The Billionaire's Heart

by Christina Tetreault

  Before she answered, he grazed her nipple with his fingertip and lowered his mouth to hers in time to catch her groan.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Leah loved art. She always had. Some of her favorite childhood memories were of strolling through art museums with her mom. She didn’t care if the pieces were completed during the Renaissance period or the late twentieth century; she enjoyed it all. Of all the museums she visited, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was at the top of her list, followed closely by the National Gallery in London and, of course, the Louvre. What art lover didn’t like the Louvre?

  Somehow, today, going through the various collections housed in the museum was different. She’d seen many of the paintings and sculptures countless times, but this morning with Erin it’d been like seeing them for the first time. Gavin’s daughter reminded Leah of herself when she’d visited museums with her mom. She pointed out her favorite pieces and had no qualms about telling Leah which ones she thought were hideous. Oddly, many of the ones Erin disliked, she didn’t care for either. Leah wisely kept the opinion to herself. They’d already earned more than one disgruntled look thanks to Erin’s comments.

  After a few hours of strolling through first the modern and contemporary art, and then the medieval displays, they made their way to the American Wing. Judging by Erin’s comments, it was her favorite of the three. They finished their visit to the museum with lunch at the café and a quick stop at the gift shop. As a kid, no visit to the museum had been complete for Leah without a stop there. Erin felt the same way.

  She took her time walking through the store and checking out the various items offered before picking out two posters to hang on her bedroom wall. Once finished, they left for the only store in the city Leah visited when she wanted to add or change something in a room but didn’t want to wait for anything to be custom made.

  “What do you want to look for first?” Leah asked. When she shopped, she liked to have a plan rather than wandering around aimlessly until she spotted something she liked.

  Aside from painting the walls and buying new furniture, Gavin had given them permission to change anything they wanted in the room. If it were her bedroom, the dark gray comforter would be the first thing to go, along with the matching curtains. Even now she tended to stay away from anything in the gray family, and it had definitely never appeared in her room when she’d been younger. Considering the colors she’d seen Erin wear, Gavin’s daughter preferred fun, vibrant colors, and gray was not vibrant no matter the shade.

  “Stuff for my bed. I hate gray; it’s super boring. Everything on my bed at Mom’s is yellow. And at dad’s other apartment I have a lot of rainbows and mermaids in my room.”

  “Is yellow your favorite color?” Some shades of yellow were nice, but when it came to decorating, it wasn’t a color she went with. But this wasn’t her bedroom, so if Erin wanted yellow, they’d look for anything and everything in yellow.

  Together they stepped off the escalator and walked toward the bedding section of the store. “It used to be. Now I like purple and pink more. Mom said when she decorates the other bedroom for the baby she’ll let me change my room too. She promised I can help pick stuff out, but we have to wait until we know if the baby is a boy or a girl.”

  The woman she’d met at the airport hadn’t looked pregnant. If she was expecting, she couldn’t be much further along than Callie, who’d told her over the weekend that she was pregnant with her second baby.

  “Do you want a brother or a sister?” Leah asked. The sex of a baby might not matter to parents or grandparents, but all children had a preference when it came to new siblings.

  Erin proved to be no different.

  “A sister. My cousin Spencer is a year older than me, and he’s so mean. He always picks on me. I’m glad he lives in Florida so I don’t have to see him much. Do you have any sisters?”

  They entered an area filled with sheets, pillows, and comforters designed with children and preteens in mind. Nearly everything was covered with cartoon animals, superheroes, or emoji symbols, including a giant pillow in the shape of poop. Whatever else Erin picked out today, Leah hoped that pillow wasn’t among the items. Or anything else with a poop emoji on it, for that matter.

  “No, two older brothers. But I have a lot of female cousins and we’re close. Almost like sisters.”

  Erin walked down the aisle looking at the various sheet sets, and Leah was relieved when she walked by the ones sporting the crazy emoji symbols.

  “Are your brothers mean like Spencer?” She picked up a sheet set decorated with panda bears, considered it for a moment, and then returned it to the shelf.

