Page 59 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
“Believe it or not, she likes you,” Daphne said. “She usually cries when anyone other than family holds her.”
Drake was a natural with kids. Serena had watched him with Hagen over the years, and with other kids who had come through the resort. But nothing could have prepared her for the unfamiliar desires pinging around inside at the sight of Drake’s thick arms cradling the sweet baby girl, making her look even smaller and more in need of his protection. He cooed at her.
Serena tore her gaze away, afraid her ovaries might explode.
“Okay, all set.” Daphne threw her bag over her shoulder and held out the baby carrier. “Want to trade?”
Drake tickled Hadley under her chubby little chin, earning a slobbery grin. She had two teeth on the bottom and four on top. “Actually, would you mind if I carried her?”
Daphne looked at Serena like Drake was speaking another language. “Are you kidding? I’m a single mother. I welcome the help. He’s a keeper, Serena. My ex didn’t want to have anything to do with children, which is the reason why he’s my ex.”
“Not everyone’s cut out for parenthood,” Drake said, reaching for Serena’s hand as they headed toward the inn.
She knew he was thinking about her mother, but it was all she could do to nod. Her mind was racing with new worries. She had so much she wanted to accomplish before she could even think about having children, but Drake was thirty-four and settled in his career. He’d never hidden the fact that he wanted a family, but if they stayed together, would he be willing to wait until she was settled in hers?
Mira and Chloe rushed over to greet Daphne and fawn over Hadley. Harper had asked them to apologize to Daphne for her. She had to miss breakfast because she had an early conference call about her most recent screenplay.
Serena introduced her to the others. “Daphne, this is Mira, Rick and Drake’s sister, and this is my sister, Chloe.”
“Hi,” Daphne said. “Thanks for letting me crash breakfast.”
“I’m crashing, too,” Chloe said as she slung an arm over Serena’s shoulder. “I’m not usually here this early, but I wanted to see this girly one more time before she goes back to Boston.”
“That’s sweet. When I left for North Carolina my twin brother and our sister probably threw a party.” Daphne laughed and said, “Not really, but my sister was glad to have our apartment all to herself. When is your baby due?” she asked Mira.
“Not soon enough.” Mira patted her belly.
“Hi, Daphne,” Rick said. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Thanks,” Daphne said as she set the baby seat down beside the table. “It’ll be nice to have friends around again. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t gotten out much since I moved back, and so many of the people I grew up with have moved away.”
“With this crew, you’ll never be alone,” Dean said. “And you might never get your baby back.”
“I can deal with a few hours of freedom,” Daphne said as she fished around in her baby bag.
Rick sidled up to Serena and said, “It’s good to see he didn’t scare you away with all that slow dancing last night.”
“Quite the opposite,” Serena said, remembering how incredible it had felt to be in Drake’s arms, dancing beneath the stars. “It’s calledforeplay.”
Rick chuckled, then turned to Drake and said, “Practicing?”
“Jealous?” Drake tickled Hadley again, earning another smile. Then Hadley turned an almost-scowl to Rick.
“She’s cute. You keep missing our morning runs, and you might end up with a tiny human sooner rather than later,” Rick teased. “I hear it all starts with matching sunglasses.”
Drake held the baby up in the air, and she giggled. “What do you think, Hadley? Does it all start with matching sunglasses?”
“In my experience,” Daphne said, “it all starts with a back rub.”
All the girls laughed. The guys smirked.
“You’re going to fit right in,” Serena assured her.
Desiree, Emery, and Violet came out of the house carrying trays of muffins, eggs, bacon, and sausage.
“They’re here!” Emery said. “Look at that baby!”
She and Desiree hurried over to the table and set down their trays. Then they rushed over to see the baby, while Violet gave Hadley a wide berth.
