Page 28 of Under My Skin

Lina cocked her head to the side. “You haven’t met him yet?”

Shit. I hadn’t even thought about how that would sound. And Dani and I hadn’t talked about this, so I had no idea what I was supposed to say when I was asked about herorIsaac. EspeciallyIsaac. Ireallydidn’t want to drag a month-old baby into the spotlight if I didn’t have to.

This was going to end in disaster. And it’d probably be my fault, because I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

“Um, yeah. We haven’t seen each other much in the past month. I was giving her space to adjust to having him around,” I improvised, then held my arms out. “Can I?”

“Yes, of course.”

She handed Isaac to me, and as he fussed quietly when I cradled him in my arms, it was like…I didn’t even know what. Like somehow the universe was telling me this was where I belonged. Not just with Dani, but with him too. I couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

“Hey there, little man,” I murmured.

He gurgled and cooed softly, and I swore I saw his lips turn up in a smile.

…And I was officially a goner. This kid had me wrapped around his little finger, and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why. Babies were cute and all, but I’d never felt this kind of a connection to one before, and especially not the second I met them. Not even with my cousin, Jameson’s, kids, who I loved like crazy.

“It’s nice to meet you too, buddy,” I chuckled.

I heard a quiet gasp and looked up to find Dani staring at me like a deer in headlights.

Fuck me, she was breathtaking. She was wearing a short, form-fitting glittery purple dress with silver heeled sandals that accented her legs in the best possible way. Her eyes had a smoky gray liner on them with silver eyeshadow, and there was just enough shimmering gloss on her lips to catch my attention and make me wonder what they tasted like.

My cock started stiffening in my slacks as I took her in, and since I was holding precious cargo, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to discreetly adjust myself or attempt to hide it.

“Wow,” I said, snapping out of my stupor. “You look amazing, Dani. Um, you ready to go?”

Dani nodded, still with eyes as big as saucers. “Y-yeah. I’m ready. Sorry I’m running late.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Babies spit up. Especially newborns.”

“Let me take him from you,” Lina said, carefully lifting Isaac from my arms. “It’s about time for bed, isn’t it, nene?”

Dani walked over to Lina and bent slightly to kiss the baby’s forehead. “Te quiero, mijito. Que sueñes con los angelitos.”

Shit, hearing her speak Spanish was sexy as fuck.

And why the hell was I turned on by it right now, while she was saying goodnight to her newborn nephew? That just seemed all sorts of wrong.

“Um, I’ve got my phone on, so if anything happens, just call me.” Her voice shook slightly, like she was nervous leaving him.

She might have thought she was barely getting by and didn’t know what she was doing, but I could tell just by witnessing this brief interaction that she was a way better mother than she gave herself credit for. Her love for this sweet little boy was so evident, and really, that was all she needed. The rest was just details, and I already knew I wanted to find a way to help her figure those out even after our arrangement was over.

“We’ll be fine, chica,” Lina chuckled. “Go. Spend time with your man. You’ve earned it.”

Dani turned toward me and took a deep breath before walking to the door. I followed her out and waited while she locked it behind us.

“You’re a great mom, you know,” I told her as we started to walk down the stairs. “I can tell that already.”

I heard her sharp intake of breath and her loud swallow, like she was trying not to cry.

Had no one else in her life told her that? How was that possible?

“I’m trying my best, but I can’t help comparing myself to Mar,” she murmured as she got into my car. “Wondering if I’m raising him the way she wanted. When I told her I’d take care of him if anything happened to her, it was just one of those things you say, you know? Because nothing was going to happen, right?”

Mar.

Once again, that little nagging voice in the back of my head told me there was something I should remember…but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

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