Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
I shook off all thoughts of my past love life and smiled at Layla. “What about you, do you have a boyfriend?”
She giggled and it was the sweetest sound I’d heard in a long time, shaking her head even as laughter spilled out of her. “I’m too young for a boyfriend!”
“That’s probably a good thing. Boys are trouble.”
She giggled again. “Even Uncle Brady?”
Probably especially Uncle Brady with his nerdy good looks, premature curmudgeonly demeanor and sexy swagger. “Definitely Uncle Brady too.”
Layla laughed again but soon enough her expression turned serious. “Do you think he likes having me here?”
Oh shit. “Your Uncle?”
She nodded.
“Yeah, I do. I mean it’s an adjustment to get used to having a kid around, but I think he’s learning.”
She nodded, not quite believing me but desperately wanting to. “Okay.”
I made a mental note to talk to Brady privately about making sure the little girl felt that she was wanted. I decided then and there that I would make sure Layla always felt wanted and loved, for as long as I was around. I leaned forward and flashed a smile.
“Layla, I have a very important question to ask you.”
Her brows furrowed and her expression turned serious. “What is it?”
“How do you feel about tacos?”
The question caught her off guard just as I knew it would, and her little body shook with laughter once again.
Was there a better sound in this world than a kid’s laugh?
In my experience, the answer was a resounding no.
Chapter 7
Brady
The doorbell rang and I jumped to my feet, rushing out of my office and to the front door before Toni could see my team arrive, and before Layla could let my identity slip. Why it mattered that she didn’t know who I was, I couldn’t quite say, except I liked that Toni treated me like just another man. She didn’t defer to me because of my wealth, hell she didn’t even defer to me based on my status as her employer. And I liked it.
A lot.
I yanked open the door to see the heads of my major teams. Sierra, the head of marketing, was a thirty-something year old woman with hot pink hair. Cal, my creative director, wore black thick framed glasses, hoodies and jeans just about every day. Tori the lead designer, was the most normal of the bunch in jeans, a button up shirt, and occasionally a jacket.
“Morning guys, come on in.” I waved them in quickly, looking over my shoulder like a teenager having guests over when he wasn’t supposed to.
Sierra stepped in first. “Mr. Winsome,” she began and I cut her off.
“Call me Brady,” I spoke over her before she could say anything else.
Sierra’s brows knitted into a frown but she shrugged. “Sure, okay Brady. Whatever you say. Where should we set up?”
“Follow me,” I instructed, glad that I was the boss. No one said anything about my insistence on keeping things informal today, and if they thought it was odd, they kept it to themselves, a fact for which I was grateful. I kept my head down and powered through the living room, but the keen scent of warm butter brought me up short in the middle of the kitchen. “Dammit,” I whispered more to myself than the group behind me.
“Oh hey, you’re just in time for…oh, a party.” Toni flashed a stunningly wide smile at the group. “Good morning…people. Anyone hungry?” She aimed a spatula at my employees, still smiling.
“I could eat,” Cal said automatically, no doubt hypnotized by the sight of Toni in black leather leggings, a dark blue shirt with a delectable vee and bright blue sneakers. Or maybe, like me, he was taken in by the painted red mouth.
“Me too,” Tori added with a surprised smile.
“I can always eat,” Sierra offered with a smile before her gaze landed on me. “Or…not?”
“Nonsense,” I added, trying like hell to keep the anger out of my voice. “Eating now means we can power through for a few hours.” At least for them. My mind, however, would be firmly stuck on the sight of Toni’s curves in those damned leggings.
“Cool.” Toni didn’t miss a beat, pointing towards the table where Layla sat quietly reading on her tablet. “That’s Layla.”
Layla looked up as if she suddenly realized the kitchen was full of adults. “Oh, hi. Good morning. Who are you?”
They all laughed before introducing themselves one by one. “We work for, um, with Brady.” Cal frowned as if the words felt strange on his lips before he shrugged and sat.
An hour later everyone had full bellies and wide smiles as they profusely thanked Toni for breakfast, and—finally—we departed for the confines of my office.
“No wonder you’re so relaxed,” Cal joked the minute the door closed behind us.
“She’s the nanny,” I growled, shutting down any hint of gossip before it could get started.