The Billionaire's Substitute

Toys

Rachel stirred in her sleep, rolling to her side and settling in again. The covers felt warm and inviting, she never wanted to leave her bed again. She groaned when she felt a hand on her arm, slowly trailing down. The touch was soft and warm, inviting but yet not inviting enough to wake her from her slumber. The warmth of her bed was much more comfortable.

"Rache, I need to get ready for work and Ava is crying-"

She snapped her eyes open, trying to adjust them to the lighting in their bright bedroom. Ethan had pulled up the curtains, trying to wake her quietly. Her fiancé gently rubbed his thumb over her bare shoulder, putting his shirt which she was wearing back up so she was at least appropriately dressed while she'd take care of Ava.

"I'd get her-"

"But you're late yourself." She mumbled, she sat up and reached for a hair tie on her bedside table, "I'll take care of it." She told him in a low voice, still not quite awake yet, "You go get ready."

He kissed her temple and then strolled toward the bathroom again. She then noticed her fiancé had been half-naked, a towel wrapped around his waist. Ethan lifted weights too, just like Ryan, there was no doubt about that when taking one good look at his firm body. She tilted her head to the side, trying to catch another glimpse of him. Hidden from her greedy view, Rachel got to her feet and made her way to Ava's room. She approached her little girl's crib. Ava's face was wet with tears, her face getting all red. Hushing her, Rachel took her little girl in her arms and tried to quiet her down, kissing her chubby wet cheeks.

"It's okay, sweetie." She quietly told the little girl who still cried her eyes out.

Rachel changed the girl's nappy which made Ava quiet down a bit and then moved to the kitchen to feed her. She placed Ava in the high chair, the little girl settling down. Ava watched her prepare a mashed banana, looking eager to dig in. Seeing her little girl's eyes glitter with delight, her lips twitching to smile made her feel better about being forced to wake up from her slumber. Rachel let some coffee brew so Ethan could take it with him and fed Ava while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

"You're an angel."

Rachel chuckled, "I'm definitely not, but you're welcome."

Ethan moved to the coffee machine and poured the hot liquid into a travel mug. He closed the lid and then approached his daughter and gave the little girl a kiss. Ava looked up at him with big eyes, her lips curling up into a bright smile.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get you this morning." He whispered to her.

"It's okay." Rachel assured him, "Say hi to Gabriel for me."

Ethan met her gaze, "Right, we're invited to have dinner at their place tonight."

Rachel smirked at that, "It just slipped your mind?" She asked him, "Like dress shopping with your mother?"

"In my defense, someone seduced me last night making me forget about a lot of things." He narrowed his eyes at her, "Like you meeting up with Ryan and not letting me know about it until the very last second."

She shrugged a shoulder, "I knew you'd make a big deal out of nothing, so yes, I purposely waited until the last second to tell you."

Ethan let that one slide as he continued, "So I'll have a car pick you two up while I take a ride with them."

"Got it."

He kissed his baby girl once more, this time Ava let her happiness know vocally. He chuckled, giving his little girl a gentle tap on the nose and then moved to her. Ethan pressed a kiss to her cheek, "I'll see you both tonight."