  “Nah, annoying sometimes but not mean. If you have a brother, I’m sure you’ll get along.” Spotting a comforter with a unicorn print, Leah grabbed it. Erin had a unicorn-shaped backpack, so it was a safe guess she liked unicorns. “What do you think?”

  Erin was about to pick up a tie-dyed sheet set but her hand dropped back to her side when she saw what Leah was holding. “I love it. Can we see if they have stuff to match it?”

  Leah nodded and together they went in search of anything and everything unicorn. She didn’t know Gavin’s opinion on unicorns, but she assumed he’d prefer it to many of the other options on display.

  “A baby brother might be okay. I’ll be older than him, so he won’t be able to pick on me like Spencer. But I still really want a sister.” Gavin’s daughter grabbed three unicorn-shaped throw pillows, each with a different-colored mane, and added them to what they’d already selected. “Are you and Dad going to have a baby like Mom and Todd?”

  Curt was right. He’d told her to be prepared for some entertaining conversations while Erin was around. Getting asked if she planned to have children was more embarrassing than entertaining, but considering what they’d been discussing, maybe it shouldn’t surprise her.

  Yet it did. And now she had to answer the question.

  “If you do, maybe I’ll have two sisters,” Erin continued, oblivious to the fact Leah had stopped moving. “But I guess if Mom has a boy and you have a boy I could get two brothers.” She paused as if thinking about it before continuing. “Or maybe if you and Dad have a baby they’ll be twins like Dad and Aunt Vivian. That would be cool.”

  First Erin had her having one baby and now she was talking about twins. Had she discussed this topic with Gavin too? If so, how had he handled it?

  “I wish I had a twin sister. My two best friends in school are identical twins and they’re always playing tricks on people. Even their mom and dad get them mixed up sometimes. We had a sleepover on the last day of school and all night Ava’s mom thought she was Kasey and Kasey was Ava. But I knew who was who.”

  Maybe if she kept Erin talking about her friends, she’d forget about her earlier question regarding whether she could expect a second brother or sister in the future.

  “Tricking people does sound like fun. Are they on your soccer team?”

  Erin nodded. “Their dad is our coach, and their cousin is on the team too.” They passed by a display of table lamps and Erin stopped. “This one matches the unicorn’s hair.” She pointed at a light with a bright aqua-colored lampshade.

  Thank you.

  If Erin was again focused on redecorating her room, she didn’t need to answer her question about babies or hopefully anything else pertaining to her and Gavin’s future plans. At least not this afternoon. Tomorrow Erin might ask again, but if she did, hopefully she would approach her dad with the questions instead.

  “Then I think we should get it. Maybe one of those too.” Leah pointed toward the long purple lacy bed canopy, which attached to the ceiling and draped down around the bed. The color matched the mane of the second unicorn pillow, and as a girl she would’ve loved to have it in her room.

  Erin considered the various colors on display. “I like the green one better.”

  Since the lime green one did match the third pillow, Leah couldn’t steer her toward the purple using that
argument. And while it wasn’t a color she’d put anywhere in her house, they weren’t decorating her bedroom. “Sure. What else do you think we should get?”

  A few hours and several shopping bags later, they walked into Gavin’s condo. The sound of music greeted them, as well as an aroma Leah couldn’t quite put her finger on but that had her mouth watering and her stomach making the most unladylike sounds.

  “We’re home,” Erin called out. “We got everything for my room.”

  Leah expected her to drop the bags she held and take off, but instead she carried them toward the kitchen, Gavin’s most likely location considering the scents filling the air.

  Gavin came around the corner and met his daughter before she reached her destination. “Put it all in your room and you can show me later.”

  “But I want to show you now.” Erin’s voice came out as more of a whine. It was the first time Leah had heard Erin truly complain about anything Gavin requested of her, but it didn’t shock her. Erin was very excited about all the things they’d bought, and she was only nine. Most children didn’t like to wait. At least, she’d never liked waiting as a child. She didn’t much enjoy waiting now either.

