Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires, #2)(10)

I had to at least like Evan because he’d been fair about distributing the wealth to all of his half-siblings—once he’d learned of their existence—here in California.

I grabbed my mug and took a large gulp of my coffee before I asked, “How did you get into that site, anyway? You should be blocked.”

My daughter had her own tablet, but there were only certain places she could access.

Maya looked sheepish. “I had to kind of borrow your laptop.”

“Kind of?” I said disapprovingly.

She looked down at her empty plate. “Okay, I did borrow it. A couple of times. Lena falls asleep on the couch sometimes when you’re working late.”

Lena was one of Maya’s college-aged babysitters.

Rather than being angry, I felt a pang of guilt that my daughter had to spend so damn much time with babysitters. “You’re shut down on my computer, Sugar Bug,” I warned her.

“Mom, I’m too old to be called that nickname. And I already deleted my membership. I won’t use your computer again. I already promised I wouldn’t.”

I believed her. Maya was a curious kid, but she’d never been deliberately disobedient. In fact, she’d been easy to raise so far. She was kind, considerate, loving, and the sort of child all mothers everywhere wanted to have. “It doesn’t matter how old you get, you’ll always be my Sugar Bug,” I said fondly. “And yes, your father does live here.”

Her eyes lit up, and I wanted to kick myself. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything until I talked to Aiden.

But now that I was committed to talking to him about Maya, I was hoping he’d want to know her.

I’d always known I was at least going to have to tell Jade that she had a niece. She was my best friend. I’d just never figured out how to tell her without revealing that Aiden didn’t care if he had a child or not.

But maybe that’s not true. Maybe he really never knew.

Now I was almost sure that was the case. And it was a scary thought.

What if he wants his daughter? What if he tries to take her away from me?

Since I couldn’t even cope with the thought that Maya could go anywhere but home with me, I pushed the negative voices out of my head.

“Will I be able to meet him?” Maya asked hopefully.

“We’ll see. I have to talk to him first.” I didn’t want to tell her that her dad might not even know that he’d fathered a daughter.

Or that her mother had been so damn hurt by her father that I might have unknowingly kept her existence from him for over nine long years.





CHAPTER 4

SKYE



Later that morning, I forced myself to ring the doorbell at Aiden’s magnificent beachfront home before I lost my nerve.

All of the inevitable questions had been racing through my brain since I’d left Maya with Jade and then made my way down the beach to talk to Aiden.

What if he doesn’t believe me?

What if he doesn’t want to see Maya once he knows?

What if he wants to take my daughter away from me?

What if . . .

What if . . .

What if . . .

Maya deserved the chance to have a father, if Aiden was willing, but that didn’t mean I was happy about having to confront him with the truth.

My daughter had been through so damn much, and all I wanted to do was protect her, so it went against my instincts to take a chance on the fact that she might be disappointed.

I distinctly remembered Aiden once telling me that he didn’t really want any children of his own, since he’d already brought up his siblings.

I had to wonder if he still thought that way, now that he had the resources to have as many kids as he wanted.

I jumped when the door suddenly flew open and Aiden stood in front of me with a scowl on his face.

“We need to talk,” I said in a breathless voice before he could get out a single word. “Please.”

My heart skipped a beat as he continued to scrutinize me carefully before opening the door wider so I could come in.

The foyer was gorgeous, vaulted ceilings giving the space elegance and grandeur. It was a beautiful home on the beach, but I didn’t give the mansion’s appearance much more thought.

I was too nervous, and too rattled by seeing Aiden.

He looked approachable in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, his hair apparently still damp from a shower.

“Come in,” he rumbled as he headed for a large chef’s kitchen. “You want coffee?”

I followed him. “No, thanks. I had plenty at the restaurant this morning.”

I watched as he made himself a cup. I wasn’t surprised that Aiden was pretty much at home in the kitchen. After all, he’d had to cook for his siblings many times.

“Sit,” he demanded as he nodded at the small kitchen table.

I sat, never thinking about the fact that I was obeying his orders. Honestly, I needed to plant my ass in a chair before I fell down.

Aiden pulled out another chair and sat across from me.

“I was going to go looking for you shortly, so I’m glad you’re here,” he told me, and then took a slug of his coffee.

I fidgeted with the purse I’d laid on the table, unable to look at him as I spoke. “Is it really true that you don’t know why I left nine years ago?”