Fearless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires, Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

it clear that she’d better never let her kid near mine again. The next day, I found out they’d transferred to another school.”
    “You did good, Matt.” When she squeezed his hand lightly and smiled, he was amazed to feel the tension begin to drain out of him at her warm approval. “Although, I must admit I would have liked to see the other kid’s mom trembling in her high heels when you took her down.” She finally removed her hand from his as she asked, “And now you’ve got me really curious—what was Noah reading?”
    Trying not to let himself miss her touch, he said, “ Purplicious .”
    “Noah has good taste in books. And I love how he handled himself.”
    Matt’s stress instantly flooded back. “I shouldn’t have let it get that far. He should never feel belittled.”
    “Of course not. But he was still pretty amazing, standing up to an adult like that.”
    Matt had to tip his head to the side to stare at her, like a movie robot who didn’t understand humans. He hadn’t, not even for one minute, thought of it that way before. “You’re right, he did handle himself pretty well.” And Noah hadn’t exhibited lasting effects, thankfully. So maybe, with Ari’s supervision, a day with her friend’s son might actually be good for him. “You said Jorge likes to read?”
    “Voraciously.”
    “What about playing with Legos?”
    “How do you think I became a master?” she replied with a grin.
    Noah pushed through the door with a bowl of ice cream. Cookie followed with two more.
    “What do you think, buddy?” Matt asked. “Would you like to meet Ari’s little friend Jorge?”
    “Yes!”
    Ari’s laugh did things to his insides. It wasn’t just her pretty face or her lovely, lithe figure. It was her liveliness with Noah, her freshness, her love of life, her exuberance, her try-anything attitude.
    Then again, those were some of the same qualities that had first drawn him to Noah’s mother.
    And that had ended in disaster.

Chapter Four
    Matt and Noah gave Ari a tour after dinner, and the house was even more mind-boggling than it had initially seemed. The upper floor overlooked the front hall with a wide balustrade and was ringed by eight bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and sitting area. Matt said he wanted plenty of space for his family when they visited. Ari’s room included a desk and a computer, though she’d brought her own laptop—and, best of all, a whirlpool tub.
    The main floor consisted of the living room she’d interviewed in, complete with a grand piano; a formal dining room; and the kitchen, containing a huge pantry and a walk-in fridge. Matt displayed his favorite art in a special room, and Noah had his own playroom with lidded boxes full of toys, a chalkboard, and erase board. The great room came with all the latest entertainment equipment and a sun porch that opened on to the pool, the hot tub, and Noah’s playground.
    The most marvelous thing in the whole house, though, was the library, which rivaled the Beast’s in Beauty and the Beast , with enough books to keep reading straight through for a decade. Ari’s fingers itched to touch the volumes, and she saw some of her favorites, from Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings to Stephen King’s The Stand , all of them looking like collector’s editions.
    She longed to stay in the library, but Noah dragged her downstairs, where they walked her through the soundproofed basement with its fully equipped gym, the game room, and the screening room.
    She couldn’t believe she would actually live here. She’d never had so much space in her life, never had her pick of anything she wanted to eat from a restaurant-size walk-in fridge, never been able to just walk outside and jump into a heated pool.
    And she’d definitely never known a man like Matt Tremont.
    When the tour was finally over, Noah said, “Do I gotta go to bed, Daddy?”
    Matt turned to her with a gorgeous smile. “Does he gotta,