A baby's cry tore through the silence.
My shoulders sagged, and I covered my face with my hands.
The woman gasped. "You have a baby?"
I nodded. "Apparently, I do, which is why you're here."
She let out a half-groan, half-laugh kind of noise and shook her head. "This has to be the worst first impression in the history of first impressions."
I smiled to myself at her words, her ability to laugh in the face of extreme humiliation. She was embarrassed but not to the point of being self-conscious. Hell, she was charming.Dammit.
"I swear I would've been on time, but the storm came in out of nowhere. Or maybe it wasn't nowhere; maybe it's because I'm not used to the mountain weather and you knew about the stormall day, which is probably why you were at home and not outside. Oh, or maybe the baby was the reason."
"Stop."
She gasped and pulled her lips into her mouth as if that was the only way to stop the barrage of words that flowed from her mouth. She flashed what appeared to be a smile and exhaled slowly. "Sorry. I'm Rosalee."
"I'm Xavier."
She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Holloway." She tossed the blanket off her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed before she froze. "Oh, um." Rosalee looked around, likely in search of her clothes, eyes wide and filled with concern.
"You were soaking wet and shivering. I had to get you out of those clothes and into something dry. I didn't do anything," I stammered. "Other than undress you and put some of my clothes on you. Obviously."
She covered her face, and her shoulders shook.
Holy shit, was she crying?
"I believe you," she said eventually. "I don't know if I should or not, but I believe you, Mr. Holloway."
"Xavier," I corrected. Holloway was my last name, but I wasn't anybody'sMister Holloway, and I would never be again.
The baby let out another cry, and that spurred Rosalee into action. "I believe you, Xavier. I'm just embarrassed. God," she sighed and looked around the room. "I'm supposed to be here to lighten your load, to make things easier for you, and you've been taking care of me for the past four days. Could I have made this more of a mess?"
"It's fine, Rosalee. I'll get you some clothes."
She nodded, her cheeks and neck burning pink. "I'll go check on the baby."
I nodded. "Follow me."
"Yeah. Okay." She took two steps toward the door, and her legs buckled again. "Oops."
"New plan. You stay here, and I'll get the girl."
Rosalee shook her head. "You go, but I'll be right behind you. I just need a minute."
Figuring she needed a moment to herself, I nodded and headed toward the now-wailing baby. "It's all right, little girl. I'm here." I picked her up and held her against my chest, and almost instantly, she settled down. "See, you're good. All good."
"What a sweet picture you two make." Rosalee's voice sounded behind me, soft, sweet, and husky.
A shot of lust pulsed through me, and it only grew worse when I turned to look at her in my U of T T-shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs, making it appear as if she was in nothingbutthat T-shirt. My gaze locked on her shapely legs and my nostrils flared, heat knocking around in my body with the same intensity as my heart banged against my chest.
Chapter 6
Rosalee
Holy smokes.The heat in Xavier's eyes was almost as hot as the man himself. He was literally the hottest man who's ever touched me and definitely the hottest thing I've ever seen up close and personal, by a lot. He was ruggedly beautiful with thick black hair that he wore just a little too long and deep-set gray eyes that looked like they didn't miss any details. The scruff on his face gave his gray eyes the look of molten silver, which gave him an almost otherworldly look. At least until you got to the broad shoulders, six-pack abs, slender waist, and muscles upon muscles. He was gorgeous and gruff.
And gorgeous.
