The Billionaire Boyfriend Proposal: A Kavanagh Family Novel by Kendra Little Page A

course I'd paid for repairs. Lyle didn't care
about the house. If I didn't want the roof to leak, I had to
organize a roofer. If a pipe burst, I got a plumber in to fix it
and never bothered Lyle with the invoice. There was just no
point.
    "You'd better get it squared off with Reece
first," I told him.
    "He'll be okay."
    "You don't know until you ask him."
    "He's a bazillionaire, remember? Don't worry
about Reece's reaction. He'll pay for it and he'll be happy about
it. Cleo has changed him."
    I nodded slowly. Cleo had changed
Reece. It was a minor miracle. Actually it was a major one. Just as
long as he didn't revert back to his old ways once the first glow
of new love wore off. "You're right. Best to get in now while the
going's good."
    He frowned at me. "That's not what I
meant."
    "Come on," Robbie said. "Come down and have a
look at what Blake did while we were in class." He stood and picked
up the pizza box with two slices still in it and led the way to the
summer house, munching the whole way.
    The place already looked a thousand times
better. Gone was the clutter and the broken furniture from the
Seventies. What was left was still old, but at least the bed
wouldn't give out as soon as Robbie lay on it. The little cottage
had potential. Blake outlined his ideas in more detail as we walked
from room to room. They were good ideas, but lacked a feminine
touch and artistic flare. It was all neutrals and blandness.
    "When it comes to picking new curtains, I
want to see the samples," I said. "Same goes for paint colors."
    Blake lowered his lashes and I got a tingling
sensation over my skin as he watched me. "I'll be sure to consult
you on everything."
    It was difficult to gauge how he felt about
me butting in. I guess he wasn't happy to have to consult someone
else, and me of all people. Too bad. I didn't care who owned the
property. The house was a West house at heart and always would
be.
    We spent the evening on the porch, listening
for intruders. At least, that's what I was doing. Blake and Robbie
were chatting quietly. Mostly Robbie was talking about his brother,
his gang and the mother who abandoned him when he was fifteen.
Skull had already spent twelve months in jail for theft, getting
off lightly because it hadn't been aggravated and there were no
weapons involved.
    Robbie asked Blake questions about his time
in the army, but Blake's answers were brief and gave nothing away.
I tried to pretend I wasn't interested, but I couldn't deny the way
I stopped breathing every time Robbie asked something, and started
again every time Blake brushed him off.
    Finally Robbie said goodnight. We watched him
disappear across the lawn, his flashlight bobbing like a firefly in
time with his steps. It was just Blake and me now.
    "I thought he'd never leave," he said,
getting up. He sat down beside me on the swing chair.
    Oh crap. What did he want? Was he going to
kiss me?
    Did I have enough resilience to say no?
    To my horror, he began gripping his T-shirt
at his shoulder blades. Next thing I knew, he was drawing it off
over his head. He sat there, semi-naked, in all his muscled glory
looking like a buzz cut version of Hercules.
    How was a girl supposed to not sink
her teeth into shoulders like those?

CHAPTER 5
     
     
    "Cassie?" Blake glanced at me over his
shoulder. "Can you take a look?"
    Oh yeah, I was looking. I couldn't stop.
Every small movement caused the straps of muscles in his back to
flex and release. It was mesmerizing. I wanted to lay my cheek
against his skin and feel the hard knots and the warmth. Or better
yet, press my lips to his broad back and circle my arms around his
waist.
    Somehow I collected myself. "The rules…you
promised…no touching."
    "I'm not asking you to touch me, just look."
His eyes crinkled at the corners.
    "Ummmm…" Looking was harmless, right? Wrong.
Not when the body I was looking at belonged to Blake.
    "Can you see if there's a bruise where Skull
hit me with the club?"
    Okay, no problem. I