The evening before, I'd turned off the monitor in his room to ensure he slept through the baby’s nighttime wakings. Surprisingly, I'd missed crossing paths with him in the wee hours of the morning the way we did the first week of our newborn’s life. When I sat in the rocker with Finn at my breast early that morning, it didn't occur to me to worry about showing more skin than usual. I had yet to put on clothes for the day, instead opting to stay in the white satin nightgown Maddie had given me. It was low cut and edged in lace, and I admit it made me feel less frumpy when I had to get up and change a diaper at three in the morning.
Burke walked in, stopping in his tracks. "I . . . thought I'd say good morning."
"Good morning." I gave him a bright smile, and he frowned in return. "What's wrong?"
He couldn't seem to lift his gaze from Finn's head. "Wrong?"
Was it truly the baby’s head he gazed at, or was it me as Maddie had claimed? "You're frowning."
"Am I?"
It was almost amusing how closely he watched Finn breastfeed. "Burke?"
"Hm?"
"Do you want me to interrupt his feeding so you can have him for a minute?" I said sweetly.
"No, why?"
"Because you're staring at him, so I assume you want to hold him."
"Oh."
At the same time he raised his heated gaze to meet mine, I heard Maddie's voice telling me to flaunt my breasts to gauge Burke's reaction. Without overthinking it, I ran my pinky around Finn's lips to free his suction and lifted him. Burning red with immodesty, I left my gown in disarray as I held Finn up for Burke to take him. "Say hello to Daddy."
This time, there was no mistaking what Burke stared at. "Uh, hello."
He moved forward, leaning down and taking Finn from me. I beamed at the sight of him holding his son. It had been too long.
"He was nearly done, so he shouldn't fuss if you want to take him for a minute."
"Um, yeah, I think I'll . . ."
I almost laughed at how befuddled he sounded. Maddie was on to something. "I guess I'll go get dressed while you've got him." I stood, very slowly tucking my breasts back inside my nightgown as Burke watched.
"Yeah, okay."
In my room, I pulled off the nightgown, feeling flushed from his focused gaze. It was clear my breasts were enticing enough to stare at, but I didn't feel too happy about what was going on with the extra skin on my belly at the moment. Logically, I knew it would take time to get back to my version of normal. I half wished I had the nerve to walk back in there without my clothes on, but that was a step I wasn't prepared to take. Thinking it might snow later, I put on warm clothes and thick socks before returning to the nursery.
"He's down for the count," Burke murmured as I entered the room.
He'd placed Finn in the crib, and I watched his chest rise and fall, his right hand fisted by his head—exactly the way his father slept. "I see."
"Are you coming down to breakfast?" Now he stared at my face, and I blushed again.
"Yes."
We went together, and I felt Burke rest his hand on the small of my back as we walked. It was comforting.
"Do you have plans for the day?" he asked, walking close beside me on the staircase.
"Not really. I was going to ask you what plumber we can use, and I want to pick a new desk for my office space online. After that, I don't know."
"Is it boring?" he asked as we entered the dining room.
"Boring?"
"Being stuck here all the time."
