Page 27 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
I put the line up to my mouth, trapping it in my back teeth, and gnawed on it until it snapped loose. The bat fluttered ungraciously away. We were left standingwaytoo close for a casual encounter.
Even through my T-shirt, I could feel her frantic breath rush hot against my chest.
Yeah, I definitely like bats.
“He’s gone,” I whispered a little mournfully because it would only be seconds, and we’d have to act appropriately again. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she looked up, hooking her eyes on mine, and they seemed to penetrate right through me like she had laser eye surgery. But not the kind that optically improved your vision. The kind that threatened me with actual lasers if I dared to move.
Not even a little extreme in my description. I was frozen—with fear of the lasers—totally afraid to move.
She didn’t budge.
And I didn’t budge.
Not even a toe.
Her body was still sandwiched against mine, and I could feel her heart racing from the bat attack.
My heartbeat competed with hers and was just as fast.
Mine wasn’t racing from the bat.
I wasn’t afraid of that bat.
I still really loved that bat. He was like my bro.
My heart was pounding because something was happening. Like a swelling, my heart was being pumped full of tiny seeds, tasked with the sole job of making my feelings about Atalie . . .complicated.Her arms were still wrapped around my waist, but she had loosened her stabby grip. It was comfortable holding her like this.
Actually, I enjoyed it.
When I looked back at her, I saw her with new eyes.
A beautiful, kind woman who had followed me to afreakingswamp. If this was a movie, violins would have chimed in, and butterflies would have risen from the ground as they fluttered around, framing our embrace.
It was a magical moment.
Sheruinedit by clearing her throat and stepping back. Rubbing her forehead like she was trying to hide her face behind her hand, she murmured, “Wow, that was crazy.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, wondering what had happened to our magical moment. My arms were still tingling from where her body had rested against mine. In a disappointed voice, I asked, “I wonder if he’s going to come back.”
Her eyes grew again, and before I could talk her out of it, she fled back up the riverbank, calling behind her, “I’m not going to stay to find out!”
“Yeah, that would be horrible,” I mumbled in partial agreement, as I picked up the poles, following her.
Not horrible.
Massive fan of bats.
Fourteen
Trey
Itwasduskbythe time we headed back, but we didn’t get far before Atalie stopped on the trail. Hanging her head low, she panted out, “I have a super sensitive stomach and the lack of food is making me sick. I need to rest for a second.”
“Ah, okay . . .” I looked around the trail, glossing over the piles of decayed leaves and overgrown brush until I spotted a large fallen log behind us. “Do you want to hang out here for a rest?”
She fanned her face, like she was fighting back waves of nausea. “Yeah, I need to give it a second and then I will be fine.” We moved in unison toward the log and sat next to each other, looking straight ahead like two strangers waiting at the bus stop. “I’m confused,” she started, in between her measured breaths. “When will you talk to Robert if he’s off with his woman?”
“I’ll talk to him tonight after she goes to bed,” I answered assuredly. The weird thing was even though I came here to see Robert, it didn’t bother me that he was busy. I found myself enjoying my time with Atalie.
