Billionaire's Single Mom

I placed their suitcases right inside the door with a smile. Maybe it was a pointless gesture of gallantry, but I hoped Emily would appreciate it.

“Hey, Juniper,” Emily said. “Go upstairs and check on your room. Make sure there’s no water in it.”

“Okay, Mama.” The little girl scurried off with surprising speed.

“You have problems with your roof?” I asked.

Emily shook her head. “I just wanted to get her out of there before this.” She moved forward and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me lightly on the lips.

I was so surprised, I didn’t even have time to deepen the kiss before she pulled away.

“I really do want to thank you for taking me, Logan,” she said softly. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that trip.”

“I only wish I could have spent more time with you.”

“Work is important.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

We stared at each other for an uncomfortably long period. I imagine we might have stayed their longer if Juniper hadn’t come rushing over.

“There’s no water in my room, Mama,” she said, bouncing up and down. “Yay.”

“Well, I better get going,” I said. Juniper rushed over to hug my leg, and I patted her on the head.

“Good night, Mr. Hawkins.”

“Good night, Juniper.”

With that, I waved and sprinted back toward my limo.

Once inside, I spared one last glance at their porch, but Emily had already closed the door.

“Where to, sir?” the chauffeur asked over the intercom.

I glanced at my watch. Against my better judgment, I’d decided to board my boys in a kennel for this trip at the last minute, but it was already too late to go pick them up.

“Home.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the limo pulled away from Emily’s house, my thoughts drifted to her face on the porch and Juniper’s smile.

What happened in Tokyo was supposed to stay in Tokyo.

Screwed. That’s what I was. Completely and utterly screwed.

Maybe before going on the trip to Tokyo, I would have had some sort of chance of pushing Emily out of my mind and heart, but now that I’d slept with her, I might as well have chopped off an arm and pretended it didn’t hurt.

Friends? No way.

I didn’t want to be friends, even friends with benefits, temporary or otherwise. I wanted more than that.

I wanted to wake up with her beside me. I wanted to go to sleep with her beside me. I wanted to come home to her every day.

A lot of people might call that a lot of things, but I prided myself on never lying to myself. I knew exactly what this was. Love.

As Emily had made it clear that what we shared in Tokyo wasn’t coming stateside, I was pretty sure this meant I was doing nothing but breaking my own heart.

There was nothing to be done. I’d taken her halfway across the world on a fun-filled trip, pleased her in bed, and made it clear I was interested, and she wanted nothing more despite all that.