“It’s me.”
Emily stands in the doorway with the baby at her shoulder, one hand holding the baby’s back and the other cupping her head as she glances around me in both directions, and my heart thuds to a stop. “He’s not here, is he?”
“No. I didn’t see him anywhere on my way here.”
“Good.” She shifts backward as I close the door with a snap. Her ponytail is limp, and her face is marred with exhaustion, but she still looks like the most beautiful woman in the world.
Unfortunately, I have more pressing things than telling her that she looks gorgeous with a baby in her arms.
“Tell me what happened.” The baby stirs, squishing its legs upward and roots against her as Emily softly murmurs to her. The baby’s perfect bow lips pucker in her sleep. Jesus. My heart clutches at the perfection of woman and child. “By the way, thank you for looking through the peep hole.”
“Chad is a total creep. I wasn’t about to open the door to him.”
I brace my hands on my hips as she relays how he followed her and subsequently stalked her to her apartment complex.
“The fucking asshole.” I yank off my hat with one hand and run my fingers through my hair. “I’m sorry, Em. I didn’t mean for you to get dragged in the middle of my feud with Chad. Or for my job to put you in danger.”
I was never in a relationship in Columbia, so no one was able to pressure me by threatening someone I loved. But now…. Now, anyone who knows me knows that Emily is my weakness. And Baby Doe. “I–”
“Don’t.” Emily’s eyes flash in anger. “The last thing I’ll ever do is let a bully change the direction of our lives. I’m not about to let that happen.” She pats the baby’s back as she rocks from one foot to the other. “And that’s part of the reason you became a police officer. To keep people safe from the ass….” She glances down at the baby. “Jerks who prey on others.” Her eyebrows arch upward. “Right?”
The flush on her face, combined with the fire in her eyes and her impassioned speech has my blood flowing straight to my dick. That same electric shock that zapped me when she said, ‘Yes, Sir,’ has me ready to take her against the wall. Again.
I stalk toward her, grasp the back of her neck, and lower my mouth to hers. “Thank you for the reminder of what a kickass girlfriend I have. Hearing you talk like this really turns me on.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? Lover? Significant other? I don’t care what we call it, but you’re mine.” Her eyes darken as she inhales. “And I love how feisty you are.” My lips are on hers before she can utter another word.
She’s right. I’m not going to let him win. I’ve fought too hard to make my way back to Brookhaven and to win a second chance with Emily. I’m not giving her up for anything or anyone, and I’ll move heaven and earth to keep her and the baby safe.
She moans into my mouth as I brush my tongue along the seam of her lips. And then the baby whimpers and stirs between us. Well…. I pull back and look down at the scrunched-up face that’s bellowing a high-pitched wail. This is going to be a challenge.
Emily’s eyes dance as she pulls back. “Are you sure you want a girlfriend who’s a foster parent?”
“Yes.” I press my fingertips harder into her neck, smack my lips against hers in a quick kiss so that she doesn’t question my intentions, and step back. “Let me see her.”
As I hold her in front of me, my heart does that fluttering thing again. I ignore it by pressing it back deep inside of me. It had better not be a fucking heart attack. “Hello, baby girl.”
“They called her Grace at the hospital. I like it.”
“That’s a perfect name.” The baby’s eyes glaze over as she looks at me. “When will she have better focus?”
“Between six and eight weeks.”
“I can’t wait.”
Emily cringes at my words. Shit. Thirty days. Emily only has her for thirty days. The baby’s arms and hands dance around as if she’s testing the world around her. She’s so tiny. “Did they say she’s doing okay?”
“Yes.” Her voice is rough as if she’s not telling me everything.
“What?” My attention snaps to Emily.
“She’s lost weight due to her struggles to latch on the bottle and the withdrawal symptoms but the last couple of days they said she’s done much better. She took the bottle for me at the hospital.” Emily glances behind her at the diaper bag on the coffee table. “I should feed her again.”
“Go ahead and get everything ready. I’ve got her.”
“Thank you.” Emily gnaws on her bottom lip.
