Page 80 of This Baby Business
Once he’d received the discharge paperwork and been assured by the doctor once more that Grace would be fine, he carried Grace in his arms and followed Carly to her car. It was near the ER entrance, where she’d parked rather haphazardly.
He put a hand on her shoulder. “You sure you’re going to be all right?”
“Would you stop asking me that?”
“Look, I’m not going back to the airport. Emily took my last flight of the day.”
“You had to get someone else to take your flight? I’m so sorry I bothered you over this.”
“Don’t be. Anyway, she didn’t mind at all.”
When she unclicked her car lock with the key fob, Levi opened the door for her. She came around and stood between the door frame and the car. “When I think of what could have happened…”
“But it didn’t.”
“How can you be so calm about this? I screwed up.”
“You overreacted. Not quite the same thing.”
She sighed and got behind the wheel. “Raising a baby is so hard. I don’t know how you do it.”
He grinned. “With a lot of help.”
He could admit that now. Even if a sense of pride kept him thinking he could do this on his own, he wouldn’t have survived the first two weeks without his friends. Matt and Sarah. Stone and Emily. Cassie. Who in the world ever raised a child in a vacuum?
Her smudged green eyes met his. “Thanks for being so cool about this.”
She tried to shut her door, but he put one arm out to stop her.
“Carly.”
“What?”
“You have to drive Grace home. I don’t have the car seat with me.”
She clunked her head on the steering wheel. “Of course.”
He leaned into the backseat, strapped Grace in, then shut the door. “See you back there.”
* * *
Later that evening,for the first time in weeks, Levi felt four walls closing in on him. After feeding Grace, bathing her and rocking her to sleep, he fed Digger. Levi had finally taught him to roll over on command, and he’d discovered that the dog was incredibly smart when there were dog treats involved. Eventually, Digger grew tired and retired to his pillow, taking his latest treat with him.
Levi plopped on the couch feeling out of sorts. He wanted…something. Company, maybe. Carly. What he wanted were those green eyes searching his again with a hunger and vulnerability that made him ache. He wanted to hear the soft moans she made when he was buried deep inside her.
But, as Matt had warned him, Levi needed to proceed with caution. Much as he liked Carly and the way she took care of Grace like her own, she’d already demonstrated she could lie with the best of them. His least favorite character trait. He told himself that she wouldn’t lie to him again. She’d learned her lesson, but on some level that didn’t ring true.
She was a little hysterical, too. A bit lost. Troubled about something she wouldn’t share with him.
And had no idea how beautiful she was.
He could find a woman. He could get a lot of women most of the time. The problem had always been keeping them, though not much of an issue since he’d stopped trying. His long absences had made a permanent relationship impractical and impossible. Granted, everything had changed since his AF days. He was grounded and would be for the foreseeable future. But what was he supposed to do with a girl-next-door type like Carly? He had no idea what she really wanted other than selling her mother’s company, or if what she wanted could ever possibly be him and Grace. Carly might not be able to hang with him through the difficult times ahead of raising Grace.
A few minutes later his doorbell rang and he opened the door to find Carly, a tinfoil-covered pan in her hands.
“I made you brownies. A peace offering.”
He waved her in. “Hey, I told you. We’re cool.”
