“Perfect,” she said, moving closer.
“Okay, buddy,” Grayson said, his deep voice gentle. “Time to get ready for bed.”
The little one fussed a bit as he woke up and had to let go of Evangeline’s hair, but mostly looked around his nursery with wide eyes while his daddy got him ready for his bath.
Evangeline did her best to remember every detail. She wished she had a notebook, or that she could turn on her phone to take notes. But she had made a promise to her brother.
So she just watched and listened and asked all the questions she could think of, and tried not to get too lost in admiring the handsome dad who was so capable with baths and pajamas and everything in between.
She had noticed the scars on his hands earlier and the way he rubbed at the ones on his jaw and neck, but they didn’t seem to slow him down any as he fastened all the tiny buttons on Leo’s pajamas.
Something about seeing the big man with the tinybaby tugged at her heart. His voice was so gentle when he spoke with his son. And he showed such care, and none of the awkwardness that seemed to slip over him earlier.
He’s in his element now,she realized.He’s good at this. He likes taking care of Leo.
Somehow she found that almost heartbreaking.
Before long, they were back in the kitchen and Grayson had Leo in the crook of his arm, as the baby downed a bottle in record time.
“You were hungry,” he said, nodding to the boy.
Leo just wolfed down the last of his meal, too busy to reply.
The way Grayson smiled at him with such pride made Evangeline smile too.
“Never forget the towel,” Grayson said, turning to Evangeline. “He eats fast, so there’s spit-up sometimes.”
“Got it,” she told him.
“Okay,” he said to Leo as he draped the towel over his shoulder. “Let’s see if we can find your burp.”
She watched as he paced the kitchen, moving gracefully for such a big man, and gently tapping the baby’s back between the shoulder blades.
Sure enough, after about half a minute, the baby let out a sound like a gunshot.
“Wow,” she said.
“There it was,” Grayson said. “Good work, son.”
He turned to Evangeline with a proud smile and she smiled back at him, feeling like a lovesick fool.
Stop that,she told herself.You can’t fall for your boss just because he’s handsome and nice with his son.
She and Rory had always been so focused on survival that she hadn’t had a lot of time for crushes, let alone boyfriends. She’d always thought that was a good thing, but maybe lack of practice was making her brain confuse the respect she felt for the hardworking single dad with something else.
“I’m just going to put him down,” Grayson said. “If you want to get out our dinner, I’ll be right back.”
She knew she should probably follow him, but at the moment she figured she could use some time without him in the room just to clear her head.
“Okay,” she said, keeping her eyes on Leo. “Good night, sweet boy. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Leo’s little face was so sleepy, but he smiled at her as he nuzzled back into his daddy’s shoulder.
That look warmed her heart, and she felt a little better as Grayson padded off with him, humming softly.
As soon as she was alone again, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and counted down from ten.
When she opened her eyes, she felt almost like herself again. Rory had taught her that technique when they were kids and it hadn’t failed her yet.
