Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,70

it all down, but I couldn’t get the way he and Addy interacted out of my mind. He treated her as if he’d waited all his life to meet her. He wore the same smile that I saw in England when I showed him the video of Addy swimming. So, seeing him being so authentic and sincere, I was willing to give it another try. I missed him. I missed England and us together in England. But I was home and in reality now, so I had to be cautious and smart about allowing this man into my life with my daughter around.

After work, I was highly interested to see how Addy’s day went in school. I should have known it would be awesome when I arrived at the preschool’s location. I stood silently in the doorway, my purse snug on my shoulder as I watched Addy rush around the preschool room, cleaning up to leave. The young blonde woman who was now in charge of the area was a breath of fresh air, and seeing the old, spiteful woman gone made this pickup that much easier.

I smiled when I saw my daughter’s loose curls bouncing over her shoulders, following her teacher’s instructions with her delightful and animated personality. With this sight alone, it was obvious little Addy had worked her way into being the teacher’s pet. If that wasn’t enough to make my heart swell with pride, I sighed with happiness while I watched her and the other toddlers interacting cheerfully. This is exactly what I’d hoped for when I pulled Addy from her other school and brought her here. I was so thankful she was happy with her new friends and teacher.

This week was going by too fast. Only four days until the weekend, and then it was her dad’s turn again. I hated thinking about that. Why was I ruining this precious moment by thinking about her dad getting her this weekend?

The kids flooded out of the room to the waiting parents behind me. Addy was holding the blonde woman’s hand while they approached me.

“This is my mommy,” she announced.

I reached out to shake the woman’s hand. “Hi, I’m Avery. I see you have a little helper here.”

“Addison is wonderful,” she said with a smile. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Avery. I’m Lucy Stills. I came from Heavenly Love’s preschool. It’s my church’s preschool from down the road. I have to ask—maybe beg?” She cringed.

“Go on,” I said, glancing down to see Addy’s devious smile. “I have a feeling Addy might have invited herself to your church?”

“No. Actually, we have a Christmas program that we’re working on. After listening and watching Addy sing her heart out in the music portion of class today, I was wondering if you’d consider letting her sing in the musical? She’s got some amazing talent,” she said, smiling down at Addy.

I looked at my daughter’s begging eyes. “Do you think you can stand in front of a lot of people and sing?”

“I love singing to people, Momma,” she said.

I chuckled. “Well, Christmas isn’t for three more months. When will you be holding your tryouts, or whatever you might call it?”

“I’m the director, and Addison definitely has the part of our singing angel,” she said. “That’s, of course, if you’re okay with her going to the church for practices and doing the program. We start our practices early for the program, so that we’re well prepared for the big day.”

“I’m perfectly fine with that. God knows we all could use a little church in our lives sometimes.”

“Mommy says lots of bad words,” Addy said, while my purse dropped from my shoulder to the bend of my arm. She went on while she shook her head. “God doesn’t like it.”

I forced a smile. “I get a little worldly sometimes, and my mouth could probably use some holy water now and then.”

“I’ll say,” a deep voice, filled with humor, said from behind me.

“Mitch!” Addison squealed, dropped the teacher’s hand and rushed past me.

I turned back and watched as Jim knelt to greet Addy as she ran to him.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said as if he’d known her for years.

I smiled at how adorable it all was. Addy was sort of blowing my mind with the way she kept reacting to Jim. She was an outgoing child to begin with, but when it came to her being around men, it took her a while to warm up to them, if she did at all. I would easily