Going for Broke: Oakland Hills Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Friends with Benefits) Read Online Free Page B

her job, working with the rudest members of the public had taught her how to be cold and warm at the same time. Extra cold when necessary.
    “Oh, sorry,” he said, lifting his hand in a motionless wave. “Todd.”
    That didn’t quite cover all the bases. But she didn’t really want to know anything else about him; she was eager to get inside. With a faint smile, she nodded and moved to walk up to the front door.
    “I’m the one who adopted your grandmother’s cat,” he said.
    Chagrined, she turned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. Thank you.” She studied the animal in his arms but didn’t recognize it.
    “Not this one,” he said. “She’s inside.”
    “How many do you have?”
    “Only the two,” he said. “Mine and your grandmother’s. When Clara was having trouble, I figured it was the least I could do. She was a nice lady.”
    “Thank you,” she said again, trying to warm up to him a little. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Todd.”
    “You are Belinda, right?”
    “Everyone calls me Billie.”
    He smiled. “Clara talked about you.” He stroked the cat behind the ears. A tattoo of a leafless tree decorated his wrist, its black branches winding around his forearm. “I work at home, so I saw her a lot. She told great stories.”
    “Yeah, she did,” Billie said, smiling sadly.
    “Well, I’ll let you go. I just wanted to introduce—”
    At that moment, Ian’s black pickup pulled into the driveway.

Chapter 6
    B illie waved at Ian , relieved to see him, and turned to Todd. “Thanks for coming by. And for taking in her cat.”
    Todd’s eyes were fixed on Ian, who was stepping out of the pickup. “You know this guy?”
    “I know this guy,” she said.
    Todd was still standing there when Ian reached them with a bag slung over his shoulder and two steaming Starbucks cups in his hands.
    “Morning,” Ian said, handing a cup to Billie. Tea bag labels on strings flapped in the breeze.
    Smart man. He knew better than to bring her coffee.
    Billie moved to Ian’s side, edging closer to the house. “This is Todd, a neighbor. Todd, this is Ian,” she said quickly. “Well, we should be going.”
    “Nice cat,” Ian said to Todd.
    Todd’s eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t like strangers.”
    There was an awkward pause.
    Ian looked at Billie. “I got you tea.”
    “I know,” she said, holding it up with a smile. “Thank you.”
    Without a word, Todd turned, jumped over the hedge, and strode up the front steps of the little white bungalow next door.
    “Well, see you later,” Billie called after him. “Thanks again.”
    If Todd responded, she didn’t hear him.
    Ian followed her up the stairs to the front door, which she opened with the keys her father had given her at the funeral. The immediate family had met at the house for a few minutes after the service, but because of its condition, they’d immediately relocated to Jane and her boyfriend’s apartment near Lake Merritt instead.
    “Know that guy long?” Ian asked, too polite to mention the cat stench wafting down the hallway.
    “Just met him a few minutes ago.”
    “Weird,” Ian said.
    For some absurd reason, his comment made Billie want to defend Todd, even though he’d given her the creeps too. “Just because he likes cats?”
    “I like cats. Doesn’t mean I’ve ever walked around with one.”
    “He took in one of my grandmother’s cats,” she said.
    “That one?”
    “No. He said it was inside.” She shivered and went over to the thermostat, an ancient circular device on the wall surrounded by family photos.
    “I wonder why he didn’t bring that one out to show you,” Ian said. “Instead of the one that didn’t like strangers.”
    She twisted the thermostat and heard a click, then a roar, as the furnace turned on. “Grammy liked to keep the house warm, so at least the heating should work.”
    But Ian, apparently, was still thinking about the neighbor. “Maybe he killed it.”
    She tried to express shocked