“Daddy does that, too.” Emily popped her thumb out of her mouth. It had been in there all morning, a sure sign that his daughter wasn’t feeling nearly as secure about the day ahead as he’d hoped. A new face was always intimidating for her—a new house doubly so. He’d been half afraid that Emily would take one look at the Vasquez domicile and refuse to cross the threshold, but she’d taken in the quaint spinster furnishings with something akin to pleasure.

It wasn’t a castle, she’d announced, but it was the next best thing. Ford was inclined to agree.

“He does what?” Lila asked.

“Pretends to answer the phone when he doesn’t want to talk to people. How come that lady didn’t want to talk? Doesn’t she like kids?”

Lila blinked. “I don’t know. I never asked her.”

“Don’t you like kids?”

“I don’t know. You’re the first one I’ve ever really met.”

Ford tensed, prepared for his daughter’s face to crumple in on itself and for the emotional retreat that usually followed interludes of this kind. The amount of rejection his daughter faced on a daily basis was staggering; even the kindest gestures had the potential to cut her down.

But Lila’s matter-of-fact response only caused her to giggle. “You’re funny. Do I get to pick a puppy now?”

Lila cast a helpless look in Ford’s direction, making him wish he had a pen and paper on hand. It was impossible to describe that look in words, but he could have captured it in a sketch easily enough. When she’d answered the door, he’d been surprised to find that the soft, floaty princess from the night of the ball had been replaced by a woman in what had to be the ugliest suit known to mankind. Ford was no connoisseur of female clothing—at least, not unless there was a rainbow unicorn emblazoned somewhere on it—but even he knew that something his mother might have worn in the eighties was hardly suitable for a statuesque woman with the most luminous eyes he’d ever seen.

Strangely enough, the outfit didn’t make her less attractive. If anything, it drew him to her even more. He liked incongruities. He liked knowing there were several different layers to peel off this woman.

And, no, that wasn’t a sexual innuendo. At least…not entirely.

“Don’t look at me.” He laughed and stepped back. “I’m new at all this. I was given an address and an order to place myself at your disposal. I’m not ashamed to admit how appealing I found the idea.”

Her lips pursed. “Listen, Mr. Ford.”

“Ford.”

“That’s what I said. Mr. Ford.”