Page 54 of Talk Wicked to Me

“It was nice meeting you, Quinton,” she called over her shoulder.

When they were halfway down the hall, Baz said, “Were you hitting on my new vet?”

She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or joking. “What? No. Did I sound like I was looking for a date?”

“No reason for you not to be.” He guided her into his office and through another door.

“Yeah, right,” she said sarcastically as they headed upstairs. “The baby in my arms says otherwise.”

“You’re a mother, Em, not a nun.”

He said it too emphatically to be anything but irritated. Or maybe jealous? That made her pulse kick up. “Okay, but do you really think I’d try to pick up one of your employees?”

“You obviously think he’s good-looking.”

That made her head spin. Could he be jealous? “I think one charming vet is more than enough to keep this girl on her toes.”

Based on his smirk, he was pleased by that answer. He opened the door to his apartment, and she was blown away. The entire back wall was glass, with breathtaking views of the tops of trees against the clear summer sky as far as the eye could see. Dark hardwood floors and a faded Oriental rug with just enough splashes of color to draw the eye gave the living room a warm, classy feel, though not overdone like the Vasilious’. A brown leather sofa, two light gray armchairs, and a rich wooden coffee table and matching television stand were all substantial and masculine, like Baz. The living room was separated from the kitchen by a bar and two high-back chairs. White walls, dark cabinets, marble countertops, and silver-and-black appliances, including a double oven, gave the kitchen a luxurious feel. The large front windows offered glorious views of the property and made the apartment feel incredibly spacious.

“Nice bachelor pad.”

“Thanks. Make yourself comfortable. I need to check on something, and then I’ll get you a glass of water.”

He headed down a hallway, and she sat on the couch to nurse Brennan. As Brennan latched on and settled in, she leaned back against the cushion, getting a better look at the space. There were framed pictures on the television stand. She recognized his mother, brothers, and cousins and Sid, Evie, and Tori. They’d talked a lot about family these last few weeks, and she knew the beautiful freckle-faced mixed-race woman with curly brownish-red hair was Leah, the dark-haired baby she was holding was Leo, and the two adorable little girls on Tank’s lap were their daughters, Rosie and Junie. Rosie was the younger one, with dark skin, deep dimples, and pigtails, and Junie was a fair-skinned, serious-eyed redhead with gorgeous ringlets. There were pictures of Baz with his nieces and nephew, and she assumed the tall blonde with Maverick holding a baby dressed in pink was Chloe. There were several pictures of dozens of guys wearing cuts. It was so different from the small world from which she’d come. Her gaze found a double frame with two familiar photos, and her breath caught in her throat. She scooted to the edge of the cushion, squinting, sure she was seeing things.

No way.

He’d framed the picture he’d taken of her holding Brennan minutes after she’d given birth and the picture she’d taken of him holding Brennan in the hospital. She heard Baz coming down the hall and sat back, her nerves pinging as he went into the kitchen.

“Water or juice, darlin’?”

“Water’s fine, thanks.” She watched him filling a glass from a pitcher in the fridge and tried not to dwell on the pictures. But it was impossible. She’d seen Baz nearly every day since Brennan was born. Feelings for him had been taking root for weeks, and now she wondered if he had those kinds of feelings for her, too. Or was it wishful thinking?

“Little man was hungry, huh?” he said as he came out of the kitchen and handed her the glass of water.

“Yeah. Sorry. I tried to nurse him before I left the house, but he wasn’t hungry yet.” She took a drink, trying to calm her nerves, and handed him back the glass. “If you don’t have time to go to lunch, we can do it another day.”

He placed the glass on a coaster on the coffee table. “We’ve got plenty of time. I had Tori block out a couple of hours. I know how this little guy is, and I didn’t want you to feel rushed your first time at the Hog.”

It struck her that he was always making time for her. She glanced at the pictures of her and Brennan again and had to ask about them. “Baz, why do you have pictures of me and Brennan over there?”

“I have pictures of all the special people in my life.”

Everything he did and said made her feel special, but that didn’t mean he had bigger feelings for her. She was pretty sure he made everyone feel special, and she knew she shouldn’t read too much into it, but that didn’t stop butterflies from nesting in her stomach.

Chapter Sixteen

BAZ HAD NEVER considered himself a jealous man, but what Emerson had said about Quinton had unleashed some sort of possessive beast in him. The thought of her dating any other man made him want to tear someone’s head off. As he followed her up the stairs to the second-story bar at the Salty Hog, carrying Brennan, who was asleep in his carrier, Baz wanted them to be his.

No. In his mind, they already were.

He couldn’t even pretend he didn’t know when it had happened. Every evening they’d spent together, every laugh they’d shared and tear she’d shed, every moment he’d cared for Emerson when she was feverish and in pain from mastitis, and every night she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder and he’d carried her to bed had stolen a piece of his heart. And Brennan? The second Baz had held him, that precious boy had burrowed deep in his heart, snagging more of it every time Baz changed his diaper, paced the floor with him, rocked him, fed him a bottle, and fell asleep on the couch with the innocent little guy on his chest.

His heart was overflowing with the two of them, but he wasn’t sure it would be fair to start something with Emerson when he was going away for so long. That was only one of the reasons he’d been careful to keep his feelings to himself. The other was more precarious. There was a chance she didn’t feel the same way about him. He didn’t think that was the case, considering she lit up when she saw him and returned his innuendos in person and over text. Then there was the way he’d caught her looking at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention, with a mix of tender adoration and ravenous lioness. But he’d been wrong before, and he couldn’t afford to make the same mistake again and lose them altogether.

When they reached the landing at the top of the stairs, Emerson gazed out at the harbor. “This view is gorgeous.”

So is the one from back here. “Wait until you see it at night with the lights around the harbor.” As he said it, he wanted to be the one to bring her there so he could experience her first time with her.