More at risks for infections.
Once she’s satisfied, she crouches in front of Lucy, getting to work on her belt. When Lucy sees what she’s doing, her wails turn to small sniffles.
“See? There we go, baby girl. All better already,” Jahlani says, sitting back on her haunches to see what she does next. Lucy blinks at her with wide eyes before she pushes herself from the seat and stumbles toward her with outstretched arms.
“Up,” Lucy says, opening and closing her fists. Jahlani shakes her head, becauseof course Roman’s child is okay with strangers.
Jahlani gathers her in her arms, lifting her with added flair, causing Lucy to laugh. Lucy presses her hands to Jahlani’s face.
“Name.”
“Jah-lah-knee,” she says, making sure to enunciate each syllable while tapping her nose. Lucy’s mouth twists, and she blinks hard as she works through the sounds.
“Lani,” she says finally, and Jahlani shrugs, smiling.
“Close enough,” she says, walking with Lucy on her hip back to the computer.
Lucy turns in her lap to look up at her. “Where’s Daddy?”
Jahlani looks down at her face, and before she can stop herself, she’s reaching for a tissue to clean her face. She wipes her tear-stained cheeks before moving to wipe her nose.
“He’ll be back soon, baby, don’t worry. We’re going to have fun. Just us girls,” she says, smoothing back her hair. “Okay?”
Lucy smiles, clapping her hands. “Fun!”
Jahlani chuckles as she pulls up an animated video for her to watch while she gets back to grading, wondering how anyone could ever walk away from a child like this. It doesn’t take long for Lucy to become restless, and soon Jahlani finds herself chasing her around the office. She’s so focused on catching her that she doesn’t notice the door swing open. She collides withRoman, and he grips her arms, steadying her. She claps a hand over her mouth, laughing.
“Sorry,” she says breathlessly. “I didn’t see you there.”
He looks down at her, his eyes soft. “I can see that. Having fun?”
But before she can respond, Lucy charges toward him, screaming.
“Daddy!” She stumbles on the way over, and Roman and Jahlani both react.
“Be careful, baby.”
“Careful, Lulu.”
They both turn to look at each other, and a charged energy invites itself into the space. His hand still grips her arm, but it’s turned to gentle caresses. Jahlani steps back so that he can pick up Lucy and stop her heart from flying out of her chest.
Make it stop. Please.
She watches Lucy drop her head to his neck and he presses a kiss to her forehead, rubbing circles on her back.
He’s so good with her.
“Tired, baby?” he asks, dropping another kiss to her cheek. She nods, letting out a yawn. “Did you have fun with Jahlani?” he whispers, holding Jahlani’s eyes from across the room. Jahlani sways on the spot, bracing her hand against the desk.
She likes when he looks at her like that.
And Jahlani’s heart does fly out of her chest when Lucy nods, her eyes drifting shut. “Lani … girl fun,” she mutters.
Roman laughs when she starts to snore. “She’s gonna be out for the rest of the night.”
Jahlani nods, rubbing the back of her neck. “How was your exam?” she asks, starting to pack her things slowly, unsure of what happens next, but knowing she’s not ready to leave this space with him.
He shrugs. “It was fine. I was a little distracted.”
