Page 19 of Jaime
He took them silently, and our gazes lingered, but I had to look away. I knew I should say something about what he had witnessed.
When I chanced a look over, Jaime was still watching me, like he was reading me but was confused. Like I was slightly beyond his comprehension level.
“That guy,” I forced out, “we went on a couple of dates. It was fine but I just wasn’t interested… I keep trying to blow him off, but he won’t take no for an answer. He scheduled himself in with my assistant, and I forgot to cancel.”
Being the way he was, Jaime let me finish my awkward speech. I felt awful just saying it. Like I was the biggest dick in the world just because I wasn’t interested. And also because now I had to talk about dating other guys with Jaime—not that he was really an option, as I’d already established.
But Jaime shook his head.
“You don’t have to explain,” he said firmly. “That guy is wrong about you. You’re not that type of person.”
And with that, he turned to look out the front window again, like the matter was settled.
I sat there, unable to tear my gaze away from Jaime’s profile.
CHAPTER7
JAIME
I could feelEthan's eyes on me, like an itch. I wanted to look at him, but I forced myself not to, because when I did, I could barely drag my gaze away.
He was gay, or maybe bi. I didn’t know. It wasn’t my business anyway... although I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he saw in that guy who’d been waiting for him at his doorstep.
Sure, he was kind of a pretty boy, but he seemed a bit wild and kind of prissy too. Ethan Mack, the guy I’d spent the day getting to know, the one who went out of his way to help a stranger, the one who truly cared about children above anything else... he deserved someone different. I wasn’t exactly sure who in the world could be good enough for a guy like him, but at the very least, he could do better.
When we got inside, I laid out Evie’s tummy-time mat on the living room carpet and set her on it, along with a couple of the toys we got her.
She looked so happy squirming around, reaching for her toys.
“What do you think?” I asked, lying down on the floor in front of her.
She gargled and reached for the giraffe.
I pushed it into her reach, grinning when she managed to grab it and immediately stuffed it into her mouth.
She was drooling happily for a minute and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. It felt good to spend the day doing things for her.
Suddenly, her face started to turn red, her lips dropping into the familiar frown that meant she was about to have a meltdown.
Instinctively, I reached out and rolled her onto her back.
For a moment, she looked stunned by the interruption. Then, just as swiftly, she seemed to remember her giraffe and started to chew on it happily again.
I glanced around, realizing that we had been left alone.
Carefully, I pushed my feet and slowly backed away from Evie.
It felt weird leaving her there alone, but she was fine, I reminded myself.
She was safe, and for once I could walk away without worrying about her.
I found Ethan in my bedroom with all the parts of the crib spread out around him while he read the instructions.
He glanced up and gave me a warm smile.
“Where’s Evie?” he asked.
“On her mat,” I said. “Do you think it’s okay to leave her there?”
