The CEO Daddy Next Door Read Online Free PDF Page B

brimming with its own kind of beauty. Sure, it could also be a very lonely place, but changing that, one couple at a time, was her charge. There was love to be found in the city that never sleeps. And she was just the girl to give it a push.
    After a good twenty blocks, her feet had had all they could take, and she hailed a cab. It didn’t take long before they were stuck in rush hour traffic, so she took the chance to call her mom.
    â€œHello, sugarplum,” her mother answered.
    As welcome as the sun she’d soaked up along her walk, Vivian George’s sugary South Carolina accent was all Ashley needed to shake off the vestiges of her stressful day and feel much more like herself. “Hey, Mama.” Her voice cracked simply out of happiness. If she closed her eyes, she could smell her mother’s cooking and remember exactly what it was like to grow up in a house where there might have been little money to pay the bills, but love made it seem as if they wanted for nothing.
    â€œYou’ll be happy to know we’re having nearly thirty people over for the premiere of Manhattan Matchmaker . I wish we could have you here, honey, but I know you’re busy.”
    It’d been two months since she’d been home, and that’d been only for a few days. It was difficult for her to get away. Work was a constant demand on her time. And that didn’t assuage even an ounce of guilt. “I need to come home. And I will. Or maybe you and Daddy could come up to see me. I can book you first-class tickets, and you can stay in my guest room. It’ll be so beautiful when the apartment is done. I really want you both to see it.”
    â€œI know you do. I really do. We’ll have to see how your dad is doing. Travel would take an awful lot out of him.”
    â€œI could pay a nurse to travel with you. You wouldn’t have to do anything. I swear it wouldn’t be much trouble.”
    â€œAnd that’s so generous of you, really. But I don’t want to make any promises, Ash. He doesn’t even like it when we go to the grocery store. New York would be a big undertaking. We’ll talk about it.”
    Ashley saw through the cab window that they were close to arriving at her building. “I just really want you to see it. That’s all.” She knew deep down that her parents understood her success. Still, she wanted them to see the physical manifestation of it, outside the things she paid for that they saw every day. She wanted to show them that she had done well for herself, and done well for the family.

Four
    T he antique rocker in Lila’s nursery was the perfect place for a daddy-daughter summit. “So, Lila, Daddy’s going on a date tonight, but it’s very important that you know that you will always be the most important woman in my life.”
    Lila looked up at him quizzically. “Hi.” She palmed the side of his face and smiled, rubbing her tiny fingers over the stubble along his jaw.
    He chuckled quietly. Hi was her new word, and she was eager to use it. “Hi, yourself.”
    â€œHi,” Lila replied.
    Joanna, over that night as babysitter, was listening in, leaning against the doorway. She stretched out her arms. “Want me to take her? You really don’t want to be holding a baby while wearing a tux, do you? You’re begging for a disaster. She’ll drool all over you.”
    Begging for a disaster. Fitting description of what he was all dressed up for. “I’m getting my last few kisses before I have to go to this wretched party.”
    Sure enough, a droplet of drool fell from the corner of Lila’s mouth, dropping down onto his black suit jacket.
    â€œSee?” Joanna grabbed a clean washcloth from the top of the nursery bureau. “She’s going to ruin your suit.” She crouched down next to them, wiping away the moisture that had collected on Lila’s lips. “Daddy just needs those teeth to