Finally, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Claudia, I didn't want to wake you, but your father's here. Are you sure you don't want to get up and go downstairs to see him?"

Claudia was caught off guard when she heard his words and shifted her focus. "My dad is here?"

Her eyes opened wide as she forgot that she had been pretending to be asleep moments before.

As she met Bennett's smiling eyes, Claudia suddenly remembered her ruse and felt a deep blush creeping up her cheeks.

She instinctively reached for the quilt to cover herself, but Bennett stopped her. "Your dad has been sitting downstairs for almost an hour!"