Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(60)

After the second cup of coffee was down, she left Lily with a coloring book and took a quick shower before she got dressed. Then she helped Lily get ready for the day. She had no plans this afternoon, as she wasn’t working. The day was overcast but not too cold, so maybe they’d go to the park. First, she had to check her mail.

Opening the box, she found an envelope inside. There was no return address, no postage, just her name scrawled on it, almost unrecognizable. Her curiosity was certainly piqued.

She turned it over in her hands and wondered who it could be from. She hadn’t been out much since she’d moved home and hadn’t visited nearly enough people. It had been a long time since she’d wanted to establish roots, and she was almost afraid to do it now. Because, if she got too attached to being here again and things went really south when it came to her and Kian, she’d have to leave. Having friends here would make her realize how alone she truly was in the rest of the world. Roxie wasn’t sure she could handle that right now, not in the fragile state she was allowing herself to get into.

Walking back into her kitchen, she checked on Lily, who was happily scribbling in her coloring book, and then she sat at the table and picked up another doughnut, not even feeling guilty about consuming so many calories. She’d definitely burned enough the night before. Her thighs were burning from all the exertion. Sex really should be listed as a form of exercise, as she’d never been as sore from a workout at the gym as she was from a rowdy night of sex.

Opening the envelope, she pulled out a single piece of paper. There was a short note:

Meet me at the bakery at three for a date. Wear sexy panties I can imagine ripping off you.

With love,

Kian

Heat suffused Roxie’s cheeks as she looked over her shoulder where Lily was still in her own little world. Even if her niece had been there looking at the note, it wasn’t as if she could read yet. Still, after reading it one more time, Roxie tucked the note away.

It was silly, really. It didn’t mean anything. They’d sent sex messages the night before. But this was different. This was a . . . well, sort of a date. He hadn’t said whether or not to bring Lily, but she was assuming she should. But would Roxie go?

She wanted to go. She found she really wanted to go. Before she could stop it, she found a girlish giggle escaping her mouth. The sound was so foreign, it shocked her into instant silence. Then she found herself giggling again. Lily looked up from the couch and walked over to her, a big smile on her face.

“What’s funny?” she asked. She spotted the doughnut in her aunt’s hand and climbed back up into a chair and grabbed one for herself.

“Oh, I just got a silly note,” Roxie said.

“Note?” Lily repeated.

“Yep, a note,” she said.

Lily quickly lost interest after she took a bite of her doughnut. Roxie was grateful they were on the last two, because had there been more in there, she feared the two of them would have polished off another half dozen. Then she realized Kian wanted to take her back to the bakery later that afternoon. Was the man trying to make her gain twenty pounds? Maybe. That way, she wouldn’t be able to run away from him.

Before she was able to think about it too much, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number on her caller ID and thought about letting it go to voice mail, but she could really use a distraction right about now, so she answered.

“Roxie?” the person said after only a second. She hadn’t had time to give a greeting.

“This is Roxie,” she said, not recognizing the voice.

“Oh, good, this is Sal,” the man said, and now she recognized his voice clearly.

“Hi, Sal, how can I help you?” She searched her memory but didn’t think she was missing an appointment.

“I wanted to see if you could come out to the doc’s a little early and help out,” Sal said.

“What do you mean?”

“We’re having a thank-you for the volunteers on Saturday, and there’s a lot of work involved. Wanna come help?” He might be posing it as a question, but Roxie knew why people had Sal calling for volunteers. His voice demanded an assent.

“I guess I don’t have anything going on,” she said hesitantly. “But I do have Lily.”

“Perfect. We have lots of people that can’t do any heavy lifting but love to hang with the kiddos.”

The phone went dead. Roxie looked at it and wondered if they’d been disconnected, or if Sal had just finished with the call and moved on to the next one. She shrugged and guessed she was going out to Evan’s house.

As soon as she told Lily, the child lit up. She was going to get to see the piglets again, and she was all for that. At least she’d be able to burn off all the sugar she’d consumed for breakfast. She hoped her niece didn’t think that was going to be a morning ritual from now on. It was normally eggs and toast or cereal. Never sugar goodness, though Roxie wouldn’t mind that too much.

It didn’t take her long to drive out to Evan’s, and she was barely out of her car before Eden was rushing up to her.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, her cheeks flushed as she practically bounced on her toes.

“Why?” Roxie asked.

Eden rolled her eyes. “Because the old ladies are driving me nuts with their meddling, and I need someone else for them to focus their attention on,” Eden answered honestly. Roxie felt the blood run from her face. She didn’t need anyone trying to match her up with someone. That would be a nightmare.