Page 22 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

I tucked Zoe in her bed and kissed her goodnight, but as I was heading back downstairs to clean up her mess, I heard a loud thump coming from outside. I froze, and then a second later, the front door swung open. A blast of snow and ice poured in as Jacob came inside. I ran down the rest of the way and threw myself into his arms. I hugged him tight, muttering,“Thank God!”over and over as I buried my face into the cold, solid wall of his chest. And Jacob hugged me back—I was sure of that—but did I imagine the way he stroked my hair and the kiss he pressed on the top of my head?

Embarrassed, I stepped away from him and called up to Zoe. She scampered down the stairs and launched herself into her father’s arms.

“Daddy, you got here! I missed you so bad!”

“I missed you too, baby. But I’d never miss Christmas with my girl.”

“Ellie was worried,” Zoe said. “She kept checking her phone and the window and then her alarm went off. She was very brave, though. We did cookies for Santa. Look!”

Jacob kissed Zoe’s cheeks. “I bet you were the one who decorated them,” he said. “Your face is all sticky.”

“Hey, now,” I said, “I wiped her down before we brushed our teeth.”

“Maybe it’s just my imagination, then,” Jacob said, smiling and holding my eyes. I could feel the blood in my cheeks, but I could not look away—not even when Jacob turned his attention back to Zoe. “So, hey, those look like great cookies. Can I have one? I came a long, long way to get here and I’m hungry.”

“No, Daddy,” Zoe said, deadly serious. “Those are Santa’s cookies. He will be sad if I give you a cookie. He has to go all around the whole entire world, not just from Singapore.”

“Okay, fair point,” Jacob said with a shrug, and he carried Zoe over to the tree. “Who made this garland?”

“Me and Ellie! We cut lots of circles and made chains with the glue stick. But she’s a shorty so it doesn’t go all the way to the top. We did our best, though.”

“Now, I know it’s late,” Jacob said, “but I think Santa will want to see our tree all decked out when he arrives. What do you say we decorate it real quick before you go to bed?”

Zoe clapped her hands, clearly too excited to go to sleep anytime soon. Jacob got a box of ornaments from a closet. Zoe held up every single one for him to look at before hanging them in clusters where she could reach. Jacob climbed up a step ladder and strung lights with my help. After we finished, Zoe hopped from foot to foot with a gold and silver gift box in her hands.

“It’s time for the special one!” she said. Jacob nodded and sat down on the floor beside the tree. Zoe climbed into his lap, opened the box, and gently pulled out a silver frame with a red ribbon. Zoe gazed at it fondly.

“Your mommy loved you so much,” Jacob said, his voice tight with emotion. “She told me on our second date that she wanted kids, and if I didn’t, then I could forget about being with her. We wanted you so badly, and when we found out we were having a girl, your mother said it was the best day of her life. She loved to rock you and sing to you—”

“Even though she was a really bad singer!”

Jacob chuckled. “You’ve seen the videos, what can I say? You don’t remember, but for your first Christmas, we took you to see Santa and you screamed so much that the elf with the camera was nervous. Your mommy made Santa scoot over in his big chair and she squeezed in beside him and held you on her lap. There you are, screaming your head off in the picture there in your little white, furry dress. I gave her this ornament on your first Christmas, and she loved it. Even though she can’t be with you, she’s smiling at you on the tree, right?”

“And watching over me because she loves me,” Zoe said. Jacob hugged her, then lifted her up so she could hang the frame ornament higher than all the others. Zoe beamed.

“Your mommy would be so proud of you,” Jacob said. “You’re such a big girl, so strong and smart and kind. And sosleeeeeeeeepy!”

That made Zoe giggle. Jacob set her down and then chased her up the stairs to her room. I stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, listening as he began reading’Twas the Night Before Christmas, then went back into the kitchen and started cleaning up Zoe’s mess.

Chapter12

12

Jacob

After the stressand misery of crowded flights, bad weather, and missed connections, when Ella sailed down the stairs and into my arms, relief flooded over me like a hot shower.

During my flight from Bangkok, I had often caught myself thinking that I couldn’t wait to get home to my girls. Mygirls.No matter how many times I told myself she was off-limits—and that, after all I had accomplished, surely I had the willpower to resist my attraction to her—I kept coming back to those two simple words.My girls.

After we finished the tree, I tucked Zoe into bed and read her a story. Thankfully, she fell asleep right away, and I went back downstairs to get the Santa stuff done. I unlocked the storage room in the garage and brought in the dozens of boxes that I’d had shipped here for just this reason the week before. I stacked them by the tree and went to retrieve some wrapping paper when I caught a glimpse of Ella at the kitchen counter. She waved at me and I joined her.

“Hi there,” I said. “I’m surprised you’re still up. You’ve had a long day.”

“True, but I didn’t cross like twenty-six time zones to get here. Need any help with the Santa thing?”

“I’ve already ruined your holiday. The roads are going to be impassable now and—”

“I know,” Ella said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t pitch in and stuff the stockings.”

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