Mom for the CEO's Daughter

He motioned for her to dump it into the little bowl he and Stacy had scooped out of the sand. “Are you afraid of the water?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never been to the ocean before.” She looked up and out over the beautiful blue sea. “It’s very big.”

He gaped at her. “You own a bikini and you’ve never been to the ocean?”

She shrugged. “I have a friend who has a pool. I tan there…and swim.”

He almost asked her what kind of friend. Was her friend a man? A boyfriend? But he clamped down on his jealously. Where the hell was all this coming from?

***

Kara focused her attention on the water she had poured into the hole.

Stacy reached in and pulled out a blob of wet sand which she patted into a small pink bucket. She smiled at Kara. “I’m making bricks.”

“Let me help.” Kara grabbed the second bucket.

“So your mum never took you to the beach on vacation?” Gabe asked.

She sucked in a breath, annoyed with herself. She’d gone an entire year of working with Gabe Fulton without revealing the details of her not-so-happy childhood, and after ten minutes together at the beach she’d slipped up.

“My mother was a single mum, remember? We couldn’t afford to go on vacation.”

“That’s too bad.”

Drat. Now he felt sorry for her. That was the whole reason she didn’t want to tell him about her childhood. She hated pity. She’d pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made herself a success. There was no reason to pity her. She wanted him to like her.

“I work for the Gabriel Fulton, billionaire entrepreneur extraordinaire. It’s a dream position that every assistant wants.” She caught his gaze. “Most people wouldn’t feel sorry for me. Some might even call me lucky.”

He laughed and she smiled. There. Not one wisp of pity in his silver blue eyes now.

He grabbed the second, bigger bucket. “Time for more water.”

Kara’s eyes followed the stretch of his body as he unfolded from his sitting position in the sand. His swim trunks caressed his perfect butt and left bare a temptingly touchable chest and sculptured abs. Tall and regal, with no-nonsense black hair, he ruled his companies with the skill and mastery of a king guiding an empire. The way he worked had attracted her more than his good looks, but the good looks certainly didn’t hurt.

She watched him walk to the water, bend down, scoop up a bucketful and rise to come back.

She dropped her gaze to the wet sand she was patting into a brick.

She had a thing for him. He was finally noticing her. They were in paradise. This was her big shot to change their relationship from professional to personal. The bikini had broken the ice. Now she had to figure out how to melt it completely.

Chapter Two (#u38b089f6-9cd4-5c19-874b-28222401b6de)

“What do you want for supper, sweetie?”

Kara walked into the kitchen of her boss’s beach house just in time to see Gabe coax his daughter into eating. After they’d returned from three hours of playing in the sand and a quick rinse under the outdoor shower, she’d toweled off and slipped a T-shirt over her bikini.

Stacy giggled. “Cocoa cereal.”

Kara held back a laugh. It was fun watching ruthless billionaire playboy Gabe Fulton being tested by a tiny, blue-eyed, blonde-haired four-year-old.

“We don’t do cereal for supper.”

His stern voice caused Kara to face him as he continued.

“I can make hamburgers, hot dogs, steak or chicken on the grill. Plus veggies. Or I can heat a can of soup. Or you can go to bed hungry. Your choice.”

The little girl’s lips fell into a pout, but she didn’t argue. “Hamburger, please.”

Intrigued, Kara strolled to the center island where Stacy sat with her elbows on the yellow granite and her little chin on her closed fists.

“That’s better. Now go wash your hands.”

Stacy sniffed out a long breath, but again did what her daddy had told her to do.

When she was gone, Kara said, “Wow. That was amazing.”

“If I had to face a boardroom full of four-year-olds instead of arrogant executives, I wouldn’t have half the money I have.”

She laughed. “So what’s up with your ex-wife’s sudden trip to Europe? Is it business?”

“Nope. Pleasure. The trip is a vacation.”

Kara narrowed her eyes, considering that. “But Sunday is Mother’s Day.”

“She doesn’t care.”

“Stacy will.”

***

Relief rippled through Gabe. He’d been so bedazzled by the sight of Kara in a bikini that he’d forgotten what a nice person she was. Of course she understood. She might be attractive and it might have shocked him to see her in a bikini…but she was still Kara. Perfect assistant.

“That’s why we’re not going to even mention it while she’s around.”

“Got it.”

He took a mug from the cupboard to pour himself a cup of coffee. Before he did, though, he waved the mug at her. “Can I get you one?”

“Yes, I’d love a cup.”

He froze. That was one of about a hundred things they had in common. Even on the hottest days, they loved coffee. They also loved horror movies. And Mexican food and margaritas. If he ever found her counterpart in the dating scene he might have to rethink his vow to never remarry.

He shook his head to clear it. That was ridiculous. After the bitter divorce war that followed his short marriage, he now only dated. What the hell had put the idea of marriage into his head?

He nodded at the eReader Kara had in her hands. “By the way, I bought you that business book you said you wanted to read. It should have downloaded by now.”

She clicked on the eReader. “Closing the Deal?”