Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires #3) by Lauren Asher

“You better not or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Pray you never have to find out.”





I kick the flat tire before teetering on my heels. My arms flail, but I catch my balance before I fall flat on my ass and drop the Tupperware of cocadas I spent a majority of last night making for Cami’s graduation event.

“Is everything okay, Mommy?”

I take a deep breath through my nose before turning around and facing Cami. She looks adorable with her tilted graduation cap and miniature gown that drags across the floor behind her like a wedding dress. If I had paid attention to my mom’s sewing lessons, maybe I would have been able to adjust the hem for her.

The same heaviness that has been present since this morning grows stronger at the reminder of my mom.

Te extraño muchísimo, Mami.

“I need to ask for someone to pick us up.” No way will I be able to change a tire by myself.

The smile on her face dims. “Will we be late?”

I check the time on my phone. “Not if I can help it.” Since I always like arriving early to everything, I made sure to have enough time for any last-minute emergencies. I’ve come to learn with Cami, anything is possible. Juice spills. Missing favorite sock. A trip to the bathroom.

I choose to call Delilah first. The call goes directly to voicemail, so I dial her again, hoping it was an issue with my service. The voicemail picks up right away.

“Shit,” I hiss.

Cami gasps.

I open my purse with shaky fingers and hand her a dollar. “Why don’t you go put that in the jar for me?”

“Okay!” She grabs the dollar from my hand and runs inside the house, nearly tripping over the hem of her gown in the process.

Wyatt, the next person on my emergency list, goes straight to voicemail as well. I call Violet next in a last act of desperation, hoping she answers. Except like Delilah and Wyatt, she doesn’t pick up.

“Why is no one answering?” I let out a curse as I kick the tire again.

I told everyone to get there thirty minutes before the start time—

Wait!

I slap my forehead. Whenever Lake Wisteria has an event with over fifty people, the area becomes a cellular service dead zone, most likely due to overwhelming our one cell tower. It happens every single year before our Strawberry Festival.

“Dammit.” I tug at my hair, the sting of pain grounding me. “What am I supposed to do?”

You could start with staying calm.

I pull up my rideshare app and type in the coordinates for Cami’s school. The nearest driver is located a town away and will take thirty minutes to get here.

Panic claws at my chest, turning each breath into a challenge.

A sunbeam bouncing off the roof of Cal’s shiny car catches my attention.

No. You can’t be serious.

I wish I wasn’t. If avoiding Cal was an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist. Ever since our kiss a few days ago, I have done everything in my power to keep away from him.

Find another way.

There is no other way. He is the last person I want to ask for a favor, but I’m all out of options. If he doesn’t drive us, we won’t make it to Cami’s ceremony in time.

My heels sink into the gravel as I walk up the driveway toward the house. Pinpointing Cal’s location doesn’t take more than a second, especially when it’s paired with Cami’s giggle. I follow the sound of their voices all the way back to the living room, where I find him on his knees, readjusting Cami’s crooked cap.

“There. All better now.” He taps the edge of her hat with a smile.

“Thanks, Cow-l!”

A warmth spreads through my chest as Cami wraps her arms around Cal’s shoulders, smacking him in the face with the tassel on her cap.

My low chuckle draws Cal’s attention. Our gazes collide, and his eyes widen.

“What?” I tuck a wave behind my ear.

“You’re so beautiful.” His voice deepens.

“Ooo. You think Mommy is pretty!” Cami’s bright gaze swings from me to Cal.

“I think she’s the prettiest damn woman in the world.”

The butterflies in my stomach return, their endless flapping creating a buzz in my lower half.

“Really?” The ear-splitting pitch of Cami’s voice combined with the hearts shooting out of her eyes warns me away.

He doesn’t look away from me as he says, “Absolutely.”

I break eye contact. “Uh-oh. Cal said a bad word.”

Cami squeals with delight as Cal blindly hands her a hundred-dollar bill without so much as breaking eye contact with me. She takes off toward the kitchen, leaving Cal and me alone.

His gaze darkens as it trails down my body, turning the warmth in my chest into a raging inferno. For Cami’s special occasion, I decided to wear a floral summer dress that makes my boobs look amazing, and my favorite pair of heels that hurt like hell if I stand for too long. The two thin suede strings wrapped around my calves cut off most of the blood flow to my feet, but beauty is pain.

Totally worth it. With the way Cal looks at me, I’d willingly risk each one of my ten toes turning purple.

His eyes zero in on my shoes. “Fuck.”

“What?” I look down but find nothing wrong.

“The things I would do to have your legs wrapped around my waist while wearing those.” He looks up.