Page 27 of Single Dad’s Fake Bride (Billionaire Baby Daddies #7)

HARRISON

I stood at the kitchen sink, my hands gripping the edge of the counter hard enough to leave marks in my flesh.

Through the window, I watched Eloise chase the neighbor girl around their swing set while the woman supervised from her patio chair.

The scene looked peaceful, normal—everything I'd tried to build for my daughter.

Everything I was apparently capable of destroying in one jealous outburst.

The taste of shame was bitter in my mouth. I'd acted exactly the way my father would have—controlling, possessive, unreasonable. The very traits I'd spent twelve years trying to escape had surfaced the moment I saw another man's arms around my wife.

My fake wife.

The woman who was here because I'd offered her a business arrangement, not because she wanted to be. The woman who had every right to have friends, to seek comfort from people who actually cared about her wellbeing rather than what she could provide for them.

I turned away from the window and caught sight of Sadie's tea mug on the counter, half empty, the ceramic still faintly warm when I touched the side.

She'd been in the middle of a conversation with her friend—a conversation where she'd apparently admitted she was struggling with our arrangement—and I'd walked in and ruined everything with my territorial behavior.

The memory of her voice echoing through the house made me wince.

"Do you have something against my friends?

Or is it because he's gay?" She'd been defending him, protecting him from what she assumed was my prejudice, when the truth was so much worse.

I wasn't homophobic. I was jealous of anyone who could offer her the emotional support I couldn't.

I picked up her mug and carried it to the microwave, watching the liquid rotate as it heated. Ninety seconds to think about what I was going to say, how I was going to fix this without making it worse. The machine beeped, and I carried the tea down the hallway to her bedroom door.

I knocked twice, soft enough not to wake her if she'd fallen asleep crying.

"What?" Her voice was muffled, thick with tears.

"I brought your tea."

There was a long pause, then footsteps across the floor. The lock turned, and she opened the door just wide enough to see me. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hair falling loose from the bun she'd worn earlier. She looked fragile, and the sight of her tears made my chest tighten with regret.

"Thank you." She stepped aside to let me in, then closed the door behind us.

I set the mug on her nightstand and turned to face her, keeping my distance. "I owe you an apology."

She crossed her arms, not defensively but protective, holding herself together. "You do."

"What I should have said was that if you're going to have male friends around, I'd prefer to meet them first. To know what sort of people they are before they spend time with Eloise.

" I kept my voice level and diplomatic. "It's not about controlling you or your friendships. It's about protecting my daughter."

Sadie's shoulders relaxed slightly. "I understand that. I should've introduced you properly when you got home instead of just assuming you'd be fine with it."

"You shouldn't have to assume anything. This is your home too, at least for the next five years." The words felt strange in my mouth, this acknowledgment of our temporary arrangement. "I handled it badly. I'm sorry."

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I shouldn't have screamed at you. That wasn't fair either."

I found myself moving closer, drawn by the genuine regret in her voice. "May I sit?"

She nodded, and I settled on the edge of her bed, leaving space between us.

From here I could see the careful way she'd arranged her few possessions—books stacked neatly on the dresser, a small framed photo of her and her mother, clothes in the closet.

She'd made this temporary space her own without presuming to claim too much of it.

"The rumors aren't true," I said. "About me and another teacher."

Her eyes met mine, searching for deception. "I believe you."

"I haven't been with anyone since Eloise's mother left." I couldn't remember if I'd told her before, but it was true. Eloise was everything to me. "My daughter became my entire world. No one else seemed worth the risk of disrupting what we'd built together."

"That must have been lonely."

I considered this. "I thought it was practical.

Eloise needed stability, not a parade of women coming and going from her life.

" I paused, choosing my words carefully.

"But when she connected with you so quickly, so completely…

it felt right in a way nothing had for years.

You were already part of her world before you became part of mine. "

Sadie sat down beside me, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of her shampoo. "Tell me about before. About why you left your father's world."

