Fearless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Ari?”
    They were so adorable, and so much alike, that her heart squeezed in her chest. She appreciated that Matt subtly deferred to her, putting her in charge in Noah’s eyes.
    “You gotta,” she said to the little boy. “Since it’s Sunday, you need to take a shower to get ready for the week.”
    She waited for the inevitable fight little kids put up about washing. Instead, he told her, “I’ve never taken a shower before. Only baths.”
    “I’ll show you how to work the taps.”
    She felt Matt’s gaze on her as they headed through Noah’s huge bedroom and into his bathroom. With the shower stall open, she adjusted the dual shower heads. “It’s easy. Just turn this dial.” She demonstrated while Matt took in her every move. The water was warm instantly, with a safety valve that kept it from scalding. Matt thought of everything. She gazed down at Noah. “Pretty easy, right?” She turned off the shower. “Bet you can do that.”
    He nodded. “Uh-huh.”
    Grabbing soap and shampoo from the tub, she put them on the built-in ledges in the shower. “I’ll get your jammies while you wash.” She tapped Noah’s nose with a light finger. “Or I can help, if you like.”
    He insisted, “I can do it by myself,” but she left the bathroom door slightly ajar so she could hear if he called.
    “He’s never done this alone before.” Matt leaned against the wall next to the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his muscled chest, his face a little tense. A moment later, Noah shrieked, and Matt dove for the bathroom.
    “It’s cold, Daddy, it’s cold!”
    “Here’s how you make it warmer.” Matt’s voice sounded strained from within the bathroom.
    Meanwhile, Ari opened bureau drawers, finding pajamas with a racing motif that matched the comforter. The sound of the shower muted as Matt half closed the door again and crossed to her, the pulse at his throat still beating quickly.
    “Don’t worry,” she said softly. “We might need to clean up some water off the floor when he’s done, but he’s a big boy.” One of the moms she’d worked for had been super cautious with her first child, the way Matt was with Noah. “It’s amazing what they’re capable of.”
    He didn’t nod, didn’t agree, simply said, “They grow up fast.”
    She wanted to smooth the line from his forehead and tell him that Noah would always need him, that the note of I can do it in his son’s voice would never change that fact.
    But the part of her that wanted to touch him was all woman, so she kept her hands to herself. “They do grow up fast,” she agreed. “One minute they’re toddlers, then the next thing you know they don’t want you to hold their hand at the bus stop anymore.”
    “Susan warned me. I didn’t believe her.”
    “I met her at the youth home in San Jose, right?”
    “Yes, Susan and Noah’s grandfather Bob were both there.” The tension in his face softened with love. “She’s Daniel’s birth mom, but she and Bob took all of us in and made us family, so Noah calls them Grandma and Grandpa.”
    Ari knew the basic Maverick story, since Daniel wasn’t the type to hide his past or the seedy Chicago neighborhood he’d come from. Daniel and his sister, Lyssa, were the biological kids, but his mom had raised all the Mavericks since they were in their early teens. Ari could see the adoration shining in Matt’s eyes when he spoke of the man and woman who had taken him in. He’d been lucky to find them. Though she’d heard there were good people like Susan and Bob in the foster care system, she’d never met any of them personally. She had been lucky to find lifelong friends, however. Rosie and Chi would always be her sisters of the heart, just as the Mavericks were Matt’s brothers even without blood tying them together.
    The water shut off and the shower door opened. “You doing okay, Noah?” she called out. “I’ve got your jammies.”
    As Matt watched her progress to the bathroom door, her heart beat