Page 67 of The Billionaire's Virgin

I smiled. “You’re giving me far too much credit.”

“I don’t think I am,” she said. “You’re just used to underestimating yourself.”

I frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever underestimated myself.”

“Maybe not when it comes to business or your career,” Taylor said perceptively. “But when it comes to being a father, you’re always underestimating yourself.”

I smiled. “Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.”

Taylor kissed me again, this time on the cheek. “Are you worried about Sofia’s father?”

“A little,” I admitted. “He seemed a decent man. And he seemed… sane enough to understand that his daughter had problems. But even if he understands that she needs help, he’s going to want to keep her out of jail.”

“As long as he keeps her away from us, does it matter if she’s in jail or not?” Taylor asked.

“Actually it does,” I said. “The first time I neglected to press charges because Sofia’s father assured me that he would get her the treatment she needed. He put her in rehab, and I just accepted that that was the end of my problem. But now I realize I shouldn’t have just taken his word for it. It’s not like he’s going to look out for my family or me.”

“Taylor?”

At the sound of Jenna’s voice, Taylor dropped my hand and jumped to her feet. She did it just in time because a moment later, Jenna entered my room.

“There you are,” she said, looking between us.

“I found your father,” Taylor said seamlessly. “He said he’ll join us in a moment. Now come on; we’ll go and get things started.”

Taylor took Jenna’s hand, and they left the room together. As she was leaving, Taylor looked back at me and gave me a parting wink. I smiled to myself for a moment before I took a deep breath. They were both so important to me, and the worry was eating me up inside. I tried Frank again, but there was no answer, so I gave up and decided to wait for him to contact me.

I left my room and headed towards the kitchen. I could hear the sound of Taylor and Jenna talking, and I paused at the door and peeked in so that I could watch them together without being seen. Taylor had pushed a chair up to the counter so that Jenna could work alongside her. As I watched the two of them, I realized I could so easily imagine that Taylor was my wife and Jenna’s mother.

Nothing about the dream felt out of place in any way. It fit, like a well-worn shoe. There were moments when I could imagine that this had always been out reality. Taylor had been the one I was always destined to meet. And in some wonderful alternate reality that had been the case. We had met early, we had married, and we had had a child together… Jenna.

And in that alternate reality, there had been no Sofia, which meant that we were safe and happy and ignorant of the worry and fear that came with having someone watching you and threatening you constantly.

“Daddy!” Jenna said as she spotted me in the doorway.

“Hey, angel,” I said. “What are you making today?”

“I want to make cheesecake,” Jenna replied.

“Cheesecake?” I said, in surprise. “You’ve never liked cheesecake.”

“This one’s chocolate,” Jenna said.

“A chocolate cheesecake, huh?” I said. “Well, that makes sense then.”

“Come and help,” Jenna insisted.

Smiling, I walked into the kitchen and Taylor handed me the cream cheese. “You can measure that out for us. And the cocoa powder, please.”

We spent a blissfully wonderful afternoon making cheesecake and potato stacks and crumb-fried chicken for dinner. Jenna was a little chatterbox the whole time, and she had Taylor and me in fits of laughter through the evening. I almost forgot about the dark cloud looming in the background of our domestic bliss. We were sitting at the dining table for dinner when Jenna looked between Taylor and me.

“Can Taylor move in here with us forever?” she asked.

I paused and then glanced at Taylor. “Uh…”

“I can’t stay here forever, darling,” Taylor said, speaking up when I hesitated.

“Why not?”