“I need to have a full tub installed for him. I doubt he’ll fit in a baby bathtub for much longer.”
“You don’t have a tub in one of your many other bathrooms? He’ll need supervision for years still. Probably no need for you to remodel your bathrooms yet.”
He has a point. It’s not like I can let Lincoln sit in the tub alone for any amount of time.
And besides that, who’s saying I’ll still be living in this penthouse when he’s old enough to bathe without supervision? The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a house with a yard for Lincoln to play in. Maybe we’ll even get a dog.
“Okay, so now that I’m thinking about this, it might be easier if you take him into the shower with you.” Gavin’s voice drags me from my daydream. “You’re not exactly smelling very fresh either.”
I shoot him an incredulous look. “How would that work?”
He shrugs. I’m beginning to think it’s the only gesture he knows. “Hold him in your arms and wash him. I know it seems like he’ll be slippery, but it won’t be that bad. I’ve done it a few times after taking him swimming. It shouldn’t be much different for this.”
I look down at Lincoln, then past him to my shirt. Gavin’s right. I could use a shower too.
“Yeah. Yeah, okay. That’s probably a good idea. Here.” I pass Lincoln to Gavin before going to the linen closet and pull out some towels.
Back at the shower, I turn the water on, warming it up so it’s not as much of a shock to Lincoln. Unbuttoning my jeans, I push them to the floor and then strip off my ugly Christmas sweater, dropping it on my pants, leaving me in only my black boxer briefs.
“Wow. Someone works out.” Gavin gives me an appraising look. “I can see why my sister likes you.”
I shake my head and chuckle. “Your sister doesn’t like me.”
Gavin shrugs again. Yup, it’s definitely his signature move. I wonder why he’s trying to convince me he doesn’t care. “Agree to disagree. Here.” He passes Lincoln back to me. “I’ll leave you to it.” He turns and leaves the bathroom. “I have to get to the gym to meet my date.”
“Thanks for your help.” I yell.
“Anytime.”
I strip Lincoln out of his soiled clothes and the dirty diaper that I’m now noticing I didn’t fasten tightly enough, and get into the shower.
“Well, little guy? We sure made a mess of us, didn’t we? Looks like I need more practice with getting those diapers onto you properly.” Lincoln smiles up at me and smacks my chest with his chubby little fist. “I hear you, kid. We’ll get cleaned up real quick, then we’ll try the nap again. How’s that?”
His only reply is another gummy smile.
I chuckle as I wash us both with the baby soap that MaeLynn insisted I needed. Now that the smell of rancid baby poop has dissipated, this situation is a little easier to laugh at. And Gavin was right. It’s not as hard showering with Lincoln in my arms as I thought it would be. The kid’s a little slippery, but it’s not that bad as long as I move carefully. After we’re clean and smelling fresh, I turn off the shower and open the door.
“Wow.” A voice startles me, and I jerk my head up to see Phoebe standing in the doorway. Her mouth is open wide, and she’s devouring my body with her eyes. I could get used to this. “Wow,” she whispers again.
Huh. Maybe Gavin was right.
Maybe she does like me.
“Hey, you’re back early.” I step out of the shower and grab a towel, wrapping it around Lincoln. “Not as ready to leave Lincoln with me as you thought?”
She blinks several times, then shakes herself. I flex for good measure, loving that she’s enjoying looking at me. I know if the situations were reversed, I’d be staring at her the same way.
“Oh. Yeah,” she says, forcing a smile onto her face. “I guess I missed him?” She shrugs, leading me to believe it might be a family trait. “I went home and I—” her eyes widen and she stops short. “Well, I had something to do, then I decided to come right back here.”
I nod and grab a towel before stepping around her into the bedroom. I put Lincoln is his crib so I can dry myself, then fasten the towel around my waist, Phoebe’s hot gaze on me the entire time. I wish I had more time to explore what that means, but there are other things going on right now.
Lincoln needs to get dressed, so I get new clothes and bring him to the changing table. This time, when I put his diaper on, I make extra sure that I fasten it properly.
“So, what’s with the shower?”
Shit.
I forgot that she’d want to know why Lincoln isn’t napping. But I don’t want her to know how close I was to puking all over our son.
