Page 25 of A Dangerous Proposal

“I actually do.”

Jax squirmed in his arms as Alex pivoted and pointed to a bowl with a chunk of a baguette left from the loaf that had come with the food he’d ordered the night before.

“If you’ll keep an eye on him for five minutes, I can make him dinner, but…” She smiled at him. “I’m going to need more than a grilled cheese.”

“Right.” Alex blinked, briefly stunned at her change in attitude. “Do I just?” He bent toward the floor, unsure of the proper procedure for putting a baby on the floor.

A peal of laughter escaped her, and the brightness of it hit him full in the chest, cracking the walls around his heart.

“Just hold his hands until he gets his feet under him. Don’t look so scared.” She snickered. “Make sure he doesn’t run off down the hall or hurt himself.”

“I’m not scared of him,” Alex muttered, carefully setting the boy on his feet. Relief and a good dose of fear flowed through him when Jax immediately let go of his hands and took a few staggering steps forward.

Jesus. It’s upright.

Somehow, the tiny person had seemed less threatening when it was being held by someone.

“You should see the look on your face!” Madison clutched her side and bent forward, laughing.

He arched a brow at her, but she just chuckled. “Why do I bet there are people that would pay for a photo of you looking that nervous,” she joked, before pulling a knife from the block on the marble counter.

“How many personalities are you hiding in there, Angel?”

She winked. “More than you can handle, Charming.”

Alex pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. It was kind of impressive how quickly she adjusted to the circumstances. She’d picked a direction and was determined to make the best of it.

“Plates?”

Alex inclined his head toward a cabinet behind her, afraid to take his eyes off the toddler who, after several steps, had dropped and was now pulling open the lower cabinet doors.

“Is this…”

She looked up at his tone and then leaned around the island to peek. Jax tipped his head up and smiled at her, and her face lit with an answering grin.

“Feeling better, buddy? He’s fine as long as you don’t mind. Just don’t let him pull anything down on himself.”

Alex’s eyebrows pinched, but Madison went back to slicing the cheese and layering it on the bread without a care in the world.

Is that something I should be worried about?

He eyed the child suspiciously.

Putting the plate in the oven to melt, Madison looked at him expectantly.

“Dinner?”

“Right.” He felt oddly off kilter. “I could have Italian delivered.”

Madison beamed. “Sounds perfect.”

Chapter Seven

The scent of garlic and basil filled the kitchen as Alex carried the bag of takeout to the table. While Madison tore the grilled cheese into pieces, setting them on a paper towel, he grabbed the plates and utensils, returning for the two glasses of wine he’d poured while they waited. Dishing a variety of pastas and salad from the cartons, he set a plate in front of her before making his own.

Madison attempted to eat with one hand while keeping her other wrapped around Jax’s small body. He squirmed in her arms, feeding himself the small bits of sandwich.

Laughing softly, she pushed her wineglass to the center of the table when he reached for it. “You’ve still got a couple of decades to wait, Jaxy.”

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