Snow Angel Cove (Hqn) Read Online Free PDF Page B

She had figured it out during the ambulance ride, when she heard the EMTs mention his name. She should have recognized him immediately but she had been too dazed after the accident to place why the face of the man whose vehicle had hit her seemed so familiar.
    Aidan Caine. The Geek God. That’s what the magazines called him. He was a tech genius whose company had recently been named one of the five most influential in Silicon Valley. Though only in his midthirties, he was reported to be worth well into nine—possibly ten—figures.
    She had never met the man in person but they were connected by a tangled web that went back far further than the events of this afternoon. What an odd coincidence, that he had been driving in the little town of Haven Point at the exact moment she was crossing the road.
    If she didn’t know better, she might think Aidan Caine had some kind of vendetta against her and was determined to ruin her life—all while looking like a cover model for Sexy Geek Monthly.
    “Hi!” Maddie exclaimed suddenly, distracted from the Disney princess movie she was watching. She pulled off her headphones and beamed at Aidan.
    “Hey, Mama, look! That’s my friend! The nice man who helped me when you were hurt.”
    Nice man? Aidan
Caine?
She really needed to have a talk with her daughter about developing more discriminating taste. From all reports, the man was ruthless and cold, used to taking what he wanted, to hell with the consequences.
    He had just mowed
her
down with his car, for heaven’s sake.
    Eliza had plenty of reason to know Mr. Caine and the people who worked for him only cared about the Caine Tech bottom line, not about all the people they stepped on to protect it.
    Oblivious to just how much this man had indirectly altered the course of her young life, Maddie slid off her chair and trotted over to him holding out her paper. “Look, Mr. Aidan. I’m coloring a picture. It’s a Christmas tree. You can have it, if you want.”
    Eliza braced to swoop in and protect her baby, fully expecting him to be impatient and brusque with a little girl’s childish drawing. Instead, he surprised her by taking the paper with apparent delight. “Thank you. It’s very nice. I especially like the angel on the top.”
    “We always have an angel on the top of our tree,” Maddie informed him. “Except this year. This year we don’t even have a Christmas tree. Isn’t that sad? We were going to have one at our new apartment but it burned down. Now I don’t know
what
we’re going to do. All our ornaments are in boxes. So are most of my toys, even my Barbie Malibu Mansion.”
    Dr. Shaw stepped forward before he could answer. “This is a secure area, Mr. Caine,” she said, her voice cold. “How did you get back here?”
    The young doctor didn’t seem very impressed or intimidated by Aidan’s reputation, either. She faced him down, chin up and arms crossed over her chest like she was a one-hundred-pound offensive lineman protecting Eliza, who had the ball.
    “I asked where I could find Eliza Hayward and the receptionist gave me the room number. Is that a problem?”
    “Yes! We have strict security protocol. This area is restricted to family and friends of patients. As far as I know, you’re neither.”
    “He’s
my
friend,” Maddie said firmly. “I want him here. He’s nice.”
    Eliza flushed. Maddie had become very good at pushing her weight around in hospitals.
    “There. You see?” Aidan said, after flashing a rather devastating smile to her daughter. “I’m Maddie’s friend. And I do believe I have an answer that might help everyone.”
    She sincerely doubted that. Eliza pulled the warmed blanket—quickly losing its comforting capabilities, anyway—up to her chin, wishing she were wearing something other than this atrocious hospital gown.
    A little battle armor would be nice when confronting a man like Aidan Caine.
    “You need a place close by to stay for the night so you can leave the hospital,