Page 5 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

Chapter Two

Matt stood outside the club. He had half a mind to call his best friends, Gary and Angie—his babysitters for the night—back and tell them he was staying. But they’d set up the phone call so he could get away early. While he’d felt he had to come tonight, he hadn’t wanted to stay long, and certainly hadn’t wanted to stand around and watch the rest of the group get steadily inebriated as the evening went on.

But he hadn’t counted on the girl.

As soon as he’d walked through the door, he’d sensed her watching him. He’d searched the room and found her straight away. And he had no clue why. She wasn’t his usual type. At least, he reckoned she wasn’t, but hell if he could remember. It had been so long that he didn’t know if he even had a type anymore. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been with a woman. What he did know was—it had been before Lulu came into his life.

But something about this one had drawn him. There was an intensity about her. Something in the way she’d stared had intrigued him. She’d been interesting rather than beautiful, her dark eyes a contrast to her platinum blond hair.

And he was probably better off out of it.

He didn’t need complications in his life right now. But he could still feel her body against his. She’d been lean without the softness he’d expect from a woman. But his dick had liked the feel of her. And now, just the memory made him twitch. He half turned to go back in, but at that moment, a cab came around the corner and his hand lifted automatically.

Thirty minutes later, he let himself into the house. It was quiet, which sort of amazed him and worried him in equal amounts.

Gary and Angie were old mates from his early army days. They’d all enlisted together. Angie had joined as an alternative to a stay in a young offenders’ institute. Gary had signed up because even at the early age of seventeen, he’d already realized that he loved blowing things up and was good at it. If Matt got the position he was aiming for in the new unit, he was hoping Gary could be appropriated. Gary was a sergeant and had been busted down to corporal more times than Matt could remember. Angie had left the army a few years back—she couldn’t take being told what to do by a bunch of arseholes. Now she ran an advanced driving school, teaching bodyguards and the like how to make a fast getaway.

He was aware they both saw him as some sort of success story. Someone from the ranks making it to officer status, blurring the lines that had once been unpassable. A hope that the arseholes wouldn’t always be in charge—that was how Angie had put it. They wanted him to succeed almost more than he wanted it himself. Gary had offered his babysitting skills so Matt could make an appearance tonight—he reckoned Matt needed to mix more with the other officers. And he’d volunteered Angie’s help because after all, she was a girl, and everyone knew girls loved kids. Except Angie.

As Matt stepped into the sitting room, they were both seated on the sofa, dazed looks on their faces, surrounded by chaos. It was a look he was familiar with from previous babysitters. And nannies. And really, anyone who came into contact with his niece. Angie was a pretty brunette and usually as tough as shit, but she’d obviously met her match with Lulu.

He cleared his throat and they both jumped.

“Did everything go okay?” he asked when they remained silent.

“Define ‘okay,’” Gary said.

“Nobody died?” Did he sound hopeful?

Gary snorted. “I like your definition. And don’t worry, your little angel is fine.”

Matt almost smiled at the description, but not quite. Sadly, Lulu was as far from an angel as it was possible to get. Matt knew little about children, but he was pretty sure that if they were all like Lulu, the human race would have died out long ago.

“She’s a monster,” Angie said, getting to her feet and wiping her hands down her jeans. “She never stops. She’s the Terminator crossed with the Energizer Bunny. Never again.”

He listened for any sounds from upstairs. “She’s stopped now.”

“Gary bribed her.”

“What with?”

“My chocolate.”

“She’s not allowed chocolate.”

“Hah. You don’t get to make the rules if you’re not here.” She grinned. “I may have also promised her a puppy.”

Christ, that was bad news. Lulu had become fixated on dogs after meeting a very friendly Alsatian in the park last weekend. He didn’t like to think of the chaos Lulu and a puppy could make of his once-orderly life.

“Come on,” Angie said to Gary. “Let’s get out while it’s safe.”

“You need a wife,” Gary said.

They’d both made the suggestion before. A good, respectable woman, who would make his chaotic life run smoothly, and cozy up to the other officer’s wives. Make him fit in. They’d even come up with a list of possible candidates, including his commanding officer’s daughter. That was never going to happen.

“Actually, no sane woman would put up with this,” Angie scoffed. “He needs a prison warden. And maybe a padded cell.”

He wanted to defend Lulu but somehow couldn’t make the lies come out of his mouth.

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