Page 33 of The Billionaire's Christmas Baby Surprise

“Good idea.” Max pointed to her. “I knew I came to you for a reason.”

Billie chuckled. “I’m happy to help. I’m going to finish up here while you give Janet a call.”

“Sounds good.” Max turned away and began to dial as Billie folded a pair of tights. A few minutes later, he was back. “Okay, Janet says she’d love any help we can give. The kids are eleven, eight, five, two, and a baby — the five- and two-year-olds are boys, and the others are girls. They’ll all be home after five if we want to drop anything off, and I have her address.”

“Perfect. Nicely done.” Billie looked down at the table full of donated clothes. “I know where we can start. Let’s see if there’s anything here that’ll fit the kids.”

Within a few minutes, they were able to fill a large plastic bin with three outfits for each child. Billie tossed in a few unopened packs of underwear and socks from her supply closet, then enlisted Max’s help to put the rest of the clothes into the closet.

“What’s next?” Max asked as he slid the last pile of teenager-sized shirts onto the corresponding shelf in the supply closet.

“Let’s swing by the store and pick up a few toys, toiletries, some diapers, and maybe something nice for dinner so that Janet doesn’t have to cook.”

“We can grab something from the restaurant for dinner,” Max suggested.

“Great.” They grinned at each other, and Billie had the warm, pleasant sensation of being part of a team. Max really had changed from the guy she’d met at the Grateful Gala. That guy would never have gone out of his way to make sure a foster family had what they needed for the holidays — whilethisguy hadn’t hesitated.

“We should get going,” Billie added. “It’s already two in the afternoon and we have a lot to buy.”

“I brought my car, so I can drive.” Max held out his arm, and Billie instinctively took it. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

The first stop was the store where they’d purchased Christmas gifts for the kids a few weeks earlier. Max made a beeline for the toy section, where he and Billie picked out a few small gifts for each of the kids. Then Billie led him towards the grocery area.

“Toys are fun, but they also need healthy snacks,” she told him.

“That’s a good point.” Max grinned. “I guess there’s still a lot I don’t know about kids.”

“You’re getting better. You picked out age-appropriate toys for all the kids.”

“Good for me. So, what kind of snacks should we get?”

“I imagine the foster mom — Janet, right? — will buy most of the snacks. We can just get a few things to get her started — I’m thinking fruit snacks, some crackers, and some fresh fruit.”

“How about we get some cereal and milk, too?” Max suggested. “I know we’re bringing over dinner, but I can imagine it’ll be a scramble to get breakfast ready in the morning.”

Billie was impressed. “That’s a great idea. Look at you, all responsible and charitable.”

“I’m trying.” Max turned into the cereal aisle, where he grabbed a box of something that looked like miniature cookies. Billie chuckled.

“Or maybe you’re just a kid yourself. I think we should also get some healthier options.”

“Fair point.” But Max still added the miniature cookie cereal to the cart, and Billie didn’t complain. It would be nice for the kids to have some special food when their whole world was falling apart.

They went to the toiletries section next, where Billie picked up a few boxes of diapers and found shampoo, conditioner, and body wash — all kid-friendly.

“How much of your job is just buying diapers?” Max asked as Billie added a third box to the cart.

“A lot,” Billie admitted. “They’re both essential and expensive — and babies go through a lot of them.”

“That doesn’t sound like fun,” Max said.

“I can’t imagine it is, but at least not having to worry about how to afford diapers makes it easier.” Billie added a container of wet wipes and some diaper cream, plus a few canisters of formula.

Once the cart was full, they headed to the checkout, where Max insisted on paying for everything. They loaded their purchases into his car, then headed to the restaurant. It was almost time to meet Janet at her house, so Billie called ahead to confirm the address and make sure it was still all right for them to come by while Max ran inside to get the food.

“I have grilled cheese, chicken fingers, French fries, and buttered pasta,” he told Billie as he slid back into the car. “They seemed like the most kid-friendly options.”

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