by Kira Archer
And then he turned and walked out.
…
Leah kept glancing at the door, waiting for Brooks to come back in. She’d woken just as he’d turned to leave and the expression he’d had when he left…it made her want to jump out of her bed and track him down.
She shifted her weight and sucked in a breath at the twinge from all the tender bits. Okay, maybe jumping out of bed was a tad extreme. The baby made a cute little squeaking sound and Leah smiled.
Marcus came closer, gazing down at the baby. “She’s so tiny.”
Leah held her out. “Would you like to hold her?”
“Oh, um…”
“It’s okay.” Leah held her out and Marcus took her carefully. “Just support her head,” she said, giving him some direction.
Seeing him holding the baby unsettled her. Of all the strange emotions she’d been riding lately, this might be the strangest. Watching Marcus hold her child. Their child. She needed to wrap her head around that.
The turmoil in her heart roiled over Brooks suddenly walking out. She knew he was probably in the next room, maybe trying to be the bigger man and let Marcus have some time with the baby. But she couldn’t help feeling there was something more to it than that. All she knew was that he’d left, and he hadn’t looked like he was going to come back. Physically, yes, she knew he wasn’t far. But emotionally…she couldn’t get that look on his face out of her mind. Something had changed in him the moment he’d stepped back so Marcus could cut the baby’s cord, something that made her heart ache with promised pain.
At the same time, watching Marcus cradling their newborn daughter touched her in a way she hadn’t thought possible. He stared at her in awe, in much the same way Leah imagined she looked when she gazed at her baby. He cuddled her close and gave her a kiss on her forehead, pausing to inhale the new baby scent.
“Settled on any names yet?” he asked.
Leah gave him a small smile and shook her head. “Not yet.”
She didn’t mention that she hadn’t decided because she and Brooks hadn’t been able to agree on anything. And because she hadn’t been sure what last name to give her.
“Did you have any ideas?” It was only fair to ask. He was the baby’s father after all.
“Oh no,” he said. “Anything you pick will be fine.”
They sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Most of Marcus’s attention stayed on the baby. He drew a finger down her little face, examined each toe and finger, smiled when she grasped his thumb with a surprisingly strong grip.
“She’s strong,” he said.
Leah beamed with pride. “Yes, she is.”
“And beautiful like her mother.”
Leah’s cheeks warmed. It was a sweet thing to say, but she couldn’t help wanting Brooks to be the one saying it.
The baby began to fuss a little, and Marcus leaned over to hand her back.
“I think she might be hungry,” Leah said.
“Oh,” said Marcus. “Would you like me to leave?”
“No, it’s fine,” Leah said.
She pulled one of the swaddling blankets over her shoulder to block his view of her and the baby, even though he’d seen it before. And really, after all the poking, prodding, and fondling she’d had over the last several months, culminating in the free-for-all at the birth when it seemed like half the hospital had been digging around in her nether regions, she didn’t care who saw her boob or anything else anymore. But she felt a little more comfortable covering up since she was still new at the whole breastfeeding thing and found it easier to let it all hang out there until the baby latched on.
“So,” she said, once she got the baby situated. “I guess we’ve kind of run out of time to figure out how this whole situation is going to work.”
Marcus gave a little laugh, and played with the hat in his hands. “Yeah. This is…it’s…”
Leah laughed also. “A bit complicated.”
“That’s definitely the word for it.”
“I know you and Brooks don’t exactly see eye to eye on most things…”
“Don’t worry about me and Brooks. We’ll figure all that out, too. Just have a little history to get over, that’s all.”
Leah tried to stifle a yawn. It had been a long week. She hated having things between the two men in her life so unsettled but…she really just wanted to curl up and sleep.
Marcus, bless him, picked up on that.
He stood and looked down at them for a moment longer. “I think I’ll go and let you get some rest,” he said. “But I won’t go far. And…thank you. For my daughter.”
His voice cracked a little on the last word and Leah started to get a little choked up herself. He leaned down and gave them both a kiss on the forehead and then left quietly, closing the door behind him.
Leah gazed down her daughter for several moments. “Well, little peanut,” she said. “Now what are we going to do?”
Chapter Twenty-One
The baby made a sound that Leah could only describe as a half-strangled chipmunk squawking at the top of her squeaky little lungs.
It had been nearly a week and that sound still startled and confused Leah for a second, though she responded to it before she was even fully awake every time.
Brooks rolled over and put the pillow over his head with a groan and Leah laughed.
“I’ll get her,” she said.
Brooks mumbled something half-hearted about getting up, but she ignored him. It had been a very long night. The baby, who usually could run for perfect textbook baby of the year, had decided she’d had enough of behaving and refused to sleep unless being held, fed, or generally coddled. Not that Leah minded. Her little princess had captured her heart from the moment she’d entered the world and pampering her was generally a pleasure. Doing so on just a few hours sleep…not as much fun.
For Brooks…yeah, even less fun. He’d been surprisingly game to help out with everything baby-related. Though he typically needed so much reassuring it was easier to do it herself. And despite his assurances, she knew they were cramping his lifestyle. After he’d left the hospital right after the baby’s birth, Leah hadn’t been at all sure they’d be returning to his apartment. But he’d been there when she’d woken. And when it had been discharge time, he’d gathered them up and brought them home.
