The Teacher's Billionaire

eager to finally get this meeting with her father over with. In her opinion the first time doing anything was always the most difficult and awkward. She didn’t expect this to be any different.
    Despite this fact Callie wasn’t as nervous today about meeting her father as she had been on Friday afternoon. Perhaps she had Dylan to thank for that. He’d told her a lot about Warren when they’d spent the day together. Or maybe it was because her mind was so worried about how the rest of her father’s family would react, that it couldn’t be bothered with anything else.
    Her brief meeting with Sara told her not everyone wanted to welcome her into the family with open arms. What if her father’s wife and their son shared Sara’s sentiment?
    Stop worrying about it
. Callie parked and got out her car.
If they don’t like me, there’s nothing I can do about it. Remember he invited me here. I didn’t ask to come and after today I never have to come back if I choose.
    After being greeted by the same expressionless butler, he informed her that Senator Sherbrooke was waiting for her in the study.
    As Callie followed the butler through the mansion, she let her eyes wander. It appeared as if no one else was around. Did that mean only her father was home? Or did that mean the whole family was together, waiting for her? She knew she wasn’t ready to meet the whole family at once. Talk about overload.
    A feeling of deja vu washed over her when the butler stopped and knocked on the same closed door. Clasping her hands in front of her, Callie waited as the butler spoke.
    Almost as soon as the butler told the room’s occupant she was there, the door opened further and Callie found herself staring into eyes identical to hers.
    If she’d had any doubts about their relationship, they were gone as she stood staring at Warren Sherbrooke. She’d always wondered who she’d inherited her unusual eye color from. Everyone else in her family had some shade of brown eyes, yet she had eyes so blue people often commented on them. Warren Sherbrooke’s eyes were the exact same shade. The pictures she’d seen on the Internet hadn’t done them justice.
    Smiling tentatively, Callie extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Senator Sherbrooke. I hope you’re feeling better.”
    Somehow calling him Senator Sherbrooke seemed too formal considering this was her father after all. At the same time calling him dad didn’t feel right either, and she didn’t want to appear rude by calling him Warren.
    Momentarily his eyes got misty. For a second she thought he might cry, but then he returned her smile. “I’m much better. Please come in.” Taking her by the elbow, he led her to the leather sofa. “We have a lot to talk about.”
    That was an understatement if she’d ever heard one. She had a million questions. And with her mother gone, he was the only one who could answer them. The only problem was she didn’t know how to start.
    Should she just take control of the conversation and ask him the questions, which had been plaguing her since she learned the truth? Or should she let him set the pace and tone of the conversation?
    Man, she wished there was a Dummies Guide to Meeting Your Father for the First Time book. There seemed to be one on everything else these days.
    “Would you like something to drink?” Warren asked once they were both seated. “Or something to eat? I thought we could join the rest of family for lunch, but if you’re hungry a light snack can be prepared now.”
    Though only a casual drinker Callie thought a glass of wine might be a good idea, but she didn’t say so. After all it
was
only ten o’clock in the morning. “I’m fine thank you. I ate something before I left the motel.”
    “You have your mother’s smile,” Warren said after a moment of silence. “She was a wonderful person. I was sorry to hear that she passed.”
    When it came to her mom’s death, her emotions were still too raw and Callie fought back tears. “She was a great mother. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for me.”
    For the next several minutes Warren asked her where she’d gone to school and what grade she taught. All the while the only thing Callie wanted to discuss was how her parents had met, and why he hadn’t tried to keep in contact with her mom. But how could she bring up the subject without seeming rude?
    “Dylan told me you only recently learned about me,” Warren said. She’d just finished telling him