Billionaire Romance: Christmas Surprise (Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page A

longer, she was happy that Angel would have a
father who obviously loved her. Dean may not know it, but he was
totally smitten with the sweet baby. “Now just lay her over your
heart and soothe her until she’s asleep.” She sat back and watched
him put her words to action. His deep voice, calm and low, quickly
sent Angel to sleep.
    “That was amazing.” His smile was bright and
proud as he followed her out of the bedroom. “Flora made lasagna
for dinner, let’s go.” Without waiting for her answer he guided her
downstairs and into the small informal dining room.
    “It smells good,” she said politely as she
sat. She poured wine into both glasses and lifted it. “To
fatherhood and to closing the deal.”
    He smiled and tapped his glass to hers. “And
to beautiful women with endless patience.” He took a long sip, his
gaze focused squarely on hers.
    “So everything went smoothly yesterday?”
    Her smile was genuine but he wondered at her
interest in his latest acquisition. “Yep.”
    “Oh for crying out loud Dean! I’m just
asking because it took up so much of your time. Don’t worry, I’m
not tallying up how much I can get from you!” She plated up a
square of lasagna for herself and dug in, savoring the taste of
garlic and basil and fresh tomatoes. Other than Angel, she would
miss Flora’s amazing cooking when she was gone.
    As she ate she internally chastised herself
for being upset at Dean’s words. He’d shown he was a man incapable
of changing his opinion, at least about her. It was a shame because
he could be nice and charming when he wanted to be. But it was for
the best. They hadn’t used protection that night in the library and
as long as she kept her distance, she would be long gone before she
found out if their careless actions produced any results. In a rare
moment of clarity, she perfectly understood Karen’s actions now.
Dean wasn’t a man capable of trust, and he would have made her life
hell, insisting on a DNA test before Angel was even more,
consequences be damned.
    As much as Krista wanted a baby, she didn’t
want a baby like this and she didn’t want one with Dean. Even
though she had softened towards him over the past couple weeks, and
he had shown himself to be more than the arrogant tycoon she’d
first met, he was still far from her ideal mate. Besides, she would
never want to spend her life with a man who thought all she wanted
was his money. Ironic , she grinned, considering the only
thing he willingly gives of himself is his money .
    “What’s so amusing?”
    She shook her head. “Nothing much. A thought
I had just struck me as amusing.”
    “Would you care to share?”
    “Nope.” She finished eating and took her
plate to the kitchen, where she rinsed it and put it away.
“Goodnight, Dean.”
    ~
    “Do you have a date yet for the Christmas
Ball?”
    Dean eyed his sister and his cousin from
across his large desk. They both had suspicious smiles and he knew
they were up to something. “Not yet, but I will.” His plan had been
to ask Krista, but to say she’d been keeping her distance from him
lately would be an understatement. She helped him with Angel every
night and they ate dinner together, but she was so distant she may
as well be on another planet. They had polite conversation about
the weather and Angel and that was it. It was his fault, he knew,
but a man couldn’t be expected to change overnight.
    “I was thinking I’d invite Krista,” River
said with a smile. “She works so hard and she has no friends or
family. I think a ball would be a good way to thank her for taking
care of Angel.”
    “That’s a great idea!” Rory squealed,
patting River’s arm enthusiastically. “I asked her to go and she
said she wanted to spend as much time with Angel as possible before
she left. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”
    Both sets of eyes turned to him. “Krista is
free to do whatever she pleases.” He hoped it didn’t please her to
be River’s date for