Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Roadside Assistance (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free Page B

but asked for the best, so it was brought to me.”
    Jack grinned before taking a long swallow of her beer. Her slim throat worked as she swallowed, and for a moment Lathan forgot what the hell he was doing. Just one tug of that long ponytail and he could expose that pretty skin.
    “So, you want me to take care of her or not?” Jeremy asked.
    Lathan cleared his throat and tore his gaze from Jack. “That would be good, thanks!”
    “Well, since that’s settled, Jack, drop it in bay one, and I’ll start on it first thing in the morning. Now, I need my beauty sleep, so I’m going back to bed. Jack, can I see you for a minute first?”
    “Sure.”
    They stepped into the kitchen and, yes, it was rude, but Lathan listened in.

    Jeremy scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Stony Hollow Rehabilitation called today. They want to know what our plan is for Dad.”
    She braced her hands on the counter as she leaned back against the sink. “He’s staying in the home.”
    “Did you find a pot of gold I don’t know about?”
    “I’ll figure it out.”
    “We have enough for three months. We need to have an alternate plan before time is up.”
    “We can sell a truck.”
    “We could, but I don’t think downsizing is the way to go. We need to start considering other places.”
    A pang in her chest made her wince. “The other places sucked.”
    He sighed. “I know. Look, we’ll figure it out. I just wanted you to know.”
    Before she let it get to her, before she let the burden drop in the middle of her chest, yet again, she reached for the fridge. “I need another beer.”
    He nodded to the living room. “Don’t get loaded around that guy. I’m not sure I like the way he looks at you.”
    She snorted and popped the top off of both beers she’d pulled out. “I’m twenty-eight. Let the big-brother routine go.”
    He tugged her ponytail, something that used to drive her nuts, but now that he did it less and less, she found comforting. It was the little things that told her she wasn’t alone in this. She may be practically an orphan, but she had Jeremy. “Never, brat.”
    She kissed his cheek. “Pinhead.” Then she left him standing in the kitchen and returned to her guest.
    She took a guess by grabbing two beers. If Lathan didn’t need another one yet, well, he would just have to catch up. Her steps faltered when she spotted him lounging on the leather sofa, his ankle crossed over his knee, one hand over the back of the couch, the other holding his beer as it rested on his knee.
    Her eyes locked on his and there it was again. The heat. The attraction. The thousand different ways they were mismatched and the chemistry that just didn’t care about logic.
    She stopped before him, her steel-toed boot bumping into his impossibly shiny dress shoe with who knew what designer name. She didn’t know about these things and didn’t care. She probably couldn’t pronounce it anyway.
    “More?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    She bent to set her beer on the slate coffee table and out of the corner of her eye caught the way his gaze flickered down her shirt as she did. Not much to see there. She wasn’t flat, but Sports Illustrated certainly wasn’t calling either.
    “Here, I’ll take that.” She reached for his empty beer and, as she handed him the fresh one, their fingers brushed. His lingered. All the female parts of her she’d tried to suppress since she met him flared to life. It didn’t matter what lie she told herself. Her body wanted him.
    Breaking the contact, she took the empty to the kitchen and returned. Not one to play coy, she grabbed her beer and dropped to the cushion next to him. Why fight it? She might was well enjoy the zing while he was here. He would be gone soon enough.
    “What are we doing?” she asked, and took a long drink.
    “Just enjoying a cold drink and each other’s company.”
    “This is a shit idea.”
    “Maybe, but only one way to find out. So what’s the deal with your dad?”
    “How