He does it three more times and Annabelle laughs every time.
Picking her up, he circles her around in his arms, his smile as wide and as bright as when he’s on the rink after a win. I’m so enthralled that I don’t realize until it’s too late that he’s stopped and is staring at me.
“I didn’t peg you for a spy.” He lowers Annabelle to the changing table again.
I slowly step into the room. “Sorry.”
“At least this was something good for you to tattle back to my dad.”
“Is that what you really think I do? Tattle?”
“You’re my father’s fetcher. So yes, I do think you tattle because that’s partly what he’s paying you for.” He changes Annabelle’s diaper without a problem and puts her in a cute onesie that says “Daddy’s Girl” with pink lettering and small flowers.
“Your family is my business. I was hired to make you look good.”
“You were hired to make sure to spin any fuck-ups.” He picks her up and holds her.
“Yes, but—”
He spins to face me. “I’ve always been curious. Why?”
His anger spurs me to step back. “Why what?”
“Why would you take this job? You can’t have much of a life. Always having to be on call to fly down here to stop me from having any fun. My dad doesn’t even talk to you with a modicum of respect.”
I say nothing about the way his father talks to me. He talks to me like a paid employee, and I’ve been talked to in a lot worse ways, so it doesn’t get to me. At least Mr. Jacobs doesn’t talk down to me, which is more than I can say for how he talks to his son.
“It’s none of your business, but if you must know, I went to school for this.”
“Sure, but why not work at some big firm? You seem like the nerdy type. Surely you had good grades.” He takes the headband off Annabelle, and I swear I hear her release a sound like a sigh of relief. It reminds me of when I take off a tight dress and my Spanx after a long night out.
“I hate to break it to you, but jobs aren’t just lined up waiting for you when you graduate college unless you know…” I don’t finish because I’m growing madder by the minute and I’m going to say something I shouldn’t.
“What?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. Let’s just get this interview over with.”
He widens his legs and his blue eyes focus on me. “Come on. Give it to me, Boyd. I’m sure it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“I don’t have a rich daddy to set me up in his golf buddy’s business,” I say. I saw it so many times where I’d be one of the top two candidates for a position, and it would go to the person with connections. No one knew my dad except for maybe the shelter managers.
He laughs smugly and it makes me want to smack his face. “I didn’t use shit. My dad doesn’t know anyone in the National Hockey League. I earned my spot myself.”
“I wasn’t suggesting—”
“Sure, you were. And if I had to work for any company, we both know it would be Jacobs Enterprises.” He stops right next to me, leaning down so he can speak directly into my ear.
My breath hitches from the scent of his expensive cologne.
“Money isn’t everything,” he whispers.
I turn toward him. Our faces are millimeters apart, so close that Annabelle’s hand touches my cheek, but he doesn’t back away. “Says the trust fund boy.”
He huffs and straightens up, moving Annabelle’s hand from my cheek. “That’s all you see me as, huh?”
“And all you see me as is some pathetic woman who does your dad’s bidding and has to nag you to live your life on the straight and narrow.”
He doesn’t move. The longer he stands there with his gaze on me, the more I want to fidget. But I’m not going to show him how much he intimidates me. I straighten my back instead and force myself to not do so much as even blink.
“At least we have that straight.” He holds out Annabelle for me. “Since you’re the help, you won’t mind watching her while I go do the interview with your boyfriend.”
I accept Annabelle and he walks out without me saying a word. Damn, why can’t I think about a comeback? Boyfriend? Does he think Gavin is my boyfriend? And if he was, what is it to him?
I look down to find Annabelle’s eyes studying me. “Your daddy is a complicated man.”
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Cockamamie Unicorn Ramblings
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Man… this book took so long to write. We had two deadlines, and even on the last one we were worried we wouldn’t hit it. Maksim and Paisley were hard nuts to crack, but in the end we found them.
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There was going to be more of an enemies-to-lovers vibe in this book, but Maksim just knew Paisley was the one for him. When we title our books to get them up for pre-order we have a general outline of what the book will be about, but so many times when it comes time to write things don’t turn out how we originally planned. Characters don’t cooperate, we get a different/better idea as the series progresses, or what we originally wanted to do no longer feels right… which you know if you ever read our ramblings before. LOL
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This book was no different but honestly, we don’t remember what was supposed to be in this book. In the end they both just kind of fell on the page and we explored them through their journey until the emotional end. That was kind of a surprise, neither one of us saw how emotional the ending to their story would be.
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Without our team you wouldn’t have any of our books! Seriously, they take on a lot of the work off our hands so that we can write!
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Andie Edwards – who was our Russian language/culture guru. This would have been impossible to pull off without you. Thank you so much for going above and beyond to assist us with this one!
Danielle Sanchez and the entire Wildfire Marketing Solutions team.
Cassie from Joy Editing for line edits.
Ellie from My Brother’s Editor for line edits.
My Brother’s Editor for proofreading.
Hang Le for the cover and branding for the entire series. Those colors!
Wander Aguiar for the inspiration of Maksim. Those eyes!
Bloggers who consistently carve out time to read, review and/or promote our work.
Piper Rayne Unicorns who love our characters like as much as we do! Thank you!
Readers who took the time to read our story when there’s so many choices out there.
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We can’t tell you how excited we are for Ford’s book. Who doesn’t love a single dad in need of redemption? This one is a must read!
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xo,
Piper & Rayne
About Piper & Rayne
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write “heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle” about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they're married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they're both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!