Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (17 page)

“
My
mom knows you are staying here. She already said you are welcome to
come with me. Go with me. I want you to meet them. I have already
told you about them. That way you will know what they look like when
I mention them.”

“
Okay,
if you're sure. You have to help me make something to take with us.”

“
We'll
make spaghetti salad. My mom likes the way I make it. You can impress
her with that for sure. Have you talked to Heath?” he asked.

“
No.”

“
You
need to talk to him. I need to know you guys are still friends. I
don't want him upset with you.”

“
I'll
text him later. I didn't like the way he talked about you. He's
supposed to be your friend,” she said.

“
He
just wants to protect you. There's nothing wrong with that.”

“
I'll
text him later.”

That
night Josh had a vivid dream about her. He woke up wrapped in his
sheets, dripping with sweat, with a major erection. What the fuck, he
thought. That was why she needed to keep her distance and stop
touching him. There would be no more dreaming of her. He got up and
took a cold shower.

Sunday
morning, Josh and Lisa made the spaghetti salad together. It was
easier than she thought. He put a chair in the kitchen for her to sit
on to make it easier. When they were done, he had her taste it. She
really liked it and jumped up to hug him.

“
Thank
you for helping me. It's really good. We need to make that next time
we go over Becky and Gavin's.”

Josh
was surprised by her hug. He hugged her back. What was it about her
that made him calm as soon as she touched him?

“
Let's
get ready. We don't want to be late, or I will never hear the end of
it. My mom is all about being on time.”

Lisa
was so nervous as they pulled up to his mom's house. She let out a
loud breath.

“
What's
wrong?” he asked.

“
I
hope they like me.”

“
They
are going to love you. My mom is awesome. You are going to be her
daughter by the time we leave here today. I'm not kidding.”

“
I'm
nervous to see you with your mom. I have not seen a motherly love
since I was a little girl. I don't know how to explain it.”

“
It'll
be fine. Let's go,” he said.

Josh
helped Lisa out of the car and gave her the crutches. He grabbed the
bowl from the back seat and shut the door. Josh held his hand on her
lower back as they walked up to the house. The front door swung open
and his mother held the screen door open for Lisa to go through.

Josh
put the bowl down in the kitchen and went back to Lisa. He introduced
her to his mother. Lisa was shocked when his mom wrapped her arms
around Lisa and hugged her. She could feel the huge smile on her
face. His mom was so friendly.

“
Josh
told me you're the little girl that used to sit on Heath's porch,”
his mom said.

“
I
can't believe he told you that,” Lisa said, as she looked up at
him and he shrugged.

“
You
are so beautiful and grown up. It used to be so cute to watch you sit
out there and watch him for hours. You were so adorable.”

Lisa
laughed.

“
I
used to think he was the cutest boy I had ever seen,” she said.

“
Used
to?” he asked.

Lisa
laughed as she smacked him on the arm.

“
Yes,
used to,” she smirked.

They
sat in the living room. His mom asked Lisa questions about the fire
and how she was doing. Lisa talked about how Josh saved her and has
been so wonderful to her. She talked about how she was helping him
with the business. Lisa asked questions about Josh as a child and his
mother told her cute stories about him. She saw him look at his mom
sternly, so she knew there were better stories he didn't want her to
hear.

When
his brother got there, Josh introduced him to Lisa. He bent down and
gave her a hug.

“
It's
very nice to meet you Lisa,” his brother said. “You must
be pretty awesome.”

He
laughed and she saw Josh give him a dirty look.

“
Why's
that?” she asked.

“
Josh
has never brought someone with him on Sunday before,” he said.

“
Come
on, let's go make the hamburgers,” Josh said, as he grabbed his
brother's arm and pulled him out of the room.

Josh's
mom burst into laughter.

“
Just
ignore them. They still act like children.”

“
Your
home is beautiful. I think it's nice that you get together once a
week,” Lisa said.

“
I
have to keep them together. I want them to be close to each other.
His sister will be out in a little while. She works late and sleeps
in,” his mom said.

The
two women sat and talked while the guys cooked. Lisa was surprised at
how comfortable she felt with his mom. She was so nice and made Lisa
feel like she belonged. His mom told her how good it made her feel to
see Josh so happy. He had been acting different lately, and it was
nice that he was letting someone into his life. Lisa told her he was
just letting her stay with him until her leg was healed and she could
go back to work. His mom didn't respond. She asked Lisa if Josh had
told her about his father. They talked about him and Josh's mom
showed her a picture of Josh with his dad. Lisa told her that she
remembered them throwing the football around in the front yard.

