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His phone vibrated and “Babygirl” popped up on his screen. He opened a text from her, and a photograph appeared of Lily sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor surrounded by art supplies. Blue paint decorated the tip of her nose, but she looked completely unaware of it.

Babygirl:

Maria says you skipped dinner.

Her text made him smile despite himself. He typed back to her one-handed.

Soren:

Working. Eat without me.

Three dots appeared almost immediately.

Babygirl:

Only if you eat later.

He looked down at the untouched coffee beside him and realized that she'd already figured him out.

Soren:

Deal.

Another picture arrived. This time she'd crossed her eyes trying to look at the paint on her nose, and he actually laughed. The entire command center went silent.

Luca slowly turned around and looked him over. "Was that a laugh?"

Soren locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "No."

"It absolutely was,” Luca said.

"I breathed differently,” Soren insisted.

Luca grinned. "I can see through you, boss.”

Soren gave him a look. "I don't even know what that means."

"It means she's changing you."

Soren didn't answer, because Luca wasn't entirely wrong. In such a short amount of time, Lily had completely turned his life upside down, and he kind of liked it.

An hour later, Soren quietly opened the door to his suite. The lights were low, and classical music drifted softly from somewhere inside. He hadn't realized Lily liked classical music, but there was a lot about her that he still didn’t know.

He found her asleep on the rug in front of the fireplace, with her sketchbook open and colored pencils scattered around her. One hand still rested on the page she'd been working on. Soren smiled faintly because she'd fought sleep, but sleep eventually won. He crouched beside her, and the sketch caught his attention immediately. It wasn't him, his estate, or the gardens. It was a lighthouse standing alone against a violent storm. Waves crashed around its foundation and lightning split the sky, yet the light at the top still burned.

His chest tightened. "Lily."

She stirred. "Mmm?"

"You fell asleep."

She blinked up at him. "I was waiting for you, but I guess I lost the battle with sleep.”

"You did."

She smiled sleepily. "Did you eat?"

Soren sighed. "You asked that before asking how my meeting went."