“I’ll get Mom. Here, you take Luke.” Eli, in full commanding chef mode, tried to pass off the baby to Sadie.
“Not even.” She shook her head. Sure, she would’ve reached for Luke, but given the continuing noises and the way his face turned red as he made them, this was not in the job description of being the favorite aunt. “Would you like me to visit a different grocery store to see if they have tuna or salmon?” Sadie suggested. “I really don’t mind.”
Eli shifted Luke in his arms. “I’ll make the tilapia work. Don’t think you get to escape so easily. If we have to figure this out, you do, too.”
“That’s not true.” Sadie crossed her arms. “At all.”
“Tilapia will be delicious.” Marlee returned with a three-inch thick book still in the sealed plastic sleeve. She cooed to little Luke, “Because your daddy can cook anything.”
“But Daddy and Mommy can’t figure out that you’re filling your pants, now, can they?” Sadie cooed in the same tone Marlee had used.
Luke grunted and started rubbing his face against Eli’s pec, giving a tiny head bob at the end.
“What is he doing?” Sadie asked. She’d figured out the diaper thing, but this didn’t make sense at all.
“Oh, I know this one. He’s hungry. That’s his rooting reflex,” Marlee said, excitement and pride evident in her words.
"I don’t think Eli’s nipples work that way.” Sadie may not have known that salmon was preferred to tilapia, but she was 99.9 percent certain on this one.
“I can fix this.” Marlee adjusted Luke into her arms, clearly happy she had a solution to something he needed.
Sadie’s eyebrows dropped together as Marlee settled on the couch—didn’t she need to grab a bottle or something?
“Do you want the pillow thing?” Eli asked.
Marlee nodded.
“Should you change his diaper first?” Sadie asked.
“No,” Eli and Marlee said at the same time.
All right, well, that’s what Sadie would’ve done, but what did she know?
Eli helped Marlee with some C-shaped pillow, and Marlee lifted her shirt right over her breast and oh… Oh-kay, no bottle needed.
Sadie seemed stuck in place. This was exactly why guests weren’t supposed to stick around. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Glanced at the door. She should go. Find tuna. Wait until someone cooked or sashimi’d it. Then she could come back.
Sadie just needed to grab her purse that was next to Marlee. She started toward it. “Hey, I’m gonna go grab—"
Eli was assisting his wife with the placement of the baby. “You know what?” Sadie asked, averting her gaze to the stairs. “I’ll go find Mom.” She paused, turning quickly. “Can one of you let Roman know I found his phone in the pantry? I don’t know how to reach him.” She gave her best whatcha-gonna-do shrug toward Eli and took the stairs two at a time. “It’s on the counter,” she hollered, not looking back.
Chapter Eight
Roman wasn’t the kind of guy trapped in his phone all the time. He was, however, the kind of guy who kept tabs on it.
Eli handed Roman his cell. “You should keep better track of this thing.”
“I got Babushka’d.” Roman was going to have to tie the damn thing to his pant leg to ensure Babushka didn’t swipe it again. “Where did you find it anyway?”
“Sadie found it in the pantry.” Chef Eli narrowed his eyes. He did not seem impressed that Roman had been in his space. Roman got it. Eli’s kitchen was his man cave. “What were you doing in my kitchen?”
“I was never in your kitchen, swear to whatever you want me to swear on. But thanks for sending my brother over to let me know you had it. Now he’s giving me shit about losing it, too. So everyone is winning.” Everyone but Roman.
“Are you staying for dinner?” Marlee asked.
He glanced over to where she sat on the sofa next to Eli’s mom, Jennifer. Luke was clearly getting all the grandma cuddles.
“I’m just here for this.” Roman held up his cell. “Seriously, thanks for returning it.”
