Page 47 of The Billionaire's Secret Heir

Chapter Fourteen

“Where we going?”

Madi tilted the rearview mirror slightly so she could see Becka better in the second mirror that faced her car seat. “We’re going to It’s brother’s house. Your Uncle Graham.”

“Graham cracker?”

Madi laughed. “No, just Graham. If you call him that, though, Beckett will probably love it. You’re going to meet your aunt and uncle and their kids. I forget their names right now, but you’ll meet them when we get there.”

“It kids?”

Madi’s mouth felt suddenly dry. She knew that sometime she would have to find a way to explain to Becka that Beckett was actually her father. She was so young now that it probably wouldn’t make a lot of sense, though she clearly adored Beckett. Right now Becka only cared that It showed up every day to play with her and read books. His official title didn’t matter to her—yet. Someday she would also have to explain that Beckett was Madi’s boyfriend, a fact that she was still getting used to herself.

Boyfriend. It seemed like such an immature term when they were both in their thirties. Though being around him truly did make her feel giddy and giggly and like she was much younger. Love had that effect on her.

Not love! Madi caught her errant thoughts. There was no way she loved him. It was obviously too soon. Infatuated. Liked very strongly. Those words were just as ill-fitting as boyfriend felt.

“No, they’re not It’s kids. Your Uncle Graham’s kids. They are your cousins.”

“Cousins?”

“That’s right. You have cousins.”

Madi’s side of the family was so small that “cousin” was a new word for Becka. There probably were some distant ones somewhere, but her family had been so far geographically and so out of touch with each other that even Madi didn’t really know her own cousins. She couldn’t be more excited that Becka was getting an insta-family, though she didn’t know what to expect for herself or even for Becka when it came to Beckett or his extended family.

Madi couldn’t remember the last time she felt this level of nerves. She hadn’t dated anyone in a long time and didn’t have family to take someone home to, which made impressing Beckett’s family more important. Beckett told her that the only woman he had brought home before was his ex-fiancée. Definitely no pressure at all! Which is why her bedroom floor was now littered with clothes she had tried on and then tossed aside.

It was hard to remember the last time she went shopping for herself. Like so many things BB, her life had stopped revolving around herself, but perhaps to a point that was unhealthy. Her jeans looked nice, but were getting a little worn at the inner thighs. She had finally joined a gym and went running yesterday in the new shoes Beckett bought her. Being on a treadmill wasn’t as good as outside, but it felt so good to really move. Madi loved the feeling of strength in her legs and the pleasant ache in her muscles. She wanted that back for her own sake. If it helped her jeans fit better, so be it.

Sighing, she tugged at her loose black top. The material fell nicely over her body, fitting in just the right places and not being too tight around the lower part of her stomach, the area she felt most self-conscious about. She couldn’t help but wonder what Beckett would think. She loved seeing the way his eyes lit up whenever he saw her, even when she was just in athletic shorts or flannel pajama pants. He made her feel beautiful, though sometimes she still struggled to see herself that way.

Finding clothes for Becka had been much less of a problem. One thing Calista had excelled at in motherhood was clothing her daughter. Becka had a range of clothes that were adorable, but also functional for a very active toddler. Madi had settled on a bright blue cotton dress that Beckett had bought and left in the closet. His face brightened whenever he saw Madi or Becka enjoying the things he had given them. While she had pushed back at first at his gifts, once she realized how much joy it brought him, she tried instead to enjoy them thoroughly and with great thanks.

Getting a brush through Becka’s tangled hair was harder than getting her dressed, but now Becka’s golden hair lay soft around her shoulders. Madi wondered again if it was time to get her hair cut. It had grown in unevenly, curly in some places and straight in others. But there was something about cutting a baby’s hair for the first time. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. Yet.

They would love Becka. She won people over everywhere. It wasn’t a question. But she did have a sneaking fear that they wouldn’t understand why Beckett was with Madi. Not for the first time she wished that Beckett had been able to drive with them so they didn’t have to show up alone. He had some kind of work thing that made it simpler for them to take two cars.

Sighing, she realized that she was sitting at a now-green light. Madi needed to pay attention. Her thoughts had been drifting off and she was driving on autopilot. Graham’s address was plugged into the GPS and it was shouting at her to make a U-turn. She must have missed a turn somewhere.

“U-Turn!” Now Becka was shouting from the back seat. Madi felt sweat start to bead at her hairline.

“Quiet now, Beck-Beck. Let Madi drive.”

“Mommy drive.”

She felt the tears before they made her vision blur. Madi still didn’t think of herself that way, though she loved Becka like her own. It felt like something she didn’t own yet, something she didn’t deserve. That was probably survivor guilt talking.

The engine made a noise. Not the usual kind. Madi could feel it jerking roughly where her foot connected to the gas pedal. A bunch of lights lit up on the dash: all red and yellow. The steering wheel suddenly felt heavy and slow like it was mired in syrup or glue. It took all Madi’s strength to steer the now-shuddering car into a Wendy’s parking lot where it promptly died.

“This parking spot is a thing of beauty,” she said.

Back in college, her campus minister always talked about picking something to be thankful for in every situation and actively giving thanks to God. Even—or especially—if you didn’t feel it. Madi had changed the wording a bit in a way that engaged her mind a little more. Instead of just saying “thank you,” she would call things she was thankful for things of beauty. It meant the same thing, really, but for her, the wording mattered.

It had been a long time since she had actively done this, but it came to mind as the car came to a stop in the parking spot instead of the middle of a busy road. What a better time to revive this practice of prayer and thankfulness than when you’re late and your car breaks down?

“Mommy, drive!” Becka ordered.

“The car broke, baby. I’ve got to figure this out. Give me a minute.”

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