Page 59 of This Baby Business
Levi didn’t know if he was angrier with Cassie, who clearly hadn’t knocked before dropping Grace off, or Matt. Matt, who had a sex life any man would envy. His son, Hunter, was already practically grown, and even if Matt kept insisting that a teenager was on the level of a toddler, Levi wasn’t buying it. Lack of privacy was a nonissue. It was the reason locks had been invented. Speaking of which, he was going to start locking his front door during the day.
“Tell me about it.” He had the decency to look guilty. “Still not going to feel sorry for you.”
It wasn’t like Levi thought he’d be able to drag Carly back to bed with Grace wide-awake. He just hadn’t wanted Carly to go. That single thought stopped him short, because it wasn’t at all what he was accustomed to feeling when it came to women. Usually he’d be happy to take a break after great sex. Let a woman miss him. But it was different with Carly. He wanted to cook her breakfast and talk to her. Maybe it was because he felt some sort of bond to Carly now, given their connection with Grace. Yeah. That had to be it. Made sense, too.
Either way, he was in a bad mood. Digger had started it all with is short legs and lack of cooperation skills. Levi woke with the bright idea to go for a run, something he rarely had the chance to do anymore. He was full of the kind of energy and passion that he hadn’t felt in months. Carly had looked down for the count. He’d tried to wake her but she’d mumbled something like, “Five more minutes,” then snuggled under the covers. Being that he’d kept her up half the night, he gave her a break. Big mistake he wouldn’t soon forget.
He’d thought the run would maybe teach Digger how to be arealdog. The result was an epic fail, lack of doodie bags included. But if Levi didn’t adjust his attitude, he’d be guilty of needing that Midol soon. Since Grace’s chubby legs were kicking and she was leaning out of his arms like she’d seen her best friend, Levi handed her to Matt. For unexplainable reasons Grace adored “Uncle” Matt.
Levi helped himself to a doughnut. “Why are you here?”
“Happy to see you, too.”
Grace patted Matt’s cheeks and squealed in delight. Matt made a loud smacking kiss sound on her plump cheek, and she squealed some more.
“What is it about you?” Levi squinted.
“I’m like a big teddy bear. That’s what Sarah says.”
“Nah, that’s not it.”
“Face it, dude. Guess I’m just adorable.” He smiled with such conceit that Levi wanted to hit him except for the fact that he was currently holding his baby girl.
“Whatever.” Levi inhaled the doughnut in two bites. Then helped himself to coffee, his fuel these days.
Matt sat at the table, bouncing Grace on his knee. “Truth? Sarah made me come by. She and Emily went cake tasting for the wedding. I was all set for a day of couch surfing and watching the game when Sarah gave me the look.”
“Whatlook?”
“The look that says I could do better with my time than watching sports all day.”
“For sure now, I’m never getting married.”
“Figured we could watch the game over here.”
“Deal.” Levi held up his coffee mug in weekend warrior solidarity.
Matt, more than any of his friends, relieved him with Grace on the occasional weekend. Stone and Emily did, too, joined at the hip that they were. They’d usually come over and shove him out of the house for an hour or two, but he felt guilty staying out for longer, even if Emily swore they needed the practice. Sarah was hit or miss because of the Pandemonium art gallery shows in town that happened on weekends. Now Cassie had been thrown into the mix. If it wasn’t for the occasional relief on weekends, he’d have long ago gone ballistic.
“But you didn’t have to drop in. I’m good. You know that.”
“What I know is that you wouldn’t ask for help if you were lying on the ground bleeding. You’d probably just stitch yourself up with a needle and thread and keep going.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “This is my deal. You guys help enough, believe me.”
“We’re happy to do it. Anyway, none of us are of much help, since I’m the only one who’s had a kid and I didn’t see much of him in those earlier years.”
“And you’re sure you want another one?” Levi asked.
He lifted a shoulder. “Whatever my bride wants. You know how it is.”
“Right.”
It was only one of the many and varied reasons he would need to stay single. He liked making his own decisions. No one would tell him how to raise Grace or how to spend his weekend—if he ever got a free one again. And if he wanted to spend the entire weekend from his couch, damned if he wouldn’t do just that.
“So,” Matt said, letting Grace chew on his knuckle. “You and Carly.”
He took a gulp of coffee and grimaced at the bitterness. “I wondered how it took you so long to get there.”
