.

       Four

      Christine sat in utter confusion. She’d thought she was meeting with the slick, smooth-talking, dangerous man who had made vague promises about helping her weather the oncoming storm. But that’s not what was happening.

      When she’d seen him earlier, she’d almost jumped out of her skin. Gone was the executive vice-president of the Beaumont Brewery. And in his place was a man who was taking her breath away again and again. Seriously, if Sue had thought he was hot before, she would die of gorgeousness now.

      Christine had no idea a cable-knit sweater could be so danged sexy. And the way he was cuddling her daughter? She’d say this was a dream come true but her dreams were never this good.

      She shook her head. They had a limited amount of time before either Marie had a meltdown or someone noticed them and began to ask questions. She still had no idea if she could trust Daniel Lee, much less accept his help. She couldn’t let her attraction to him muddy the waters, either. She was done being dependent on other people to protect her name or family.

      So why couldn’t she do anything but sit here and stare as Marie curled into his lap and read him a story as if her daughter had known him all of her young life?

      And Daniel—the smooth, dangerous man who had showed up at Christine’s work—he was playing along. He was turning the pages for Marie and saying “Really?” a lot—which was what Marie wanted. He wasn’t checking his phone or his watch. He wasn’t complaining about Marie’s very existence.