Chapter 22: The Renegade Billionaire: Chapter 22

Sage is already in the kitchen when I come downstairs at the crack of dawn. I haven’t seen much of him over the past week. He’s mostly kept to himself, but I can tell he’s bored out of his mind.

“Hey, Sage. Oh my Lord. What’s that smell?”

He looks up from whatever he’s watching in the oven and waggles his fingers at me. “I heard about Uncle Braxton’s disastrous attempt at a soufflé. You’ve been so…” He turns back to the oven. “You’ve just been really good to us, and you’re working so much, so I thought I’d do something I know neither of my uncles can do. I cooked you breakfast.”

“You made a soufflé? Sage, it’s five in the morning. What time did you get up?”

He shrugs, and it’s so strange to see. He’s the size of a man but with the fragility of a child.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping.”

“Is it the room? What can I change? How can I help?”

He angles his face toward me with a soft but sad expression. “You’ve done everything perfectly, Miss take-care-of-everyone-else-and-forget-about-yourself.”

I don’t appreciate being called out by a teenager, even if he is right.

“Then what’s keeping you up?”

He turns the oven off and cracks the door a quarter of an inch, then joins me at the island.

“Honestly?”

I flash my best “duh” face, and he laughs.

“Okay, I’m bored, like so bored my eyeballs hurt. And that’s not your fault, so shut down all the things running through your mind about how you’ll entertain me. It’s just that, I graduated high school at fourteen. I’ve been taking classes at community college because I wasn’t ready for anything else, and my uncles and Ace supported that.

“But coming here means I don’t get to go to campus, and I don’t really know what to do with myself because I finished all the coursework weeks ago. Now Pops and Grey have come to some sort of truce, so I don’t even have their trolling each other to keep me entertained.”

Wow. When he shares, he really opens up. I already thought I liked this kid, but now I know I could love him.

“Well Mr. Smarty-pants, that sounds one hundred percent reasonable. Do you want to take classes while you’re here? Happiness U is a great university, and I know some of the professors.”

“I appreciate it, but it’s already November. I wouldn’t be able to start until January, and Uncle Brax only has to be here until the end of March, so I don’t know what we’ll do after that.”

My stomach cramps as I force down my gag reflex. Somehow, I keep forgetting that Braxton is temporary.

“Mm-hmm. I forgot.” My voice cracks the silence louder than a bullfrog in the dead of night. “Have you ever had a job before?”

He traces a shape in the island granite.

“There’s no judgment in that question, Sage. I never had a job until I was older. Not because I was lazy, but because I spent every waking hour playing field hockey so I could get a scholarship to college. That was my job. There are lots of reasons kids don’t have jobs until college or after.”

“I bet you were great at field hockey.”

The compliment is so unexpected, I don’t know how to respond.

“You got that scholarship, right?”

I nod and bite my tongue to keep the tears at bay. I hate myself in this moment. It’s been years. I’m over this.

“Hey, I’m sorry⁠—”

“No, it’s okay,” I sniffle. “Really. I did get my scholarship. But some stuff happened that caused a real mess my freshman year, so the university I was attending asked me to leave the team, without my scholarship.”

“What?” His indignation on my behalf is charming. “How can they do that?”

“It’s a long story for another time. Now let’s discuss you coming to work with me today.”

“Oh my God. Are you serious? Yes, yes, please, yes.” He clasps his hands together in front of his face, flashing puppy dog eyes he must have learned from Braxton.

His enthusiasm has my tears drying and laughter escaping my lips.

“We have to ask your uncles first.”

“Ugh. Then let’s go to Brax first. I love them both, but Uncle Grey can be a real hard-ass.”

“It’s because he loves you,” Braxton says with sleep still in his sexy voice.

We both turn toward Braxton, standing in the doorway. His hair’s a mess, and his sleep pants hang low on his hips. When he runs a hand down his chest to scratch his belly, I feel my internal body temperature skyrocket.

He doesn’t usually walk around shirtless, and try as I might, I can’t look away. The man is all lean muscle that pulls taut as he stretches over his head, causing his pants to slip just the tiniest bit more.

That’s too much to handle, so I focus on making some coffee.

“What are you doing up?” I ask without facing him.

“I was hungry, and I heard you close your door. I was afraid you were trying to sneak out early again today.” His words shift my hair, and I nearly jump out of my skin when he presses that naked chest into my back, reaches over me and pulls down the coffee mug he uses every day.

It has a picture of twelve-year-old me on it with a chipped tooth I got in a field hockey game.

Peering over my shoulder, I study him as he scans the mug, and when he lifts his gaze to mine, I return to my duty. What was I doing? Coffee, right.

“Um, would it be okay if Sage came to work with me today at the Chug? He’s kind of bored, and I thought it might be good for him to meet some folks.”

He lifts a chunk of my hair and pulls it back over my shoulder before leaning in, apparently not at all embarrassed to be this close to me in front of his nephew.

“I think that sounds like a great idea.”

“But will Uncle Grey?” Sage asks.

“Will Uncle Grey what?” the man in question repeats.

I gasp and slip beside Braxton instead of in front of him.

“I want to go to work with Madi at the Chug today.”

“Why are you all up so early? If I wasn’t working, you couldn’t drag me out at this hour.” I say before Grey can answer.

“I get up to work out at four every morning,” Grey says, studying my face.

I hadn’t even noticed that he walked in wearing gym shorts and nothing else, but once you see it, it’s kind of hard to forget.

“Did you guys all win the gene pool lottery or something?” I mutter.

