Free Then Came You (The Wilde Sisters #2) by Marianne Rice Page A

her, leaving her backside coverless. Her pink princess nighty hugged her tiny body, her blonde tangles splayed all over the place. It would take forever to comb her hair this morning.
    Sitting on the bed next to Maddie’s back, Thyme reached out and tickled the girl’s neck.
    “Stop,” she grumbled.
    “Come on, sleepyhead. Time to get up.”
    It wasn’t often that Thyme got up before the five-year-old. Maddie stretched and rubbed her eyes before sitting up.
    “What are we doing today?”
    “Well, it’s going to take a good hour to comb your hair. Note to self, never let Madeline Davenport go to bed with wet hair again. Then I thought we’d see if we can find a new friend of mine, Eva, and then we’ll go out to lunch.”
    She didn’t want to mention meeting Grayson, in case he let them down and didn’t show. Better to be a surprise if he actually showed up. And hey, if she happened to invite Eva along, all the merrier, right? The rich bastard deserved to get called out on his game.
    After a slow-moving morning, and no Eva in sight, Thyme called Armand and asked him to drive them to Rugala’s. Grayson had texted her an hour ago and asked when and where to meet. She waited until she called Armand to ask for a kid-friendly lunch recommendation, and for good measure, tacked on another twenty minutes before responding to Grayson.
    Yeah, she was petty and played games. Another reason why she shouldn’t mix with the likes of a Montgomery.
    He didn’t reply. Thyme felt ambivalent about lunch. She wanted him to show, for Maddie’s sake, but wanted him to bail, so she could not like him.
    He showed. In fact, he beat her there.
    “Hi Grayson! Are you going to have lunch with us?” the little traitor asked.
    No, Thyme needed to be the mature adult—something she never aspired to be—and appreciate Maddie’s father trying to be a part of her life.
    “Is that okay with you, peanut?”
    “Sure.” She giggled. Even after losing her parents and not having a constant adult in her life other than Thyme, the girl managed to find something to smile about and giggle at every single day. If only adults could find so much appreciation and joy in their lives.
    Grayson crouched down and kissed the top of Maddie’s head. “You look beautiful today. Is that a new dress?”
    “Thyme bought it for me the other day when we went shopping. She bought a matching one.” Maddie twirled, her electric blue sundress circling around her legs. “And we have matching hats. I didn’t wear mine today because it took Thyme four thousand hours to comb my hair.”
    Grayson’s eyes sparkled—damn Aruba sun—and lifted toward Thyme. “You look beautiful too.”
    Stupid sun making her cheeks flush. Or maybe it was Grayson’s appreciative stare. No, definitely the sun. “Sure. Thanks.” She blew off the compliment, mentally fanned herself, and took Maddie’s hand. “Let’s get our table. I’m famished.” She wasn’t really, but she couldn’t stand much longer.
    Damn Aruba heat.
    Lunch was surprisingly pleasant. Being around children didn’t seem to bother Grayson, yet at times his mannerisms and questions were awkward. If Maddie noticed she didn’t let on. If anything, she controlled the conversation, setting him at ease.
    “Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?” Grayson asked.
    “I want to be a princess. How much does it cost to be a princess?”
    Thyme smiled and quirked her eyebrow at Grayson, letting him answer this one.
    “Well, it doesn’t exactly work that way. You have to be born into royalty and you were…” He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose as Maddie tilted her head, squinting at him. “Or you could be given the title from a monarch for service to their country.”
    “I learned about monarch butterflies in preschool. Can I be a princess if I take special care of butterflies?
    Throughout the lunch he’d gotten better about stopping himself before going on a tangent that was over a