The Texas Billionaire's Bride / The Texas Bodyguard's Proposal: The Texas Billionaire's Bride. Crystal Green

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ night, he thought. And he hadn’t returned the affection.

      Worst father ever, he thought again, taking no pride in this accomplishment.

      He felt like such a nothing, all he wanted to do was change the perception—even if it were just for the final hours of Father’s Day.

      He cleared his throat and both females looked back, Livie watching him, her gaze wounded.

      And Melanie?

      She was watching him, too, but she looked about ready to throttle him. Yet, how could he be offended when she was angry for the sake of his daughter?

      “I apologize,” he said, “for missing our date. I lost track of time.”

      The excuse didn’t hold any water at all. In fact, with the way the nanny was visually shooting bullets at him, his words seemed punctured.

      He continued. “Livie, I know how much you wanted me there.”

      Her gaze had come to rest on his tie. That darn R2-D2-riddled tie.

      And lo and behold, she smiled. An injured smile, to be sure, but at least he’d done something right today.

      Thanks to Melanie, he reluctantly admitted to himself.

      The nanny saw the tie, too, but that didn’t change her expression. “We understand. Work’s important.”

      Yes, it is, he wanted to say, but he didn’t. It didn’t seem so true right now.

      They were both still sitting in their lounge chairs, their bodies slanted toward the skyline, as if they knew better than to commit to turning all the way toward him.

      “We had fun, Daddy,” Livie said. “Ms. Grandy made peanut butter and jelly starfish sandwiches. And we shared oranges with Sheree and Tammy.”

      Zane almost flinched. Even after what he’d done, his daughter was still talking to him as if he hadn’t screwed up?

      “Sheree and Tammy are neighbor girls,” the nanny said, grinning at Livie. “Their mom told me that they’re six and seven years old, almost twins with Livie.”

      “And they have American Girl dolls, too!” his daughter added.

      They laughed again, and Zane wished he could join in.

      But he could—couldn’t he?

      Even though he wondered, he knew that he would have to make it up to Livie somehow, because having her go back to Austin just after he’d pulled the rug out from under her was unthinkable.

      Distance was fine, he told himself. It was subtle. But this afternoon he’d done something cruel—and he even wondered if he’d done it subconsciously, because he knew that going to the park would lead to daytrips and that would lead to week-long trips, and…

      He stopped himself, vowing to give them a great night instead. Afterward, they could all go back to where they belonged, feeling the better for it.

      “We’re going to do something else right now,” he said. “So why don’t you get yourselves up so we can go?”

      Now Livie swung her legs to the side of her chair, and Zane smiled.

      “Where’re we going, Daddy?”

      “To a place that’ll make you real happy. Trust me on that.”

      As his daughter clapped her hands, he couldn’t help but notice that Melanie wasn’t applauding at all.

      Melanie had always told herself that she couldn’t be bought off, but as she stood in front of the mirror of the personal shopper’s boutique in Westenra’s, a high-class department store in the swanky Garden Faire Mall, she wasn’t so sure.

      “Gorgeous,” said the sales associate as she adjusted the skirt of the sea-blue cocktail dress that Melanie was trying on. “It compliments your eyes, hair and skin tone. You look like a movie star!”

      In back of Melanie, Livie glanced up from her picture book from where she was sitting on the leather sofa. Zane had already bought her a bunch of stuff at a bookstore.

      “Oh, Ms. Grandy,” Livie said. “You’re bea-u-ti-ful.”

      Melanie smiled at her while avoiding looking at Zane, who was sitting right next to his daughter.

      “We’ll take this last dress, too,” he said.

      Ecstatic at the commission she’d rung up, the personal shopper scooped up the six other outfits her client had tried on and flitted off, leaving Melanie alone in the mirror.

      She tried not to give in to the lure of all this, but at the sight of herself she went a little dreamy. She looked like she’d found a glass slipper, but like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight, she knew this was only transient.

      Still…

      Zane Foley seemed to catch her doubt. “That dress is all yours, if you want, just like the other outfits you’ve tried on.”

      Yes, she wanted. And…darn him, he knew. She could tell from the contented way he was sitting there, taking it all in, as if this made up for his ditching Livie this afternoon.

      Melanie ran her hand over the silk of the dress’s haltered neckline. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe he’d lost track of time at the office. Oh, yes, she truly had faith in that. And that was the problem.

      He would always lose track at the expense of Livie unless something was done about it.

      Turning around, she faced him, and once again she was thrown off by his mere presence. The dark hair that seemed slightly ruffled from a long day. The hazel eyes that were even now stroking over her and making her get butterflies in her tummy.

      And the R2-D2 tie.

      He was still wearing it, and she couldn’t help but appreciate that, even if she’d pushed it on him.

      “Mr. Foley, I don’t think—”

      “Stop with the polite refusals,” he said. “As Livie’s nanny, you need to look the part.”

      “You already told me that.”

      She shot him a glance that said the rest: and this has no connection to how you win over people? With how you buy Livie all those dolls instead of showing up to be with her every once in a while?

      She couldn’t say it out loud. Not with Livie here, even if the child had gone back to reading her books.

      “Besides,” Melanie continued, “I’m guessing that Livie and I probably won’t be attending many cocktail parties together.”

      He leaned forward, and as those butterflies painted the lining of her belly with flutters, she almost touched her stomach, calming them.

      Chasing them away.

      “Okay, СКАЧАТЬ