by Kira Archer
“I really need to get some details from her one of these days.”
Brooks ignored that and went back to semi-glaring at the computer. “Have you considered the possibility that he’s read the messages but has chosen not to respond?”
“Yes.” That didn’t really answer her question, though maybe it did. Brooks didn’t seem to think much of Marcus. And though the thought probably should hurt, it didn’t. It might even be a relief if he didn’t want anything to do with the baby. It would at least make things less complicated.
She sighed. “But there’s no icon. See,” she said, pointing to the screen. “A little check mark appears when the message has been delivered and when the person has read the message their profile picture appears in a little bubble next to it. So as far as I can tell he hasn’t seen these yet. But I don’t have any other way to communicate with him. His whole account is set to private. It won’t allow anyone to post on the wall, only send messages. I can’t even see his friends list to try and contact him through them.”
“Do you want me to try and find him?” Brooks asked quietly.
“Will you?” She turned to look at him but couldn’t read what he might be thinking. His face was a total blank. “You would do that?”
“If you asked me to.”
She hesitated. She didn’t want to hurt Brooks and she had a feeling if she said she wanted his help in finding Marcus that it would hurt him. But at the same time, Brooks wasn’t always going to be there and Marcus was the baby’s father. He did have every right to know. Once he knew, they could deal with it then. But Leah wanted to make sure she did what she could to let him know that he had a child.
“If you think you might be able to help, that would be great,” she said.
Brooks nodded and looked at the screen. “Is this all the information you have on him?”
“Yeah,” she said, trying to stamp down the familiar rush of embarrassment that she’d had a one-night stand with a man she’d never met and had no intention of seeing again.
There was no judgment on Brooks’s face. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
He gave her a small smile and kissed her on the forehead and then left the room.
Leah sighed and put her hands on her belly. “I don’t know what to do, little peanut,” she said. “The father you have doesn’t know you exist and the father I want you to have…”
She stopped, not realizing until the moment she said it out loud how true the words were. She glanced back at the door through which Brooks had disappeared. “The father I want you to have is probably better off without us,” she whispered.
Brooks had seemed happy over the last few months, but there was no denying she was cramping his lifestyle. She still felt more like a guest in his apartment than someone in her own home. Despite a few feminine touches here and there, the place was most definitely a bachelor pad. The furniture was stark and cold, all steel and leather and glass; not an environment you wanted a baby learning how to walk in. And while people raised babies in the city every day, Leah had always envisioned raising her child in a less hectic environment.
At the school, at least, they were on the outskirts and behind the stone walls with all its gardens and quiet corridors. The world would have been a bit smaller. Ideally, she wanted the whole white picket fence thing. It was a clichéd dream, but she couldn’t help envisioning her little one running around on the back lawn, maybe playing on a swing set, learning to ride a bike on a quiet cul-de-sac, playing with friends in the summer. Leah was fairly sure she’d be a nervous wreck raising her baby on the busy streets of New York City. She would do what she needed to, of course. Even though she wouldn’t stay there forever, she knew she was more fortunate than most of the world’s population. So while it wasn’t exactly what she dreamed of, she would be grateful for every moment she spent there. With him.
And when it was over…well, she wouldn’t think of that just yet.
Chapter Thirteen
“So how’s it going?” Cole asked.
He and Brooks sat on the couch while the women were on the floor on the other side of the living room watching as the baby lay on her back kicking her feet in the air.
“All right,” Brooks said.
Cole raised his eyebrows and waited.
Brooks didn’t say anything for a second. “I told Leah I’d help her get ahold of the father.”
“So why do you sound so pissed about it?”
“The father is Marcus Cassidy.”
Cole’s eyes widened. “Douchebag Cassidy from college?”
Brooks nodded and Cole gave a low whistle. “Well, shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Does she know about him?”
“What, that the guy is a total dick who made it his mission in life to screw me over? No.”
“Well, maybe she should.”
Brooks waved that off. “It’ll look like I’m jealous of the asshat.”
“So are you still going to try and find him?”
“I already did. I left a message through his secretary that he needed to check his Facebook messages.”
Cole raised a brow. “That’s pretty vague.”
Brooks shrugged. “Maybe, but I said I’d try and find the guy, not that I’d bring him to her wrapped in a neat little bow.”
“You think he’ll respond?”
“My gut reaction is no. Under normal circumstances. But…she told him that she’s married to me.”
Cole sat back. “If he reads those messages he’ll know that the woman carrying his child is married to you.”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit.”
Brooks sighed. “Yeah.”
“You need to warn her about him.”
“Anything I say is going to come off wrong. What am I supposed to do? Tell her that if the guy does come around, it’s only because he’s got some weird complex about always besting me and stealing my wife would be the epitome of that?”
“Something like that.”
“I can’t do that. Hopefully, he’ll see the word baby and run screaming in the other direction.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” Though Cole didn’t look even slightly convinced that would happen. “So, other than baby daddy drama, how are things? You know…with the whole marriage thing?”
