Page 71 of Surprise Mother Pucker

“I swear, single mothers, you’re tougher than marines at times.”

I giggled. He sounded so amazed, and I wasn’t going to correct him.

“Well, you’ve got a night of bath time, stories, and putting this one to sleep, so are you ready?”

Storm nodded, a grin on his face. “Hell, yes!”

The walk back to my place was serene, until we got near the duck pond. Charlotte immediately started waving her hands in the direction of the water, babbling mindlessly.

“Does she want to go to the water?” Storm asked, confused.

I chuckled. “She wants to feed the ducks. Here, why don’t you pick her up?” I said as we veered to the side, and I parked her stroller.

Storm didn’t hesitate, bending over and undoing her seat belt and lifting her into his arms as I pulled out the bag of dried peas I kept in the bottom of the stroller.

“Is it duckie time, sweet girl?” I asked gently.

Charlotte’s only response was to babble.

“Where are we going?” Storm asked, unable to keep his eyes off Charlotte as she snuggled into him.

I nodded to a bench right by the water’s edge. “Over there. We sit on the bench, and she throws the food for the ducks.”

“I can’t see any ducks. Where—oh!” Storm broke off with a laugh as he sat on the bench and the ducks appeared, like they knew what was about to happen.

Taking a handful of the peas, I threw them into the water, then gave some to Charlotte. She was sitting on Storm’s lap, happily babbling away.

“Look at that duckie!” Storm cooed, pointing to a particularly pretty one. “We need to get you a stuffie that looks like that one, don’t we?”

Watching him interact so happily with our daughter made my heart melt.

An hour later, we were in the living room, a freshly bathed Charlotte in Storm’s arms as she drank her bottle. He was watching her almost in awe.

“Feeding her has always been my favorite time,” I admitted. “I really wish I was able to breastfeed—I feel like we'd be that much closer if I could—but it's worked out pretty well.”

“Why didn’t you?” Storm asked, his eyes not leaving Charlotte.

“We tried for a while, but she just wouldn't latch properly, and then she had some tummy issues. It seemed like this one brand of formula was the only thing that made her not have painful gas or be sick regularly. As much as I wanted to breastfeed, I wasn't going to do it at the cost of her being sick.”

Storm's face paled. “I can't imagine her being sick. How do you cope with her being sick? What can you do when she's sick?” He reeled off the words quickly.

I grimaced. “Honestly, it's absolutely terrifying, and I’m distraught every time she gets sick. Last time, I was so lucky that Eli and Micha were here to help.”

“I've heard the story of Micha’s shirt being ruined.” Storm smirked.

“Yeah, it was kind of disconcerting to wake up from a deep, fever-filled sleep to find my baby on a random alpha’s naked chest. Little did I know that, in a few short days, she would adore sleeping on that alpha’s chest.”

“I'm surprised you didn't call the cops.”

I shrugged. “I was still coming off a fever. If I had been healthy, I probably would have freaked out and called them immediately. Or threw a saucepan at his head.”

Storm chuckled. “I can't believe I’m about to say this, but I’m glad you were still a little bit sick, so my pack mate didn't end up with a concussion.”

“I probably would have missed.”

My small apartment was filled with his deep, fresh rain scent that set my body on edge. I was doing my best to resist getting the warm and mushy feelings for him, but unfortunately, he was devastatingly handsome, sitting there cuddling up with our daughter. It was so sweet. Storm had been attentive and doting ever since he had discovered that he had a daughter.

Now that I was spending more time with him, I could see little facets of him in Charlotte. They definitely shared the same nose.

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