Billionaires Don’t Fall For Awkward Girls by Emma Dalton

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Ally’s really nervous about the concert this weekend,” I tell my mom as we dine on her amazing creamy tomato and spinach pasta. I’d say I’ll miss it, but she’ll probably pack the leftovers away for lunch for me and my friends tomorrow. There’s a rumor going around school that they might replace the new lunch lady. Though I think it’s more than a rumor. The morale at school has not been good ever since my mom left.

“She loves choir, though, doesn’t she?” Mom asks. “And this isn’t her first concert.”

“And she doesn’t even have a solo. But she gets anxious every time. That’s why we’re going to surprise her with a signed copy of her favorite regency romance book! Charlie ordered it a few days ago and it just arrived yesterday. We’re going to discuss the crap out of it at book club.”

Mom grins. “You girls are wonderful friends. I’m so glad you met them, honey. You were so miserable freshman year.”

“The Four Musketeers for life!” I pump my fist over my head.

The bell rings and we exchange a glance. “Dad?” I ask.

“Too early. And he has a key.”

“It’s too late for packages.” I push away from the table and head to the door, peeking into the peephole. I release a small yelp when I see Easton Knight Jr.

“Honey, who is it?” Mom asks.

“Easton Knight.”

“Dad or son?”

“Son.”

She comes out of the kitchen, face full of surprise and shock, probably matching mine.

“Why would he come to our house?” I wonder.

The doorbell rings again.

Mom snaps out of it. “Invite him in, Dani!”

“Right.” I turn the knob and pull the door open, revealing Easton standing there with his hands in his pockets. He looks so put together, so freakin’ sexy and wealthy. He definitely doesn’t look like he belongs in this part of town.

“What are you doing here?”

“Danielle, don’t be rude.” Mom shifts closer to the door and smiles at our guest. “Hello, Easton. How are you?”

He returns the smile. “Hello, Vivian and Dani. I’m doing well. How are you?”

“I’m great. Would you like to come in?”

“Thanks.”

“We’re in the middle of dinner,” she says as I close the door behind him. “Would you like to join us?”

His eyes widen at the food. From the look on his face, it’s obvious he misses my mom’s cooking. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” he says.

“Nonsense. We’d love to have you.”

“Okay, thanks. That’s very generous of you.”

Mom grabs a plate and fills it to the brim with pasta.

“That looks delicious, Vivian. My life’s pretty empty without your cooking.”

Mom’s cheeks grow a little red. “Thanks, hun.”

The three of us settle down at the table and eat. “Amazing,” Easton says, stuffing his face in a way I’ve never seen before. He looks so…normal.

“Sorry for dropping in on you like this,” he says after swallowing. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Let’s finish eating first, all right?” Mom says.

He grins. “You don’t have to even ask.”

“How did you know where we live?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Wasn’t hard to find out.”

“Like, you paid someone to find out?”

“Something like that.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” I mutter.

Easton turns to Mom. “Your daughter thinks I plan to murder her and dump her body in a dumpster.”

Mom’s eyes and mouth grow so wide I bet you can fit California in there.

“I was just kidding,” I say. “Sheesh.”

Mom laughs gently. Then the room grows quiet.

“This pasta is delicious,” Easton says as he stuffs another forkful in his mouth.

“You said that already,” I remind him.

“Awkward silences,” he says with a laugh. “I should be used to them, but…” He shrugs.

Hmm…I wonder what he means by that. Do he and his parents have many awkward silences during dinner?

“May I ask where Mr. Wood is?” Easton asks after another thirty seconds of awkward silence.

“He’s at work,” I tell him. “Won’t be home until much later.”

His brows crease. “Does he always work so late?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Mom says, though she puts on a brave smile. I’ve known for a while that his long working hours worries and upsets her. I can’t remember the last time they went on a romantic date or spent more than a few hours together. Truth is, I barely spend time with him either.

“Too bad,” Easton says as he takes another bite. “I would have loved to meet him.”

We talk about various things, though it’s mostly Mom and Easton. He asks her about her childhood, listening intently as though he’s really interested in whatever she has to say. I find myself more than once watching him instead of eating. Not only because he’s super good-looking, but because…well, I haven’t seen much of his jerk side lately. Have aliens abducted him and probed his brain and transformed him into a nice guy?

He scrapes off every last bit of food from his plate and leans back with a satisfied sigh. “Vivian, you have no idea how much this meal meant to me. Thank you.”

“Would you like more?” she asks.

His eyes light up at the thought. “Do you have enough?”

“Of course!” Mom reaches for his plate and happily heads over to the stove to scoop up another helping.

“It’s disconcerting to eat when someone’s watching me,” Easton says.

I blink. “What?”

He turns to me with a smirk teasing his lips. “You were staring at me.”

“I was not!”

“You were.”

“You’re delusional. You think you’re so good-looking that every girl just stops what they’re doing and stares at you?”

He smiles to himself. “You said it.”

“I so did not!”

“Are we doing this again?”

Mom returns to the table with a huge helping of pasta for Easton. He still has a smile on his face, and for some reason, my lips twitch with a small smile as well. Because that arguing with Easton just now? It was kind of…fun.

No. No. No. Isn’t this guy my sworn enemy? Am I just supposed to forget the way he treated me?

“What were you two talking about?” Mom asks as she sits down with a second helping for herself.

“Nothing,” I say.

“Your daughter’s cute,” he says.

I drop my fork, my eyes bugging out.

Mom smiles lovingly at me. “I agree.”