The question I'd been avoiding for weeks.

I looked down at my hands, clasped loosely between my knees.

"Growing up at Hawthorne wasn't education—it was grooming.

My father had a vision for what the school should be, what I should be.

When my mother died, he became even more rigid about shaping me into his ideal heir.

" I glanced at her. "I spent my childhood trapped in that place, never having a real home, never being allowed to be a child.

The day I turned eighteen, I walked away from all of it. "

"But you brought Eloise back there."

"Because it's a good school, despite my father.

The education is exceptional, the resources are unmatched.

I just made sure she came home to me every night.

" I met her eyes. "When he died and left me the inheritance, I didn't want the money or the estate.

I wanted to protect the school from becoming something twisted, and I wanted to ensure that Eloise could stay.

The marriage requirement was just an obstacle to overcome. "

"And now?"

I sighed and let my shoulders sag. "Now it's more complicated."

She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face. "You could've told me this from the beginning."

"Could I? Would you have believed that a man willing to marry a stranger for an inheritance actually had noble motivations?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Probably not."

"I've never really told anyone what it was like… Growing up there, I mean. Even Juan doesn't know the full extent of it." I looked at her, this woman who'd agreed to tie her life to mine for five years. "You deserve to understand what you've gotten yourself into."

"And you deserve to know that I don't regret it." Her voice was soft but sure. "This arrangement, I mean. Even if it's harder than I expected."

Something shifted in the space between us, a recognition of the vulnerability we'd both revealed. When she leaned toward me, I thought she might speak again. Instead, her lips found mine, tentative at first, then more certain when I didn't pull away.

The kiss tasted of salty tears and regret transformed into something warmer. When she pulled away, her lips were red and her skin scratched by my stubble, and I wanted more.

"Eloise is outside," I said, though I made no move to leave.

"With the neighbor. She's safe." Sadie's hand found my chest, resting over my heart. "We both are."

Her hand lingered against my chest, the steady thud of my heartbeat under her palm making the air between us heavier.

I covered her hand with mine, holding it there as I leaned in again, this time kissing her with intent.

Her breath hitched when my tongue slid against hers, a low hum escaping her throat as I deepened it.

I pulled back just enough to search her face. “Didn’t you say we should keep our distance? That this was just an arrangement?”

Her eyes dropped to my mouth before meeting mine again. “I did,” she murmured, shifting closer until her knees brushed mine. “But when you’re this close, I can’t seem to remember why. I lose control around you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe we should just go with it.”

The invitation in her tone snapped the last thread of restraint I had.

My hand found the curve of her hip, my thumb tracing the hem of her T-shirt before sliding beneath it to stroke the soft skin of her waist. She shivered and leaned into me, her lips parting on a quiet sigh when I let my palm travel up her side, feeling the swell of her breast against my hand through the thin cotton of her bra.

“Harrison…” My name on her lips was half a plea, half a dare.

“You have no idea what that does to me,” I growled, pulling her into my lap. Her legs straddled me, and she settled over the hard length straining against my jeans. She rocked against me instinctively, her head tipping back when I mouthed along the column of her throat.

Her breath caught. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want you naked,” I said, my voice low against her skin. “I want to feel you squeeze around me while you scream my name.”

Her fingers curled in my hair. “Then take it.”

I unclasped her bra with one hand, dragging the straps down her arms and pushing her shirt and bra out of the way in one motion.

Her breasts were warm and full in my hands, her nipples tightening against my palms as I rolled them between my fingers.

She let out a breathless moan that went straight to my cock.

I dipped my head, sucking one tight peak into my mouth, and she ground down against me harder. “God, you feel so good,” she gasped, her voice breaking when I slid my hands to the waistband of her leggings. She lifted for me, and I pulled them and her panties down together, baring her completely.

She was already wet when I slid my fingers between her thighs, her hips jerking at the first stroke over her clit. I teased her there before sinking two fingers inside her, groaning at the way she clenched around me.