“I promised her some time ago that she’d never have to go anywhere without me again. I intend to keep that promise until she no longer needs it to feel secure.”
She hummed, acknowledging the statement, but she didn’t jump to her feet and look for the exit.
“I also have several groups of former teammates who come to train with me regularly,” he told her. “It’s a vital part of development. The property is constantly crawling with men. Big, rugged warriors. The men I was with earlier will be here the rest of the week. We train, eat, and hang together. That could make you uncomfortable.”
She smiled. “I’ve been in the Congo, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Rwanda, and Somalia. I’ve learned when to stand my ground and when to acquiesce with warriors far less civilized than those in the US military. And if Mirabella can handle them, I’m sure I can too.”
He tossed her résumé onto the desk with a shake of his head. “I can see why Decker insisted I interview you. You’re definitely one of a kind.”
“And you’re…” She frowned a little, and her head tipped.
“What?”
“Unusually devoted to your daughter.”
“She’s everything to me,” he said, unashamed. “This business, this house, the security, cooks, tutors, nannies, everything I do is for one main purpose: to keep Bella safe and happy. Nothing else matters.”
She studied him, clearly questioning his sincerity. For others, it was hard to believe all his success and material wealth had come out of his single-minded purpose to secure a good life for his daughter.
“She’s had a lot of people come and go in her life,” Austin told her. “Moving forward, I want to limit that as much as possible. How long do you plan on staying in Costa Rica?”
She lifted her hands. “As long as I’m needed.”
Movement in the door drew his gaze. Bella’s little hand snuck around the jamb of the open doorway, and Austin smiled. “I see you, Bella.”
Holding the side of the doorjamb, she swung into the doorway and hung there at an angle, her head back, her curls spilling into the air, looking at him upside down—hence her nickname, monkey. “I see you, Daddy.”
His heart flooded with the joy she brought into his life every day. He pushed his chair back. “Come here.”
She skipped to him and jumped into his lap. “Color me?”
“Will you color with me, Daddy?” he said, filling in the words she’d omitted.
“’ill color me, Daddy?”
He ran a hand over her hair, then glanced at his desk and sighed. “I’ve got a lot of work to
do, baby.”
“Hi, Bella,” Everly said, clearly impatient with Austin’s lack of manners. “I’m Everly. I’d love to color with you.” She cut a look at Austin. “If it’s okay with your dad.”
She was just a little too good to be true. And she was way too attractive to have hanging around the house or the guys. Or him, if he were honest. Austin pulled in a breath to tell her no, even though he didn’t have another alternative.
“No charge,” she said right before he spoke, her mouth curving in a sexy little smirk, her shoulder lifting in a lazy shrug. “Let’s just test it out for fit.”
Austin agreed. What could it hurt?
Bella jumped off his lap and took Everly by the hand, then led her upstairs to the playroom.
Decker came up beside Austin. “What do you think?”
“Can’t tell.” He met his friend’s gaze. “If I hire her, you’ll have to verify her background and her story again. And this time, I want boots on the ground. I want to know what she’s made of. This is too important to take the word of invisible people on the other end of an anonymous phone line.”
Decker nodded. “Done.”
3
“She never stops.” Everly murmured the complaint to Sam as she closed the lid on the Candyland game for the third time. “Are all kids like this?”