Breathless: In Love With an Alpha Billionaire (Breathless 1)

"That’s a fine welcome," he laughed, entering the house without an invitation.

"Don’t you have some work to do, or something? Anything besides showing up here? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing’s wrong. I just thought I would swing by and see the kids."

It definitely was not like him to come by on his off weekend. "Well, you kind of picked the wrong time to make an unexpected visit. We’re going out."

"Oh? Where to?" He asked, glancing around the house.

“It’s not any of your business where I’m going, but, if you must be nosey, we’re going to the park," I blurted out and rolled my eyes to the heavens.

"It’s been ages since I’ve been to a park. Is Jacob going?"

"No, just me and the kids."

"Care if I tag along?"

"Yes, I do care," I snapped. "This is time for just the three of us. I don’t interfere with your plans and I would appreciate you not interfering with mine."

I quickly glanced down the hall to make sure the kids weren’t listening.

"Now…" I lowered my voice, "If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you would leave. I would like to get on with my weekend."

Montie stood firm…unwavering.

Junior came out of the bathroom. His eyes focused on Montie Sr. and grew in size. "Daddy!" he called, running and crashing into Montie.

"Hey, buddy." Montie smiled at me and kissed our son on the forehead.

“Junior, where’s your sister?" I asked.

"She’s waiting for you in the bathroom," he said and turned back to Montie. "Are you coming with us to the park?"

My heart fell the minute I heard him ask the question.

"Junior, he is too busy today," I said, glaring at Montie.

"Oh…" Junior’s lips went into pouting formation.

"I’m never too busy for you, son," Montie said, pulling him into a hug. “I’d love to go to the park with you guys. That’s if it’s okay with your mother.”

My jaw dropped, and I stormed down the hall to go help Montana. Montie was weaseling his way into my plans with the kids and I couldn’t do anything about it without looking like an ass.

Thirty minutes later, I pushed Montana while Montie Sr. pushed Junior on the swings. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, but I was wondering why Montie Sr. was even there. Periodically, he glanced at me and winked or smiled, which caught me off guard. This wasn’t the way my day was supposed to go.

After the swings, the kids wanted to go down the slide again. I hung back, letting them play and kicked myself for getting caught up on this faux family day.

"Thank you so much for inviting me," Montie said.

I glared at him. "I didn’t…our son did."

He shrugged, "You didn’t do anything to stop it, so I figured you must have been okay with it."

"What could I say, Montie? I wasn’t going to let Junior down, even though the last thing I wanted was for you to come along. I wanted some time alone with the kids…something you always get and I never get."

"That’s by your own choice," he shot back. "You have them far more time than I do, but you bring Jacob into the picture and choose to allow him to tag along with you and the kids wherever you go."

Montie was punishing me for trying to be happy and that bothered me. "The point is, I don’t understand why you’re here," I hissed between my teeth.