Banking the Billionaire (Bad Boy Billionaires Book 2)(60)

“Besides worrying about that old guy having a heart attack, I had a fantastic night.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What old guy?”

“Your dance partner for most of the night.”

“I danced with an old guy?”

He nodded as a slow, amused grin consumed his face.

The wheels started to turn, and my brain caught up with the hazy memories. “Oh…the old guy in the blue blazer? The one who kept pelvic thrusting his geriatric crotch into my ass?”

Thatch’s face turned up with hilarity. “In his defense, you were encouraging his senior citizen dance moves.”

I cracked up at that. “Oh, man. I bet Sean was thrilled. How bad did I embarrass him last night?”

“Like on a scale of zero to ten?”

I nodded.

One of his hands left my boobs and slid a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’d say a twelve, maybe? Twelve and a half, tops?”

“Fantastic.” I fist-pumped the air. “The night was a success, then.”

He chuckled.

“What about you? How bad did I embarrass you?”

He tilted his head in amusement. “You didn’t embarrass me.”

“Oh, come on.” I raised a knowing brow. “Be honest, Thatcher.”

“Honey, you didn’t embarrass me,” he responded in an even tone. “I thoroughly enjoyed watching you have a good time.”

“Even when I was grinding on the old dude?”

He grinned. “Especially when you were grinding on the old dude.”

My sleepy brain buzzed at the abnormality overload. That was never a guy’s reaction.

This man. What was I going to do with him?

He never failed to amaze me with his abnormal yet refreshing responses to my behavior. Thatch had become someone in my life that I could always rely on. Someone I could trust to have my back no matter what. Those kinds of people were so rare in a world filled with selfish motives and one-track minds. I felt lucky I had found someone like that in him.

Yeah, but how long will it last?

Anxiety clawed at my chest at that train of thought. We had started our relationship on a joke, constantly trying to one-up and out-prank each other, but somewhere along the way, things had changed. Sure, I was highly skilled at avoiding anything related to commitment or giving someone else any form of control over me, but I also wasn’t blind to what was happening with us. Somewhere along the way we had hopped on this path of something that resembled an actual relationship.

And if I was honest with myself, I didn’t want this, whatever it was, to end.

I didn’t know where I wanted it to go, but I knew to the root of my soul, I didn’t want it to be over. I was never one who looked toward the future, but with Thatch, I was having a hard time not looking toward the future.

I couldn’t imagine my day-to-day life without him in it.

“What are you thinking about, honey?” he asked, voice soft. His hand caressed my cheek as his eyes stared into mine.

I don’t want to f*ck this up. I don’t want to lose you.

I leaned into his touch. “No matter what happens between us, we’ll always be close, right?”

His brows raised in confusion. “Close?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “Me and you, we’ll always be…” I stopped midsentence when I couldn’t find the strength to say all of the things I really wanted to say. My heart and brain were at war, one wanting to profess something far stronger than like, while the other froze up in fear of the unknown.

I had never been the type of woman who stayed with one thing for more than a short amount of time. So how could I ask him for any kind of long-term commitment or declaration of his feelings for me if I wasn’t certain my current feelings for him would never change?

But they won’t change. He’s your person, you f*cking commitment-phobic moron.

Thatch didn’t pry or press for an explanation. For several quiet moments, his gaze didn’t leave mine. His eyes searched for my unsaid words, and when he found whatever he was looking for, he changed positions—his body hovering over mine and his hands resting beside my head.

“Don’t worry, honey,” he said, his lips mere inches from mine. “We’re on the same page.”

“But how do you know?” I asked. “What if we’re not even reading the same f*cking book?”

“Because I know.” His mouth quirked up at the corners as a confident smile took over his lips. “We’re on the same word, in the same paragraph, on the same page, in the same fantastic f*cking book.”

“But how do you know?”

“Because it’s our book, Cassie. Yours and mine. This is our story, and I’ll be damned if I let it end badly.”



I know what you’re thinking.

Avoiding party of two?

Our table is ready.

But should you expect anything less confusing from us? This is Thatch and me we’re talking about here. We could have a reality show called Defying Normal.

But at least we are on the same show.



He chuckled softly as his eyes softened to caramel. Nose to nose, all I could see was Thatch’s face highlighted by the soft morning sun. His eyes were gleaming and dark as they studied me. His gaze moved to my lips and stayed there for a beat as he just took me in. His mouth was close. So close that our breaths mingled. And God, I loved his mouth. His full, soft lips. I loved the taste and lush feel of those perfect lips.