Page 43 of More Than Friends

Jude frowns. He wears his black glasses that do things to me that they absolutely shouldn’t. Apparently, he only typically wears his glasses at night before bed. I need him to go back to wearing his contacts more often so the glasses stop having an effect on me. Paired with his T-shirt and thigh-hugging joggers,I’ve been struggling not to ogle my friend on our first night living together. I try not to think about how good he looks, even with the stress of not being able to get his daughter to sleep. It’s honestly unfair.

Jude’s eyes are full of questions as he scans my face. “Let’s go for a drive with a screaming baby?”

I can’t help but smile. I get why the idea might sound crazy to someone who hasn’t had a ton of prior experience with infants. “Sometimes babies love to sleep in the car. There’s something about it that calms them. I feel like we’ve tried everything else. Maybe just driving around will do the trick.”

He stares at me for a moment before looking back at Ava. She isn’t crying right now, but she isn’t falling asleep either. She’s just staring at her dad with a look that says she might break out in tears at any moment.

Jude sighs before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to the top of Ava’s head. “How does a car ride sound?”

She doesn’t cry. She stays quiet. Her eyelids are heavy as she looks up at Jude.

I lift an eyebrow and give Jude a smile. “That sounds like a yes to me.”

Jude laughs. He runs his free hand through his hair before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “It’s obvious I don’t have any fresh ideas on how to get her to sleep, and you’re the baby whisperer. I’ll take her for a drive.”

I try not to let my disappointment show at the way he saysI’llinstead ofwe’ll. Maybe he doesn’t want me to go? I rub my lips together as I think of what to say in response. I don’t have anything better to do, and I want to go. It feels like we’re in this battle together. I don’t want to stay here while he drives around.

“I can go too,” I offer, keeping a smile on my face.

“Char,” he begins. I hold my breath as I wait for him to continue, bracing myself for him to tell me that he doesn’twant my help. “It’s your first night here, and I already feel bad about how much you’ve helped tonight when it isn’t your responsibility. I can take her for a drive so you can actually get some rest. You had her early this morning while I got to sleep.”

“It was my idea. I’m going for the drive too. And one of these days, you’ll learn that I’m not going to do anything I don’t want to do. I was the baby of my family, remember? I’m used to getting my way, and I also got away with anything because everyone was too busy to pay attention to me. If I didn’t want to go for the drive or help with Ava, then I wouldn’t. But Iwantto. So stop trying to tell me what to do, and let’s get on the road before she starts screaming again.

Jude’s lips twitch as he stares at me with wide eyes. He quirks an eyebrow.

I fold my arms across my chest. “What?”

“I like it when you’re bossy.”

“I like it when you listen to me.”

I swear his eyes light up. “Guess I’ll start listening to you more, then.”

“Good boy.” I laugh as I back away from him and begin to pack a travel bag for Ava. I know we won’t be going anywhere, but I want to have a spare diaper and some clothes just in case the car ride doesn’t go the way I think it will.

It takes a few minutes to get everything packed up. I realize this is the first time Jude’s leaving the house with Ava since we went shopping, and it’s kind of adorable how many things he thinks we need to take with us just to drive around long enough to get Ava to sleep.

I’m busy buckling her into her car seat and shushing her through her cries when he runs in from the kitchen.

“Should we bring the bottle warmer?”

I look over my shoulder and find him holding it up with an unsure look on his face.

He’s totally serious.

I have to rub my lips together to hide the smile that threatens to overtake my mouth. I don’t want to make fun of him, but if I weren’t here, I really think he would’ve packed everything we bought yesterday just to drive around mindlessly for a while.

“I think we’ll be good without the bottle warmer. I already put her milk in a thermos of warm water in the car just in case we need it.”

He nods before looking down at Ava. She’s stopped crying now that Jude’s here, but the little whines she makes tell me we’re close to another meltdown, and we should get her into the car and drive as soon as possible.

“Your idea is better,” he admits. He steps forward and picks up her infant seat carrier. I sling the bag I packed over my shoulder and follow him out to his parked SUV.

I try not to focus on the way he holds the carrier. Why is it kind of hot? He’s got this hot dad walk that I can’t look away from. It’s no secret that women always flock to him. He’s like a magnet everywhere he goes. He’s got charm and is too ridiculously good-looking for his own good. It’s hard to resist him. But now that he’s a dad, I think it’s going to drive women even more crazy.

And I come to a terrible realization as I watch Jude load Ava into the car.

Jude without a baby was incredibly attractive. He was hard to resistthen.