Page 50 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

I continue.“And then the other rooms… a living room, a den, a regular kitchen and a butler’s kitchen.That’s what Emma told me it’s called, anyway.She says it’s for entertaining, like that will ever happen.”

Frankie snorts with laughter and then looks embarrassed for her outburst.I find myself grinning at her.

“And no, I don’t cook in those two kitchens.But I love to eat, so I either go out, get prepared meals delivered, or I mooch off of Dad and Aunt Phyllis or Emma and Finn.I’ll even go to Cal and Victoria’s if I’m in a serious bind.”

She raises one eyebrow.

“The good thing about not cooking is that my kitchens are always spotless.”

Her mouth opens, but then she snaps it shut.“Sounds dope,” Frankie says.

“Out back, there’s a pool I don’t use and a Jacuzzi that Idouse.And a guest house with a kitchen and bath, which has never been used because, like the butler’s kitchen, it’s meant for the guests I’ve never had and probably never will.”

She raises her hands in surrender.“Okay, okay.I get it.No sleeping on the floor in a cabin.I should have gone into the Wagyu business, obviously.Do you have a dog, at least?”

“No.Cal and Victoria have two Golden Retrievers, though, Ripley and Sarah Connor.”

“Those are great names.”

“However, I’ve recently been adopted by a cat.”

Frankie starts to smile but it morphs into a frown.She looks away, staring at her feet and then at the fire.Shit.Maybe that sounded like I was making assumptions, taking ownership of her cat, forcing my way into her world.

Maybe it’s been so long since I told a joke of any kind that I’ve forgotten what’s funny and what’s just cringey.

I clear my throat.“Wagyu didn’t pay for my house, though.My brothers and I started a company.”I proceed to tell her about StellaR Tech without going into any of the details.I don’t even mention the firm’s name.Our work is so secretive—and buried under so many layers of op sec, infosec, and need-to-know—that even members of our family don’t have a picture of what we do.And it has to stay that way.

But I do tell her how it all got started.How Declan and Finn met up for a beer one night at a bar near Coronado.And how they started bullshitting each other about how they’d make millions once they were out of the Navy.The joking around turned into brainstorming.And before the bar closed, they’d sketched out a new approach to cybersecurity that formed the basis of our shamefully successful military contracting enterprise.

When I finally come up for air, I see that she’s sitting ramrod straight in the camp chair, her mouth hanging open.“Let me get this straight,” she says.“Your brothers scribbled some shit on a bar napkin, and you’ve managed to turn it into a successful tech startup?”

“Yeah.Cal’s in the C-suite.Finn and Declan are the brainiacs.And Evander takes care of contract negotiations.”

“And what does cereal man do?”

The cat rolls over in my lap, sound asleep with her paws sticking straight up, still purring like a gas generator.“Oh, you know.Ranching operations manager.Pussy wrangler.Squatter supervisor.”

Frankie shakes her head, trying unsuccessfully not to laugh.She gives me a side-eye with a smile.“You’re sort of funny, Special K.”

“You may be the first person to ever accuse me of that.”

Our eyes lock.We simply look at one another.I know I’ve talked way too much as it is but there are so many things I want to ask her.

Why are you so lovely?

Will you let me take you into my arms and search your face until I’ve memorized every gentle curve and soft plane?

What the fuck are you doing here?

But she breaks our eye contact, and the moment passes.

CHAPTER 26

Frankie

It’s dark, but it can’t be any later than nine, and I’m nowhere near tired.So, I decide to keep the conversation going.

Yes, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about that bed back there in the cabin, the one that’s currently morphing from crescent roll to sexual playground.