“Thanks.”
Elodie quirks a brow at me. “I was talking to the baby.”
“Well, that’s half of my DNA you’re holding, so I figured I could take credit.” I reach out to shake her hand. “I’m Henley, by the way.”
Her hand meets mine, soft skin and warmth. “Elodie. Sorry again for spilling coffee on you.”
“Trust me, compared to what else I’ve been covered in today, coffee’s an upgrade.”
Her brows draw together, but thankfully she doesn’t press for details about the many fluids that I’ve already encountered today. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but if she’s yours, why were you holding her like she was a bomb that was about to explode?”
“If you’d seen how this little thing fills up a diaper, you’d understand.”
Elodie rolls her eyes, laughing. “She’s a baby.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I stare down at the ground. “Yeah, and I didn’t know she existed until yesterday.”
She freezes. “What?”
Sighing, I say, “It’s a long story. Anyway, you ready for your interview? Might as well do you first since you’re here.” Her lips fold in on themselves as she fights her smile, and that’s when it dawns on me what I just said. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that…I meant—”
Warren was right. Everything that’s happening with this woman is an HR nightmare.
“It’s okay,” Elodie cuts me off, shuffling Remy in her arms as she slides into the booth. “Let’s just move forward. Huh, baby bear?” Looking down at my daughter, she rubs their noses together. Remy lets out a squeal I haven’t heard from her yet, followed by the most precious, gum-filled smile.
Jesus, I have a kid.
When I take my seat opposite them, something shifts in my chest, but I can’t quite put a name to it. “You’re good with her. Do you have kids?”
Elodie snorts. “Yikes. Sorry, that wasn’t cute.”
Actually, it kind of was.
Fuck. That’s the last thing I should be thinking about when it comes to this woman, but I can’t deny how captivating she is. Her long, dark hair glistens under the light hanging above us, spilling down her back like silk. Those sparkling, gray eyes are so unique, I can’t help but stare. And her lips—plump, a deep rose, and spread into a grin as she studies my daughter—make me wonder what they would look like pressed against my chest, trailing lower as she makes her way down my abs to my…
“Henley?”
Her voice breaks through my daydream. Clearing my throat, I focus back on what she’s saying. “Yeah?”
“You looked like you were lost in thought there for a second.”
I was. I was thinking about your fucking mouth. “Sorry. I, uh, didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Elodie bounces Remy in her arms as my baby girl rests her head on Elodie’s shoulder. The sight makes me want to snap a picture, like it’s a moment I want to remember forever.
My mind is being taken over by thoughts and feelings that are so foreign to me, I’m truly wondering if the lack of sleep is altering my brain chemistry.
“How old is she?”
“Three months. She was born in May.” Though I had no idea until Meghan told me last night, I still feel guilty for all that I’ve missed.
“She’s such a doll.” Remy wraps her hand around Elodie’s finger, pumping her tiny fist up and down.
“Yeah, you wouldn’t think that when she’s screaming bloody murder at one o’clock in the morning.”
“Aw, it’s normal for babies to fuss in the middle of the night.”
I extend a hand toward them. “Well, she obviously likes you.”
