Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires #2) - J. S. Scott Page 0,21

sat on the edge of the bed. I knew he needed his time with his daughter, and I’d already had over eight years with her. I wanted him to get Maya’s undivided attention.

Our move-in day had gone surprisingly well. Aiden had hired people to take care of everything, and all I’d needed to do was put our personal things away.

My daughter had been thrilled when she saw her new room, and it had touched me that Aiden had obviously gotten someone to make a personal space that made my daughter squeal with delight. Not to mention the fact that there were presents from almost all of Aiden’s family scattered around the room. Maya might be gifted, and sounded older than her years, but she was still eight years old and adored the Disney princesses.

The room had been painted an antique white, and it was adorned with every Disney-princess item of décor that probably existed, from the rug on the floor to the bedside lamps.

Aiden had presented her with a princess necklace right before we’d brought her upstairs for bed. I was fairly certain it was white gold and not an inexpensive silver-plated one. And I was convinced that the heart with the crown above it was encrusted with real diamonds.

He’d told her it was a gift for his very own princess, which had made me want to cry.

He wasn’t the least bit shy about letting Maya know that he cared, and that willingness to hold himself wide open to her had touched me.

Not that I ever allowed myself to weep. I hadn’t for a long time. But his willingness to be vulnerable to his daughter almost immediately had drawn my emotions way too close to the surface.

“Are we going to stay here for a long time?” my daughter asked Aiden hesitantly.

“Forever, Princess,” he answered emphatically. “You’ll be lucky if I let you get married someday.”

Maya let go of a delighted giggle that made my heart ache.

At that moment, I couldn’t really regret the fact that I’d moved into Aiden’s home, even though I hadn’t really wanted to be a resident here. Maya was obviously happy, and she deserved the security of being in a gorgeous house that made her feel secure. But I was pretty sure it wasn’t the nice home that meant everything to her. It was the fact that she had a father who adored her.

“Do you want me to read you a book?” Maya asked her father.

His laughter boomed in the large bedroom. “I thought I was supposed to read you a book.”

I smiled. My daughter had been reading me a book every night since she was five. Because she was such an advanced reader, she preferred it that way, and she and I had always stopped to discuss the stories as we went along.

“I like to read,” she answered simply.

“What are you reading?”

“I’m on the second Harry Potter book.” Maya jumped up before Aiden could stop her, skipped to her bookshelf, and took the large softcover back to the bed with both hands.

Aiden turned his head toward me, and I shrugged as I said, “She wanted to start them three years ago, but I made her wait until they were age appropriate.”

“She’s already done with the first book?” he asked. “I’ve read them. They’re long and probably not easy reading for a kid.”

I hadn’t forgotten how much Aiden loved to read anything and everything he could get his hands on.

I smirked. “She’s read all of them several times already. She’s working on another read-through of the series because she’s gotten bored with The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. She’s read those two series so many times that they’re all dog-eared. She loves fantasy. I did tell you that she was a gifted reader. But she doesn’t get to read things that aren’t age appropriate.”

His eyebrows rose. “So she reads to you?”

I nodded. “She does. And we take breaks to talk about the stories.”

He turned back to Maya, who had already scrambled back under the covers. “Okay, then,” he agreed. “I’m lazy, so you can read to me.”

My daughter laughed. “This isn’t the way we do it. You and Mom need to come lie down with me and get under the covers.”

Aiden looked confused, so I moved to the other side and slipped into the queen-sized bed. It was so much bigger than her usual twin, and there would be plenty of room.

I snuggled next to her and pulled the covers up, and