11
GRAYSON
Grayson woke up the next morning to the sight of warm sunlight spilling through the windows. Birds were singing outside and he felt good all over.
He never slept past dawn these days. Leo was an early riser.
Leo…
Grayson was out of bed in a heartbeat, grabbing the video monitor from his bedside table. But it only showed him an empty crib.
Heart thundering, he ran to the door and flung it open.
The sound of Evangeline singing softly to Leo drifted up to him and it all landed on him at once.
He wasn’t alone with the baby anymore. Evangeline was here. She had quietly gotten up with Leo and she was taking care of him now, giving Grayson his first truly restful night of sleep since…
Well, sincebefore.
He tried to push aside any thoughts about the event that had split his life between before and after. To fill the void, he let himself picture Evangeline in Trudy’s kitchen last night, her eyes on his as he wrapped her in his arms, ready to claim her as his own.
Don’t think about that either,he warned himself.It isn’t right. She works for you.
But the way she’d looked at him at the table afterward…
Well, maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like she was searching his face for his feelings, and happy with whatever she found when their eyes met.
He slipped back into his room to shower and dress quickly. Though he finally had the chance to take his time, he found that all he wanted was to hurry downstairs to join Evangeline and Leo.
I haven’t had the chance to miss him before,he realized.
As he headed downstairs, the rich scent of coffee wafted up, along with something sweet and decadent.
“Good morning,” Evangeline said softly.
She was sitting on the floor of the living space with Leo in her arms, looking at his little fabric farm animal book with him.
“Hi,” Grayson said.
Don’t notice how sweet they are. Don’t notice how beautiful she looks, even in those fluffy pajamas—especially in those fluffy pajamas. Don’t think about how soft she felt in your arms…
“There’s coffee,” she told him. “And I’ve got zucchini bread in the oven. I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to the kitchen.”
“Not at all,” he told her. “I’m impressed you could do all that with Leo.”
“Oh, zucchini bread is easy,” she said. “You can make it at your own pace and then just throw it in the oven.”
“I could get used to this,” he told her, winking. “Thank you for getting up with him.”
The way her cheeks darkened sped up his pulse.
“It’s my pleasure,” she said softly. “I like to wake up early anyway.”
“I’m going to get some coffee,” he decided out loud. “Can I bring you some?”
“Yes, please,” she said. “But I can get it, if you want.”
“No, no,” he told her. “Let me take care of you. How do you like your coffee?”
