Page 46 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

Daisy’s heart sank. “I don’t want to be the one he falls for simply because I’m available and right in front of him.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Ava said. “I only meant that he needs time to get to know someone, and that’s hard when he barely leaves the ranch. Rhonda wasn’t wrong about you being the right woman either. I simply figured it would be a lot more comfortable for both of you if you met as coworkers rather than some kind of awkward blind date.”

Daisy felt like she was in an emotional boxing match, getting tossed from one side of the ring to the other, unable to even see the next punch coming. “You mean you wanted... you thought we might... like each other?”

“Mm. I hoped you might.” Ava tapped her lips with one finger. “I didn’t think about the difficulty of dating a coworker though. That was a mistake.”

Daisy couldn’t think of anything to say. Finally one thought filtered through the rest and coalesced. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, Xander won’t make the first move. If you want him, you’ll have to say something.”

Daisy cringed. Could she do that? Put her heart on the line?

Ava was right. Even if Daisy got a different job, Xander would never make the first move if he thought it might make her uncomfortable. He respected her too much to put her in an awkward position.

She’d never imagined respect would be such an annoying quality.

If Daisy wanted Xander, she had to say something. And he was worth it.

“But what do I do about his concern over dating an employee?” she asked. “Maybe I could find a different job now that I’m not pregnant, but I like this job and I don’t want to have to put Avery in daycare.” She probably couldn’t afford to pay for daycare either. And if she wasn’t working at the ranch, she’d have to offer to give up the cottage. Xander was worth sacrifices—but maybe being around billionaires had changed her, because she didn’t want to compromise. She wanted it all.

Ava shrugged. “That’s easy enough. We’ll shift you over to working for the family foundation instead of the ranch directly. Xander doesn’t have much to do with the charitable foundation, so you won’t be working for him anymore.”

“Oh. That sounds remarkably simple.”

“I’ve been on this Earth almost sixty years, and I’ve learned a few things. First of all, some things you can’t fix and can’t change.” Grief washed over Ava’s face, and Daisy suspected Ava was thinking of her late husband. Ava brightened. “But lots of things are simple enough, if you stop fussing and just do what you need to do. There’s usually a good solution staring you in the face.” She winked. “Although being rich does make things easier.”

In his cradle, Avery yawned and made a smacking sound. Ava leaned forward to tuck the blanket back from his face. “Of course, we don’t have a separate office for the family foundation, so you and Xander will have to figure out how to work next to each other on completely separate jobs.” She flashed a grin at Daisy. “And you’ll have to keep bringing Avery here, so I can spoil him. Do you mind?”

Daisy blinked back tears. “I think I can live with that.”

Chapter Nineteen

Xander leaned ona wrench. The wrench slipped off the stuck bolt, and his hand banged into metal in the engine. He grunted and swore.

Josh leaned against the old combine. “You want to tell me why you dragged me out here to look at a bunch of practically new equipment, and when you couldn’t find anything to fix, decided to tackle that piece of junk that hasn’t worked in years?”

“No.” Xander shook out his hand.

“You going to tell me anyway?”

Xander sighed, grabbed a relatively clean rag to wipe his hands, and turned.

Daisy stood silhouetted in the barn door. He’d recognize her anywhere, even with her body now so different, in a dress he’d never seen before and with her hair swept up into a new style.

“Xander Tomlinson, I need to speak to you.” She sounded mad.

He’d hoped by staying away from the office, they’d have a chance to get past the awkwardness, so they could pretend nothing had happened between them. Not that he’d been able to forget that kiss. Not that he ever would forget it. The sight of her, even angry, churned him up inside and he wanted nothing more than to throw himself at her feet and beg her to love him half as much as he loved her.

She stepped cautiously into the barn.

“Wait.” He hurried toward her. “You don’t want to come in here. It’s dirty.”

“You don’t get to tell me what I want or what I can do.” She crossed her arms, but she waited where she was, and they stepped back into the sunshine.

“I just don’t want you to mess up your sandals or get manure on your feet,” he said.

They both looked down at her feet in cute little strappy sandals.

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