Blank: Alpha Billionaire Romance by Cassie Wild Page B

hormonal around a cute guy. From what Ava had told me about myself, it didn’t seem likely. A straight-A student, working all day and going to school at night, didn’t match up with the image of a boy-crazy teenager. So maybe it was just him. Except now, I was starting to question his motives for asking me out in the first place. Had his father set this whole thing up to get me to accept the deal? Was he taking advantage of me? Was he reporting everything back to Quaid? Did Quaid know we’d slept together?
    My thoughts were starting to spiral out of control. I had to stop myself from going down this path, or Kris was going to start realizing that things between us had changed. While I knew I had to address it eventually, I couldn’t help but want to give him one more chance to prove me wrong.
    When I showed up to the steakhouse a few hours later, Kris was waiting outside, pacing the sidewalk, his hands clenched at his sides. Distinct relief crossed his face when he saw me sitting in the backseat of the cab.
    “Preslee,” he said with a breath, and wrapped his arms around me.
    While it felt amazing to be held by him, I was surprised at this sudden surge of affection. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” he said with a big smile. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come. I thought you were angry with me.”
    Apparently my texts regarding his insistence at picking me up for the date hadn’t been as vague as I’d intended them to be.
    “I’m not angry.” I sighed. “Really. I just want to do some things on my own now, you know?”
    “I guess you’re a pretty independent person,” he said with a smile as he tucked a windblown curl behind my ear.
    “I guess I am.” I blushed at his words and gentle touch.
    Despite the little voice in the back of my head telling me to keep my distance until I knew for sure what his intentions were, I let him lead me into the restaurant and back to a romantic, secluded booth. And I let him charm me with stories of his childhood, made all the more sweet because I had none of my own to tell him. Though based on what I did know, I doubted there were many happy ones.
    “I think my favorite trip as a kid was Disney World, but then again, what kid didn’t want to go to Disney World?” he said with a laugh. “I remember riding Space Mountain with my dad. Here he was, this big aggressive business man, and he screamed his head off the entire time.”
    “What did your mom think of that?” I asked, grinning in response to his contagious smile.
    “She wasn’t much for amusement parks.” His face sobered a bit. “Mom was more of the Botanical Garden kind of person.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “Somehow, I don’t see you being much for flowers.”
    “I’ll have you know that I aced botany in college.”
    “You took botany?”
    He shrugged. “I needed an elective. What about you?” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized what he’d said. “Wow. Open mouth, insert foot.”
    I laughed. “Don’t feel bad. Do you have any idea how weird it is to not know the answers to those sorts of questions? The only reason I even know what classes I was in four months ago is because I’ve been trying to make up the work I missed.”
    “Okay,” he said as he reached across the table to take my hand. “Then tell me about those. Just because the memories aren’t old doesn’t mean they aren’t important.”
    I curled my fingers into his. “I’ve already told you pretty much everything I’ve been doing.”
    He smiled. “Then tell me again. I don’t care how little there is to know about you, I want to know it all.”
    Now how the hell was I supposed to be cautious when he said things like that?
    After dinner, we decided to go for a stroll around the block before heading home. Despite the snow we’d seen earlier in the week, the air was balmy with the promise of spring. Perfect for a romantic evening stroll. I was glad I’d decided to wear flat shoes, even if they didn’t help