“She looks a lot like you,” Easton says as his eyes travel between us. “It’s hard to see it at first, but the more time I spend with you, the more I see it. You guys are very beautiful. Like mother like daughter.”

Again, Mom smiles lovingly at me and thanks Easton before digging into her food. I eat my food too, but my mind has left my body. Because all this…I’ve definitely fallen into an alternate reality. One where my sworn enemy not only eats at my house, but he calls me cute and then compliments my mom and me?

When we’re done eating, Easton offers to help with the cleanup, which Mom declines. He’s adamant, though. Huh. I seriously doubt he cleans up after himself or other people at home. Why is he being so nice? It’s making me so confused.

“Can we talk now?” Easton asks.

“Sure,” Mom says. “I’ll get us dessert.”

Easton’s eyes light up. I know how he feels—the school lunch lady refuses to offer us any dessert, other than an apple or banana, but does that even count? When Mom returns to the table with her famous chocolate cake, I can practically see him salivating. Which kind of makes him look endearing…

I shake my head. Nope. Not going there.

As we dig into our cake, Easton says, “Vivian, you haven’t found a new job, have you?”

Mom shakes her head. “Not yet.”

“Great.”

My jaw falls open. “Great?”

He holds out his hand, motioning for me to be patient. “I have an offer for you.”

Mom gapes at him. “An offer?”

“Yes. My family’s chef has decided to retire from his position, and it seems we are in need of a new chef. I’d like to offer the position to you.”

Mom just continues gaping at him. I do too. Is he serious?

Easton’s eyes flit between Mom and me, and he laughs softly. “Are any of you going to say anything?”

“Quit messing with us,” I say as I push away my dessert plate. “It’s not funny.”

“I’m serious,” he says in an earnest tone. “I spoke to my parents about it and they agreed to have you come in for a trial period. A week. If they like your food, they’ll hire you.”

Mom just continues sitting there in shock. Me? I’m a mix of suspicion and disbelief. My sworn enemy just offered my mom a job, at his freaking mansion. To work for one of the richest people in the world.

But how many times do I have to remind myself that he’s not the jerk I thought he was?

I stretch over the table to place my hand on Mom’s. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I think I’m dreaming,” she murmurs, as still as a statue. “Pinch me, Dani. I need to wake up.”

Easton chuckles softly. “This isn’t a dream. I promise.”

Mom finally snaps out of it and gets a serious expression. “Thank you for the offer, Easton, but I’m not a professional chef. I didn’t go to culinary school or have any training or worked in a restaurant. The only experience I have is working at a school kitchen.” She laughs lightly. “Not the best resume.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Easton says. “I love your cooking and I know my parents will love it as well. Look, don’t stress out about being a professional gourmet chef. That’s not why I’m hiring you. I’m hiring you because of the way you cook. There’s something about your cooking, something that was missing from Jean-Paul’s…” His eyes get a faraway look, as though he’s in deep contemplation. “Love,” he finally says with a smile. “That’s what makes your cooking magic. I can feel the love when I eat your food.”

Mom just gapes at him, her cheeks growing pink. “Oh my. I don’t know what to say.”

“Please say yes,” he urges. “I’d love to have you as our family chef. And the pay is good. My family treats our staff very respectfully. I think you’d be very happy working for us.”

Mom’s wide eyes sprint to mine. “What do you think, Dani?”

“Me?”

“I always love hearing your opinion.”

I glance at Easton, noting the eager look on his face. “I say go for it,” I tell Mom with a smile. “I don’t think you’ll have an opportunity like this again.”

Tears gather in her eyes as she focuses back on Easton. “Easton, this is so very kind of you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Can I hug you?”

“Sure.”

They both stand and Mom walks around the table to envelop him in her arms. He’s a lot taller than her, so he has to bend slightly, but the way he holds onto her? Almost as though he doesn’t hug people often. Or rather, it’s almost as if he doesn’t receive many hugs.

“Thank you,” Mom whispers. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Easton.”

“Like I said, it’s my pleasure, Vivian. You deserve it.”

Mom offers to pack away some food for Easton, to which he immediately accepts. She’s got tears streaming down her cheeks, and no matter how many times she wipes them, they never end. I smile as I watch how happy she is. My own eyes fill with tears. This can’t be real, right? Maybe I’m the one dreaming.

“Thanks for the food.” Easton tucks the container under his arm. “I doubt it’ll last a day in the fridge,” he adds with a laugh.

“You’re welcome to eat here any time,” Mom says, then she laughs. “Actually, you’ll be eating my food at your own home now.”

We chuckle.

“Can you start right away?” Easton asks. “Tomorrow at seven?”

“Yes! I’ll be there.”

“Okay. I’ll write down my address for you.” He scribbles it down on the notepad on the fridge and hands it to Mom. She clutches it like it’s the most important thing she’s ever held in her life.

“Thanks so much again, Easton. Dani will walk you out.”

I will? I guess I will.

He follows me toward the door, where I open it. Then we just stand there, the container tucked carefully under his arm.

“Well, good night,” he says as he turns to go.

“Easton?”

He whips around. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for…everything. It was very cool of you.”

He waves his hand. “Don’t mention it. I’ll see you at school. Good night.”

“Good night.”

I watch him slip his phone out of his pocket and call his driver to pick him up. It doesn’t take long for the fancy black car to arrive. The driver tips his hat before opening the door for him, offering to take the container. But Easton holds onto it like it’s his most precious possession.

I watch the car until it’s out of sight.

Mom and I video chat with dad to tell him the good news. He’s just as shocked and excited as us.

Then I toss and turn all night, my thoughts one big jumbled mess.