His Secret Daughter by Lisa Carter

Author:Lisa Carter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-11-22T21:08:21+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Maisie’s eyes widened at the sight of her big-girl bed. Her little hands flew to her mouth.

“Does she like it?” Jake whispered to Callie.

Maisie danced on her tiptoes. “Oh. Oh. Oh.”

“She likes it a lot.” Callie held out her hand to Maisie. “Come see the big-girl bed your daddy bought you, Maisie.”

BooWoo clutched under her arm, the little girl crawled onto the bed. The robin’s-egg blue of the scalloped headboard and footboard was lovely.

Jake stuck his hands in his pockets. “Nash and I set the frame low. As she grows, it can be adjusted higher off the floor.”

Propping BooWoo against the pillow, Maisie ran her palm over the colorful pastel squares of the bedspread.

Jake crouched beside the bed. “Your favorite colors.” He glanced up at Callie. “I think.”

Callie sat beside Maisie. “Pink, green, lavender and yellow are her favorite colors.” She flipped back the comforter. “Look at your new sheets.”

Maisie gave a tiny squeal of happiness and slid underneath the covers. Callie had never seen her so happy. The pink rosebud sheets were perfect.

“You did great, Jake McAbee. Really great.”

He chewed his lip. “You think so?”

“You thought of everything.” She gestured. “Fluffy shams and matching curtains, too. A little girl’s dream bedroom.”

“Just so it’s Maisie’s dream.”

Maisie flopped backward and laughed.

Callie tilted her head. “I think it’s Maisie’s dream and more come true.”

“As long as she’s happy.”

Callie smiled. “You’ve made your daughter so happy today. And not just because you bought her a big-girl bed.”

Throwing off the covers, Maisie sprang forward and hurled herself at him. “My daddy, tank you, tank you, tank you.”

He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You’re very welcome, my Maisie.” He smiled at Callie. “Her hair smells like strawberries. And sunshine.”

Maisie tugged her father onto the mattress next to Callie. Her arms went around them both. And Callie found herself physically closer to Jake than she’d ever been before. Her heart turned over.

Quickly, he freed himself from Maisie’s tight embrace. The smile slid off his face, replaced with the aloofness she’d come to know all too well. A pinprick of tears stung her eyelids. Being close to her made him uncomfortable.

Hollowness bottoming in her stomach, Callie inserted a few more inches, keeping Maisie’s warm, pajama-clad body between them.

Was he still hung up on his ex-wife? Or after what Tiff had done, would he never trust another woman again? Callie’s relationship with the woman who’d hurt him most made her the last person on earth with whom he’d ever open up.

Her lower lip quivering, she got off the bed. “Bedtime, Maisie.”

Maisie wound her arms around her father’s neck. “No bed.”

Callie folded the cardigan around her body. “Yes, bed.”

Letting go of Jake, Maisie bounced, testing the mattress.

“No, ma’am.” Callie took hold of her. “No more jumping on the bed, little monkey.”

Maisie laughed. “May-zee no monkey.” Leaning against her father’s strong, muscled back, her eyes flitted to Jake. “Pway night-night with me and Cawee, my daddy?”

A lump rose in Callie’s throat. Maisie had hardly let go of her father since he’d returned.

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