Page 29 of The Billionaire Dating Dad

But it was her eyes that rooted him in place. They were as bright with determination as the day she’d entrusted him with their daughter.

“May?” he asked with a mixture of relief and anger, though he already knew this woman was the mother of his child. Yet he said her name as if it were a question, needing confirmation after months of having private investigators search every hospital in the country. One by one they’d returned empty-handed, leaving the promise he’d made to Maddie to find her mother unfulfilled.

“Mommy!”

Maddie.He hoped and prayed for this moment for months but now that it had arrived, Dimitri had mixed feelings. He was still getting to know his daughter, still building trust. It had taken months to prove he wouldn’t leave and for Maddie to ease back into her rambunctious self.

His first instinct was to protect her from anything and anyone who would cause her pain but how did he protect her from a mother who’d given him his world out of pure love? A mother who wanted to guard her daughter against the same pain he wanted to shield Maddie from. Instead, Dimitri steeled himself against the wave of insecurities that had plagued him when he first brought his daughter home — Maddie’s rejection and his fear of not being enough, not knowing what to do when she had spent her first few nights crying.

Maddie bumped into the back of his legs, her hands gripping his pants as she looked at her mother.

May dropped her purse onto the front porch and knelt. “Hi baby, it’s Mommy.” Restrained tears echoed in May’s voice.

Dimitri took Maddie’s hand. As enthusiastic as his daughter was to see her mother, her trembling hand said she was scared. And probably unsure of whether May’s presence was real or a figment born from imaging her day after day.

“Don’t you want to say hello to your mom?” The words made his throat dry.

Maddie gazed up at him and nodded before looking at her mother.

May held out her arms. Dimitri couldn’t imagine the strength it took to wait for Maddie to come to her. He saw it in her shaking outstretched arms and the way May’s breathing shook her body as she fought tears.

“I missed you, Mommy.”

“I missed you too, baby.” May’s arms closed around Maddie. What little restraint she possessed gave way to heartbreaking tears of joy. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Mom, you're crushing me,” Maddie complained but didn’t wiggle away from her mother.

May laughed. “Sorry,” she said, losing her grip. “I just can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”

“That’s because Jack cooks lots of vegetables.”

“Jack’s our chef,” Dimitri explained. They’d come full circle. Now he was the person filling May in on Maddie’s life.

“But, Mom.” Maddie laced their fingers. “I’m not Pescaty anymore.”

“Pescatarian,” May corrected. “And that’s okay.”

“You’re not mad?”

“No.” May sniffed. “Can Jack make pancakes?”

“Uh-huh. And waffles too!” May took her mother’s hand. “Come on, Mom. I want to show you my room. And you have to meet Violet, she’s the best!”

May glanced toward him for an explanation but for the life of him, Dimitri could no longer define Violet’s role in their lives. He’d stopped seeing her as Maddie’s nanny months ago. And since his sister had hired her, that technicality had softened the logistics of a power dynamic between them.

When May stood, Dimitri noticed the tiredness lining her features. “Hey,” he said to Maddie. “Your mom traveled a long way to see you. Why don’t we let her relax for a bit in the living room before giving her the grand tour?”

He watched them head to the living room before bringing May’s bags into the house and closing the door. In minutes his life was turned on its head.

He slowly plotted to the family room where May and Maddie were happily gabbing away, happily reunited. Violet sat off to herself with a war between heartache and joy waging in hereyes. He caught her glance and signaled for her to follow him. He led her back to the kitchen.

When he turned around she blurted, “What does all this mean?”

He opened his mouth but no words came out. His heart wanted Violet with the desperation of a raging forest fire. But he knew the right thing to do was to give Maddie the traditional family he never grew up with.

After his speechless response, she nodded. “I understand.” Then she fled, tears on the brink of falling from her eyes. He tried to follow but Maddie interrupted him and he tamped down his impatience to reach Violet. By the time he arrived upstairs, Violet was behind closed doors.

Dimitri knocked on her door when he really wanted to break it down, eliminating all barriers between them.

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