“Fine.”
“Just fine?”
“Put the meddling mother tone away,” Brooks said. “It can’t be going much more than fine until the doctor says everything’s good to go. And even then I’d be terrified to touch her.”
“Man,” Cole said, slapping him on the knee, “don’t worry about it. It happens. It’s really common.”
“Really? Did it happen when Kiersten was pregnant?”
“Well no, but it’s in all the baby books. The doctor said everything is good, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t know, though, and to be honest it’s something I’ve been trying hard not to think about.”
“I can understand that. In the meantime, are you sure you’re up to this?” Cole nodded his head at his offspring.
“Sure. I mean, how hard can it be?”
Cole looked at him and laughed.
“Way to be ominous, bro.”
That only made Cole laugh harder.
Kiersten and Leah came over to join them, Kiersten jostling the baby on her hip. “What’s so funny over here?”
Cole stood up and kissed her on the cheek. “Brooks said he thinks this will be a piece of cake.”
Kiersten looked over at him and grinned. “Just like the cow would be a piece of cake.”
“Hey. Vow,” Brooks said.
Leah looked back and forth between them all. “Okay, I’m definitely being left out of an inside joke here.”
Brooks sighed. “It peed on me. And that’s all I’m saying about it.”
Leah’s jaw dropped and Brooks shook his head, not wanting to relive the memory.
“And on that note,” Kiersten said, “w
e’ve got to get going.”
She handed him the baby, startling Brooks too much to do anything but take her, though he had assumed Leah would be doing most of the baby work. He held the baby under her arms, letting her legs dangle in the air, but he didn’t know how long he could keep that up. She squirmed much more than he’d anticipated.
“She’s not a bomb, Brooks,” Kiersten said. “Hold her back against your body.”
He’d seen it done in movies and in the park, but he hadn’t had any younger siblings to practice on, and he hadn’t been around babies much. He did what Kiersten said, tucking his arms under the baby’s legs and holding her back against his chest. It still didn’t feel comfortable but he did have a better grip on her.
“Okay, we’ll be back in a few hours,” Kiersten said. “Have fun, you two.”
She glanced at Leah and they shared a look. Leah grinned and walked them to the elevator. Piper started squirming again and arching back against him. He didn’t want to put her on the floor so he sat her up on the couch, but she promptly slid to her side. She didn’t seem uncomfortable, though, so he left her lying there while he went to get her blanket. He spun around when he heard Leah gasp.
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?”
She took two giant steps toward the couch, arms out, catching the baby before she rolled off.
“You can’t leave babies unattended like that,” she said.
“But she wasn’t unattended. I was right here. I turned around for a second.”
“That’s all it takes.”
“I didn’t know she could roll like that. I thought she’d stay put.”
Leah laughed. “Babies never stay put. You can’t leave them someplace where they might roll off. Either build a barrier with pillows or strap her in her bouncy chair or something. Or just lay her on the floor. She’ll be fine.”
Brooks took a deep breath trying to keep his heart from pounding straight out of his chest. He’d been in charge for less than a minute and he’d already almost killed the baby. Her parents probably weren’t even out of the elevator yet.
“I think this was a bad idea,” he said.
Leah laughed again. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” She handed Piper back to him. “I have to use the restroom. Will you be okay on your own for a minute?”
Brooks looked at the squirming bundle smiling up at him. “Sure, but…hurry back, okay?”
She grinned at him and shook her head. “Don’t leave her alone on any high surfaces.”
“No high surfaces. Got it.”
He sat on the couch, but Piper kept wriggling in his arms. “Are you bored? Do you want to lie down? What do you want?”
She blinked up at him with her big blue eyes and shoved her little fist in her mouth. A line of drool leaked from between her chubby fingers as she chewed on it…heading straight for his shirt. He glanced around trying to find something to catch the mess. Her diaper bag sat a few feet away at the end of the couch. He went to put her down and then remembered rule number one: no leaving the baby alone on high surfaces. So he carried her with him, taking care to keep her face away from his shirt.
He rummaged through the diaper bag unearthing diapers, wipes, assorted bottles of powders and ointments, toys, bottles, formula mix, extra outfits, changing pads…there had to be something in there to catch the… Oh there it was!
He grabbed a square of cloth and wiped the baby’s chin and fist, but his shirt was already a goner, smeared with baby drool. He sighed and smiled down at her.
“Looks like your daddy’s footing the dry-cleaning bill this month,” he said. Piper grinned back up at him. Cute little thing, he had to admit that.
He held her up a little higher. “You know, I’ve always wondered why people get so goofy over babies.” He held her out so she could see his face. She giggled and swatted at him.
He laughed. “You guys are kind of cute, though, aren’t you? Aren’t you?” he said again, his voice changing an octave. “Yes, you are. I don’t know why I’m talking like this. But I can’t seem to stop. It’s contagious, I think. Baby-itis. Are you contaminated? I think you are. I’m going to talk like this forever, aren’t I? Yes, I am. You’re just adorable. Definitely take after your mummy. Not smelly Daddy. No, we don’t like him.”
