Page 16 of This Baby Business
Lily did seem nice, so too bad he didn’t believe inthe one. She worked events at the ranch Emily’s family owned, and they’d been introduced a week ago. They’d had coffee at the Drip, talked for a couple hours. Levi was supposed to call her next week to set up dinner. He didn’t expect much. In fact, he’d had more chemistry with Carly while bonding over a baby crib, which said something.
“I’m never getting married. It’s the single life for me.” Levi scoped out his aim and best shot. It was looking like Matt for the win, which was perfect.
Most of his friends wanted him to slow down. And he understood the reputation he had, though much of it had been greatly exaggerated. For instance, it wasn’t true that he’d taken two women home after a bar fight in Yonkers, New York, two years ago. The bar fight part was true, since some jackass had been slapping a girl around. But the rest of it? Levi had never found out how that particular rumor started.
Matt opened his mouth as if to add something when the spitball Levi aimed hit him square in the nose and fell to his lap.
The conversation went downhill from there.
A few minutes later, Emily opened the door and caught all three of them in the middle of Spitball War Z.
“Not again.” She shook her head. “You’re cleaning that up.”
“Enough.” When Emily shut the door, Stone threw his last volley, which Levi caught in midair.
After the meeting in which they’d discussed the planes that most needed work, picking up more plane inventory and how they might best accomplish that with little or no money, Levi had a flight lesson scheduled with a retired software CEO from the valley who’d recently purchased his own plane. Before that, he grabbed his phone to check in with Carly.
When he heard Grace crying in the background, it was all he could do not to run out like a jet at Mach speed. “Something wrong?”
“She’s okay. Okay, that’s okay, baby,” Carly said, sounding a little frantic herself.
He got that. Grace’s wailing could even make him break out in a trickle of sweat when she carried on for hours.
“I’ll get her down for a nap now,” Carly said. “Don’t worry. She’s fine.”
He hung up and found a desk to check his email. As anticipated, another one from Frank Lane. God forbid he should pick up his phone even one of the many times Levi had tried to call him. This one suggested that Levi retain a lawyer, because Frank would sue for custody if it came to that. To pile on the guilt, he mentioned that Grace’s grandmother cried for her daily. He hoped Levi felt good about that.
Levi felt like a pile of dog crap.
Of course, he couldn’t afford a lawyer. Levi fired off a response, inviting both of them to visit him in Fortune yet again, but clearly stating that he would never give up his daughter.
Maybe this time the message would get through.
CHAPTER7
Carly
So far, allwas not going according to plan.
Why was Gracealwayscrying? That couldn’t be normal. I consulted the baby bible section on teething. Grace had gone through no fewer than five cold rags she gnawed until they were no longer cold. They entertained her but did nothing to stop the crying.
I now had growing sympathy for Hot Dad. If he had to deal with Grace all night, he had to be working on fumes. A girl wouldn’t know that, though, given by the way he kissed. That kiss had scared me a little bit, given that I’d been hot and bothered within seconds. Not the reaction I’d expected. Loneliness and desperation had weakened me. That, and the way Levi had checked me out, his heated gaze sliding over me as if he’d seen a cookie he wanted. As if he’d die without a bite.
But I needed to stay away. After months of juggling nothing but responsibilities and heavy commitments, I would sell this baby business and pursue my own dreams. My life. Besides, Levi and I both had people who depended on us and who needed to be put first. I had my father, and Levi had Grace.
We’d settled into a bit of a routine after that hot kiss, one that didn’t include any more of those kisses. Every afternoon Levi picked Grace up right on time, threw her up in the air, then caught her. Grace would squeal and laugh for the first time that day. I would pretend it didn’t scare me to see Grace airborne. We’d talk a little bit about his search for a permanent babysitter—which, frankly, was not going well—and about Grace’s day, then go to their respective corners. He and Grace to his house. Me to my sewing machine, where I had a little fun before hitting my business chores after dinner.
Interestingly, he’d not taken me up on my offer to babysit evenings. I supposed that meant he wasn’t dating yet. Thank God for that, because I’d offered in a moment of over-the-top selling of my idea. But frankly, I didn’t want to facilitate his getting laid. I was the one who needed to get out more. I missed my clothes. Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton and all their cool friends were sitting in my closet collecting dust.
I sat at my laptop to do what I did best. Also known as stalling. In the background, an old but favorite episode ofNever Wear Thisplayed. On one hand, I wasn’t sure why I bothered with the blogging. The posts took forever to compose, and my post on the best diaper for baby’s skin had a whopping one comment. It was from someone who claimed to know the secret to making a million dollars, tax-free. Not one comment from a weary parent looking for advice. Or hope.
As usual, I squeezed the words out one by one. I’d put a sentence together, living by spellcheck, and hoping my grammar was decent. It was never simple, not for me, and felt like being in high school again. Insecure. Inadequate. This wasn’t what I should be doing with my life anyway. I’d always wanted to pursue graphic arts or fashion design. That was in my blood and, though hard work, was something I could do well. I’d gone away to school to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Everything had been going so well, there, too, but then even that had blown up in my face. Something I didn’t want to think about right now.
Giving up on the words after a few minutes, I padded into the spare bedroom and my sewing corner—the place where dreams went to die. The half-dressed mannequin wore part of the design I’d been working on before Pearl passed away. Despite my failure, I’d kept at it, the pleasure of creating never completely leaving me. Only my confidence had been shattered. And unfortunately, my fashion prowess, should I manage to get it back, would not be of much help when it came to the world of baby products. But frankly, if I had to choose between an empty computer screen and playing on my sewing machine, the choice was a no-brainer.
It had been far too long since I’d torn something apart and put it back together again. Levi had been right in that the red baby dress was beautiful but impractical. I’d seen a lot of that in the months since I’d taken over RockYourBaby. I held up another one of the baby dresses from the lot that had been shipped to me.
I cut into the dress, ripping seams and removing sleeves. Found a piece of a soft white cotton with a flowery print that I’d bought at the fabric shop in town the last time I’d been in there. Seemed like ages ago. I could replace a velvet sleeve with a cotton one. I went to work cutting out pieces and holding them up. Okay, weird. But somehow it worked. I held it up and admired the juxtaposition of solid red velvet and flowery cotton print. It still needed…something. Maybe ribbon or lace.
