Page 36 of The CEO

“Of course.” He set his coffee on the counter. Then he went to Lilly, unfastened the safety belt and lifted her from the highchair. “Good gawd. From the looks of her I’m surprised she got any in her mouth.”

“She was very messy today and managed to grab the spoon a couple of times.” Bree raised her brows and pursed her lips. Then she took the highchair tray to the sink. “That’s why it’s in her hands and hair. Maybe you should just give her a bath and start the morning over.”

Adam held Lilly at arm’s length, lest he be wearing peas, too. “I think that’s probably a good idea. From the smell of her that will be the best way for everything to get clean.”

Bree laughed at the picture they made. The big man and the little baby. She looked almost tiny in his arms. “You might as well get used to the idea that you’ll have to change your shirt after you’re done.”

He looked at the sleeves of his shirt, which were smeared with baby handprints made of peas, and sighed, bringing Lilly fully into his arms and against his chest. “You, my darling daughter, are a messy eater. I hope you grow out of that as you get older.”

“We can only hope,” said Bree from the kitchen sink, where she was using the sprayer to rinse the tray. Then she grabbed a dishtowel from the first drawer on the left side of the sink and dried the tray. She set it on the table and wiped down the vinyl chair.

Adam carried Lilly upstairs for a bath and clean clothes.

Bree admired that Adam was a hands-on dad. He could have left her to care for Lilly completely. But he was a great father. He wanted to be involved in all aspects of Lilly’s care, and Bree let him. She was perfectly happy not to have to deal with every dirty diaper, though she missed giving her a bath. They’d purchased a little ring that suctioned onto the tub where Lilly could sit in and play.

She loved her bath time. She splashed and played and chewed on everything she could get her hands on.

She was teething and drooling like a St. Bernard dog. Her clothes were often wet, and she had to be changed.

Bree had gotten to where she kept a bib on Lilly all the time, just to keep her clothes drier.

She was watching Adam give Lilly a bath when the doorbell rang. Bree got up to go answer it.

Adam looked up at her. “Carole will get it, so you don’t have to leave.”

“Carole is at the grocery store. I need to answer the door. Besides it’s probably the florist. I decided to get some new plants for the formal dining table. I like to keep fresh ones in there. That new girl, Camile, you have working for you in the acquisitions department told me about this florist and that theywere having a great plant sale. I called and ordered several things and gave them the code for the gate.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll have Lilly out of the bath and in the nursery by the time you return.”

“I’ll look for you there.” She walked downstairs and reached the front door just as the doorbell sounded again. She opened the door. “How may I hel?—”

A burly man in a ski mask stood on the porch with a gun. “Don’t make a sound. Come with us, and the man and baby won’t be harmed.”

Bree looked up at where Adam would be with Lilly and knew she didn’t have a choice. “Let me get my purse.” She wondered how many men there were since the one with the gun had saidus.She heart pounded and she wondered if she’d ever see Adam or Lilly again.

“No. No purse. No phone. Just you.”

She nodded. “Fine.”

He led the way to a white van that saidSandy’s Floralon the side, opened the sliding door, and jutted his chin at the opening. “Get in.”

She’d stepped up to enter the van.

The man gave her a hard push.

“Hurry up!”

She was pushed into the van, landing on her right side.

Then the man slid the door closed and as soon as he was in the passenger’s side, the driver took off before the masked man even had his door shut.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Some place safe. You don’t need to worry.”

Bree knew she needed to make the men afraid. Maybe they didn’t know the penalty for what they were doing. Maybe she could bluff her way to getting them to believe that Adam cared enough to get her back. “Who are you working for? Why didyou kidnap me? That’s a federal offense you know. You’re in big trouble. When my husband finds out what you’ve done, he’ll come after you and he won’t stop until he finds me. He’ll kill you for what you’ve done. I hope whatever you’re getting paid is enough to be worth your life.”

“Shut it, before I kill you now.”