He did what came naturally. He lifted the little girl into his arms.
“You’ve done it now with talk of presents. She’s going to be your little shadow.”
Maddie grinned and took a bite of her grilled cheese before laying her head on his shoulder. Jasper felt a shift in him. It wouldn’t be a hardship being this little lassie’s stepfather for a year.
“Ah, now, there’s a good little lassie. Eat your cheese, then you can take a nap so you can get your presents. Does that sound good?”
“Uh, huh.” She giggled, her smile radiant.
“Why don’t you eat?”
“But—”
“I’ve got her. You eat. I can eat once you’re done.” He watched her struggle with the need to protect and care for her daughter versus eating. It was clear she’d had no one help her care for her kid. He could give her that, show her she wasn’t alone for the next year.
“Oh okay. Um, thank you.” Freya rose, keeping an eye on him and Maddie while she lunch for herself.
He enjoyed keeping her off kilter. It was all part of the seduction.
8
Freya didn’t know what to think or feel watching Jasper hold Maddie as if it were no big deal. Maddie ate up the male attention. Her heart squeezed. She understood her daughter’s need for a father’s love. Perhaps this year would be beneficial in more ways than financial. Maybe it would provide Maddie with a positive male role model.
Maybe he’d even want to stay in her daughter’s life once they divorced.
Oh, who was she kidding? Jasper was an uber-wealthy, sinfully attractive man. He would wind up meeting a woman and falling in love for real. Even though he told her he’s not capable of the emotion, she didn’t buy it. He’d just not met the right woman yet.
But a guy who looked like him would at some point. It was simply a matter of time.
“Were you able to get your work done? I hope we weren’t too loud.” Her anxiety was off the charts. Like she was waiting for something to set Jasper off while telling herself he wasn’t like Ian.
And Maddie charmed Jasper if his sinfully sexy smile were anything to judge by. Her girl parts sighed, totally infatuated with him because the man was a walking wet dream.
“Yes. We’ll need to be up early tomorrow to head to Denver. It’s going to take all day to accomplish our tasks.”
The tasks that would change her into someone acceptable for him to be seen with. She understood it, even if there was a part of it that made her uneasy. All she had to do was focus on the end game, and she would be fine. “Okay, Maddie might complicate all those tasks.”
He needed to be prepared that a toddler thwarted everything from getting ready to leave to shopping in a store to being in a car for long periods and everything else in between.
Jasper glanced at Maddie with a goofy grin. “I’ll think we’ll be fine, won’t we, little lassie?”
Maddie giggled and pointed at the large flatscreen television mounted on the wall. “Ja’per, street.”
“Ah, you want to watch some Sesame Street? Well, I think we can arrange that. Are you done eating?”
Maddie nodded. He shot Freya an inquisitive glance, his dark brows raised in question. But his meaning was clear. He was asking Freya for her approval. When had she ever had a man ask her for permission? Um, never. But he understood the authority to make decisions for her daughter and what she would allow still rested with her. He couldn’t know what it meant after years of being discounted and mistreated. “Yeah, she tends to be a grazer. I doubt she will eat more lunch without a fight. You have about twenty minutes, baby, and then it’s naptime.”
“You eat. We’ll watch Sesame Street.” Jasper rose and headed into the living room with Maddie in his arms.
Her ovaries quivered at the sight. Was there anything sexier than a handsome manly man taking care of a toddler like it was no big deal?
Maddie laughed and giggled, totally at ease with him as they settled down and watched some Sesame Street. But then, she’d always been a happy baby. Freya figured the universe had given her such a sweet girl because the rest of her life was a hot mess.
She listened to Jasper charm her daughter while she ate lunch. She stuffed herself too, with chicken, potato salad, and veggies. It was such a novel experience eating real protein and veggies that were crisp and ripe that she couldn’t seem to help herself from finishing everything she’d piled on her plate.
Once she was finished, she asked, “Do you want me to leave the food out for you to make a plate?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” Jasper shot her a glance, his gaze unreadable as he studied her.
When he looked at her, leveling her with that cobalt gaze like he saw every part of her, even the icky parts she didn’t like to display, her skin felt three sizes too small. She approached, feeling his gaze, but she kept her focus on her kid. Mainly because seeing him with Maddie stirred her up and brought out her inner ho. And that broad wanted to put Maddie down for a nap to have some adult playtime with her fiancé.
“Mama.” Maddie held her arms out to her.
She scooped her up, but not before catching a whiff of his sensual scent. She didn’t know what cologne he wore, but it hit her, and her entire body shivered. “Time for a nap, baby.”
Maddie laid her head on Freya’s shoulder. Her eyes drooped with exhaustion. She yawned, more than ready for naptime. “Thanks for watching her for me.”
“Kiss,” Maddie demanded, turning her face toward Jasper as he rose from the couch.
“All right, little lassie, a kiss you shall have.” Jasper made it dramatic with smacking sounds as he kissed her cheek.
Maddie took his face in hers and kissed him back. He tickled her belly, much to her delight. “All right, you two, you can play after her nap.”
It delighted her they were enjoying one another’s company. And it worried her. Because he affected her just by being in the same room. Watching him charm her kid, he was slaying her.
Jasper winked at Maddie. “And then, it’s present time.”
Maddie giggled as they headed toward the stairs and yawned. Up in their room, she laid down with her in bed, holding her while she settled down. Her eyelids drooped. Her breathing evened out. Then she dropped off to sleep.
Once she had Maddie in her playpen, she gathered all their clothes into a basket she’d found in one room. With the baby monitor in hand, she carted the laundry down the stairs.
But Jasper wasn’t in the kitchen or living room any longer. He likely went back to work. Was this a preview of her days? That they were going to be relaxed and easy. It was a complete one-eighty from what her life had been like over the past few years. Because even with Ian, she could never fully relax and let her guard down.
But here with Jasper, it was peaceful. Life was easier, less chaotic.
She started a load of laundry and then went exploring the place they were calling home until their passports came through. She would not think about what type of trouble she might get in for submitting false information to the federal government to get those passports. Maybe she should come clean with Jasper and explain the situation. How she’d been forced to change her last name to protect Maddie from her father.