Single Mom, Billionaire Boss

Was she thinking about the way in which she’d given birth to her own child? Garrett didn’t know if Ivy had been born at the prison itself or if Meagan had been taken to a hospital. Whichever way it happened, he couldn’t fathom it. He was sorry if she’d had a rough time of it, but he couldn’t bring himself to say those words out loud. Yet he couldn’t stay completely silent, either. He felt compelled to say something, if just to keep the conversation going.

He settled on “Jake was a little freaked out at first. He never expected to get married or have kids. He understood what was at stake, that being a parent is the most important job in the world. But I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yes, I do.” She reached down and scooped up her daughter, holding her close.

Ivy put her head on her mother’s shoulder and grinned at Garrett. Then she dropped her pony and said, “Uh-oh.”

Little devil. He could tell that she’d done it on purpose. He picked up the toy and handed it to her. Already she had a way with men. No doubt she’d gotten it from her mother.

The kid made an impish face and dropped it again.

“Ivy,” her mom gently scolded.

He retrieved the toy a second time. He just couldn’t seem to resist.

“Sorry.” Meagan set Ivy on her feet.

“It’s okay.” He gave the child her pony. She was just too damned clever for her own good. They both were.

“Thank you,” Meagan said. She urged her daughter to say it, as well. “Tell Garrett thank you.”

Ivy obliged with “Tank you, Garry.”

His heart melted, all the way to his toes. “You’re welcome.” He gazed at Meagan, laughed a little and said, “I guess I’m Garry now.”

“She calls my brother Tanny and his fiancée Canny. A friend of theirs has a son who called them that when he was first learning to talk, so they taught Ivy to refer to them that way, too.” She smiled. “But you just got your nickname all on your own.”

“Like a guy who’s been knighted?” He made a sweeping bow. “Well done, Princess Ivy.”

The toddler stared up at him, and Meagan said, “Oh, that’s so sweet, you calling her that. I named her after a princess in a children’s book. I read the book when I was in elementary school, and I always remembered the name.”

“It suits her.” She was a regal kid, with her pink boots, painted pony and long, spiky eyelashes.

“I better get her to the day care.” Meagan took Ivy’s hand. “Do you want to go inside with us?”

“Sure. Why not?” He could have made an excuse to dash off, but he’d come here to observe Meagan with her daughter, so he might as well see it through to the end. “I like visiting the center.”

It went well, with Ivy’s teacher showing her around. The toddler seemed excited until she realized that she was going to be left there, without Meagan. She cried and clung to her mother’s leg. Both Meagan and the teacher attempted to reassure her, but she wasn’t having it. She kept bawling.

Garrett intervened, asking Ivy if she wanted to play blocks with him. She refused, but he didn’t give up. He sat on a carpeted section of the floor with some of the other kids, hoping she would get curious and join the party.

Eventually, her sniffles and tears subsided and she wandered over to him. He handed her one of the blocks, which he’d saved exclusively for her, and her eyes grew big and wide. The block had a picture of a horse on it. A lot of them had images of animals. Some had numbers and letters, too.

Meagan stood off to the side and watched him as if he were some sort of hero. He could have kicked himself for it.

He didn’t need her admiring him, or getting close to him, or using her beautiful charms and pulling him under her spell.

Finally, when Ivy was chattering with another little girl and stacking the blocks like an architect, Garrett got up from the floor.

“That was wonderful of you,” Meagan said to him. “I never anticipated her crying like that.”

“She seems okay now.”

“Thanks to you.”

He shrugged, making light of it, even if there was heaviness inside him. “It’s all in a day’s work.”

“I hope she’s going to be okay for the rest of the day.”

“She’ll be fine.” He almost offered to come back and check on her, but he’d already taken this further than he should have. “You can stop by on your lunch hour to see her. Lots of the other parents do that.”

“I definitely will. Thank you for everything, Garrett.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

“You’ve just done so much to help, with the job and now with Ivy.”

Garrett didn’t reply. Her daughter’s tears had affected him more than he cared to admit. It reminded him of the younger kids who used to cry in foster care.

Ivy turned and waved at her mother, giving her permission to leave, and he and Meagan walked out of the day care together.

“Oh, my goodness,” she said, as soon as they were free of the place. “My first experience with taking my baby to school.”

Garrett merely nodded. He could tell she was struggling not to break down, but her eyes had turned teary nonetheless. He considered giving her his handkerchief, the way he’d done when they’d originally met. But he refrained from making the gesture. By now, he was supposed to know better.

While he steeled his thoughts, she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tips of her knuckles, as if she were trying to wipe away the evidence of her emotions and look stronger than she felt. Only it wasn’t working. She still seemed fragile.

But Meagan’s vulnerability wasn’t his concern. Nor was he going to be sitting on the floor with a bunch of kids for the rest of the morning. He had grown-up meetings to attend. He was leaving tomorrow on a business trip and had a lot to do before then. “I should go.”

She quit fussing with her eyes. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” he replied, intending to escape with his indifference intact. “Have a good first day of work.”

“Thank you. I’ll try.”

She was clutching her daughter’s cartoon character purse as if the bag contained magic. And maybe in some sort of storybook way it did. He could almost imagine stars and moons and bits of glitter coming from it.

They said a quick goodbye and exited the atrium, going in different directions. But being separated from Meagan didn’t stop Garrett from thinking about her. Once again, he couldn’t seem to shake her, no matter how hard he tried.

* * *

Meagan hadn’t seen Garrett since he’d soothed Ivy at the day care, and that was a week ago. Time was moving on already. Today was her second Monday on the job, and she was doing well at work. But she couldn’t help wondering why he hadn’t come by the stables. She’d expected to catch sight of him at the barn, hanging out with his horses or going for a ride. But he was nowhere to be seen, at least not while Meagan was present.

Was it a coincidence that he hadn’t been there? Or was he staying away on purpose, distancing himself from her?

She spoke to the gelding she was grooming. “What do you think, Ho-Dad?”

The horse blew out a breath as if to say she was jumping to conclusions.