Free Dating A British Billionaire (BWWM Romance) by Tasha Jones, BWWM Crew Page B

her child.
     
    Valerie nodded as she wrapped her little arms around Nisha’s legs. “Bye, Mum!”
     
    Nisha rubbed her back then looked up to wink at me.
     
    I wanted to hop in front of her daughter and kiss her right then and there, but I figured good behavior was best in her present. “All right, love. I’ll see you for dinner?”
     
    Nisha nodded. “Yes, Ed. That’s perfect.” She then looked down at Valerie one last time. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of.”
     
    Valerie rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mum.”
     
    I chuckled at this, as I placed my hand on Valerie’s tiny shoulder and turned her around. One glance behind me showed me that Nisha was still watching us. I had only travelled two or three steps before I started to feel hopelessly awkward. Should I have been holding her hand or was it a good thing that I was giving her this space. I cleared my throat, instinctively reaching for her arm when we got to the next street corner. She flinched away from me then as if thinking twice about it, clasped her tiny hand around mine.
     
    As we crossed the street, me looking in each direction over and over again because of the precious cargo in tow, I couldn’t help but feel a little accomplished, like I had been granted entry into an extremely exclusive club. “This is my favorite ice cream shop,” I said as I led her into the small boutique.
     
    She nodded, a smile stretching across her face. “Strawberry?” I asked, as I stepped up to the woman behind the counter.
     
    Valerie gave an eager nod.
     
    “Oh my. Edward Worthington?” the woman behind the counter said.
     
    This was the worst thing about running for public office. “Uh yes. I would like a strawberry cone for the little lady and just plain vanilla for me.”
     
    She nodded eagerly and went to work on the order.
     
    With that accomplished, I turned back to Valerie. I kneeled next to her, feeling compelled to get on her level. “So,” I said, holding on to her shoulders. It was a curious thing, looking into the eyes of mini-Nisha. “You like dressing up?”

    She nodded. “Yes. Mum is good at that. She dresses like a princess every night.”
     
    I cocked my head to the side. Every night? “What do you mean?”
     
    She shrugged, “You know? Dresses.” She lifted her hand up to her head, twirling her hair in her hands. “She curls it, like this.”
     
    “Where does she go?”
     
    It was only a child’s statement. It couldn’t have been a cause for alarm. No. I knew Valerie had to be embellishing because… well because… I… I didn’t know anything. Suddenly, that odd, sickening sensation that had gripped me the first time I saw Valerie had washed over me all over again. “Valerie, where does she go? What does she do?” Suddenly, the image of her in her ball gown on Peter’s arm popped into my head. It was my first memory of her. Why was she at that party in the first place? Why did she never talk about her career? Her goals? “Valerie?”
     
    It was the scowl on her face that told me I had been holding on far too tight.
     
    “Mr. Worthington?”
     
    I turned around to find the woman holding the ice creams I had ordered.
    ***
    That night, we had dinner in Nisha’s flat. She cooked a marvelous meal of pot roast and steak fries. There was a bottle of wine as well, but we didn’t open it until Valerie went to bed. Then, I couldn’t do it any longer. I couldn’t ignore whatever it was that Nisha wasn’t telling me. “I can’t. Love, I have to ask you this.”

    Nisha took a sip of her wine and rested her legs on my lap before she answered me. “What is it that you have to do?”
     
    “While I was with your daughter, she said something about you going out at night…” I watched her. I watched the way she took that generous gulp of wine. I watched her lips quiver when she put her glass down.
     
    “Valerie is a little… she has an imagination.”
     
    I gently pushed her legs off of me and leaned