Tempted by the Tycoon's Proposal

‘I am.’ She swept her forearm over her head to brush away the loose strands that fell around her face and turned back to place the pan on the heat. ‘Can’t have a Sunday morning without pancakes and bacon.’ She glanced at him over her shoulder. ‘Hungry?’

‘Ravenous.’ And he was, for so much more than food and, judging by the way her brows lifted, the way she ran her teeth over her bottom lip, she knew and felt it too.

Lily wriggled in his hold. ‘Are you naked, Daddy? Didn’t Ms Archer pack your pyjamas too?’

The innocent question had a foreign surge of heat spreading over his own cheeks... Oh, dear. ‘I was very hot last night.’

He heard Sophia choke down a laugh and he tickled his daughter, her own laugh masking the telling one from the kitchen. ‘Now, why don’t you finish helping Sophia, while I freshen up and chuck on some clothes?’

‘Okay,’ she said on a ripple of laughter, her hair bouncing as she raced back into the kitchen.

‘There are fresh towels in the bathroom,’ Sophia said to him, her voice softly luring him over. He wanted to go to her, to place his hands on her hips and draw her into a morning kiss, one that was sure to rouse his body far too much and also give Lily the wrong impression.

Wrong impression?

What was the right one? What should he tell Lily about them? It was one thing to be spending this time together now, but how would it look when Sophia came to Iceland with them? How did he want it to look?

He showered quickly, throwing on some fresh clothes and returning to the comforting sounds and smells of the kitchen.

‘You’re just in time, Daddy! Look I’ve made a face...’ She pushed her plate at him. Sure enough, there were two maple syrup blobs and a strip of bacon for a smile.

‘Impressive.’

‘Here’s yours,’ Sophia said, sliding a plate towards him, her skin delightfully pink from cooking, the brush of flour across her cheek teasing him. He reached out and brushed it away with his thumb, catching the way her breath hitched, her lips parted, and had to fight another urge to kiss her.

‘You had a little flour...’

She traced the path of his fingers with her own, his need mirrored back at him. ‘Thank you.’

‘No, thank you.’

‘Do I have any flour, Daddy?’

He lowered his gaze to his daughter and laughed; her timing was impeccable. ‘You’re covered.’

He rubbed both her cheeks with gusto as she wrinkled her nose and made a funny noise.

‘All better,’ he declared, planting a kiss on her forehead and pulling up a stool before reaching for his plate. ‘This looks amazing.’

‘It won’t beat the hotel breakfast,’ Sophia said, ‘but it’ll certainly fill a hole. Coffee?’

‘Please.’

She moved away and poured a freshly brewed pot into two awaiting mugs, returning with them both and offering one to him.

‘Thank you,’ he said, giving her a smile of gratitude that went so much further than breakfast. He had so much to be thankful for. So much that he couldn’t put into words in front of Lily, not yet, but soon. Hopefully, very soon.

First, he needed to reach out to Elena’s mum, to see if there truly was a chance for Lily to know her grandmother and her family.

Second, he needed to get Iceland booked and make his daughter’s birthday one to remember.

And three, he needed to get his head around his feelings for Sophia, because now that he’d glimpsed how complete his life could be with her in it he didn’t want to let it go. He wanted to make this work. He wanted to be worthy of her. He wanted to love her.

Which was lucky since he already did...

He shook his head at his own ramblings, his grin ridiculous, he was sure, but as he forked up a healthy chunk of pancake he realised he was actually too content to care.

CHAPTER ELEVEN