But standing in the kitchen waiting to meet people he loved, my vulnerability rose to the surface as I waited for his answer. His eyes softened, and he dipped his head a little lower, tipping my chin up to ensure I made eye contact with him. “Yes.”
And that was it.
No flowery words. No explanation. No big speech about the ways he was happy or even how I made him happy.
But that one word was enough. My smile stretched my mouth wide, and tension slipped from my body. His gaze roamed my face, and I wondered if he could see how that single syllable affected me, the ease it instilled in me.
I swallowed again, but this time it was to gain control of my emotions, keep in check my relief. My eyes landed on his lips when they curved. “We good?”
I nodded, not daring to speak in case my voice gave my emotions away. Nor did I want to break the spell of this moment.
With another quick glance at my eyes, as if he was making sure I was telling him the truth, he seemed satisfied. He bobbed his head once, gave me a quick kiss, then smacked my ass as he headed away from me.
“Where are you going?” I asked once I found my voice.
“He’s here.”
“Huh?” I sought out the time. Davis was early. “But how—?”
“Heard his car pull up outside.”
Huh? My senses beyond that of watching and listening to Tanner had apparently switched off over the past five minutes or so. I glanced at the oven, tempted to recheck it, but instead, I forced my feet to move. It was time to meet Tanner’s family.
I snorted, almost spilling the contents of my glass. “And then what did he do?” I threw a quick glance at Tanner and raised my brows when I saw heat creep across his cheeks. Obviously, whatever dirt Davis was about to dish was good.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Tanner growled at Davis. The sound was gravelly and so husky I mentally stored the sound away to see if he’d use it in the bedroom one time. I dragged my gaze away from him, mildly aware I’d probably had too much wine since I was struggling to keep my mind focused on Davis’s story and not Tanner and the bedroom.
“What?” Davis grinned, his eyes shining with glee. “You don’t want Carter to know about having to call fire and rescue?”
Now I was intrigued. “Go on. You can’t stop now,” I encouraged. I determinedly kept my eyes off Tanner, sure he was giving me a hard stare.
Davis grinned, threw Tanner the finger and me a wink. “He clambered to the men’s and tried scrambling out the window.” I snorted, wide-eyed, trying to imagine Tanner ever running from anything. “Then,” Davis continued, tears threatening to spill from his eyes in amusement, “the window was in one of the cubicles. He slipped and somehow got his foot wedged in the bowl.”
Loud laughter erupted from me, and I clamped a hand over my mouth, risking a quick look at Tanner. Despite his frown and squinting eyes, there was no hardness reflected there. He rolled his eyes in mock irritation. “Yeah, yeah, lap it up. It was the heel that did it. It was strapped so tight to my fucking foot, I couldn’t get the thing off. I still have no idea how it happened.”
Davis kept laughing, the sound loud and contagious. “When…,” he gasped. “When the firefighters arrived, it turned out that we knew one of the firemen. It didn’t take long for the word to spread that Tanner had been caught in fishnets and heels, trying to escape a gaggle of women.”
I could see it now. The image was ridiculous. Tanner—tall, strong, just the right side of muscular Tanner—dressed up in drag, and then having to flee from horny old women. My face started to hurt from the laughter and my wide smile, but I needed to know. “Please tell me you have photographic evidence.”
“Hey now.” Tanner snaked his arm around my waist and dragged me to him, holding me close with no chance of escape. Not that I had any desire to be released. “No, there isn’t.” His voice was gruff but held amusement.
I looked at Davis for confirmation. He shrugged. “Unbelievably no. It’s a fucking travesty really. I could have held it over his head on so many occasi—” A throw cushion landed in his face. “Oomph.”
Tanner chuckled and pressed a kiss to my neck. I sighed at the contact. “He didn’t tell you that I was only in drag for a charity event.”
“Oh,” I said with a grin, “you don’t make a habit of dressing up in women’s clothes and wearing makeup?” I twisted my head to look at him, throwing him a wink.
