The Mogul and the Muscle: A Bluewater Billionaires Romantic Comedy(31)

When I finished, there was more applause. Then the teachers and volunteers led the kids to their respective workspaces. I chatted with Sheri about construction progress until it was time for me to make the rounds and see what the kids had been working on.

Jude was our silent companion as we walked to the first converted classroom. Instead of desks and chairs, it had long rectangular tables where the kids could build, paint, tinker, and craft. A dozen kids stood in front of their various creations, faces beaming with excitement and pride. A few wore safety goggles and one had donned a white lab coat.

I cast a glance at Jude. Brandy had said he seemed to have an ability to make himself appear less intimidating, and I could see what she meant. He was still enormous, but his posture was less rigid, his facial expression almost friendly.

“Okay, everyone, Ms. Whitbury is going to come around and take a look at your projects,” Sheri said to the eager kids. “This is your chance to show off your hard work to someone new.”

I visited Kid-Ovation every few months, and I always made sure Sheri and the teachers didn’t make a big deal out of the fact that I was the primary benefactor and main source of funding for their program. I didn’t want the kids to feel like they needed to perform for me. I simply enjoyed the chance to see what their creative minds came up with.

“Hi there,” I said to the first child, a girl with big brown eyes and dark braids. Her nametag said Alicia. “What are you working on?”

“It’s a catapult.” She moved the contraption, made primarily of large colored craft sticks and rubber bands. It had a plastic cup filled with mini marshmallows on the arm. “I made a different version, but it didn’t shoot anything very far.”

“Does this design work better?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said with a grin. “Wanna see?”

“Fire away.”

She pressed the arm down and let go, sending three mini marshmallows flying.

“Nice trajectory,” I said.

“Thanks.”

“Have you tried shooting the marshmallows into someone’s mouth?” Jude asked.

Alicia grinned. “Not yet.”

“You know what, I volunteer,” Jude said. He crouched down next to the table.

Oh my god, could he be any cuter?

“I think you just want marshmallows,” I said.

“Hey, this is for science,” he said. “Okay, kiddo, marshmallow me.”

Alicia laughed and the rest of the kids quieted, watching. She loaded her catapult, pressed down the arm, and let loose.

All three marshmallows hit Jude in the face, none making it into his open mouth.

“Aw,” the kids said in a disappointed chorus.

Jude picked up the discarded marshmallows and tossed them in the trash, then got back into position. “That’s okay, let’s do it again.”

Alicia’s tongue stuck out while she carefully loaded the catapult and repositioned it. When she was satisfied, she looked at Jude. He gave her a thumbs-up.

The room quieted with a collective intake of breath. Alicia pressed down on the arm, hesitated, then let go.

The marshmallows flew toward Jude. One bounced off his nose. Another ricocheted off his cheek. But the third sailed straight past his teeth into his open mouth.

Alicia’s arms shot into the air and the other kids erupted with cheers. Jude stood, making a show of chewing the tiny marshmallow. He gave Alicia a high five—low enough for her to reach—then glanced at me and shrugged, his expression a little sheepish.

It was right about then that my ovaries exploded.

We spent the next hour getting mini demonstrations from the kids. Some had art projects—everything from paintings to clay sculptures. Others had built marble runs, rubber-band helicopters, and slingshot rockets. A fourteen-year-old in the middle school room had made a robot using mostly recycled materials.

They had fun showing off their creations. I couldn’t decide what was more enjoyable—watching the kids demonstrate what they’d made, or watching Jude interact with them.

When the last straw roller coaster and paper kaleidoscope had been tried, Jude and I said goodbye to the kids. Sheri walked us out where Joe was waiting in front of the building.

We exchanged thank yous and goodbyes with Sheri, then got back in the car. I checked the time and was just about to ask Jude if he wanted to grab some dinner.

But I closed my mouth, the words unspoken. He’d been adorable with those kids, revealing a side I wouldn’t have guessed existed. It made me want to dig deeper—get to know him better. And it was that very impulse that stilled me into silence.

That and the fact that I had an insane urge to offer to have his babies.

It was best if we kept things professional.





13





Jude





My new morning routine involved grabbing my phone off my nightstand and checking the tracking app I’d installed on Cameron’s phone while I was still blinking sleep from my eyes. Like I couldn’t even get out of bed without checking on her first.

I was always invested in my clients. Even when I’d been reluctant to take a job—which was most of the time—once I’d agreed, I was committed.

My level of commitment to Cameron, however, was something else.

I couldn’t help myself. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up in the morning and I had to know she was safe at home. It was a compulsion that had developed all too quickly, and one I couldn’t seem to control.