“Hey, beautiful girl. You like me, too, huh? Not just your dad. I know he’s your favorite, but if you cuddle with me just a bit longer, that would be amazing.”
I smiled. “Let’s go to the bathroom and give her a bath.”
We went to the en suite bathroom in Charlotte’s nursery. It was practical. I’d put a baby-washing bassinet in there with a special support for a newborn.
“I’ll fill it with water first.” I threw the thermometer in to make sure it was just right.
“You’re very good at this,” Piper told me.
I chuckled. “Just following YouTube instructions.”
“Can I undress her?” she asked shyly.
“Sure.” I pointed to the changing table. “You can do it right there.”
I watched her intently to make sure she did it right.
Jesus Christ, Beckett, she said she has experience with kids.
Still, this was my daughter.
But Piper truly was a pro. Charlotte didn’t even protest once, just cooed and chatted in baby talk the whole time.
“You can lower her into the water now,” I said.
“Do you want to do it? You seem a bit stressed.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Yeah, I was stressed. How the hell had she picked up on that?
Jesus, I’d never been a control freak before. I’d always trusted everyone around me to do their own thing. If they said they were capable, I didn’t question them. But when it came to my daughter, I wanted to micromanage everything. I only relaxed when I saw the ease with which Piper lowered my girl into the water.
“She loves her bath, doesn’t she? Do you use shampoo?” she asked.
“No. This is just to get her to relax before bed.”
“We’re just helping you relax, aren’t we, baby girl?”
Charlotte cooed some more.
“She really likes you,” I told Piper, who immediately turned her head toward me.
“Really?” Her eyes were full of hope. “Doesn’t she do this for everyone?”
“You’re the only one who’s given her a bath except me.”
“I feel privileged.”
“You are.” I winked, and Piper smiled back at me. I never wanted to forget this moment with the three of us. How strange was that?
After we finished bathing her, we moved back to the nursery and turned on the red-light lamp. I had read that red light didn’t disturb melatonin production or sleep, and it seemed to work. Charlotte settled much more easily after I bought the lamp. Before this, I’d use the light on my phone, thinking it wouldn’t bother her, but it did—it’d woken her right up.
Piper insisted on massaging Charlotte with lotion. She also wanted to change her diaper, which was more than fine with me. Seeing her like this with my daughter was doing unspeakable things to me.
When I came home with Charlotte, I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t bring anyone except family into her life. And now my two worlds were colliding. I couldn’t help but wonder what a future as a family would look like. My assistant had mailed Ella all the papers she’d requested, and I hadn’t heard back from her at all. Now that I was confident she would never want to be part of Charlotte’s life, thinking of having more with Piper seemed more real.
“Who’s a fantastic little girl?” Piper said as I lowered Charlotte into the bassinet. My little girl was drowsy and fell asleep the second she hit the mattress.
