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“Excuse me?” I asked. My mind went somewhere else. Somewhere just a little naughty.
“Whipped cream,” he corrected. “Do you like your coffee with whipped cream?”
“Yes, please,” I muttered.
I was going to blow it if I didn’t get my shit together. The guy was this cool, confident, wealthy man. He wasn’t looking at me and thinking he’d like to hit that. I was not his type. I imagined he dated hotel heiresses and A-list actresses.
He returned to the table carrying two iced coffees with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I called a couple of your references,” he started. “They had glowing things to say about you.”
I hoped I didn’t look as guilty as I felt. I was going to have to thank Colleen and Cherie. They did their duties well. “I enjoyed working with them.”
“It sounds like it,” he said.
“Tell me about your daughter. Her name is Lily?”
“Yes,” he replied with a nod. “Lily just turned nine.”
“What is she into?” I asked.
He smiled and it nearly blew my boots off. That was the kind of smile that made women swoon. “She’s really smart. I’m not just saying that because I’m her dad. She’s very inquisitive. Lily asks a lot of questions. Will that bother you?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not. Kids are sponges. The more questions they ask, the more information they absorb. It’s so much easier to teach them when they are asking and interested.”
He nodded like he liked my answer. “I agree,” he said. “She’s got a real head for science and math. I would say she gets that from her Uncle Cam, but he’s not actually her uncle. He’s my sister’s fiancé. My business partner.”
“What business are you in?” I asked.
“I have a little company that develops tech that looks for genetic markers that can identify illness,” he answered.
I blinked. I didn’t even know what to say. Of all the careers I imagined him having, that was not the one I would have picked. “I would say she gets her science skills from you.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, definitely not. Cam is the brains. He works in the lab with my sister. They are the brains. I’m the guy who brings in investors and sells our tech.”
“Ah, you’re the money man and they are the science nerds.” I grinned.
“Something like that,” he agreed with a shrug. “Lily likes science but she also loves math. She loves problem-solving. I know a lot of kids hate story problems, but not Lily. She loves them. She’s a critical thinker. That part she does get from me. A few months ago I signed us up for a subscription service. We get a project mailed to us every month. Last month it was a chemistry experiment. It’s more of a middle and high school program, but Lily catches on with a little help. I tease her she’s going to be a mad scientist. I bought her a lab coat with her name on the pocket for her birthday. She thinks it’s pretty cool.”
“That sounds like fun,” I said. “And chemistry—eek! Science was not my strong suit in school. I can do math and I love history.”
“Lily is pretty good about researching anything she wants to know,” he explained. “I work a lot, and when I do get to spend time with her, I make sure it’s doing stuff she loves.”
I was a little jealous. Lily had an amazing dad. She had the kind of childhood I could have only dreamed about. I couldn’t even properly dream about it because it was so far-fetched, I didn’t know how to dream.
“Does she have any hobbies?” I asked.
I really wanted to ask about Lily’s mom. It sounded like Ramsey had Lily fulltime. Maybe she only saw her on the weekends or every other holiday.
“Lily has many hobbies.” He laughed. “Not all of them stick. She was into dance until recently. She loves dancing, but I don’t think she cared for the commitment required to become really good at it. It took away from her free time to read and do the things she truly loves. I’m trying to expose her to a little bit of everything until she finds something that sticks. She took piano lessons for a while. Played soccer a couple years in a row. Dance. I’m not sure what comes next, but I’m ready for it.”
Again, I was thoroughly impressed with the man’s parenting abilities. It was almost too good to be true. Everyone had dark secrets. I wondered if he was saying all the right things but maybe he wasn’t quite as amazing as he seemed to be.
“I think it’s important to get exposed to as many things as possible when you’re young,” I agreed.
“She loves to swim,” he added. “We have a pool, which is where she’ll spend a lot of her time when it’s warm. Even when it’s cool, she swims.”