  His expression didn’t change. Instead he placed a hand on Erin’s shoulder. “Dinner is almost done. After we eat, you can show me everything. Promise.” Gavin’s voice remained calm.

  Erin pouted. “Fine.” She marched off toward her bedroom, and Leah bit down on her lip to keep from laughing.

  Once Erin was no longer within hearing, Gavin spoke again. “Picked up just a few things?” He pointed at the bags Leah held.

  “Hey, the room needed a lot of work, and now it’ll look like it belongs to a nine- year-old girl instead of a ninety-year-old man.”

  The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth as he moved closer. “Thank you for taking her today. I’m sure she had more fun shopping with you than she would’ve with me.”

  He stood so close she could feel the heat from his body, and memories of how he’d woken her this morning pressed forward, causing a shiver of wanting to race through her. Stretching up, she zeroed in on his mouth.

  “Anytime,” she said before brushing her lips against his, a silent promise of what to expect later tonight when Erin was asleep.

  “I’m starving,” Erin said, announcing her return. The annoyance at not getting her way was gone and again she sounded like the pleasant young girl Leah had spent the day with.

  When they left this morning, Leah had assumed he’d spend the day working since he had the condo to himself. He hadn’t. Or at least he hadn’t spent it working in his office. The meal set before them had certainly taken some time and effort.

  “This must have taken you all day.” She eyed the meat on the plate he’d placed in front of her. She wasn’t 100 percent certain, but she thought it was lamb.

  Gavin set an identical plate, except for the portion size, down in front of Erin. “I wanted something special for my two ladies tonight.”

  “It smells amazing. What is it?”

  Please don’t be lamb. She’d tried it on previous occasions and wasn’t a big fan. If it was, she’d eat it tonight and smile. Then at some point in the near future, she’d tell him she didn’t like lamb so he wouldn’t cook it for her again.

  He opened his napkin and placed it on his lap then picked up his fork. “Rosemary roasted lamb with haricot mash.”

  Rosemary, that’s what I smell. “What’s haricot mash?” It sounded like something fed to farm animals.

  “Haricot is a bean. And I mashed it similar to the way you mash potatoes, with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic,” he explained.

  Beans were another food not near the top of her favorite list.

  Across the table, Erin was already eating. Obviously she liked the taste of lamb and didn’t mind beans.

  Just bite and chew, Leah told herself. Picking up her fork and knife, she prepared to follow her own advice.

  “Is there any dessert?” Erin asked between bites.

  Leah hoped there was because she wasn’t sure how much of this dinner she’d get down.

  “Cream buns.”

  Now those sound delicious.

  Leah put the first forkful of meat in her mouth, expecting the flavor she’d come to associate with lamb dishes. She got something much different and wholly delicious.

  In the back of her mind, she’d known for a long time she wanted children someday. Exactly when, she’d never known, but she saw them in her future. Since she’d never been able to envision any of the previous men she dated as fathers, she’d never wasted too much time on the idea.

  She didn’t need to imagine Gavin as a father. She’d seen him in the role firsthand over the past few days. And he rocked it. Even so, the idea of having children hadn’t popped up once until this evening.

  Or maybe it had started this afternoon, when Erin asked about her and Gavin having a baby someday. Leah couldn’t say for certain.

  She did know that helping Gavin tuck Erin in and watching the two of them interact had flipped a switch in her head and heart. She could picture Gavin holding a baby boy with dark hair and dark eyes while she held his twin sister, who oddly enough had blonde hair and Sherbrooke blue eyes.

  You’re getting a little ahead of yourself.

  The reminder didn’t help. The image in her head didn’t disappear.

  “Here you go.” Gavin handed her a whiskey sour and joined her on the sofa, a glass of scotch in his hand.

  Leah gave herself a mental shake, hoping to dislodge the oh-so-lovely vision. “Erin all set?” He’d no sooner gotten up to make them drinks than Erin had called him down to her room.

