Oh, that’s too adorable. I snicker and help him bring Lincoln closer, showing him how to hold him close without smothering him. The two of them scope each other out, neither of them making a sound.
“His eyes are so huge and such a rich brown,” Archer says. “Like chocolate, or really good coffee.”
I huff a laugh. “If only they were coffee. Sometimes it feels like I haven’t slept in the last year. He is pretty sweet, though, so chocolate is probably more accurate.” His beautiful brown eyes are what people always notice about him because they are so large and striking. Just as large and striking as the man he gets them from.
It’s been hard to forget my one-night Santa when I see him every time I look into my baby’s eyes.
“You haven’t slept? Why aren’t you sleeping?” He asks, still staring at Lincoln, a smaller, less horrified, smile creeping onto his face.
This man is so good-looking it should be a crime. So good-looking that my lady parts tingle in his presence. But he didn’t really just ask me why I haven’t been sleeping, did he? No one could be that oblivious, could they?
“Are you serious?”
He tears his eyes away from Lincoln’s. “Yeah. You shouldn’t skip sleep, you know. It’s not healthy.”
I stare at him, blinking several times. He’s joking, right?
“It’s true,” he continues. “Seven to eight hours is what experts say you should be getting.”
I shake my head. “You…” I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. Hehasto be joking. It’s the only thing that makes sense. “You’re aware that babies wake up several times a night, right? Like, they wake up to eat or when they need their diaper changed? You know that, right?”
He chuckles. “Well, yeah. But he should have grown out of that by now, right? That only lasts a few days or something, I thought.”
I bark out a laugh. This poor, clueless man. “I mean, some babies grow out of it quickly, but others don’t. I met a woman in a baby yoga class who said her oldest, a five-year-old boy, still woke up once or twice a night. And before going back to sleep, this kid would march into his mom’s room and wake her up only to tell her he was awake. Like, he’d walk in and stare at her until she opened her eyes, just to say ‘I woke up’. Then she’d have to get out of bed to go tuck him back in.”
He cringes. “And she still had another one?”
I laugh. “Yeah. And if that isn’t irrefutable proof that sleep deprivation makes people stupid, I don’t know what is.”
Archer looks at me, seemingly mulling something over in his mind, before blurting, “Would you like to have an early lunch with me? Now? I’d like to hear more about babies, especially this one.” He tips his head to where Lincoln snuggles in his arms. “If you have time, that is. I think it’s pretty obvious that I know next to nothing about babies, and you clearly know a lot more than that.”
I suck air in through my teeth. “I’d like to, but the thing about babies is they need regular naps. And it’s getting dangerously close to this guy’s nap time.”
It really is time to get going. Lincoln doesn’t do well when he misses his naps, and I’d like to get some sleep of my own while he snoozes. I reach out and lift him from Archer’s arms, brushing my hands against a firm chest and getting a whiff of amazing cologne, both of which send a flash of heat racing down my body. If the snippets of memories I’ve had in the last year are to be believed, this man has all the muscles under that shirt he’s wearing. Literally all of them.
“Oh.” Archer’s voice drops an octave, and he looks away. “I see. Another time, maybe?”
Shit. He looks genuinely disappointed. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him a little better. I don’t need to wait for the test result to know that he is Lincoln’s father, after all. There’s no real reason to wait. Plus, being friends would make things easier for visitation schedules and stuff like that.
“Did you maybe want to come over? We can order some lunch and Lincoln can still have his nap on time.” I won’t get my nap, but I can drink coffee to make up for it later. It’s not like I’ve never done that before.
The way Archer’s face lights up makes my heart pound so loudly in my ears I’m sure he can hear it. He is so gorgeous when he smiles like that, I struggle to take a full breath.
Calm down, girl. He has a girlfriend. He’s not interested in you. He wants to know more about Lincoln, that’s all.I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly.
“That’s perfect. I’ll pick something up for lunch and I’ll meet you there. Is there anything, in particular, you’d like to eat?”
“Surprise me,” I say, hustling out of the office. “See you soon.”
I’m in my car and on my way home before Archer makes it to the lobby, which had been exactly my intention. Between his solid chest giving me heart palpitations and his delicious scent making me drool, I am a mess of epic proportions. I need a few minutes alone to calm myself before he arrives at my place.
And I should probably warn my sister he’s coming, so she doesn’t freak out and try to burn the house down with another batch of cookies. That girl’s stress baking is becoming a problem. She uses up all the ingredients and all we ever have to show for it is piles of ashes and headaches from the blaring of the smoke detector. Yeah, it’s better for everyone if I warn her about Archer in advance.
Chapter 14
Let It Snow
Phoebe
