Page 10 of Seeking Happily Ever After

“Anytime.” His hands brushed hers as she passed him the baby, and her stomach clenched while a shock flew through her. Nick hesitated, as if maybe he felt it, too. She looked up so their eyes met and smiled.

The last thing Charlotte needed in her life was another man. Not after the whole thing with Billy and the way that had destroyed her. But maybe her therapist was right. Lauren had tried to tell her that not all men were like Billy. That, in fact, Billy was the exception, not the rule. Still. The idea of having feelings for a man again was terrifying. How could she ever trust her instincts after she’d gotten herself into such a terrible situation?

Char held his gaze for a moment, but finally looked away.

She wasn’t sure she could.

Mercifully, Nick turned and buckled the baby up in her car seat, giving her a few minutes to catch her breath and slow her racing heart, because her body clearly didn’t get the memo that her brain was trying to send.No men. Not now.Besides, even if she were ready to date—which she certainly was not—a single father who was clearly having some custody issues was probably not the best choice for her to get her feet wet with.

Nick straightened up and faced her again as he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. She couldn’t help but notice the stubble on his chin.The start of a beard maybe?It was sexy. And there was no way she wasn’t going to notice it. Or the way it made her stomach flip when he smiled at her.

Dammit.

“Thanks again, Char. I really appreciate it.” His smile was deadly. “Oh,” he added. “I forgot to ask you if Stephanie Starz reached out to you?”

She shook her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “She did and…oh my goodness. I’m totally spaced. Thank you so much for recommending me! She said you gave her my number and…I can’t believe I forgot to thank you. I’m so sorry.”

How had that slipped her mind?She should have thanked him the second she saw him. Normally she wasn’t so slack on her manners. But something about Nick twisted her up inside. It wasn’t an excuse for the total oversight, but still…

“Oh good.” His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “I’m glad she reached out. She needs all the help she can get with those cabins. It seemed like a perfect fit.”

“I really appreciate it, Nick. I can’t thank you enough. It’s an amazing opportunity.”

“I have no doubt you’ll nail it.” He smiled at her and for a brief moment, he didn’t seem nearly as stressed and preoccupied as he had been a few minutes earlier. But then it was gone. Amelia let out a squeal of protest in the backseat and he shook his head, snapped back into the moment. “I should get going. I need to figure out…well, I have some things I need to think about.”

And just like that, the stress and worry she’d seen in him earlier returned. Char had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from reaching out and hugging him. He looked like he could use one.

“Thanks again,” she said. “I owe you one, Nick. Really. I know there’s probably nothing I can do with this whole…” She waved her hand around. “But let me know if I can help in any way. I really wish I could do something.”

“Sure.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Looks like I need a wife. You want to marry me?”

She took a quick step back. “What?”

He roughed up his hair. “I’m kidding. Don’t worry.”

“Kidding about needing a wife? Or kidding about marrying me?”

He looked up and gave her a smile tinged with sadness. “Would it matter?”

She hesitated, unsure what to say.

Amelia shrieked again from her car seat, distracting them, and Nick turned to go. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’ll all work out. Thanks, Char. I’ll see you around.”

It’ll all work out.

His words lingered in her head as she watched him drive away. She couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that it wouldn’t all work out.

It was clear by Katie and Damon’s reaction when Nick showed up at their front door later that night with baby Amelia tucked into his arm that he looked every bit as terrible as he felt. Which was pretty bad.

After returning from his grocery trip, Nick had fed the baby and tried to eat something of his own, but he couldn’t focus. His mind wouldn’t stop running through scenarios. Running into Char had been a good distraction, but it had only been that. A distraction. He still didn’t have any answers.

Katie scooped up the baby and ushered the men into the front room of the grand house where Damon kept the whisky. His friend poured him a stiff one and handed it to him in a crystal tumbler before taking the seat across from him.

Nick glanced around for Katie and the baby, but Damon stopped him. “It’s okay. Katie’s got her, and she’s perfectly fine. Katie loves it and no doubt she’ll want to revisit the wholelet’s have kidsconversation after you leave.”

Damon smiled, but Nick couldn’t return it. Instead, he put the whisky down on the table in front of him and dropped his head into his hands.

Nick didn’t make it a practice to leave Amelia with babysitters, even when they were in the same house. Sure, he let others hold Amelia and bounce her around. But care for her? No. That was his job. Despite his friend Stephanie’s insistence that it would be fine to hire a nanny to help him out, even part-time, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t want her to be raised by strangers. Besides, he had the luxury of not having to work at the moment. Amelia deserved to be raised by a parent. Or at least a…he couldn’t think aboutwhathe was to her. Anyway, he knew hewouldhave to hire a nanny or find some kind of constant babysitter situation going forward, but apparently he had bigger problems. He had to find a wife.

---