a very angry, very loud cat.”

“Ouch.”

“Yes. He doesn’t like me yet, unfortunately. I’ll have to get him some toys or treats.” A thought hits her. “Do cats even like treats?”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

I laugh at that. “Ask your aunt and uncle. They ought to know.”

She looks away. “They probably do, yeah.”

We’re almost at our driveways before I find the courage to speak the words. They’re partly for Haven, yes, but they’re mostly for me. An excuse to spend time with her, although I have nothing to offer.

“What are your plans this Saturday?”

Her eyes shoot to mine. “I don’t have any.”

“How do you feel about attending a six-year-old’s birthday party?”

Her eyes light up, and I want to kiss her for that reaction alone. “It’s Haven’s birthday?”

“Yes, we’re throwing a party in the backyard. Bouncy castle, piñata, the whole thing.” I shake my head at the thought of the extensive organization that’s gone into it. Thank God I can pay people to handle those things for me. “Haven wanted to ask you to come.”

Bella smiles, like she’s genuinely touched by the invitation. “That’s sweet.”

“She told me yesterday that she didn’t want you to see the balloons and think you weren’t invited.”

Bella laughs at that, and the sound is more gratifying than I’d expected. It makes me want to earn it again. “That’s so thoughtful of her. Of course I’ll swing by.”

“Excellent. Have a piece of cake, get a balloon animal. It’ll be fantastic,” I say. “A real raver. All of Seattle’s preschool elite will be there.”

She nods, playing along. “I assume it’s black tie?”

“It is, yes, thank you for asking. There’ll be valet parking too, so don’t worry about finding a spot to park.”

She shakes her head, grinning wide now. “I’ll be there.”

“Looking forward to it,” I say, like an idiot, stopping by my gate. “See you then.”

“Wait, what about presents? What does she want for her birthday?”

I shake my head. “Good God, no present. She has more toys than any kid could ever need. No, don’t get her anything.”

“I can’t show up empty-handed.”

“Make brownies, then. You owe me some anyway.”

Her smile is crooked. “All right. Until then.”

“Until then,” I echo, losing sight of her as she walks up her own driveway.

And later, when I look at my smartwatch and the statistics from my run, it doesn’t surprise me at all that while I didn’t reach my target speed, my heart rate had remained elevated the entire time.

On Saturday, the commotion from Ethan’s house starts early. So early, in fact, that the sound of men shouting orders at each other drags me out of sleep and not my trusty alarm.