“I am also confused.” Knox held up his hand.
Linx grinned and tapped the bottle of his beer to Bax’s can of seltzer. “Looks like we have ourselves a Tiny Badass.”
“I’m using McFluffin. It’s cuter,” Mom said, flouncing away from their group over to where Dad and Hans were yapping. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“Team McFluffin over here, too,” Cherie yelled—even though they could hear her just fine.
Well, grandmas had their prerogatives too.
Courtney glanced away from the fizzy seltzer, suddenly having an intense craving for a cucumber and carrots with hummus.
Bax was looking at her funny. Like he couldn’t quite figure out what to do with her.
Funny. She couldn’t figure out what to do with him either.
Chapter Twelve
Courtney
Two Months Later
“I should get my own place,”Courtney said to Linx’s cat. A cat that lounged on the pillow of her bed, his foot over his left ear so he could lick his junk.
Today Gibson wore a Mister Rogers–style sweater vest, so Becca must’ve dressed him. When Linx dressed the cat—yeah, they did that—he usually went for something leather. This was the stage of her brother’s relationship: they both dressed up his cat.
Gibson paused the licking to glance at her and meet her gaze with narrowed cat eyes.
“Am I interrupting? By all means, continue.” She yawned and sat on the side of the bed. “I’m so confused. What should I do?”
Gibson dropped his leg because he knew this dance and apparently understood that she wouldn’t stop talking anytime soon. She should call Irina and talk to her instead. Or run downstairs and chat with Becca. Maybe even Linx or her mom. But people talked back and didn’t always say what Courtney wanted to hear. So instead she chose Gibson, who just licked at his penis while she blathered and brainstormed.
“I don’t know what Tiny Badass is going to want. The grandmas already bought the crib, but we’ve got no place to put it yet.” Did the kid prefer to live in Cherry Creek or Arvada? Condo with a pool or lots of land to run around on? Who would take care of that property? Would she need a handyman or would handy Bax take care of it?
So many questions.
“Maybe we start with what we know?” The one thing she knew for certain—they’d land in Denver. Irina had gone into serious pout mode when Courtney informed her that she’d be moving out of LA, but Dimefront getting serious about making music and therefore moving to Denver meant this was where Bax would plant roots.
As much as the nerves twirled whenever she thought of what co-parenting with him would look like, they needed to be in the same town to give it a solid shot.
He wanted to know the baby.
Really, his desire was convincing.
All that to say, Linx had this massive mansion with a room he kept for her—because he was an exceptional big brother—so she sat tight, talked to the cat, checked out real estate listings, and tried to figure out what a kid needed for a life of happy and healthy.
Gibson hopped from the bed and meandered toward the door, tail held high. With his back to Courtney, he plopped down and went back to town on his tongue bath.
She got the message—the cat didn’t want to talk. Irina would be willing to dissect the issue, but… yeah, no, that would include pouting. A little nap sounded perfect. Napping was her new favorite pastime because she wasn’t that flexible, and she didn’t have anyone to lickherjunk.
She lay down on the blue bedspread, let the mattress mold to her body, and allowed the lead weights that seemed to be attached to her eyelashes pull her eyelids close. She even did the deep breathing thing that usually helped relax the muscles of her back.
This was her second favorite kind of nap—a midday, full-bed snooze. This was only second to a sofa nap, which she preferred. But Linx and Becca were downstairs, so it made little sense to fall asleep where it’d interfere with whatever they’d planned for the day.
Mom and Dad would be in and out too. They were also looking at Denver properties. Probably with Cherie in tow via iPad. Of course, the boat that Bax’s parents were on returned, and they’d come for a short visit before heading back to Tennessee.
Rolling onto her side, a pillow tucked under her leg, Courtney drifted. Let her thoughts do a tango until they could settle.
They did not settle. Nopers, they bounced right into the shower and the vision of Bax with his hand on his erection, that smirk on his face and the invitation to join.
