Page 53 of The Billionaire's Virgin

“Let’s not look at it that way,” I suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… let’s think of it more as… we work together to look after Jenna.”

Taylor frowned. “Um… isn’t that a lie?”

“It’s more of an alternate definition.”

Taylor smiled. Then she took a deep breath and looked towards the beautiful misty morning skyline. “I care about Jenna a lot, Reed—”

“I know that,” I said. “And I don’t doubt it for a second.”

“I don’t want our personal relationship jeopardizing my relationship with Jenna.”

“Neither do I,” I said. “Which is why we’re going to be careful… and take things slow.”

“Slow?” Taylor repeated, raising her eyebrows at me. “That was a lot of sex we had last night,” she said, repeating the same thing I had just said to her.

“Touché,” I complimented.

“It’s not lost on me how attached Jenna is to me,” Taylor said. “She’s never had a mother and I suppose I am the maternal figure in her life. Don’t you think seeing the two of us together will make her hope for things that might not… actually happen?”

“We can’t let Jenna know,” I said. “We have to keep this relationship from her at all costs… until—”

“Until what?” Taylor asked.

“Until we know where it’s headed,” I said. “Till then, as far as Jenna is concerned, you are just her nanny.”

Taylor nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I said, with a smile reassuring smile.

“Reed?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.” I nodded. “Ask me anything.”

“I’d like to know about Jenna’s mother,” she asked. “What was she like?”

“Oh.” I hadn’t expected that question, and I had to admit it caught me a little off guard.

“If it’s too personal—”

“No, it’s not that,” I admitted. “It’s just that… I didn’t really know her much myself. I told you how we met?”

“You mentioned it.” Taylor nodded. “She worked in Las Vegas and you were there celebrating.”

“We spent three drunken days together and got married at the end of it. It’s only after you sober up that you realize the marriage was legal. I didn’t care if she wanted the annulment or not… I just knew I wasn’t prepared to stay married to a complete stranger. We both agreed to file for an annulment and then I flew back to New York after leaving Alison with my contact information and my address. She appeared at my doorstep three months later, and she told me she was pregnant.”

“And you stayed married to her?”

“The moment she told me she was pregnant… something inside me snapped. I had always promised myself that if I ever became a father, I would do better than my father did. I would be a good parent, and I would always protect my child… no matter what. How could I stick to that and say I wanted nothing to do with Alison or the baby? If I turned her away or encouraged her to have an abortion… then was I really any different from my father?”

“It’s not the same thing,” Taylor pointed out.