Banking the Billionaire (Bad Boy Billionaires Book 2) by Max Monroe Read Free Book Online Page A

I agreed. “Never forget that.”
    She put her hand on her hip and eyed me with a serious face. “But that’s not what Patrick says.”
    “Who’s Patrick, baby?” Claire asked, cupping a loving hand around Mila’s sweet cheek.
    “He’s just some stupid boy in my class. He says boys are smarter than girls, and I’m the biggest dumb fathead of them all.”
    Oh, poor little asshole Patrick. He’d be in for a rude awakening when he got older. I had the urge to give him a come-to-Jesus moment now, but for some reason, society frowned on that kind of interaction with children.
    “Sometimes boys say mean things when they like a girl.” Claire sighed, visibly just as annoyed with a six-year-old boy as I was but trying to be diplomatic about it.
    She shook her head. “Patrick doesn’t like me. He pulls on my pigtails and chases me on the playground.”
    Claire and I exchanged a knowing look.
    “You want to know a secret about boys, Mila?” I asked.
    She nodded with enthusiasm.
    “Come here, I have to whisper so your mommy doesn’t hear.”
    Mila skipped over to me and put her hand on my shoulder, tugging me down to her level. “Tell me! Tell me! I love secrets!”
    Claire just watched on with amusement as I whispered some very valuable advice into Mila’s ear. When I was done, she covered her lips and giggled.
    “Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
    She held out her pinkie finger and wrapped it around mine. “I pinkie promise, Aunt Cassie.”
    My heart squeezed.
    “Oh, baby, she’s not your aunt. She’s just Uncle Thatch’s friend,” Claire interjected, flashing me an apologetic look.
    “Yeah, but her and Uncle Thatch are gonna get married and have a baby and they’s gonna take me and my new baby cousin to Disney World! We’re gonna have so much fun!”
    I wasn’t sure how in the hell to respond to that, which was a first for me. I generally had a retort to every-fucking-thing.
    “Mila!” Claire laughed in horror.
    “What?” she asked, not the least bit concerned she’d just planned out my future. “Uncle Thatch said it was a really good idea!”
    “Of course, he did,” I muttered and met Claire’s tickled gaze.
    “Tenacious,” she mouthed with a wink.
    “Mila! It’s time for presents, baby girl,” Frankie called loudly enough that we heard him. Mila ran out the door at a dead sprint, straight for the picnic table covered in pink wrapping paper and sparkly ribbons.
    As Claire and I followed her outside, she whispered in my direction, “What’d you tell Mila?”
    I grinned. “Everything you probably wanted to say but didn’t because you’re a good mother.”
    “I hope you told her to kick that little asshole in the nuts.”
    I winked. “Oh, don’t worry, it was definitely something along those lines.”
    She laughed, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. “Remind me to tell Thatch he’s not allowed to come to our house unless you’re with him.”
    “No doubt, I’ll tell him while I’m buying our future child’s and your daughter’s plane tickets to Orlando.”
    For now, I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.

 
    I watched as Cassie took off down the street, knowing her foot must have been nearly to the floor. She’d excused herself while I was saying my good-byes, her plan only evident when I heard the little hamster engine of the Fiat roar to life.
    I shot out the front door at a jog, but she was already pulling away from the curb, my bag still inside.
    “Looks like you’re going to need a ride,” Frankie said as he slowly came up beside me.
    I forced a shrug as her fading taillights burned in my chest. “I probably should have warned her about coming here when I begged her to come bail me out this morning.”
    A woman like her only puts up with so much.
    “Yeah, what’s that about?” he asked.
    “It’s not important.”
    “Ah, okay. I’ll take that to mean the opposite. Our friendly hometown is still giving you hell about my sister.”
    I nodded even though