Page 83 of The Billionaire's Virgin

Chapter Twenty-Four

Taylor

The moment we heard the click of the door, Jenna ran towards the entrance. “Daddy!” she cried, jumping into his arms.

Reed usually greeted her with a smile and a hug. But today he only patted her head while she hugged his waist. Then he kissed her cheek, but I noticed immediately that something was not right. He seemed preoccupied and distant, and there was coldness in his eyes when he turned to me.

“How was your day?” I asked, wondering if he had received more threatening letters.

“Long,” he replied shortly.

“Daddy, can we play a game?” Jenna begged. “The three of us.”

Usually, Reed would acquiesce easily, and we would spend the hour before Jenna’s bedtime playing games and swapping stories of our day. But today, Reed shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said. “I still have some work to finish up. Maybe tomorrow, okay?”

Jenna’s face fell immediately. “Oh… okay.”

“Why don’t you go to your room with Taylor and read some stories before bed?”

I heard the dismissal in his tone, and it worried me. But I had no choice but to take Jenna’s hand and lead her to her bedroom.

“Daddy seems tired today,” Jenna said uncertainly, looking back at him over her shoulder.

“He works hard, honey,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll be his old self tomorrow.”

Jenna was quiet and thoughtful so I tried to distract her with a little game, but she seemed uninterested.

“Sweetheart,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you think Daddy is sad?”

She was a perceptive child and not easily distracted. I abandoned the game and sat down beside her on her bed. “All I know is that it’s not because of you, okay?”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know one thing for sure, and that is that your father loves you more than life itself. You bring him nothing but joy. Which means there’s no room for you to make him sad.”

Jenna smiled.

“I’m sure he’ll be ready to play with you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Jenna nodded, and she seemed somewhat appeased.

I read her a couple of her favorite stories, and then I sang her to sleep. The moment her eyes were shut and her eyelashes fluttered with sleep, I put the night light on and tiptoed out of her room. I walked straight into the hall looking for Reed, but he was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t touched the food I’d set out for him, and I took that as a bad sign. I looked around and realized that the balcony door was open.

I walked outside and found Reed looking up at the stars. It was a beautiful night, and I might have been able to enjoy it better had I not been so worried about why Reed seemed so cold and distant all of a sudden.

“Reed?” I said, interrupting the night’s quiet. “Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know, Taylor; you tell me.”

I felt my heart constrict a little. So he was really mad at me. The only question now was why. I think it dawned on me the same moment he turned to face me, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“Did you know who I was when you answered my profile?”

I didn’t bother denying it. What would be the point? In any case, I didn’t want to lie to Reed. That would only make things worse.