  “Yep. She couldn’t find Sam Sam. I don’t know how it got there, but it was under the bed.” He sipped his drink and put an arm around her, pulling her in close.

  The girl had so many stuffed animals in bed with her, Leah didn’t know how she’d noticed one was even missing. “Which one is Sam Sam?”

  “The doll in the yellow pajamas with the letters stitched on the chest. Vivian bought it for Erin when she was about nine months old. She’s slept with it ever since.”

  “When is Vivian arriving?”

  His fingertips traced circles against her skin in a gentle caress she could sit and experience all night. “Next Wednesday.”

  They fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company and their drinks. Unfortunately, Erin’s question and the vision of Gavin holding a baby kept creeping back up.

  “Did Erin tell you Amber is pregnant?” Leah asked him, rather than the question really in her head, which was do you want more kids. Just because Gavin was a great dad didn’t mean he saw more children in his future.

  He raised his glass toward his lips. “She mentioned it on Saturday. She seems excited about it but hopes the baby is a girl. And I’m happy for Amber. She comes from a big family and always wanted a lot of kids.”

  Leah wondered if Erin had dropped the same question on him that she’d popped on her.

  Only one way to find out. “She asked me if we’re going to have a baby too.”

  He’d just taken a sip of his drink when she shared the statement, and he choked.

  Nope, Erin hadn’t asked her father the same question.

  It took him several seconds to stop coughing. “She what?” he croaked.

  “You heard me correctly. She even suggested maybe we could have twins like you and Vivian.”

  All Erin’s stuffed animals could suddenly come to life and stroll out of the room in a conga line and Gavin wouldn’t look any more surprised than he did now. Leah suspected she’d worn a similar expression this afternoon while having the conversation in question.

  “What did you say?” He no longer sounded like a frog at least, but he didn’t sound like himself either.

  “I changed the subject and thankfully she didn’t ask again.”

  “Lucky you. She usually doesn’t give up until she gets an answer. And usual
ly it has to be an answer she likes.”

  Yep, she considered herself very fortunate that Erin forgot the matter, or at least never brought it up again.

  “What would’ve been your answer?” Leah hadn’t intended to ask him, but now that she had, she decided to go for broke. “Do you even want more kids?”

  “I’m not sure about twins, one baby is difficult enough.” The laughter in his eyes faded and honesty like she’d never seen replaced it. “But yeah, someday I’d like more. What about you?”

  He touched her face; the sensual brush of his fingers over her skin momentarily kept any words from traveling from her brain to her lips. And she knew their relationship was taking a huge leap forward into territory she’d never ventured into before now.

  “Definitely.”

  ***

  Even with the blinds closed, the room exploded with light. A boom followed almost immediately afterward. Turning onto his side, Gavin went to wake Leah. She loved storms and would enjoy the one pressing down around them. He stopped his hand before it reached her shoulder and went back to staring at the ceiling, an activity he’d been engaged in since Leah drifted off to sleep well over an hour ago.

  Instead of joining her in dreamland, their conversation kept him awake. Erin’s first night here she’d asked if he and Leah were going to get married. Since Amber and Todd were getting married, he’d understood where the question came from. After she informed him Amber was pregnant, he should’ve anticipated she’d ask if he and Leah were going to have a baby too. He hadn’t. And although Leah had managed to get her talking about something else this afternoon, it didn’t mean Erin had forgotten about the question. She tended not to forget much. Tomorrow there was a very good chance she’d bring the topic up again; only this time she’d be asking him the question because Leah would be at work.

  No matter the situation or question, he told Erin the truth. He would do the same tomorrow.

  The storm outside lit up the room again, and Gavin looked at the woman sleeping next to him. He hadn’t given her a ring, and they hadn’t exchanged any vows, but he couldn’t imagine not having her right next to him for the rest of his life. He could honestly say he’d never felt that way about anyone, not even Amber. He’d cared deeply about Amber, but he never saw himself married to her. Even when they’d lived together, he’d asked her to move in with him more because they’d learned she was pregnant than because he wanted to spend his life with her.