The CEO Daddy Next Door Read Free

learn to live with that, for Lila.
    Ashley rested her enormous handbag on her knee and bent over it, rummaging through the contents. Marcus tried to avert his eyes, but he couldn’t. They were drawn to her cleavage the way a man roaming a desert is drawn to cool water. His breath caught in his throat. Her skin was a delicate wash of peach and pink, curving, dipping and swelling. A lock of her golden-blond hair fell from her shoulders, draping across her gorgeous display. His eyes clamped shut. He couldn’t take another minute. Ashley was the thorn in his side, however much she might resemble the rose that grew alongside it.
    The elevator dinged, the doors slid open and they came face-to-face with the only person to improve his mood reliably—Lila.
    Lila’s nanny, Catherine, was pushing her in the stroller. “Mr. Chambers. I was about to take Lila out for a short walk before bed.” Catherine’s wide eyes were glued to Ashley. “Ms. George. I loved last night’s Manhattan Matchmaker .”
    â€œPlease, call me Ashley. And it was just a rerun, wasn’t it?” Ashley stepped out into the hall.
    Catherine seemed as if she might burst from excitement. She was so taken with Ashley and her show. It was all she and his housekeeper, Martha, seemed to talk about, which drove Marcus crazy. He could see why people might be beguiled by her, but the show itself was silly. A ruse. True love. Soul mates. Fiction.
    â€œBut I love that episode,” Catherine said. “It was the one with the doctor and the woman who owns the bakery. Only you could’ve put those two people together. They totally fell in love.”
    Ashley smiled. “That’s very sweet of you to say. Thank you.”
    Marcus held the elevator while Catherine pushed the stroller onboard and turned it around. Marcus leaned down to press a kiss to Lila’s forehead, inhaling the sweet scent that came from her wispy blond hair. He rubbed his thumb across her rosy cheek. The smile and gurgle she gave him were salve for his soul. Without question, she was the most precious thing in his life, and she deserved so much more than he could give her on his own. Precisely the reason to avoid Ashley and find Lila a mum. “You have fun, my darling. Daddy will read you a bedtime story when you come home.” He released the doors as Catherine waved goodbye.
    â€œYour daughter is adorable. And very sweet. You know, that’s only the second time I’ve seen her. I didn’t even see her the night...” Ashley looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “You know. The night we went out. You’ve done a good job of keeping her from me.”
    I do a good job of keeping Lila from everyone. Protecting Lila was more than his charge. It was his strongest instinct. She’d been dealt a rotten hand in life, and it was his fault. He’d chosen the wrong woman for a wife and when things got bad, he’d convinced her that having a baby would make everything better. He was the reason Lila’s mother wasn’t there for her.
    â€œI believe you were about to give me your other phone numbers,” he said, changing the subject.
    â€œI’ll send you a text right now.” Ashley punched away at the keyboard. “Then you’ll have my info.”
    Marcus’s phone lit up with the other numbers. And a message. I’m not evil. Just so you know.
    â€œI never said you were evil, Ms. George.”
    â€œPlease don’t call me Ms. George. We’ve been on a date. It will make life much easier if we can drop the formalities.”
    â€œVery little in life is easy, but if that will placate you, I will call you Ashley.”
    Ashley narrowed her stare. For a moment, it was as if she was peering down into his soul, and he didn’t like that feeling at all. “You’re grumpy before your time, Chambers. And I don’t get it, because you weren’t like that when I first met you.