Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (20 page)

“
Don't
feel it up. Let's go eat.”

She
laughed and got into the car. He was quiet on the drive to breakfast.
While they ate, she could tell he was thinking about something. It
was not like him to have such a serious look. Josh looked up from his
plate.

“
Do
you think you need to go back to work so quickly? Maybe you should
wait another few weeks.”

“
I
need to get back to it. I need to start saving money, and I'm sure
you would like to have a little time to yourself. This way, you'll be
able to bring women back to your bachelor pad. I know you haven't bee
able to do that for a few months. I'll only be gone a few days at a
time. I'll still be there to bug you often, probably more than you
want.”

“
I
think you should wait. I don't mind you being there,” he said.

“
They
aren't going to let me keep my job forever. I have to get back,
before they let me go. I'll try it for one flight. If I can't do it,
then I'll wait a little longer. I can't live off of you forever. You
have done more than what you should have for me. I need to take care
of myself.”

“
Fine,”
he said, as he looked back down at his plate.

“
Are
you okay?” she asked.

“
I'm
fine,” he replied.

The
rest of the week went by fast. Lisa got new uniforms for work and
took care of all of the paperwork she needed to start the following
Monday. She spent time calling Heath, Gavin, Ethan, and John to set
up donations from them for the event she was planning. Josh sat and
showed her how the things they put in place at the restaurants were
already making a difference in the numbers. They made dinners and
took cookies to the fire station. One of the guys said something
flirty to her and looked at Josh. A minute later Josh was ready to
go. Lisa finally realized they were trying to set Josh off on
purpose. She looked over at the guy as Josh walked away.

“
That's
not nice. Stop doing that to him. For that, you don't get any of the
cookies,” she said, as she looked at him sternly.

“
Come
on, it's fun. You guys are just friends, but watch him stomp off each
time one of us flirts with you.”

“
I
thought you guys all liked me. You were just using me to mess with
your friend,” she pouted, and then she laughed. “Leave
him alone.”

Sunday
morning, Lisa sat down at the kitchen table. Josh walked out of his
room dressed and ready to go to his mom's house. She was still in her
pajamas. He looked at her with a confused look.

“
You're
not ready. We're going to be late,” he said.

“
I'm
going to stay home this week. I think it's better if you go without
me.”

“
Why?
Do you know how bummed my mom will be?” he asked.

He
had no idea that she knew he had heard the conversation between her
and his brother. Lisa wanted to be honest with him. She patted the
chair next to hers.

“
Sit
down, I need to tell you something,” she said.

He
sat down and she saw a look of sadness in his eyes.

“
What's
going on?” he asked.

“
While
we were at your mom's last weekend, Jack asked me to go out on a date
with him. I told him I didn't want to. I know we are friends, and I
should have told you about it. He had every right to ask me. There
was no reason for him not to. I just felt like I should have
mentioned it to you,” she said.

“
Is
that why you don't want to go today?” he asked. “Do you
want to go out with him?”

“
No,
I don't want to go out with him. I have a few more things to do to
get ready for work tomorrow. I am going to work on the event we are
planning. Tell your family I said hello and am sorry for not
visiting.”

“
Thank
you for telling me. You don't want to go out with him, because he's
not as hot as me. I don't blame you. Plus, how would you explain
calling my name out in your dreams. That might be kind of
uncomfortable for him. I totally understand,” he said, as they
both burst into laughter.

“
I
still don't believe it really happened. I think you just say that to
mess with me.”

“
It
happened. I can assure you of that.”

Lisa
shoved him from his chair as he stood up.

“
I'll
be home in a few hours,” he said.

Lisa
spent the day working on the plans she was making for the event. She
had her clothes ready and out for work and her bag packed by the
front door. Lisa had to leave early in the morning for a flight from
Pennsylvania to Las Vegas, with multiple stops. She would have an
overnight stay in Vegas before taking the flight back. Since she
hadn't flown in a few months, she wanted to make sure she had
everything ready the night before.

Josh's
mom text Lisa to tell her they missed her at dinner and that he was
bringing a plate of food home for her. Lisa thanked her and asked if
he was still there. She said he had already left. A couple of hours
went by before he got home. Lisa jumped when she heard the front door
open. He popped his head into her room on his way past.

“
I
brought a plate of food home for you. My mom packed it, so it's
enough for days. She was upset that you weren't there. Jack thought
you stayed home because of him. I told him you said I was a million
times better looking and that you didn't think he could compare to
me. He didn't think it was funny.”

“
Thanks
for the food. Are you hungry? We can share,” she said.

“
Sure.
I'll be out in a minute.”

Lisa
wondered what had taken him so long to get home. It was none of her
business. He didn't owe her an explanation. That didn't change the
fact that she still wanted to know. Where had he gone? Why did she
care?

