Page 29 of Born into Chaos

I’m not sure what I’m seeing in Vitya’s eyes, too many emotions for me to pick through, but I swear one of them is a deep longing that I feel in my bones. The little baby in my arms lets out a frustrated grunt when she realizes her bottle is empty, the noise breaking whatever moment Vitya and I were just sharing.

“You need to burp her,” he tells me, and when I continue to give him a blank stare, he says, “You’re around Roma and Isabella all the time, Sveta, surely you know how to burp a baby.”

“Yeah, but I don’t babysit. They both know not to trust me with that kind of responsibility. I hold my niece and nephew, I play and cuddle with them, and I love them to pieces, but I don’t actually take care of them. I don’t do the gross stuff.”

“Well you’re gonna learn,” he tells me like I’ve just agreed to co-parent the infant in my arms. Getting up, he grabs a cloth and walks over to us. Squatting down so we’re eye-level, he puts the cloth on my shoulder and then says, “Lift her up so her chest is against yours and her head is by your shoulder.”

“Why do I have a cloth?”

“In case she throws up.”

“Eww, Vitya.”

I see the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his gorgeous lips before he hides it and says, “That’s not the end you need to be worried about.”

When my eyes widen, he’s unable to hide the next smile as quickly, and I get a glimpse of what he would look like with a full smile on his face. It’s heart-stopping in the very best way.

“Lift her up, Sveta,” he reminds me, “and pat her back until she burps.”

I get her into position and start gently patting her back. She rests her cheek on my shoulder and lets out a soft sigh.

“How do you know what to do?” I ask him. “Do you have kids?” I feel silly asking, like this is something I should most definitely already know about him, but I’d just assumed he would’ve told me if he did.

“No, I don’t have kids.”

I can’t help but feel a wave of relief at his words.

“I’ve just been watching a shit-ton of YouTube videos.”

“You can’t cuss in front of her,” I tell him. “Babies are sponges. They pick up everything.”

He reaches out and runs a finger over her soft head. “For her sake, I really hope you’re wrong. I hope she doesn’t remember a single thing about her life so far.”

“I hope she remembers you,” I tell him, the words coming out before I can stop them. Biting my tongue has never been a strength of mine.

His face softens, and he looks like he’s about to say something, but a loud burp beats him to it.

“Dang, girl,” I tell her while cupping her butt in my hand and keeping her held against me. I realize my mistake when a small explosion vibrates against my hand. “What the…” I start to say, but Vitya just laughs and stands back up.

“Your turn,” he tells me.

“Vitya, don’t you dare.” When he doesn’t seem deterred, I ask, “Would it help if I say I’m still feeling a bit nauseated from last night?”

The corner of his beautiful mouth lifts in a small smirk. “No. Maybe it’ll keep your underage ass from drinking again.”

Before I can keep arguing, he lays some sort of diaper changing mat on the floor in front of me and tosses down a diaper, a tube of cream, and a container of baby wipes.

“Make sure you really slather that all over her. They left her in her own urine, and she has a really bad rash.”

My heart drops at his words right as a sharp flash of anger hits me. I can’t imagine hurting a child. The tiny little thing in my arms is completely defenseless. I wouldn’t treat an animal like that, let alone a baby.

I lower her onto the mat and look up at him. “I don’t know what to do. Maybe you should take this one, and I’ll watch and learn.”

He huffs out a breath. “Nice try. Take her sleeper off, because it’s gonna be messy.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” I say while unbuttoning her cute little outfit. I slip it off her and then quickly pull my shirt up over my mouth and nose. “Oh my god,” I whisper. “How can it possibly smell so bad?”

“I’ve been pondering that one all night.” He sits back on the couch and clasps his hands together behind his head as he stretches his long legs out. “Better get a wipe ready. As soon as you open that thing, you’re gonna need it.”

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