Page 17 of The Billionaire's Virgin

“That was where I met Jenna’s mother,” I said. “She was a waitress at this fancy club and bar in Sin City. We spent three days together, most of which we were drunk for, and then we got married on the third day.”

I saw Taylor’s eyebrows rise, but I barely registered her reaction. “Once I sobered up, I approached Alison and told her I wanted an annulment. She agreed, and we parted ways and filed papers separately. Then she showed up in New York, and I assumed it was because of the annulment, but it turns out… she was pregnant.”

I shook myself out of my haze of thought and my eyes focused on Taylor. Then it struck me that I had just turned the conversation intensely personal. Taylor was still practically a stranger, and I had just bared my soul to her… or part of it at least.

“Fuck,” I said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload on you like that.”

“No, no, don’t apologize,” Taylor said immediately. “It’s okay.”

I felt keenly embarrassed, and it shocked me that I had opened up to her that much. To Taylor’s credit, she didn’t push me for further details. Instead, she deftly changed the subject, and I felt my admiration for her grow.

“Reed… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” she said. “About Jenna.”

“Sure.” I nodded, glad for the distraction. “What is it?”

“Well I thought it might be nice to take her on an outing,” Taylor suggested. “Someplace fun but also educational.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I nodded. “Where were you thinking?”

“The Children’s Museum of Manhattan,” Taylor replied. “I was thinking of taking her tomorrow.”

“Great.”

“Um… and I was wondering if you’d like to join us,” Taylor asked. “I know you’re busy, but I think Jenna would love having you around.”

I had a lot of work to do and a few dozen manuscripts to get through, but I understood where Taylor was coming from. In just a couple of days, she had noticed what I had been guilty of Jenna’s whole life: I was an absent parent.

I remembered the moment the nurse had placed Jenna in my arms for the first time. I had looked down on her wrinkled pink face and vowed to be a better father than the one I’d had. The fact was, that was a really low bar, and I had used that to coast through parenthood while putting my career first. It wasn’t enough to do better than my father, because even an asshole could have done better than him. I had to set my own bar and work towards that.

“I’ll be there,” I said decidedly.

Taylor smiled. “She’s going to be so excited.”

And suddenly, I was too.