“Hardly.” Grey snorts. He’s relaxed since he’s been here. A little, anyway. I’m not sure he knows what relaxing truly means though. “Brax seemed to really enjoy being at the Chug, so I don’t see any reason you can’t go. See? I’m not always an ogre.”

It’s self-deprecating, but there’s no mistaking the love he has for his nephew.

“Not always.” Sage smirks. “But most of the time. I’m going to shower. What time are we leaving, Madi?”

“In about an hour? Does that work? Clover, Savvy, and I are all recording today, so we’re trying to get it done before too many customers arrive.”

“Recording?” Grey asks, taking the mug of coffee that Braxton hands him.

“Yeah, my best friends and I all run fairly successful podcasts out of the Chug.”

“And Savvy is one of those friends?” Grey mutters.

Things have been nonstop since they moved in, and I haven’t had the time to properly grill Savvy on what went down at the fundraiser between her and Grey, but I need to rectify that soon. Today probably won’t work since I’ll have Sage in tow.

“Yes, actually. Her podcast Can We Talk About That? is consistently in the top three of her genre.”

“Which is?” Grey asks without glancing up from his coffee mug.

“She’s a sex therapist,” Sage blurts. “I’ve been listening to her show for years.”

“You what?” Braxton is the first to jump in, but Grey is right behind him.

“Is that appropriate for teenagers?” Grey asks with fire in his tone.

Staunch loyalty flares in me, and I stick a hand on my hip. Admittedly I take a little bit of strength from Braxton’s hand on my lower back, but mostly, my indignation is for my friend. “Listen up, it is not Savvy’s fault if you didn’t have parental controls set on his devices. She has a well-respected show, and she’s helped a lot of people. She’s saved so many relationships too, so don’t go placing blame where it doesn’t belong.”

“That’s not⁠—”

“Yes, it is, Uncle Grey. And she’s right,” Sage interrupts while moving toward the door. He pauses just inside the threshold. “Out of curiosity, what’s Clover’s called?”

“Flirting with Fear,” I say with pride. “She writes bestselling thrillers but scares the crap out of herself while doing it.”

Sage allows the door to close, but I hear his laughter all the way up the stairs.

“I’m protective of him,” Grey says quietly.

“We both are,” Braxton continues, “but Madison wouldn’t take him somewhere he’d be treated poorly.”

“Why would he be treated poorly?” I ask.

This time, Grey lifts his head and sears me with his gaze. “His birth was famous for all the wrong reasons, and where we live, it followed him. He’s also way smarter than either of us, so he’s never fit in well with his peers because he didn’t know how to interact with kids his own age and the kids in classes with him were several years older.”

“That might’ve been our fault. We were kids helping raise a kid, but we did the best we could.” Braxton’s expression is full of concern.

“He’s a good kid,” I say gently. “And sure, mean kids exist everywhere, but I can assure you, that won’t happen at the Chug. That space is mine, and I’ve worked hard to keep it with the theme of our town.”

Grey scrutinizes me for long seconds, then he blinks and nods. “Thank you. It’ll be good for him to get out.”

“Anytime. Sage made breakfast—it’s in the oven. I’m going to get ready for the day. I’ll see you boys later.”

I make it to the stairs before hands at my waist pull me to a stop.

Braxton slowly turns me. Standing two steps above him brings us eye to eye. He doesn’t speak, and I attempt not to breathe, morning breath and all. But when he leans in, thoughts of toothpaste slip my mind. His lips are gentle but demanding against my own, and my body releases tension when he cradles my face.

The kiss is far too short for my liking, but when he rests his forehead against mine, it feels more intimate than the kiss.

“Thank you for being so understanding. It’s been a long time since we’ve let anyone into our lives. It won’t be easy for them—we haven’t had much luck with trusting people.”

“Me either, but I meant what I said. Sage is a good kid—I’d never let anyone hurt him.”

He nods and swipes my nose with the side of his. “I know.”

“Ah, thank you,” I say when he steps back.

He tilts his head as though he’s confused. “For what?”

“The kiss?” My face flames with embarrassment.

His eyes light up brighter than the stars. “No, sunshine, thank you, because I’d very much enjoy doing it again. And again.”

I reach for the elastic around my wrist and have to settle for squeezing it when I remember I left the elastic on my nightstand. “Is that a good idea though? With everything going on and you leaving in March. It seems as though maybe we’re setting ourselves up for…for something not great.”

He stares at me full of kindness and a hope I haven’t experienced in years. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know Ace wanted me to be happy, and I am for the first time in a very long time. That’s not something I can just give up on.”

I bite my lip because it’s neither a declaration nor an explanation of what we’re doing.

“Right,” I manage because what the heck do I say? “I’m going to get ready.”

“I want to take you on a date. A real date.”

I miss the next stair and fall to my knees.

“Jesus,” he says, taking two stairs at a time to check my kneecaps. “It’s just a date, sunshine. I don’t need you on your knees for me…yet.”

My chin literally unhinges as every piece of my brain short-circuits.

Is Braxton Reyes a dirty talker?

“What happened? You okay, Mads?” Pops asks, deflating our moment like a sad clown balloon.

“Yup. Just tripped. I’m taking Sage to work with me today. You, ah, stay out of trouble, okay?” I hop up and take the remaining stairs two at a time.

Air. I need air.

I don’t need you on your knees for me…yet.

Ovaries exploding, nipples pebbling, thighs clenching.

My libido is all in for a date with Braxton. But can my battered heart handle it?