He twisted his mouth as if deciding just how to punish me for my ribbing. The look in his eyes had me swallowing in delight. Damn, just one look from this man and I was a needy mess.
“No,” he finally answered.
Davis’s snort brought our attention back to him. “It’s true,” he admitted. “And I will say, that group of women were fucking terrifying. I’d have run too.”
Aware I was practically sitting on Tanner’s lap, I wriggled against him and tapped his hand, intending for him to release me. Instead, a grunt of disapproval brushed across my ear. I bit my lip, embarrassment heating my cheeks since we had company.
“Don’t mind me.” I flicked my gaze to Davis in surprise. His smile was warm and genuine. “It’s a nice change. Never seen my brother here all loved up.” I held my breath at his words, and a moment later, Tanner’s arm gripped me a little tighter and his fingers found the flesh of my side, and stroked small circles there. Davis sent Tanner a chin lift. “Looks good on you.”
Having no idea how on earth I was meant to respond to that, I hesitated. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, still not quite sure what was going to fall out of my mouth, the soft gurgling of Libby dragged my attention to her.
I’d never been more relieved for a break in tension, though I was convinced I was the only idiot who felt it. Davis looked perfectly relaxed, while Tanner had made my insides mushy with his distracting touch.
I smiled over at Libby as she pulled her feet high and reached out and took them in her hands before she spotted Rex, who lay patiently by her side and was staring at her with interest. She’d been fast asleep for the past couple of hours and was lying on a collection of blankets on the floor while Rex had taken on the role of protector.
When she spotted Rex, she garbled noises and turned herself toward him. She lay on her front reaching out for him, seemingly desperate to get her legs moving in a crawling motion, but they didn’t seem to be behaving.
Rex shuffled toward Libby and placed his head on the floor before her. She giggled in delight and reached out, her hand on his fur.
“Hey, baby girl.” Warmth filled Davis’s voice when he spoke to his daughter. He stood, walked over to her, and then reached down to swoop her into his arms. He patted Rex’s head too, who seemed a little lost without Libby to lick. “You hungry?” A happy smile lit her face before it was hidden by her cramming a few of her fingers in her mouth.
I laughed. “Looks like it to me.”
Davis faced me with a grin. “Mind if I use your kitchen to heat her food?”
“Of course not. I can do it if—”
“No need.” He stepped over, passed Libby to me, released a loud snort-laugh at my startled face, and then left the room.
“All righty then.” I looked down at Libby. She was so small that I had no clue how to even hold her without breaking her.
Tanner’s soft chuckle had me quickly glancing over at him, my eyes wide in horror and pleading for help. He grinned, shifted me off him, and proceeded to get off the sofa and kneel before me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then one to Libby’s. Immediately she cooed and wriggled, lifting her head.
“Tanner?” I seriously had no idea what to do. I’d never held a baby before. Pups, kittens, heck, even calves, those I could handle, but a human baby had small beads of sweat breaking out on the back of my neck.
“You’re fine.” His voice was calming, and I chose to ignore the humor in his tone. “Just let her stand up. She wants to look around and take everything in. Davis said she’s trying her hardest to stand by herself. She�
�s not there yet.” He sounded amused.
“But—”
“She won’t break.”
Dammit, he already knew me so well.
“Really,” he continued, “she’s a sturdy little thing. She’s already trying to crawl. To be honest, I’m surprised she isn’t demanding to be set down so she can drag herself around.”
I nodded, some of my stress dissipating. I knew she wasn’t a newborn or anything, but I hadn’t a clue about babies, or how to figure out how old they were, let alone what they could do at different stages. I stood Libby upright on my knees where she eyed me in what I hoped was interest and not wariness.
After a few moments of awkwardness and staring wide-eyed at each other, Libby flashed a gummy smile at me. A large grin plastered my face, and I cooed at her, feeling as though I’d achieved something monumental to get such a reaction from her.
“You see, nothing to worry about.” Tanner’s palm pressed against my arm, giving me a light squeeze. Angling my head to look at him, I puffed my chest in pride.
“She likes me.”
