I blow out a stuttered breath and shuffle toward the living room, with Erik following behind, murmuring a few quiet words to his son. When we sit, he takes the baby out of the carrier and hands him over to me. I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable holding him—this being only the third or fourth time—but in my very limited experience with babies, I think this one’s pretty easy. He snuggles up in the crook of my arm as Erik digs through a bag I didn’t notice he brought, retrieving a bottle, which he also hands to me.
“What do I do?” I ask, not sure if I’m holding Kai right.
“Keep his head up a little higher. Yeah, like that. You got it.”
Kai starts in on the bottle like he’s never eaten before, formula dribbling out of his mouth, and Erik finds a soft cloth that he tucks around my forearm, so I can clean him up, and my best friend chuckles.
“You’re a total natural. Who says you can’t be a dad?”
That’s when Kai lets loose a monstrous sound, bubbly and warm against my side, and I nearly throw him back to Erik. “Me. I say I can’t be a dad because I am not dealing withthat.”
Erik lays his kid out on my sofa, and when I realize what he’s doing, I toss my hands up. “Not on the leather sofa!”
“It’s fine.” He pays me no mind as he strips Kai’s onesie off to get to his diaper. It takes five wet wipes to clean that baby of his mess, and I shake my head.
“Are we sure he’s human and not part animal?”
“Nah. Just got those Rivera genes.” Erik holds him up, noisily kissing Kai’s cheek until he grins, drool making its way down his chin.
“He is cute, though,” I admit, and Erik nods.
“Takes after his mother, thank god.”
“How’s Molly doing?”
“Good. Out with Nadine now. That’s why I thought we’d stop by.”
“Nadine?” I scratch at my jaw, prickly with a few weeks’ worth of a beard.
“She’s staying with us for the summer,” Erik explains, and I fold my arms over my chest.
“Why?” Not that I care. Only making conversation.
“She’s kinda down lately. Her job is…wearing on her.”
“Still teaching?”
“Yeah. I thought she could stay with us for the summer to get her out of her funk.”
I barely hold back my dubious snort. That girl has always been in a funk. So uptight she could shit diamonds. No sense of humor whatsoever.
“You know,” he starts, head tipped to the side like he’s studying a new play, “she might be able to help you.”
I tug at my ear. “Run that by me again.”
“Nadine might be able to help you out.” He tucks Kai against his chest. “It’s kind of perfect, actually. She’s experienced with kids Paisley’s age and knows ASL.”
Though I can infer what he’s implying, I need him to spell it out for me because… No.
Not Nadine Rivera. The first time we met, she called me an asshole. The second time, she told me it was a good thing my head was so big, to make up for the size of my dick.
“What do you think your sister can help me with?”
“You could hire her to help with Paisley. Like a nanny.”
“No, that’s not… You think… Would she?”
Erik shrugs. “Maybe. You know how she is…”
