Risk (The Men of Matiz 1)

He scoops her up easily with one arm. She leans her hands on his shoulder. "This is Daddy's friend Ellie. You should invite her in, May."

She nods and takes a deep breath. She mumbles something under her breath before she speaks, loudly and slowly. "Would you like to come in, Ellie?"

I stare at her. She's incredible. Her eyes are a rich shade of brown, her nose a perfect small replica of Nolan's. As she turns to look at him, I catch her profile. There's no denying she's his daughter. I see it in her smile.

"I brought you something, May," I say as I step inside. "I picked it up on my way over. That's why I was late."

"You're not late." She reaches for Nolan's wrist and looks at his watch.

"You can tell time?" I ask, trying not to sound surprised.

"Not yet." She shakes her head slightly, her bunny ears moving as she does. "Daddy is teaching me about the big hand and the little hand. He says no digital nine cents May."

She lowers her voice slightly as she tries to mimic Nolan.

"Nonsense, May," Nolan corrects her with a kiss on her cheek.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the small box that I asked the clerk at the store to wrap with a pink ribbon. "I hope you like this, May."

"I will. Presents are my favorite." She reaches her small hand toward me. "Thank you, Ellie."

I hand her the box and watch while she delicately unwraps the ribbon. She pulls open the box before her hand jumps to cover her mouth.

"Monkey earrings," she screams. "Daddy, look!"

Nolan shoots me a look that says that I'll pay for the gift later. I wiggle my brows.

She makes quick work of the packaging, pulling out both the clip-on earrings in the shape of a monkey's head. Nolan holds the packaging in one hand while he balances her in his arm.

"This one is for Daddy." She carefully clips the earring on his left ear, taking extra time to adjust it correctly. She softly kisses his cheek before she clips the other to her right ear.

"They're pretty, Ellie." She looks at Nolan. "Is she safety, Daddy? Can I hug her?"

"She's safe," he says quietly with a dip of his chin and an arch of his brow.

I answer the silent question he poses to me. "I'd love a hug, May."

Chapter 45

Nolan

"It's not L E, May." I write Ellie's name out on a piece of white paper sitting on my lap. "It's Ellie. See the letters I wrote here?"

May scoots out of Ellie's lap and crawls across the couch to land in mine. "Oh, Daddy. I see."

I look over at Ellie's colorful palm. May ran to her bedroom to get her markers as soon as we'd finished our pancakes. She set to work on Ellie's palm, drawing a picture of a monkey, a star and finishing it with Ellie's name written as it sounds, L E.

"It was a good guess, May." Ellie smiles at her. "It sounds like it's just an L and an E."

"My name has three letters," May announces proudly. "Daddy is teaching me the letters, so when I go to school, I'll be the smartie."

"I think you're great at writing the letters and drawing pictures."

May beams at Ellie's words. "I can draw you a picture of me. I'll get more paper."

With that, she bounces out of my lap and heads down the hallway toward her bedroom.

"You're fucking amazing," I whisper across the couch to Ellie. "She's crazy about you. I am too."