The Billionaire's Bought Bride and Instant Mom Chapter 182

Orion

Aveline moved closer, her fingers trailing along the edge of my jacket with deliberate slowness. "You sit there looking so composed and professional," she said with a smile that was anything but innocent, "and then you casually solve problems that have been driving me crazy. Just like that."

I felt my face warm slightly, but tried to convince myself this was a good thing. *So I actually managed to impress her?* But as I watched her hand slip inside my shirt, fingers tracing patterns against my chest, a different thought crept in. *Did I really attract her, or is this just... weird timing?*

I resisted the urge to grab her wrist and instead tried to sound nonchalant. "It's just basic analytical thinking. Nothing special."

She slowly moved to straddle my lap, her voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Is that so? Well, that kind of intelligence is incredibly fucking sexy to me."

The directness of her words sent heat racing through my system. I was just reaching up to pull her closer when the sound of shattering glass exploded from somewhere near the living room windows.

*CRASH!*

Glass fragments scattered across the floor, and I looked up to see Mitchell and several other staff members quickly scattering from the windows where they'd obviously been spying on us. Ryan's voice carried clearly from the garden.

"Oops! I didn't mean to! I was aiming for that bird and missed!"

Aveline immediately leaped off my lap as if she'd been electrocuted, and I felt my face burn with embarrassment. *I told you we should have gone to my room,* I thought irritably, shooting her a meaningful look.

She seemed to read my mind perfectly. "I had no idea business strategy would turn me on," she whispered defensively. "Don't tell me you planned this!"

"Of course I didn't!" I said quickly, standing up and helping her gather the scattered documents.

We fumbled around in awkward silence for a few moments, both of us pretending to be very interested in organizing papers while trying to pretend that what had just happened hadn't actually happened.

"Well," Aveline said finally, clutching her files to her chest, "you've been incredibly helpful today. Thank you for all your assistance."

"It was nothing," I replied automatically, though internally I was desperately trying to think of a reason for her to stay longer. But I couldn't bring myself to suggest dinner or anything that might make her think I was just looking for another opportunity to get her alone.

But Aveline didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave either. She fidgeted with the documents, shifting her weight from foot to foot, clearly as reluctant to end this interaction as I was.

The silence stretched between us until it became almost unbearable.

"I guess... I should probably head home," she said finally, though her tone suggested she was hoping I might object.

"Right, of course," I managed, though every fiber of my being wanted to ask her to stay. "I'll explain the situation with Ryan, don't worry about that."

Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. Her eyes lit up as if I'd just offered her something precious.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed, carefully setting her documents back down on the table. "I need to explain this to him myself."

"You do?" I asked, surprised by her sudden intensity.

She straightened up with obvious determination. "Absolutely. I've been his teacher for months now. If I can't even take care of his emotional needs during a transition like this, what kind of person am I to become a CEO? I need to tell him personally and make sure he's okay with the change."

I felt my heart lift with relief and something that might have been joy. *So I'm not the only one who can't bear the thought of her leaving.*

"You know what?" I said, trying to sound casual, "why don't you stay for dinner? I'll have the chef prepare something you like."

Just as the words left my mouth, Ryan came barreling into the room, his face bright with excitement and a touch of guilt.

"Miss Aveline! I accidentally hit the window instead of that bird I was aiming for! Good thing you weren't standing near the glass—I would have felt terrible if you got hurt!"

Mitchell appeared behind him, looking mortified as his eyes darted between Aveline and me. The three of us stood there in a triangle of mutual embarrassment, nobody quite sure how to address what had just transpired.

Aveline was the first to recover her composure. "I'm perfectly fine, sweetheart. It looks like Grandma Eleanor's upgraded slingshot is quite powerful! But remember, we don't try to hurt animals, okay?"

She leaned down closer to Ryan's level and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I have something very important to tell you tonight."

Ryan's eyes went wide with excitement. "Really? That's perfect! I have something super important to tell you too!"

The way he bounced with anticipation made me curious despite everything else that had just happened. "Oh? What kind of important news do you have, buddy?"

Ryan grinned mysteriously. "It's a secret until Miss Aveline and I can talk properly!"