Page 265 of The Billionaires

Yoda doesn’t feel any better when she swallows.

Or when she takes another bite.

And another.

Even when she drinks a sip of water, she makes it somehow look erotic.

“So,” she says when the sandwich is gone. “What are you up to today?”

Ah. Right. Getting back to the mundane is a good way to calm things down in the libido department.

I hope.

“Piper is visiting tomorrow,” I say. “So I was thinking of setting up some more decorations in the nursery.”

Jane narrows her eyes theatrically. “You haven’t shown me the nursery.”

“It’s a big apartment,” I say, doing my best not to sound too guilty. The truth is, out of all my recent projects, the nursery is what I feel most insecure about. I’m a guy, and Piper’s my first baby, so what do I know about readying a room for an infant in general, let alone a little girl?

Jane leaps to her feet. “Show it to me. Now.”

CHAPTER 23

JANE

As we enter the nursery, the awe makes me forget to breathe for a second.

The room is magnificent in a cute, adorable, and over-the-top way.

Instead of a regular ceiling, there’s a dome reminiscent of a planetarium, with stars and a moon that look more realistic than anything you can spot in the NYC sky. There are also planets flying around, and they look so three-dimensional I ask Adrian if they’re holograms.

“They’re paper globe replicas hung on very thin wires,” he explains. “I set up a mechanical pulley system so that they move just as they do in the real world.”

“Of course you did,” I say as I gape around some more. The south wall of the room is covered in real-looking butterflies of seemingly every species and color imaginable. Oh, and they are flapping their wings, of course. Similarly, the north wall is teeming with birds, the west wall has animals (with sound effects), and the east wall is blooming with more flowers than a botanical garden.

“How?” I ask, pointing at the walls.

“High-end screens,” he says. “I had some of the inventions in this room patented, so that other parents will be able to do this in a few years.”

“Wow.” I peer at a stylishly futuristic something in the corner. “Is that the crib?”

He nods. “It’s smart, so it tracks all her vitals and adjusts things like the temperature in the room and the firmness of the mattress for her ultimate comfort. Also, it will automatically rock her to sleep as soon as she starts to wake up at night.”

I’ve never seen such a glaring physical manifestation of parental love.

“Piper is one lucky baby,” I say reverently.

He turns to me, eyes gleaming. “You really think so? I feel terrible that she’s going to be bouncing between Sydney and me.”

“She’s a kid,” I say. “It might actually be a fun adventure to spend time here and there. I loved going to my grandparents when I was a kid. This will be similar.”

“I hope you’re right,” he says.

“She’ll love this,” I say confidently. “Just look around.”

He does, and his eyes light up. “I just had an idea. I’m going to add shooting stars to the sky, so she can wish upon them.”

I grin. “How about you go implement that? Meanwhile, I’ll settle into my room.”

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