Still, things couldn’t go on as they were. They were going to have to figure everything out. Time was up. The peanut had arrived and she needed a stable home. Somewhere. And Leah grew less and less sure that that somewhere should be with Brooks. It had been bad enough having a pregnant woman under his roof, but with the baby there now, and Marcus dropping by almost every day…
Leah sighed and scooped up the baby, taking her out to the couch so she could feed her without disturbing Brooks more than necessary.
The sun shone brightly and Leah blinked sleepily at the clock. Ten in the morning. She stifled a yawn and got the baby settled into nursing. Their hours were completely messed up.
She looked down at the baby. “You need to learn the difference between day and night, my little love,” she said. She ran a hand over the baby’s soft downy hair. “And we really need to find you a name. Lucy…are you a Lucy?”
The baby didn’t react.
“Emma? Charlotte? We could call you Charlie for short.”
The baby kept right on nursing.
“I still say you go with something unusual. Make her stand out in the crowd. Like…Chadwick,” Brooks said, rubbing a hand over his face as he stumbled in the direction of the coffee pot.
Leah chuckled. “I’m not calling her Chadwick.”
“You could go full-on celebrity and call her Rainbow Unicorn Dust. Or Poppyseed Cornbread.”
“Oh, those are lovely,” she said, trying not to laugh too hard or she’d dislodge little Unnamed One. “I’m a terrible mother, aren’t I? I mean, she’s been here almost a week and I still haven’t named her. What kind of mother can’t name her own child
?”
Brooks carried his coffee over to her and leaned down to kiss her head. “The kind who loves her child so much she wants to wait until she has the perfect name. Take your time. Her Majesty isn’t going anywhere.”
Leah’s laugh turned to a gasp when Brooks turned to navigate around the couch but got tangled up in the straps of the diaper bag lying near the end. His body went one way, his legs stayed with the diaper bag, and in a move truly worthy of a hero movie, he twisted in time to keep his hot coffee from splattering Leah and the baby, tossing it instead over his other shoulder toward the pale white wall behind him. He went down hard. Let out a grunt of distressed air. And then lay perfectly still.
“Ow.”
Leah put the baby in the bassinet they kept near the couch and hurried to him.
“Are you okay?”
He blinked up at her. “That depends on your definition of okay.”
Her lips twitched. “Anything broken?”
He frowned. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Need help up?”
He shook his head. The movement brought his newly coffee-splattered wall, and the painting centered on it that now sported a new brown splotch, to his attention.
Leah shrugged. “I kind of like it. It’s like a big abstract mural or something with the coffee adding a new dimension to the painting that carries right off the canvas.”
He snorted. “Yeah. I’m sure the new design will make an original Jackson Pollock worth even more.”
Leah’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my gosh, is it…”
He waved her away. “Don’t worry about it. Hopefully it can be cleaned or restored. The more pressing problem is finding a place for all this stuff,” he said, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. “Or get rid of most of it. Surely something that little,” he said, pointing in the direction of the baby, “doesn’t really need this much.”
Leah glanced around. He wasn’t wrong about the stuff everywhere. The apartment had been redecorated in wall-to-wall baby gear. Brooks’s once seductive bachelor pad had turned into Baby Central and no matter what he said, she could tell he wasn’t all that thrilled with the changes. But he was wrong about whether she needed it all. There were quite a few things she didn’t have that she’d like to but hadn’t gotten because there was nowhere to put it.
And it wasn’t because his apartment wasn’t big enough. The place was huge. But an industrial loft, no matter how jazzed up, wasn’t a great spot for a baby. At least not if they were going to keep the pool table and poker table and bar and gaming center and all the other non-baby-friendly crap he had and refused to get rid of. They were really going to have to bite the bullet and discuss their arrangements. If they were going to make them permanent. Or try to. Or if they were going to start looking for another place. A place where the baby stuff could go in the baby’s room instead of being strewn haphazardly about where anyone could trip and break their neck.
She wouldn’t even think about when the baby became mobile. The entire apartment would transform into a death trap—if they were even there that long.
The baby was born. Technically, their little charade should be coming to an end. Brooks won the marriage pool. He’d stuck it out through Baby Day, but they hadn’t discussed what happened next, and she wasn’t sure what he wanted. He hadn’t asked her to go.
But he hadn’t asked her to stay, either.
The buzzer sounded and Leah jumped and ran for the baby, who immediately began to wail. Brooks hauled himself up from the floor and hurried to answer the intercom.
She bounced the baby who hiccupped a few times and subsided back into sleep.
“It’s Marcus,” he said, opening the door. “I’ll be in the other room.”
He disappeared into the wine room and closed the door before Leah had a chance to say anything.
She took a deep breath, trying to force the hurt and frustration back into its dark little corner. Marcus and Brooks had called a sort of truce for the birth of the baby, but the moment they’d come home, the truce had ended. Now things were deteriorating day by day. It had only been a week and things had gone downhill to the point that Brooks wouldn’t stay in the same room as Marcus if at all possible. How the hell were they supposed to make a functional family unit for the baby if the men couldn’t even be in the same room?