He laughed. “Seems that way.”
“Awesome.” Davis stepped back into the room carrying a bowl and a small plastic spoon. “I’ll put you on the top of the list for babysitting.”
I’d looked away from him when he’d entered, but his words made me jerk my head back to him in such a hurry, I was sure I’d pulled something. “What?”
Loud laughter burst from him. “You’ll be fine.” He winked.
With a frown, I nodded, having no clue if he was joking or not.
Davis picked up his daughter and returned to his chair, placing her on his knee. No sooner had he sat than Tanner stood, rummaged around in a huge bag sitting next to Davis, pulled a bib free, and put it on Libby. He planted a quick kiss on her head before grabbing a baby bottle from the bag too. He disappeared for a moment as Davis started feeding Libby tiny mouthfuls of a mushed-up orange substance that made her hum in appreciation.
A moment later Tanner was back, the bottle filled with water. He placed it next to Davis so it was in easy reach.
I’d watched the whole exchange in wide-eyed silence. “Wow.” The word tumbled from my lips. Both men looked at me and heat touched my cheeks. I hadn’t intended to say anything.
“What’s that?” Tanner tilted his head in question.
“Just, you guys are so in sync with each other. You don’t even have to speak to get the job done and look after her.” A pang of jealousy threatened to bloom in my chest, but I pushed it aside. Instead, I grasped on to the other emotion that had risen: pride.
I saw the concern in Tanner’s eyes as he looked at me. Needing to eliminate that reaction, I smiled, pushing as much warmth and reassurance as possible into it as I could. “It’s impressive, that’s all.”
When my gaze flicked to Davis, I realized he’d watched the whole exchange. I kept my smile in place. While it was genuine, his focus sent a pulse of nerves through me. “So,” I continued, once again with no real clue as to what to say, but my hate of awkward silence spurred me on, “are you looking for a baby-mama for Libby?”
Immediately I wanted to smack myself upside the head and then race out of the room to run and hide. What on earth was I doing, saying? Baby-mama? I wanted to gag a little that such words had come out of my mouth. I blamed a couple of the nurses from work who watched crap TV. I must’ve walked into a dodgy conversation and that horrendous description quite possibly cemented itself in my brain unbidden.
My eyes grew wide in horror. I risked a glance at Tanner, hoping he wasn’t annoyed at me, and desperately praying he’d be there to help yank my foot out of my mouth.
Well, he wasn’t mad.
He seemed concerned for my mental health if the confusion painted on his face was anything to go by, but he was also holding back laughter. His lips twitched, and his eyes were bright with amusement. I cast my gaze at Davis. Both horror and relief swirled; his expression and reaction were similar to Tanner’s. But I was mortified. Way to make an impression!
“I, er, please don’t answer that.” I seriously had nothing. There was no comeback to the nonsense I’d spouted. I looked at the door, seeing a possible escape route. “Another drink?” I all but leaped out of my seat. Davis’s eyes grew even wider. I hesitated for a moment, knowing I had to wait for a response, but desperate to get out of the room and throw myself in the freezer to cool my flaming cheeks.
An amused grin spread across Davis’s face. Laughing, he said, “It’s all good. Seriously. Sit your ass down. I’m all right.” He shoveled another spoonful of food into Libby’s mouth and then returned his attention to me.
I hovered, unsure what to do.
“Carter.”
I met Tanner’s gaze.
“Come and sit.” He patted the space next to him.
I released a heavy sigh, trying my hardest to swallow my embarrassment and act unaffected. “Okay.” I nodded, and threw him a strained smile. When my butt hit the cushion next to him, Tanner wrapped his arm around me, and he hugged me closer to his side.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” I glanced at Tanner, who quirked his lips. “You know how my mouth gets the better of me sometimes.” Admittedly it didn’t do that often, but I was grasping at straws. “Sorry,” I said on an exhale. “That was really inappropriate.” I looked at Davis as I spoke. He just grinned back, still amused.
