Yours Truly (Billionaires and Brides 2)

“Seriously?” AJ chuckled.

“Yes, and I know that’s a weird thing to admit to someone you just met, but...” she grinned. “It’s a good conversation starter.”

“That it is. Any houseplant?” AJ asked.

“All kinds. I’ve killed cacti, palm fronds, trees, flowers, shrubs, and I even managed to kill a fake orchid,” she said, putting up fingers with each kill.

“You killed a fake orchid?” he asked. “Isn’t it already dead because it’s fake?”

“I managed to light it on fire.”

“With a lighter?” He was completely intrigued by this woman. This was possibly the most entertaining conversation he’d had all week.

“With a glass of water.” She blushed and bit her lip. “I set a glass of water next to the window, and it acted like a magnifying glass and lit the fake flower on fire.”

“I didn’t even know that was possible,” AJ admitted.

“Neither did I,” Kat said. “I’m pretty sure it’s pretty close to impossible, but when it comes to me and plants, I have the black thumb of death.”

AJ laughed. “How are you with outdoor plants?”

“Not much better,” Kat admitted. “Luckily, I live in an apartment right now, so I’m not responsible for any. But, growing up, I wasn’t allowed to do anything with the lawn.”

“That would have made it hard to go outside,” AJ said, feeling completely at ease with her. “How did you play outside?”

“My dad sent me over to the neighbor’s house quite a bit. Which was fine with me, since my best friend lived next door,” Kat explained. “Luckily, her mom had an amazing green thumb that was able to combat short periods of time with my black one.”

AJ laughed. For the first time in weeks, no months, he could feel himself smiling. He had forgotten how good it felt just to laugh.

“Do any of your siblings suffer from this curse?” AJ asked.

“I’m the only one,” she admitted. “My younger sister has no plant-killing abilities that I’m aware of.”

“So, you have a younger sister? Are the two of you close?” AJ loved that he was getting to know her. He was attracted to her body, but the longer they spoke, the more he wanted to know what was going on inside her mind.

“As much as we can be,” Kat said with a shrug. “She’s ten years younger than I am, so she’s just getting ready to graduate high school. She’s an awesome kid, but I just don’t get to see her that much.”

“That must be hard,” AJ commented, thinking of his own brothers. “I have two younger brothers. They’re two and four years younger than me, so we used to do everything together.”

“Do you get to see them often?” Kat asked. Her knee bumped against his and his heart sped up a little at the innocent touch. He wanted it to become something much less innocent.

“Not as much as I’d like,” AJ replied. “I’m so busy with my work and they’re both successful in their own lives.”

“What do they do?” Kat asked, appearing genuinely interested.

“Chris is just finishing up law school and Frank is a stay at home dad to two amazing girls,” AJ told her.

“It must be nice to have nieces,” Kat remarked. “I loved going home and getting to be a kid again with my brother.”

“They’re the best. Melanie is so smart you wouldn’t believe it and Meredith is already walking,” he gushed. He was about to rattle off more about them before he caught himself. She just met him, she didn’t want to hear all that. “But, you probably don’t want to hear me talk about them.”

Kat smiled. “Actually, I think I do. They obviously make you happy.”

He grinned. He could talk about his family for hours if anyone let him. Especially Frank’s two girls. He couldn’t wait to have children of his own, though he made sure to keep that information on the down-low. He tried to keep his personal life as private as possible.

“Sir, ma’am,” the driver interrupted, saving Kat from AJ telling her his niece’s life stories. “We’ve arrived at the park.”

“We’d like to just sit here, if that’s okay,” Kat told him. AJ liked how she took charge.