“You have a ton of friends who are dads,” she pointed out. “They’d be great resources about what you need to get, yes? Plus another pair of hands for him.” Her gaze dropped to the baby.
Yeah, he did have friends who would be great resources.
He didn’t want them. He wanted Harper.
“I can’t bother them,” he said.
That was completely untrue. Any of them would jump to help him. Hell, all of them would. At once.
“You… can’t?” she asked. “Or you don’t want to?”
“I don’t want to.”
“You want to play house with me. You think that will make me more likely to… what? Sleep with you?”
“Oh, I think the chances of you sleeping with me are one hundred percent,” James told her honestly but also with a teasing grin.
“Then why do you think I should hang out with you and the baby today?”
“Because it’s been fun so far.”
“You’ve been pooped on, and I’ve been puked and peed on,” she pointed out.
“And I’ve gotten to wake up next to you, see your almost naked nipples, and finally kiss you,” he said. “I’d take as much of the other stuff as needed to have those things happen.”
Her cheeks got pink. “Finally?” she asked softly.
“You’re lying if you say you don’t know that I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time, Professor.”
She pressed her lips together, studying his face. “I have to teach that class, and I have a meeting after. But I can shop with you before that, and I can come over as soon as I’m done.”
He nodded. “I’ll take it.”
She didn’t say anything else. She just chewed on her bottom lip—the lip that he wanted to suck on almost as badly as he wanted to suck on her nipples—and then she turned and left the apartment.
He looked down at the baby. “I don’t know who you are, exactly,” he said. “And I realize I’m changing your diapers and feeding you and stuff. But I might just owe you one.”
The baby hiccupped then farted.
James laughed. Best wingman ever, and he couldn’t even talk.
4
She was crazy.
She wanted to be at home with James changing diapers rather than lecturing to bright young minds about the connection between language and societal change.
They’d gone shopping earlier and had gotten everything they needed, including a carrier for the baby that James could strap to his body and still take Ami for a walk. They’d all seemed very happy and settled, and Harper had found it difficult to leave them.
That was crazy.
Almost as crazy as how quickly James had settled into all of this.
“Harper!”
She turned as she was almost to her office door. Her friend and fellow professor, Dr. Celia Ownsby, was coming toward her with a huge smile.
“Hi, Celia.”
“Hi. Hoping you’re free for lunch.” Celia gave her a grin. “I haven’t heard how the big date with James went.”
Harper had been expecting her friend to find her and ask for details. She’d been so disappointed that their date had been interrupted, that she hadn’t texted or called her one true girlfriend about it. And then James had brought a baby home.
It seemed like that had happened a week ago in some ways.
Harper really wanted to get back to the apartment. But she knew that was ridiculous. She had a meeting in a little over an hour. Going home in between class and that meeting was silly. By the time she got there, she’d only have a few minutes to check in on everything.
Just last night she’d been worried about getting too involved anyway.
Of course, it had only been six months ago that she’d been thinking she should avoid getting involved with James Reynaud altogether.
Now, here she was.
Her phone dinged with a text, and she swiped to open the message.
It was a photo of the baby lying on James’s couch, bracketed between a denim-clad thigh, that had to be James, and a shaggy little dog lying with his back pressed to the baby’s other side.
Harper felt her heart swell and everything in her demand she go directly home.
Except her mouth. Thankfully.
She looked up at Celia. “Lunch would be great.”
Harper tucked her phone into her purse without sending so much as a heart-eyes emoji back. In spite of the fact that she couldn’t quite shake the thought that James had just sent her a perfect photo. Three things she could quite easily fall madly in love with.
She was already in love with the dog.
And the guy who belonged to that thigh… well, he’d been wearing her down for a few months now.
It was the affection and protectiveness she felt for that little bundle in the middle that was startling. It was just a natural maternal instinct she hadn’t been in touch with before this. It didn’t mean anything other than her estrogen levels were high or something.
Harper and Celia walked to the campus cafeteria. It wasn’t glamorous but it was close and had very good chicken salad. They picked out their food, scanned their faculty badges, and chose a table near the windows, away from the noisier groups of eaters.
“So, how was it?” Celia asked without preamble, stirring sugar into her tea.
Harper sipped her water and thought about the entire evening with James. How had it been? Crazy. Unexpected in every single way. Sweet. Scary. They’d bonded. She’d thought they were already bonded over Ami, but the baby? That had been a new level. Partly because he was a human being and that put everything on a new holy-crap level. But also because he was more work. And neither of them knew what they were doing. It was different with the dog. She knew now that James had had dogs growing up, and her grandmother had owned a dog and—
“Harper?”
She focused on Celia. “What? Oh… yes?”
“Wow, that must have been some date.” Celia put her spoon down and leaned in. “It was that good? I mean, did he just put you up against the wall and knock the plaster down or what?”
Harper felt her cheeks heat. She wasn’t a prude. She read very erotic fiction, and she was a huge proponent of women’s sexuality being open and honest and fully satisfying. She wasn’t a virgin. She talked about men and sex with her friends.