I knew the bare bones of Davis’s history. That he grew up with Tanner, and they were as close as brothers. I also knew that Libby was the product of a one-night stand and that her mom had split. It was still bizarre to me that the split was willing, with Davis taking on full custody. But heck, men skipped out on women all the time I supposed, so why should it be any different for a woman?
“Seriously, it’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with the question.” Davis paused. “Okay, baby-mama may have thrown me a little.” He laughed, which in turn made Libby giggle too. Davis dropped a kiss to her head before he spooned more food into her mouth and said, “And to answer your question, no. Libby and I are pretty cool as we are. I have no idea how I’d even fit in a relationship on top of work and Libby.
“Maybe one day I’ll meet the right person, but I’m in no rush.” Libby made a strange noise, and I watched her start to shake her head. Davis moved her a little, placing the bowl and spoon on the floor, which Rex immediately attacked, ignoring Tanner’s grumbles and much to Libby’s delight. Davis then picked up the water bottle and handed it to Libby, who latched on to it with both hands. Then he looked at me with a wide smile. “And who said it would have to be a mama anyway?” He waggled his eyebrows up and down.
Tanner snorted beside me and I felt movement. He was chuckling and shaking his head.
“Oh.” I nodded, admittedly thrown. I’d assumed Davis was straight since he was a dad, especially since I knew the brief history of Libby’s conception. “Well.” I shrugged like a doofus, tilted my head, and laughed. “At least that way you have more options.”
Chapter Fifteen
TANNER
“He’s good for you.”
“That’s one heck of a greeting.” I raised my brows at Davis, kissed Libby on the cheek and then handed her to him. It was the first chance I’d had to see Davis since he’d been by Carter’s a few days earlier. I’d picked Libby up from childcare and spent a couple of hours looking after her.
“Hey, baby girl.” Davis covered his daughter’s face with kisses, making her giggle. “Beer?” He looked at me before turning and heading to the kitchen.
“Yeah, thanks.” I closed the door and followed him in, placing Libby’s diaper bag on the floor at the bottom of the staircase.
When I entered the kitchen, Davis was strapping Libby into her high chair. After ensuring she was secure, he headed to the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of beers. He handed me one. “She all good?”
“Yep. They’ve written in her daily form a few notes for you. I had a quick glance, but I d
on’t think there’s anything life changing on there.” It was hard to believe how both our lives had changed. God, a year ago, I would never have thought for one fucking second I’d have a conversation, with Davis of all people, about childcare notes, let alone know what I was talking about when it came to teething, colic, or diaper rash.
But shit, there we were, two jerk offs doting on a baby girl who managed to have us under her little finger without even being able to speak yet.
“Thanks.” He took a gulp of beer as he moved around the kitchen to prepare dinner. “So yeah,” he threw over his shoulder, “he is good for you. I like him.”
I grinned. How could I not? As much as Davis and I had been dickwads over the years, his opinion mattered. Not that I’d be splitting with Carter if Davis thought he was a douche, but that he liked him made everything a whole lot easier.
“I like him too,” I admitted.
Davis paused in preparing dinner to look at me. “Well fuck me silly!”
I snorted. “What?”
“You.”
I lifted my brow, needing more to go on.
“In all these years not once have you admitted to liking a guy.” When I rolled my eyes, he squinted and pointed his finger at me. With a snort, he said, “Seriously, you fucker, I know you wanted me to meet him, and yeah, that told me this guy was important, but you like him like him.”
I shook my head. “You going to start trying to braid my fucking hair or something? Damn, Davis, what is this, middle school?”
“Screw you, asswipe.” He grinned at me before turning on the stove. “I’m happy for you. You balance each other out or some BS like that,” he said with a shrug. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
I really was. At one time, I would have thought admitting those sorts of feelings would have made me feel like an idiot, but there was no panic, no desire to reevaluate my feelings. Instead, I was sure that Carter was the fucking one. And wasn’t that a mindfuck? I grinned again, a response I was finding more commonplace over the past couple of months. “Thanks. I was thinking about asking him away for a weekend. Will you have Rex if I get it sorted?”
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