He held her over his head, jostling her around to make her laugh. She giggled harder so he continued to do it, even when he heard the bathroom door open. Sure, there was a slight sense of embarrassment, but that was overshadowed by the adorable sounds coming out of the little creature in his hands.
“Brooks, you might want to be careful,” Leah said.
“Careful of what? She’s just adorable. Couldn’t hurt a fly. No, she couldn’t,” he said in that annoying baby voice that people get around anything younger than a teenager, that he seriously couldn’t stop doing.
“Aren’t you? You’re a tiny little thing. What could you possibly do—”
There was no warning, no sign of distress. No scrunched-up face. No cry. The baby went from an adorable giggling machine to an Exorcist-worthy vomit fountain in under a second. It happened so fast he didn’t even know how to react, just stood there blinking the warm liquid from his eyes as Piper began to fuss.
Oh, sure. Now she cries.
Leah hurried over and took her from him, handing him a towel.
“Would now be a bad time to say I told you so?” she asked, blinking at him with her best angelic face.
“Yep,” he said. “Going to have to take a rain check on that, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Gotcha. I’ll pencil that in for later. Though, to avoid a repeat, it’s good to be a little careful when the baby has just eaten. Kiersten fed her right before they left.”
“Ah,” he said, dabbing at his face. “Good to know. Though really…how does something so tiny produce such a large volume of something so disgusting?”
Leah laughed and the baby followed along with her.
“Oh sure,” he said. “I bet you two are getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?” he said, the baby voice popping out again.
Leah pulled out her phone and took a quick snapshot. Brooks held out his hands to block his face, but it was too late.
“Oh, this is so going to be my new profile picture,” she said.
“Don’t you dare. I’m more than happy to share it with you.” He took a threatening step toward her and she flung out a hand to keep him away.
“No, no, okay, you win!” She nodded him in the direction of the bathroom. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll take care of the baby.”
“Okay. Just be careful of that,” he said, pointing at the baby’s little mouth, “and that.” He pointed to the diaper region. “I’ve heard things can get pretty bad down there too.”
Leah laughed again and shooed him away. “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
He walked out, glancing back once to watch her as she cradled the baby. The scene was so domestic, something he had never expected to see in his living room. Not in his lifetime. But somehow it felt incredibly right. Surreal beyond a doubt. But right. For the first time, a profound sense of regret filled him that the happy little scene couldn’t last. A small part of him whispered why can’t it? He shook his head and pushed that back into the deep, dark box from which it had crawled. He and Leah hadn’t known each other very long, not long enough for him to screw it up, but he had no doubt he would remedy that soon enough.
He always did.
…
Leah finished burping the baby and looked over at Brooks who sat in an armchair scrolling through his tablet. It was crazy how normal it all felt, how much like a family they seemed. For a few hours, she’d forgotten that everything was fake and had even allowed herself to imagine that they were home with their own baby. She needed to nip that kind of thinking in the bud. It would only make things harder down the road.
“Can you take Piper for a minute?” she asked, bringing her over. “I need to get dinner started.”
He blinked up at her in surprise. “We could order something.”
She smiled. He couldn’t fool her. His desire for takeout had more to do with his fear of being left alone with the baby again than it did with any culinary preferences.
“Hold her for a minute. She’s almost asleep.”
Brooks reluctantly held out his arms and she laid the sleepy baby in them, leaning down to give Piper’s head a kiss.
“There, see,” she said. “She likes you.” Brooks glanced down at the baby uncertainly, but nodded at Leah when she gave him a questioning look.
“Don’t go too far.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen right behind you.”
She busied herself in the kitchen getting things ready, quickly chopping vegetables and dicing chicken for a stir-fry. Every now and then she glanced up to make sure Brooks hadn’t exploded in a shower of baby-induced panic. He seemed to be handling things okay.
She got everything ready and dished out, and turned to call him to the table, but the sight that met her stopped her in her tracks. Quiet fussing noises came from the baby. Brooks had her tucked against his chest while he gently rocked her and the faint sound of his singing floated to her. The sight of him singing about sunshine and rainbows, the tiny bundle cradled in his muscular arms, sent a wave of emotion through Leah so strong she had to grip the chair. She didn’t even know how to process the chaos tumbling around inside her. It was beyond adorable, incredibly sweet, and if she wasn’t already pregnant this probably would have knocked her up on the spot.
What was it about a big strong man cradling a tiny baby that was so damn sexy?
He glanced up at her and saw her watching him, but instead of getting embarrassed like she thought he would, he smiled. Not his usual over-the-top goofy grin, but a tender, happy smile that, at once, looked so out of place and yet right at home on his face.
“Dinner’s ready,” she said to him, speaking quietly so as not to disturb the newly settled baby.
He glanced down. “What do I do with her?”
Leah waved him over to where she’d set up a playpen.
“Set her down in there so she can nap while we eat.”