I smell something delicious coming from whatever he brought us for dinner. “Burgers and seasoned fries tonight,” he says, setting the bag on the counter. “I hope that’s okay?” The look on his face is so sincere. “I should have asked you what you were hungry for.” Now he appears to be beating himself up.
“Burgers sound great.” And they do.
“Okay. Good.”
Holy crap, Nate Black sounds nervous.
When Brynn whimpers from her crib, Nate abandons the food and makes a beeline for her. At her crib, he coos softly, “What’s wrong, sweet girl?”
I swear, the sight makes me tear up—for two reasons. One, who doesn’t want their child to have a father? But two, I can’t help feeling like this is short-lived. That Nate will return to his old ways and decide it’s too much and then disappear again.
It’s like this is all too good to be true.
And I’m not sure who would be more disappointed in the long run, me or Brynn, because the truth of the matter is, I’ve got feelings for Nate. Real, stupid, annoying, and dangerous feelings. And that’s a terrible idea. The worst.
“Eat, woman.” Nate nods at the food on the counter as he holds Brynn in his arms, bouncing her up and down a little.
“Oh.” I smile at the pair of them. “Sure.”
27
Nate
This is the life.I’m rocking my little girl while my woman eats foodIbrought her. It’s too bad I’m sitting on the world’s most uncomfortable rocking chair. This thing is deadly, but I know I can’t say a damn word about it. She’ll probably throw me out the door and never let me in again if I disparage her mother’s furniture.
Maybe I could offer to buy a small rocker that would fit in Brynn’s little space?
I look over and frown. No room for a rocker in there.
“What’s the frown about?” Maggy says as she dips a fry into the Ranch dressing.
“Nothing.” I need to play it safe here.
“It’s not nothing. You looked over at Brynn’s room and squished up your face.”
Okay. Here goes. “I was just wondering if a small rocker would fit over there.”
“Nope.” She shakes her head. Then, she snickers, asking, “What’s wrong with the rocker right there?”
It’s a trap.
“Nothing’s wrong with it.”
Her snicker turns into a giggle.
“You getting poked?”
Oh. Wow. That was sexual innuendo if I ever heard any. It isn’t lost on me that Maggy has never looked more beautiful, or more sexy, than now. Something about motherhood makes her glow, plus her body is fucking out of this world. Suddenly, I feel tightness in the front of my jeans and it’s a) embarrassing, and b) completely inappropriate since I’m holding my daughter. But I can’t just jump up and set her back in the crib; Maggy will notice. No. I’ll just sit tight and think of other things. Like taxes and… well, taxes will do it.
“The rocker is fine.”
“I know it’s bad.” She shrugs. “When I first got them, I checked to see if anyone could fix them so the springs weren’t so…”
“Stabby?”
“Stabby.” She laughs. “Yes, that’s a good word. Anyway, it wasveryexpensive.”
“I see.” And I do. So, she’d rather sit on them as they are than get rid of them. “Maybe next time I’ll sit on a pillow.”
