Page 33 of The Prince's Secret Daughter
Angela’s eyes widened. “Really?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. And I will teach you if you’d like to learn.”
Her mouth opened, forming a perfect “O” before she asked, “Will you teach me to be just like Fiona?”
Raj pursed his lips as if considering. Then he said, “You’ll have to show me the movie. I can’t tell you definitely if I can teach you to be just like Fiona until I know who Fiona is.” He shrugged. “What if Fiona is not all that intelligent? You’ve already proven you’re very smart.”
Angela’s eyes widened at the affirmation. For the next few minutes, Helen watched with amazement as Raj and Angela talked about intelligence and understanding various languages and concepts.
Before this moment, Helen had admired Raj. She’d been sexually attracted to him and liked him as a person. But as she watched him bond with their daughter, Helen realized that she…loved him. Absolutely adored him! Hearing him tell their daughter how special, smart, and important she was, her heart melted. All of the barriers she’d built around her heart, crumbled to dust as she listened.
Helen knew that, if anyone tried to hurt her baby girl, she would go all Momma Bear on that person. She would have crushed them and defended her adorable cub to the death. But she hadn’t realized how vulnerable she was when it came tosomeone who adored her daughter, as Raj was demonstrating right now.
Taking in a slow, deep breath, she tried to control her emotions. Helen didn’t want Raj to see how vulnerable she felt. Her life had literally been turned upside down, and now wasn’t the time to start an emotional relationship with a man who had walked out on her five years ago.
No, she needed to be strong. Strong for herself as well as for Angela. She was her daughter’s role model and Helen couldn’t let her daughter see how easily she’d fallen for Raj.
“When can I get my boots back?” Angela asked, her voice sounding normal again.
Raj sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think your boots are safe, honey.”
“Safe?”
Helen knew where this was going. “Why don’t we get those pancakes?” she offered, changing the subject. At this age, it was better to distract Angela than to offer her scary explanations. A four year old didn’t need to know that someone might try to hurt her daddy by going through her.
“Pancakes!” Angela gasped, clapping her hands in excitement. Then she turned and looked at Raj, putting a pudgy hand on each of his cheeks. “Only two pancakes, Daddy. Otherwise, we’ll be grouchy all day long.” She eyed him seriously, then demanded, “Do you understand?”
Helen put a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her amusement at her daughter’s warning.
Chapter 30
Raj glanced over at Helen, seeing the way she had her hand over her mouth. Exactly what Angela had done moments ago. It was a stark reminder that Helen and Angela were a team. A team that he wanted to be a part of.
When he looked at his daughter again, he nodded solemnly. “Only two pancakes. Got it.”
He pulled the door open and peered outside. When he received a nod from the guard, Raj nodded to Helen and Angela. “Pancakes it is!”
Angela hooted with joy, racing ahead of them.
Raj glanced at Helen as they walked down the hallway at a more sedate pace. “The butler assured me that the chef would make pancakes that are high in protein and low in carbs.” He put a hand to the small of her back. “He uses yogurt and something else.” He grimaced. “I’m not really a fan of regular pancakes, and these sound even worse.”
“Maybe they’ll be good.”
“I would have asked for something different, but Angela had just come out of her bedroom and got all excited when she heard the word pancakes. I don’t have the ability to deny her anything.” He smiled faintly. “I’ll get there though.”
“What’s up with her cowboy boots?” Helen asked as they both rounded the corner of the hallway that led to the great room.
“Nazir discovered there were listening devices in them.”
Helen gasped and stopped. She looked up at Raj, then at her daughter, horrified that anyone would use Angela as a route to spy on Raj. “How did they get in here?”
“I don’t know. But I remember Angela said something about Emily being sick. Nazir is looking into yesterday’s babysitter, who was recommended by the hotel and had gone through their background checks. This one today, I don’t have any information on yet. But Nazir is digging and we’ll have some information soon.”
“Good to know,” she agreed with a sharp nod.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, watching her carefully. “We had a pretty active night.”
He caught her blush before Helen could turn away. “Yes, I’m very hungry.”