“
You're
good for him,” his mom said, as she leaned closer to Lisa. “I
can see when you look at him, that you care about him. He has changed
the last several weeks. It's a good change. Josh has never told
anyone about his dad, and he has never let anyone around his
business. I am so happy that you found each other. He has had a hard
time, ever since his father passed. They were very close. I can tell
he blames himself for not being home that day. He puts up a wall so
he doesn't get close to anyone. I can see right through it. He's
afraid if he loves someone, he will lose them. I know he's stubborn
and he probably pushes you away or keeps you at a distance. You're
special. I can tell from the way he talks about you. Don't give up on
him. He just needs time and patience.”

Lisa
felt a flutter in her stomach as his mom talked. She loved her son so
much. How was Lisa going to tell her that she had misunderstood? They
weren't going to be together. He was just helping her until she could
get back on her feet.

“
He
is an amazing man. I think it's great how well he does with the
restaurants. I don't know how he runs them and is a firefighter as
well. He still seems to have time to himself. He risks his life to
save other people. I admit he is wonderful, but we are just friends.
I am staying with him until I can get a place of my own. It's working
out well. He is very good about helping me. Neither of us wants a
relationship. We both know how the other feels about love. Our
reasons for not wanting it are different, but we both agree that we
don't want it. It's nice to have someone who feels the same way I do
about forever. He doesn't want love, and I don't believe in love.”

His
mom sat quietly and listened to Lisa.

“
Well
then, I'm glad you found each other.”

Lisa
was shocked that she didn't try to talk her into love. Usually,
people would tell her how crazy it was that she felt that way. She
had never had anyone just accept it with understanding. His mom
really was pretty special.

“
Thank
you,” Lisa said.

His
mom looked at her with a confused look.

“
For
accepting what I said and not telling me how crazy it is that I feel
that way,” Lisa said.

“
Everyone
has a reason they feel the way they do. Sometimes things happen to
change the way we feel. Maybe there's a reason you two were brought
together after all these years. You seem to be helping each other.”

A
younger woman walked into the room and smiled.

“
Which
one of those two brought a girl here?” she asked in surprise.

“
This
is Lisa. She is a friend of Josh's. Lisa this is his sister Tammy and
his brother's name is Jack. I don't think we got that far before Josh
pulled him away.”

Lisa
shook his sister's hand. She ran off to see her brothers. Lisa could
see the three siblings together outside through a window in the
living room. Josh's mom caught her watching them and asked questions
about her family. Lisa told her everything about them. She usually
kept it to herself, but Josh's mom made her feel comfortable, and she
wanted to be honest with her. Lisa felt emotions she had never felt
before, as she watched the three of them through the window.

They
had dinner and dessert. Josh's mom raved about the spaghetti salad.
He gave Lisa all the credit for it. She explained how she can't cook
and he is teaching her. That was her first lesson. They all laughed
about it.

Time
went by so quickly. Before she knew it, Lisa watched the sunset
through the living room window. Josh asked her if she was ready to
go. He had to get sleep, in case he had to work in the morning. They
were walking out the door, when his mom stopped her and hugged her.

“
I
hope you can come with him next Sunday. It will be interesting to see
what you bring for us to try. Have a great week.”

Lisa
felt amazing. His mom wanted her to come back. Why hadn't she had a
mother like her. Josh was really lucky, she thought.

Lisa
was in a great mood when they left. She told him how lucky he was
that his mom, brother, and sister were so wonderful. The drive seemed
to go by fast. When they pulled into his driveway, she looked over
and saw a smile on his face.

“
What?”
she asked. “I talked the whole way home, didn't I? I'm sorry,”
she said.

“
There's
nothing to be sorry for. I'm glad you had a nice time. I like to see
how happy you are.”

“
Have
you really never taken anyone over there before?” she asked. “I
thought you had tons of women. I don't believe you have never taken
someone with you.”

Josh
got out of the car without another word. He opened her door and
helped her out of the car. They walked to the door in silence.

“
She
asked me to come back next week. Does that mean she liked me?”
Lisa joked.

“
What
if I don't want to take you?” he asked.

Lisa
could tell by his voice he was joking around. If she thought he was
serious, she would have dropped it.

“
You
have to. Your mom said I can come. We have to make something even
better to take with us,” she said.

“
Why
is that?” he asked.

“
So
I can impress them,” Lisa said.

“
Why
do you want to impress them? They already like you. I'm surprised my
brother didn't try making a move on you.”

“
I
don't know. I really like them. You have a great family. I was
thinking about something.”

“
Oh
no, should I be scared?” he asked, as they walked into the
house to the living room and sat down.

“
I
have a different view of firefighters than I did before. I have a
much larger appreciation of what they do. I don't think people
realize how much firefighters give up and risk to help them, even
though they have no emotional attachment to them. I know there is not
much I can do to show them my appreciation, but I was thinking. You
know how you are going to show me how to cook?” she asked, as
he nodded. “I want to make things and take them to the station
for them. That way I get to learn and they get to enjoy it. I know
it's nothing to them really, but if it makes one of their days just a
little bit better, it will be worth it.”