Page 80 of The Rules of Dating

Saylor grinned. “What else happened?”

“The witch’s cold heart started to melt. After a while, the tattooed witch didn’t feel like a witch anymore. She felt like a princess—not because she was an actual princess, but because the prince made her feel like one. The witch cast the spell on the prince, but in the end, she was the one who’d been transformed.” Billie looked over at me and smiled. “The end.”

Saylor’s eyes widened. “Did they live happily ever after?”

She hesitated. “I like to think so.”

Good answer. I sure as fuck hoped the witch and the prince ended up together, and had lots of amazing sex along the way.

After we put Saylor to bed, Billie looked deep in thought as she sat next to me in the living room.

“Saylor is really happy when you’re around,” I said, interrupting whatever she’d been ruminating about.

“Yeah, it surprises me how much I love being around her, too.”

I traced the tattoos on her arm and decided to open up. “Probably the only thing I’ve worried about when it comes to you and me is whether you would want this life for the long haul. I never want to pressure you to think about it, but I also feel like we’re at the point where I’d like to know if you could possibly see a future with…both of us.”

She didn’t immediately say anything. I felt like I might come out of my skin as I waited for her to speak.

“I’m not gonna lie…” she finally said. “In the beginning, I was worried about my ability to fit into this equation, to care for a child the way I would need to. But I want you to know, I no longer see things that way. If things don’t work out between us, it won’t be because of my fears about Saylor. Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life.”

“Wow.” I kissed the side of her head. “Thank you. I feel like I can breathe a little easier.”

“That’s been on your mind tonight?”

“Yeah. It’s hard not to think about it when I watch you with her.”

“I still think we need to take things slowly, though,” she said.

“Agreed…but…”

She raised her brow. “What?”

“Does that mean I can convince you to stay the night?”

Billie squeezed my knee and sighed. “I don’t know…”

“Saylor always sleeps through. We can get up early and get you out of here. Even though I had that fantasy about taking you in the laundry room, I’d much rather take my time and do it in my bed. We just have to be quiet. No holes in the wall tonight.” I wasn’t above begging. “Please…” I said, sounding like Saylor when she’d asked me for a second helping of dessert. Except I wanted way more than two helpings of Billie.

“What if she gets up and sees me?” Billie whispered.

“I’ll lock my door. I still have a baby monitor, and I can hook it up so we can hear her if she gets up. Even in the worst-case scenario, if she saw you here, she’s young enough that she doesn’t understand sex. So I think we’ll be fine. She’ll just think you’re sleeping over. She’d probably be thrilled.”

Billie’s expression softened to an impish grin. “Can I think about it while you pour me a glass of wine?”

I inwardly did a victory dance and stood up to fetch my girl’s wine. “It would be my pleasure.”

Just as I was opening the bottle, there was a knock at the door. The only people who’d knock on my door at this time of the evening on a weeknight were the guys.

“Are you expecting someone?” Billie asked.

I put the bottle down and headed for the door. “No. It’s probably Brayden or Holden.”

I should’ve checked the peephole. Then maybe I wouldn’t have nearly had a heart attack the moment I saw her. It took a few seconds because it had been a long while. Her dark hair was a bit longer, and she was thinner than I remembered. But the cold eyes were the very same.

The words wouldn’t come to me, so I stood there speechless for several seconds as panic started to seep in.

What the hell does she want?