They
sat down to share what he had brought home for her. The plate was
cold, like it had been in the refrigerator. Josh heated up some of
the food and left the salads on the plate cold. She watched him as
they ate, to see if he would say anything about where he had been.

“
Why
is the plate so cold? Was it in the refrigerator?” she asked.

“
My
mom left it in there until I left.”

“
You
were there for a long time. Did you have a good visit?”

“
It
was okay,” he answered.

Lisa
felt herself get more and more upset. Why was he not telling her he
went somewhere else? What was he hiding? She knew it was none of her
business, but her emotions were getting to her. She told him about
his brother asking her out, but he wasn't being honest with her. When
she was done, she took the plates to the kitchen and went to her
room.

Josh
knocked on her door to see if she wanted to watch a movie, but she
told him no. Lisa said she needed to be up early for work and was
going to bed.

Lisa
realized it was good she was going back to work. She needed to get a
place of her own. Josh didn't owe her anything. There was no reason
for him to tell her he went someplace else. She had no reason to want
to know where he had been. Her feelings were getting in her way, and
she needed to stomp them out before she got hurt. It would happen.
She was sure of it. He would break her heart. She didn't know if it
would be a lie or cheating, but he would do something to hurt her.

Lisa
crawled under the covers and set her alarm. When she put her phone on
the nightstand, it beeped. She picked it up and saw a text from
Becky.

“
Did
you enjoy your dinner?”

“
Yes,
it was good,” she replied, wondering how Becky knew.

“
I
made sure to put it in the fridge while he was here, so it wouldn't
spoil.”

“
Why
was he over there?” Lisa sent.

“
I
have no idea. I answered the door, and he looked pissed. He handed me
the plate to put in the fridge and went into the office with Gavin
and shut the door. They were in there for a couple of hours. He came
out a bit more calm. I got the plate out for him. He asked me if I
knew you were going back to work. Then he left.”

“
What
did they talk about?” Lisa asked.

“
Gavin
said Jack did something stupid and Josh was mad. I didn't ask
anything else. Is everything okay?”

“
Yes,
I am getting ready for bed. I'm excited to go back to work and get my
life in order. I need to give Josh his life back. He needs to be able
to do what he did before I came along,” she sent.

“
I
see,” Becky sent.

“
What?”

“
Have
a great flight. Hope you have fun. Gamble a bit for me,” Becky
sent.

“
I
will,” Lisa sent. “I love Vegas.”

She
put her phone down and tried to get some sleep.

In
the morning, she got up and ready for work. Josh's bedroom door was
open, but he wasn't there. She grabbed some paper and a pen to write
a note.

“
Josh,

You
weren't home when I left. Be careful out there.

I
fly out this morning with three stops, before getting to Las Vegas. I
will text you when I get there.

Have
a great time!

Keep
your women out of my room. Just kidding, have fun.

Lisa”

She
left the note on the table, grabbed her bag, and left for work.

Lisa
finally checked into her hotel room at ten o'clock at night
Pennsylvania time, seven o'clock Vegas time. She put her bag on the
dresser in the room, turned her phone on, put it on her bag, and went
to take a bath. She needed to soak her ankle. The flights were harder
than she thought they would be. Her ankle was extremely swelled. It
was hard to stand and walk as much as she did. Standing and walking
on the plane, with it moving, hurt worse than she expected. She
really hadn't taken everything into consideration. It was much harder
than she thought it would be.

As
she sunk down into the warm water, she heard her phone beep several
times from the other room. It was probably Becky wondering how the
flight was and if she had won any money in the airport. Lisa was
tired. She leaned her head back against the side of the tub and let
out a sigh. She wondered what Josh had done all day, what he had for
dinner, if he had to go to any fires, and tons of other stuff. It
felt lonely in the quiet hotel room. What was going on with her? She
used to love being alone. She missed Josh and worried about him.

Lisa
got out of the bath and dried off. She opened her bag to get out her
clothes and saw a note. Lisa put on sweats and a t-shirt, grabbed the
note and her phone, and sat down on her bed. She opened the paper to
read it.

“
Lisa,

I
hope you had a great flight. I had to leave before you got up. Sorry
I couldn't say goodbye. I'll see you when you get home tomorrow. Win
big for me. Wish I was going too. Make sure I do something really
good in your dream tonight.

Josh”

Lisa
laughed so hard as she folded the note and got up to put it away. She
sat back down and looked at her phone. Becky sent a text telling her
good luck. There were three texts from Josh.

“
Hope
you have a great flight.”

“
Did
you land yet?”

“
It's
really late. Should I send out a search party? Did a slot machine
pull you in?”