CEO Single Dad Falls For Her, Never Expected She’d Love His Kids Like Her Own
Chapter 2
Ethan Hayes was used to controlling rooms.
At thirty-eight, he had built Hayes International from a small software company into one of the largest technology firms in the country.
Board members listened when he spoke.
Investors waited for his decisions.
Competitors watched every move.
Employees rarely challenged him.
His children were different.
They ignored nearly every strategy he tried.
Noah refused breakfast if the eggs were touching toast.
Lily refused shoes unless Ava helped her put them on.
And both children had developed the habit of asking Ava questions they never asked their father.
“What did Mom like?”
“Did Mom ever get scared?”
“Did Mom sing?”
“Did Mom like pancakes?”
Ethan heard those questions every evening.
At first, it hurt.
Then he realized something.
Ava never answered more than she knew.
When Lily asked whether her mother had liked dancing, Ava said, “I don’t know, sweetheart.”
When Noah asked whether his mother had been afraid of hospitals, Ava said, “You’ll have to ask your dad.”
She never pretended to know.
That was one of the things Ethan respected most about her.
One evening, he found her sitting on the back steps while Noah practiced throwing a baseball.
Lily was drawing beside her.
“You’re off work,” Ethan said.
Ava looked up.
“I know.”
“So why are you still here?”
She shrugged.
“They asked me to stay.”
“Who?”
She pointed.
Noah threw the ball badly.
“Dad!”
Ethan sighed.
“You’re terrible.”
Noah glared.
“Coach says I need practice.”
“I’ll practice with you.”
Noah shook his head.
“I want Ava.”
Ethan looked at Ava.
She smiled apologetically.
“Sorry.”
“You’re stealing my children.”
Ava laughed.
“They seem willing.”
For a few minutes, Ethan watched them.
Ava didn’t play like a professional.
She missed throws.
She laughed when Noah teased her.
She let Lily decorate her hair with clips.
She didn’t care about getting dirty.
She didn’t care about expensive clothes.
She didn’t seem impressed by his wealth.
That was unusual.
Most people who entered Ethan’s world knew exactly who he was.
Ava seemed to care more about whether his daughter had eaten lunch.
Later that night, Ethan found Ava washing dishes.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because they’re dirty.”
He smiled.
“Fair.”
She glanced at him.
“You’re smiling.”
“I do that sometimes.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
Ethan leaned against the counter.
“How did you become so good with children?”
Ava dried a plate.
“I had to help raise my younger brother.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“My father left when I was ten.”
Ethan said nothing.
“My mother worked two jobs,” Ava continued. “So I learned.”
“Learned what?”
“How to make dinner when there wasn’t much food.”
She smiled faintly.
“How to make homework feel like a game.”
She placed the plate away.
“And how to tell when someone says they’re fine when they’re not.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Does that work on me?”
“Yes.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“And?”
“You’re not fine.”
The room became quiet.
Ethan looked away.
Ava didn’t press.
She never did.
That night, for the first time since his wife died, Ethan stood outside his children’s bedrooms and listened to them laugh.
He didn’t know whether he was grateful or afraid.
Because Ava wasn’t simply becoming important to his children.
She was becoming important to him.
