The Favor: A Marriage of Convenience Romance

I smiled. “You can’t fool me. I know you’re happy.”

His expression softened, and he looked both sober and gentle at the same time. “I don’t have a single reason not to be anymore, do I?”

Aren’t I the prettiest princess, Daddy?”

Dane nodded. “Of course you are, baby.”

She beamed at him and lifted her arms. “Kisses!”

Dane obligingly lifted her and accepted the many kisses she feathered over his face, leaving smears of chocolate all over him

“You look so beautiful in that dress. Which princess is your favorite?”

Alicia’s face scrunched up, like the question was idiotic. “Me

“Yay!” Alicia shrieked, running over. “Ollie’s here! Ollie’s here! Ollie’s here!”

Dane glanced at me. “No more sugar for her tonight.”

Alicia curled her body around Dane’s leg. “He’s just so little, Daddy. I love how he smells. It makes me want to eat him.”

“I’m glad you restrain yourself,” said Dane

Dane walked into the room, carrying Oliver Hugh Davenport, who I’d dressed in a pumpkin suit, much to his father’s consternation

Right then, a cry came over the baby monitor in my hand.

“I’ll go,” said Dane, giving my hip a little squeeze.

. Our eldest daughter, who was a year older than Alicia, was much like Dane. Calm, serious, a deep thinker, and uber competitive. She also had his dark eyes, and her sleek medium-length hair was the same deep black as his. Unlike him, Addison was also sweet as pie and great with animals.

I wouldn’t say fatherhood changed Dane—he was still cold, ruthless, and calculating. But when around his children, those traits fell away. I’d initially worried that he’d struggle to allow himself to love and bond with them—such a thing wasn’t reflexive for Dane. But I’d worried for nothing. He’d taken one look at them the moment they were born and fell hard each time. He was a protective, hands-on dad who never let his children feel second to his job

Alicia.”

Our four-year-old daughter wasn’t the most placid of children. She insisted she was a princess, fought with the soul of a reincarnated MMA fighter, and had a mischievous streak that seemed embedded in every bone.