Marcus came in and looked around, relaxing a little when he saw it was only her.
“How are you lovely ladies this morning?” he asked, handing her an iced tea that she gratefully accepted and nearly downed in a couple large sips. Nursing was thirsty work.
“We’re good,” she said, though her gaze flickered to the wine room.
“No Brooks this morning?”
Leah gave him a tight smile. “He’s home, just…busy.”
Marcus sighed and sat down. “I wish you’d let me hire a nanny. Even part time. It would give you a little break, a little extra help. I’d be here more, but with these mergers getting ready to go through…”
“I totally understand. And it’s sweet of you, really. But I’m fine. I promise. We just haven’t found our groove yet.”
“Well, if you change your mind, I’ve got a handful of excellent choices for you to look at. Say the word.”
“I will,” she said. She really did appreciate the offer, but there was no need to hire a nanny, at least not until she went back to work. Until then, she’d manage on her own.
“Okay, I’ve got paperwork for insurance and the trust fund I’ve set up for little Miss Perfect here. But we really have to settle on a name because eventually we’ll need it for the legal documents. Right now we can go with offspring, I suppose, but it’s not ideal.”
Leah spaced out a little as Marcus droned on about very important details she really needed to be paying attention to. But every time he’d make a statement she’d think about how Brooks would react and how she could minimize the antagonism between them. Frankly, the whole damn thing was exhausting.
“Marcus,” she said, holding out a hand to interrupt him. “All this is great, really. But do you mind if we continue later on? The baby just woke up and I haven’t showered yet and—”
“Not a problem. We can do this whenever. Sign these two real quick,” he said, laying a couple documents in front of her. “These will get her insurance going and gives you access to a few funds I’m setting up.”
She didn’t bother protesting any more. Just signed on the dotted line.
“Excellent. All right, my beautiful girls.” He leaned over and gave them both a kiss. “I shall return later.”
Leah smiled and waved as he left, and then slumped back against the couch, cradling her baby and waiting for Brooks to come out and start bitching about Marcus like he always did.
What in the world was she going to do with all the baby daddy drama?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brooks sat in his armchair and leaned his head back, trying to process everything. He’d heard every word. The wine room had a door, but the walls cordoning off the room didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling. Sound had no problem carrying. Brooks had never really paid attention to it before. He wished he had or he’d have excused himself and gone outside. Where he couldn’t hear Marcus the Hero marching in to save the day, offering his undying support. Money, insurance, nannies, anything she needed.
It was only right for him to do so and Brooks should be glad he was a stand-up guy. Instead, all he could think of was how badly he’d love to plant his fist in Marcus’s face. The more rational part knew that was petty, and unfair. But he didn’t really care. The man had walked in and taken everything from Brooks. But that wasn’t fair, either. You couldn’t take something you never had to start with. And like it or not, that was Marcus’s daughter in there.
Not his.
How the hell was he supposed to live with Marcus throwing that in his face for the rest of their lives? How was he supposed to deal with Marcus period for the rest of their lives? The best part of Marcus stealing
their app idea was that he’d disappeared. He’d screwed Brooks and Cole over, but then he’d left. They hadn’t had to deal with the weasel anymore. And now he’d have to deal with Marcus…forever.
The really shit part was that Marcus wasn’t a total dickwad. At least when it came to Leah and the baby, which was a good thing. Marcus seemed like he knew what he was doing. Hell, having insurance had never even occurred to Brooks. If he got sick, he just called a doctor friend he knew and got it taken care of. But babies had to go to doctors for all kinds of things. Shots and stuff. And checkups. He knew nothing about babies. She’d been in his house not even a week and Brooks was sure she was already scarred for life. He didn’t want that kind of responsibility. Everything would change. He’d need a new place, for sure, and he didn’t want one. He liked his apartment. He liked his life.
Leah…
Brooks shut that down immediately. Dwelling on her and whatever idiotic fantasies he might have briefly entertained did no one any good. He was an irresponsible asshole and always would be. She and the baby were both better off with a guy like Marcus, no matter how irritating the guy was. Hell, he’d probably treat them both like queens every day of their lives just to prove to everyone he was a better guy than Brooks.
Brooks, on the other hand, might make everyone laugh for a few minutes, but no one went to him with serious problems. He wasn’t the guy you turned to when shit hit the fan. He was the guy throwing the shit at the blades in the first place. He had no business around a new mother and an innocent baby.
It probably would have been better for them all if he’d kept driving when he’d left the hospital that night. But there was no way he could have just left her there. So he’d gone back. And brought them home. Because there was really nothing else he could do at that moment. And maybe he wanted to steal a few final days with her. With them. But he knew it couldn’t last.
It’s what they’d planned to do from the start anyway. Things may have gotten a little muddled over the last few months, but neither of them had ever intended to stay together. And now with Marcus in the picture, it would be better for everyone if Brooks bowed out gracefully. And it should be easy. Bowing out was what he did.