But she’d never felt this way about a man. Especially one she wasn’t really dating and hadn’t slept with.
She felt like she and James were intimate on another level, and they hadn’t even seen each other fully naked. Yet.
Of course that sent her thoughts spinning to the shower and how the water had made his boxer briefs mold to his body—his big, hard body. And how he’d told her he’d intended to give her five orgasms. And how he’d kissed her.
“Holy. Crap.” Celia was staring at her.
Harper could feel her cheeks were hot.
“I swear if I didn’t know better, I’d think you just had sex with him before walking over here with me. You’re flushed, and you looked dazed and happy and like you’re totally floating.”
Floating? She’d spent the morning cleaning up baby poop and puke and pee. The three P’s. Then shopping for pacifiers and a crib and more diapers and all kinds of overwhelming necessities that filled James’s apartment and made the whole thing feel even bigger than it had before.
Harper put her hands against her cheeks. “Do I?”
“He was good, huh?” Celia asked. “Wow. I mean, he looks like he’d be good. The firefighter body, the piano player fingers…” She shook her head and cut her grilled chicken sandwich in half. “I’m so jealous of you right now.”
Harper laughed. She was tired. They hadn’t really slept deeply or very long. She’d had puke in her hair and pee on her pants. She and the guy she had a huge crush on had been cleaning up poop together. Poop. But Celia was jealous of her.
“We didn’t do the date,” she confessed.
Celia finished chewing and swallowed. “Well, it wasn’t a
date, I guess. But you…” She frowned, really looking at Harper now. “Wait, you didn’t do it? At all?”
Harper shook her head. She sighed. “He got called to a fire.”
“But that was at least a couple of days ago.”
“I know. He was there all night, slept a lot of the next day, went to work yesterday.”
“Which leaves last night.” Celia leaned in. “Don’t tell me you changed your mind.”
Harper shook her head quickly, reliving the feel of James’s lips against hers. “No. Not at all.”
“So what happened? Why haven’t you jumped him yet?” Celia asked, biting into her sandwich.
Harper realized she needed to eat, or her break was going to be over and she’d be starving in her meeting. She took a bite of her chicken salad and washed it down. “His baby son showed up.”
Celia froze midchew. She stared at Harper. Then frowned. Then chewed quickly, swallowing, wiping her lips and then said, “What?”
Harper twirled her fork in her chicken and mayo. “Yeah. There was just suddenly this baby on his doorstep last night, and, obviously, that took up a lot of our time and attention.”
“He has a baby?”
Harper lifted a shoulder. “Yes.”
Celia set her sandwich down. She leaned in. “Does this change things?”
Harper nodded. “Yeah.”
Celia looked disappointed. “That’s too bad. I know you really liked him.”
Harper tipped her head. “You think so?”
Her friend smiled. “You talk about him all the time. He makes you laugh. You always have this affectionately exasperated air when you talk about him, but you definitely like him. And I know you were looking forward to getting him naked.”
Harper gave a little choked laugh. Celia had told her that she should sleep with James after the olive tree situation. She said she had never seen Harper that delighted.
Delighted. That was the word Celia had used.
Celia taught English composition. The woman shared a love of words and agreed that words mattered and that people should choose them carefully. It was something that had first forged their friendship over salads in this very cafeteria shortly after Harper had joined the faculty. They’d only known one another a little over a year, but Harper felt that if Celia said something like she’d seemed “delighted” then that was worth considering.
“Well, it has changed how I feel.” Harper pressed her lips together and shook her head. Admitting it out loud made it more real. But finally she said, “After seeing him taking care of the baby, I like him even more.”
She’d been prepared—so she’d thought—to date a man who was a father, perhaps. Or to date one who was open to adoption. But to be attracted to him being a father… she hadn’t experienced that before. It wasn’t just the protectiveness that came out either. James already had showed that side. He was a firefighter. He protected people every single day. It wasn’t the sweet side. She’d seen that, too. With Ami. Even with Henry. With her, honestly.
It was actually the way he’d just done what needed to be done. He’d picked the baby up and come straight to her, out of habit. But when it had become clear this was not her forte, he’d taken over. He’d been the decision maker between them. He’d been the one to assume the responsibility.
That was really damned attractive. Especially when his youth and laid-back attitude and tendency to—seemingly, anyway—need help with things were some of what was making her hold back from him.
He’d blasted right through those hesitations in less than twenty-four hours.
Celia’s grin was big and bright and immediate. “Oh, that’s amazing.”
“You don’t think that’s crazy?”
“No. You’ve always been attracted to his caregiver side.”
Harper took a deep breath and nodded. “And the kisses were pretty great, too.”
Celia’s eyes went round. “You kissed?”
“Yes.” Harper couldn’t help her huge smile now. “I mean, they were pretty short, but they were sweet. And hot.” Had she just sighed? That was strange. But that had to have been her. “And he says that we’re still going to do everything he’d planned on the other night.”
“Well, yeah,” Celia said, picking her sandwich up. “I mean, just ’cuz there’s a baby, doesn’t mean there’s no sex to be had. Babies sleep. Married couples manage to have sex after they have kids. It can be done.”
