Page 21 of A Baby Surprise For My Billionaire Boss

“Oh, no, he reads them,” Eli said. “He’s really into that series about the dragons.”

“I’ve noticed that! You know, kids who like that series usually like theMagic in the Woodsseries. Have you heard of it?”

“I haven’t.”

“It’s age appropriate. Would you mind if I picked up the first one for him to see if he’s interested? Or do you like to read books yourself before giving them to him?”

Was that something Eli was supposed to be doing? He’d never done that before, and he felt another pang of guilt. “I trust yourjudgment,” he said. “I’ll give you some money for it. And if he likes it, we can get the rest of the series.”

“That’s great,” Maddie said. “They’re some of my favorite children’s books. Really great. To be honest, you should check them out yourself in your free time.”

“Maybe I will.” He wouldn’t. What free time was she talking about? If he had free time, he would be spending it at home with Charlie, not reading books. “So you and Charlie have been bonding well?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. We had a great time today.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you sound surprised? You know what a great kid he is!”

“Yeah, I do, I just don’t always get to hear it from other people,” Eli said. “I don’t know if I can express how nice it is to hear that someone likes your kid.” Damn, she wasn’t making it easy not to fall for her. Beautiful, smart, and she loved Charlie? Eli wasn’t looking for love, but if he had been, that would check all the boxes.

Not that he was falling for her. This thing he had been feeling lately was a passing thing, nothing more. She was attractive and had a great personality, that was all it was. It didn’t mean he was going to forget himself. It didn’t mean he was going to forget the nature of their relationship — strictly business.

She ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass.

Just that little gesture made Eli feel like his heart had missed a beat.

I’m in big trouble.

He cleared his throat. “Tell me what you and Charlie did today,” he suggested. “You mentioned that you were going to cook lunch together.”

“Yeah, we did. We saved some for you, like you asked. I can reheat it — although I’m guessing you probably don’t want a big spaghetti dinner this late at night.”

“Maybe I’ll take it to work with me tomorrow,” he suggested. “I appreciate you setting some aside.”

She bit her lip and hesitated. “If you do take it… I think you should let Charlie know what you think of it once you’ve eaten it,” she said. “I know he was so excited for that. He’d be thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it. He would get a real kick out of that.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” Eli agreed.

The truth was that he appreciated her saying so, because it was something he might not have thought to do on his own. It was slightly embarrassing to realize that. Of course he should compliment his son on the meal — was this Charlie’s very first time cooking something? God, he didn’t even know the answer to that.

“You know, he thinks the world of you,” Maddie said. “He talks about you all the time — only good things. He thinks you hung the moon.”

“I’m sure all little boys feel that way about their fathers.”

“To a degree, maybe, but you should know that he really does admire you. I hope you appreciate that, because I don’t think it’s something to be taken for granted. Not that I know much about what it’s like to be a father. I just see the way he looks up to you,and I think if I had a child, that would mean everything to me. I don’t want you to miss out on noticing that.”

Eli nodded. Maybe Maddie was right to question his parenting — as bad as that made him feel. She was right that the admiration she was describing wasn’t something he paid a lot of attention to. He wouldn’t have said he didn’t notice it, but he didn’t think about it — and he should.

“Did he have fun cooking?” he asked her.

She nodded. “He had a great time. He’s been saying he wants to become a cook when he grows up.” She glanced at him quickly.

“What?” Eli frowned. “You look like you have something else to say.”

“No, it’s just… I didn’t know how you were going to react to that,” she said. “The idea of him becoming a cook.”

“Well, he’s six. It’s not like he’s going off to culinary school tomorrow.”

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