Page 41 of The Billionaire's Secret Child

Jeanie giggled. “Mommy isn’t scared of anything. Right, Mommy?”

For a second’s sliver, Laura paled, proving there was at least one thing she feared. In the next second, she stood taller. “That’s right.” She handed him the disc. “You’re on.”

Aidan retrieved the puck and held it over the middle, where it drifted slowly on the currents of air. “Ready?” He leaned down, his muscles poised and alert.

“Ready,” she agreed, her arm in position.

“Then go!” He released the puck and, without hesitation, hit it with the advantage of his long arms. Laura jumped back just in time to deflect the speeding missile from her goal.

She narrowed her eyes. “So you’re going to play like that?” She aimed and hit, missing his goal by a mere inch.

“Don’t you know I always play to win?” He gave a quick jab. The puck resounded off the left wall, then flew neatly into her goal.

“Score!” Jeanie clapped her hands.

“Oh yeah?” Laura retrieved the puck from under the table. “Well, take this.” With a quick flick of the wrist, she set the circle flying, right into Aidan’s goal. “Yeah!” She pumped her fist in the air, as Aidan made an over-exaggerated, dumbfounded expression.

“It’s tied!” squealed Jeanie.

“Not for long,” Aidan predicted, taking aim with the puck. Laura returned the volley, and hence it traveled back and forth, speeding through the air-ridden table. She returned, blocked and aimed, but an unfortunate misdirection caused her to lose the turn. However, she took the next one. And thus it went, back and forth, one player and then the other. Finally they were tied, an even 6-6, and the game turned to sudden death.

“The next one to score is going to be the undisputed air hockey champion of the universe,” Jeanie declared.

He released the puck and with a swift hook, set it soaring across the pocked surface. Laura returned it with a deft backhand, and it flew between them in their longest volley yet. With her arm clearly tiring, Laura still kept swinging furiously, and he had to move quickly to deflect her. She must play regularly, he guessed, to make up for her smaller size and speed. As he moved to the left to block where he thought she'd aim, she flung the puck to the right instead. It flew flawlessly into the goal.

“Mommy won!” Jeanie jumped up and down. She gave her mother a bear hug, as if she had just won that Olympic medal.

Aidan groaned, but in truth, he hadn’t been this happy in… well, he couldn’t remember. It was like he was a kid again, before there were any commitments, any worries, any guilt. He held out his hand. “Good game.”

Laura grasped his fingers, eliciting the usual spark of electricity between him and his would-be opponent. “Good game.”

“As long as you had fun, it’s okay.” Jeanie gave him a conciliatory pat on the back. "You're still a winner to me."

His heart melted… just a little. “Thank you very much, young lady.” He blinked eyes that were a little watery, obviously from the dust. “I am going to need a rematch. What do you say, partner?”

Laura glanced at her watch and shook her head. It had gotten late, no doubt way past the kid's bedtime. “I’m sorry, kids. Little girls need their beauty sleep.” She picked up her daughter and gave her a big hug. “We’re going to have to take a rain check, sweetie.”

“Awww, Mom,” Jeanie protested. “Do we have to go?”

“I'm afraid so.” Laura placed her back on the floor. As expected, the child grabbed her mom's hand, but then grasped his, as well. “Let’s go then.”

Aidan parted his lips, but Laura just smiled. And as they walked out, he couldn't help but think…

This is what it felt like to be a father.

Laura walked at a leisurely pace,as her daughter chatted incessantly with Aidan. Her mind drifted back to the night, to their experiences and what she learned. Tonight had been great – no, not just great – wonderful, amazing, spectacular. Aidan had been all she could have hoped for and more, kind and patient with the little girl, taking the role of doting father to perfection. He probably never realized the wistful look in his eyes, nor the sadness, undoubtedly a reflection of his great loss. What would it mean to him when he discovered the truth?

She had been similarly pleased by Jeanie's reaction to Aidan. The child had taken a special likeness to the man who would wear a pink frilly wrap just to make her happy. When Jeanie asked Aidan to help her pick out prizes, Laura was shocked. She was even more astonished to discover she didn't mind – it actually felt nice to share her daughter. With Aidan’s help, Jeanie chose a bright sparkling necklace and a small teddy bear.

Now they were almost home. Aidan had picked the child up a few minutes ago when she made a slight stumble, and now held her easily in his arms. The child’s voice grew smaller and smaller until she failed to respond to one of his questions. He looked down, and then smiled softly.

“She’s asleep,” Laura whispered.

He nodded, breathed deeply, pure contentment on his face. Tears threatened at the beautiful scene between father and daughter, the instinctual love they didn't know they shared. She kept her voice light. “I figured she wouldn’t make it home. When she’s awake, she’s got more energy than a power plant, but all of a sudden, it catches up to her.”

“She really is something.” Aidan took another look at the sleeping form. “She’s great.”

“Thank you.” Laura smiled. “I think so, too. She’s everything to me.”

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