Babies slept. Of course they did. This one had slept really well last night, in fact. Maybe he would again tonight… And when had she gotten so hot and horny?
Oh yeah, about the time the firefighter across the hall had brought her an olive tree.
“Harper?”
“Huh?”
Celia laughed. “Wow. I hope James can measure up to whatever you have going on in your head. Good thing he knows about the books. Hope he’s read a couple.”
Harper blushed hard at that. He had, in fact, borrowed a couple. A couple based on her recommendations. A couple of her favorites. He said he was an avid reader and that they often had a lot of downtime at the station. She hadn’t asked if he’d finished them, but they’d been back on her table. And two more had been missing.
If he now had an idea of what she found sexy in books and was willing to…
“Dr. Broussard? Hi.”
Harper’s thoughts were interrupted by one of her students approaching from the main counter.
“Sophie! Hi!” Harper was thrilled to see the girl.
Sophie Duncan had been in her class last semester. She was nineteen and was putting herself through school. She was one of Harper’s brightest students and had been one of Harper’s favorites. Intelligent. Studious. Always in the front row. A copious notetaker. Sophie was a driven, type-A perfectionist who had her eyes already set on grad school, even as a freshman. Harper also knew that she was doing this all on her own. Harper didn’t know much about the girl’s parents, but she knew that Sophie was here on a full-ride scholarship, which was the only reason she was managing Loyola at all, and she took it extremely seriously.
“How are you?” Harper asked. “I haven’t seen you much this semester.” In fact, she hadn’t seen the girl at all, and she’d been concerned enough to check with the registrar’s office to be sure Sophie was still enrolled. She’d wanted to do something to keep in touch with the girl this semester when she didn’t have her in class. She was bright, but putting herself through school far from home was a strain, and Harper had seen students like her burn out.
“Oh, fine,” Sophie said. “Really busy. Crazy, really. But things are back on track now.” She smiled. “How about you? Anything new?”
Harper almost laughed. What a question. “I’m okay,” she finally answered. “Busy. A little crazy, too.”
Sophie nodded. “Well, if anyone can handle it, you can. I’ve always really admired you.” She blushed and ducked her head slightly as if she hadn’t meant to say that. “I hope to be like you someday.”
Sophie’s words surprised Harper. Not the admiration in general, maybe. She knew the younger woman looked up to her. But to hear, directly, that she was a role model made Harper feel good. Of course. But it also came with a sense of responsibility.
What kind of person did she want Sophie to see when she looked at Harper? Was there any part of her life that she wouldn’t want the younger woman to know about?
No.
Including being there for James—as a friend, at least, and possibly more—when he needed support. She should be proud of being there for him. And the baby.
Harper smiled at Sophie. “I’m really flattered by that. Thank you.”
“Of course.” Sophie looked mildly embarrassed, but she returned Harper’s smile. “I’m eager to be in your class again next semester.”
“Oh, I’m glad I’ll have you again,” Harper said sincerely. The girl was clearly enthusiastic about subject matter that Harper loved. “I was actually hoping to run into you and chat.”
/>
She hadn’t wanted to call Sophie directly. That felt too familiar without Sophie giving Harper her phone number personally. But it was a small enough campus that Harper had expected to see Sophie and had hoped that Sophie would come to her at some point even though she wasn’t in Harper’s class.
Harper went on. “I’m in need of a research assistant. It would only be a few hours, but I have some grant dollars to use to pay a small stipend. It would give you a little money and could be done on your own time. The deadline is several months down the road, so it’s not a big rush. And it would look good on your résumé. I was wondering if you’d be interested? I can’t think of anyone who’s more willing to talk and read and write about all the stuff I love than you are.” And Harper would have a chance to keep an eye on the girl.
Not that Sophie needed babysitting, exactly, but Harper sensed that Sophie could use someone asking her how she was once in a while and making sure she got enough sleep and maybe buying her a sandwich now and then. And if Sophie was in her office on a regular basis, Harper could make sure Sophie was hearing that she was bright and doing a great job and that Harper admired her, too.
Sophie’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh! Thank you. I’d love to talk more about that!”
Harper gave Sophie a huge, sincere smile. “Wonderful. Come by my office any time. I’ll keep the spot open for you.”
Sophie looked sincerely touched. “Thank you so much, Professor Broussard.” She smiled at Celia then at Harper again. “Well, I’d better get going.”
“See you soon.”
“You have some grant dollars to pay a stipend for a research assistant?” Celia asked.
Harper nodded. “I will have some grant dollars for the project, and paying a research assistant could be part of that. Once I add that in.”
Celia gave her a knowing smile. “Do you really need a research assistant?”
“Hey, I have a baby at home now. I could definitely use an assistant,” Harper said, giving her friend a little shrug. And a smile. Giving an enthusiastic student some of her work would benefit them both. It was a win win.
Celia laughed softly. “And it looks like you’re taking care of a nineteen-year-old at the same time.”
Getting Off Easy Page 8