Fearless In Love(7)

She finally picked it up. “I must be the last person in Silicon Valley who doesn’t know how to use one of these.”

“I’ll show you,” Noah offered.

She grinned at him. “Thank you.”

“You can switch your number over and transfer your contacts,” Matt added. “Of course, you’re free to use it for personal calls as well.”

“Thank you,” she said again. Then she waggled the phone at Noah. “We can use this on our adventures to look up the names of birds and check out maps. Cool, huh?” Noah nodded enthusiastically.

Matt liked that she didn’t take anything for granted. He’d known plenty of people who took without even a thank-you, but she was unique in so many ways. God help him, he wanted to explore her uniqueness in every way he could…

Daniel was going to kill him for his thoughts. And Matt’s foster mother, Susan, would be appalled.

“So, Noah,” she said, “I’ve been planning all the fun things we can do together. Have you ever seen a dinosaur?”

“In a movie. It was real scary.” Noah’s eyes were wide and round.

“Movie dinosaurs can be scary because they roar.” She roared and Noah laughed.

Matt’s heart squeezed. Watching his son laugh always made him catch his breath with wonder. He loved the kid so damn much.

“There’s a dinosaur skeleton at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park that is so awesome, you’re going to fall in love with dinosaurs.” She looked at Matt. “It’s kind of expensive, but the membership is tax deductible.”

He couldn’t believe she was actually considering his expenses. Didn’t she know just how much money he had? It wasn’t like when he was a kid and he went to the museum only on the rare days when they opened it up to the public for free. But he realized that she’d probably used the free days too. “A membership is great. But you don’t have to worry about ticket prices. I have enough money for whatever activities you think Noah would like.”

“That doesn’t mean I should waste it when it makes more sense to get a family membership we can use for a year.”

Family. Matt knew how lucky he was to have Noah and the Mavericks as his family. Will, Sebastian, Evan, and Daniel were his blood brothers not by birth but by adversity. Bob and Susan, Daniel’s parents, had taken them all in as teenagers when they needed it most, providing the love and nurturing none of them had found at home. There was Lyssa too—something told Matt that she and Ari would become fast friends. Will had fallen in love with Harper and her brother, Jeremy, and Sebastian was head over heels for Charlie and her mother. Only Evan’s wife, Whitney, had never felt like family. Nor had any of Matt’s nannies. But he could see Noah falling under Ari’s spell.

Matt couldn’t allow himself to do so as well.

Pushing his plate away, he propped his elbows on the table, fingers laced. “What else do you have planned?” None of the previous nannies had suggested outings.

Ari mimicked him, pushing away a plate so clean that not even the parsley garnish on the salmon was left. “Do you like the zoo, Noah?”

He bobbed his head, trailing his child-size fork through the remains of his salmon and broccoli. “Gorillas are my favorite.”

“Me too.” She grinned. “How about mummies?”

“Aren’t they scary?”

“No, at least not the ones at the mummy museum. And later in the year we can visit the elephant seals at Año Nuevo.”

“Is it safe for kids?” Matt had heard the giant bulls could move amazingly fast.

“The docents keep you out of the way of the fighting males.” She patted his hand to put him at ease, and though the touch was light and easy, heat spread like wildfire through him. She didn’t seem to notice his reaction as she asked Noah, “Have you ever walked across the Golden Gate Bridge? We could even ride bikes.”

“Noah’s still got his training wheels,” Matt cautioned as Cookie barreled through the swing doors to remove their empty plates.

“That was delicious, Cookie. Thank you.”

The matronly woman’s lined face creased in an answering smile. She’d been with them since Noah was born. “You are welcome, miss. We have ice cream for dessert.”

“Yes!” Noah enthused in his little-boy voice.

Ari laughed and Matt joined her, her humor infectious. She was like a fever heating up beneath his skin.

“I will be right back.” Cookie marched out in her soft-soled shoes. Noah jumped up with his usual enthusiasm and, almost on Cookie’s heels, ran into the kitchen to help.