Seven damn pairs of shoes. I mentally rolled my eyes, but I had a smile on my face as I drove the short distance to my apartment. Why had I bitched at him about going overboard with our daughter? Some women could only dream of a man who would spend time taking their little girl shopping. Not to mention all the time and effort he had put into making sure she had a kick-ass room in his home.

When I got to my apartment, I was struggling to get all the shoes upstairs, so our doorman helped me carry them up. I quickly changed clothes so it wasn’t quite so obvious that I had spent a night of debauchery with Axel before driving to Beau’s house to pick up Carrie.

I spent the entire day with my precious little girl, watching movies, cuddling on the couch, and eating popcorn and junk food. I was always so happy when I got to spend an entire day like this with Carrie. My schedule could be grueling, but days like this made up for it. That night we snuggled up in my bed and read three different books together before my phone rang on the nightstand.

My heart did a little leap thingy in my chest when I saw Axel’s name on the display. “Hello?” I answered, sounding much more breathless than I had intended.

“Hey, Bear,” came the deep reply that made my ears heat up. “How was your day?”

“Good, how about yours?”

“It was okay, but I missed you.”

That gave me an achy feeling in my chest, and I realized that I missed him too, even though I had just seen him last night. “Me, too,” I said, glancing down at Carrie beside me. “What are you doing?”

“I’m in bed in my hotel room thinking about you,” he said, an edge of seduction in his tone.

“I’m in bed, too.”

“Alone?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the p.

“What?!” I heard a rustling as if he had just sat up. “Who… who’s there?” he demanded. I could hear the panic and fury in his voice and couldn’t hold back my laugh.

“Some little squirt with a mop of curly hair. She’s awfully cute and snuggly.” Carrie beamed up at me as I heard Axel let out a long breath.

“Carrie’s awake?” he asked, his tone brightening. “I wanted to call and tell her goodnight, but our team meeting ran long. I figured she was asleep already.”

“So, I was your second choice?” I teased.

“Hmmm. I’m not sure which answer will get me in the most trouble,” he pondered.

I knew my grin was taking up my entire face because he was thinking about our daughter and wanted to talk to her before bed. I liked the doting dad version of Axel Broxton. It was kinda hot.