Page 66 of The Exception

He turned his attention back to the skis and the other guys. His willpower was definitely on its last legs but after that hug, maybe Sonya’s was too.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re okay babysitting? Cat and I are more than happy to stay back.”

Sonya nodded and took Lucia from Josh. “Of course! I always want more time with Lulu, and you deserve a night out. Have fun.”

Besides, after spending the day on the water, she didn’t have drinking and dancing in her. She was looking forward to using this place for its intended purpose—relaxation.

Cat appeared at Josh’s side, leaning over to plant a kiss on the baby’s forehead before grabbing her husband’s arm. “You heard the woman. Let’s go before she changes her mind.”

Josh looked down at Cat in the adoring way he always did, and Sonya hid her smile by snuggling Lucia closer. Yeah, they were sickeningly cute, but even she couldn’t look at Josh and Cat and not want a little bit of what they had.

The other two couples emerged from their rooms and stood near the front door.

“Let’s go, people! 90s night at The Lakefront Pub waits for no one,” Dani announced. “You sure you don’t want to come, Trav?”

Sonya turned around to see Trav leaning against the wall. She’d expected to be on solo babysitting duty that night, so finding out that he was staying behind too was a little surprising. At least that’s what she told herself when her heart sped up at the thought of him purposely choosing to be alone with her for the evening.

Trav shook his head. “I’m good here. Thanks, though.”

After a few more goodbyes and promises not to be out too late, her friends were all gone. Feeling awkward for some weird reason, Sonya sat on the couch with the baby.

“Are you hungry?” Trav asked. “I was going to throw something together from last night’s leftovers.”

She nodded. “I could eat.”

Trav headed into the kitchen. “You two should come keep me company while I cook.”

Sonya took one of the bar stools, Lucia on her lap, while Trav gathered containers from the fridge. He loaded leftover chicken and veggies onto a cutting board, making faces at the baby as he chopped and diced, and threw everything into a pan.

Happy with whatever he had sizzling on the stove, he turned to Lucia and attempted to juggle two tomatoes. Luckily, she was more entertained by the ones he dropped, because he wasn’t very good at it.

“Look at her,” he said, beaming at the giggles he was getting. “She’s really beautiful.”

Sonya snuggled her closer. “Yeah, there was no way those two weren’t making a gorgeous baby.”

He put the tomatoes back in the fridge and filled a cup with the fruit puree Cat had left, making a little airplane noise as he gave Lucia a bite.

There was something about watching an attractive man with a baby that made your ovaries explode, and Sonya was not immune.

“You look like you have some experience with kids,” she said, trying to keep her voice unaffected.

He gave her a mischievous smile. “I’ve been one for thirty-two years.”

“Okay, Peter Pan.”

He handed her the baby spoon and opened a bottle of wine, pouring Sonya a glass. “Mike has a couple. I miss them. Kids are so innocent, you know? They don’t need anything but love and attention, and some fruits and vegetables. Everyone always talks about how hard parenting is, and I don’t doubt it. I definitely watched my dad fail hard, but it always seemed to me like raising good people was something we were all born equipped to do.”

Well, that was a deeper answer than she’d expected. She hid a grin with a sip of wine. “Do you want your own?”

“Oh yeah. A whole house full of them. You?”

Sonya ran her fingers through Lucia’s silky hair while the baby chewed her fist. For some reason, Cat’s daughter had busted a hole in Sonya’s heart and burrowed her way in. Maybe it was the surprise way she’d arrived in all of their lives.

Cat and Josh hadn’t planned on having a baby so soon after they got married. Lucia had been a little pre-weddingwhoopsthat had thrown Cat into a tailspin at first. But now they couldn’t imagine it any other way.

She chuckled to herself, thinking how similar it was to the way her life plan had blown up. The re-route had definitely turned out well for her friends.

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