Page 17 of The Billionaire's Accidental Daddy Duty
With my heart beating fast, I strode to the end of the hallway and rang the doorbell. Butterflies fluttered in my belly. Not just because I was here to live, but because I really wanted to see Declan again. When he’d fired me earlier, that had been the first thing that crossed my mind. I was never going to see him again, not in real life anyway. But it seemed I had been wrong. The word serendipity flashed in my mind, but I pushed itaway. Romanticizing men was how I ended up on the street without a home or a job. I was here to get back on track, not do more of the same.
Think professional.
I rang the doorbell again.
This time, the footsteps sounded loud and clear on the other side of the door. When it swung open, my jaw dropped. God help me. I had not expected to come home to a freshly showered shirtless Declan with a naked baby in his arm. I’d seen those pecs before in tabloid pictures. Lickable—they were lickable. He raked long fingers through his wet hair, biceps bulging while he hugged Joey closer to him with his other arm. And then, to add insult to injury, he beamed at me like I was his favorite person in the whole wide world.
What woman could resist that?
I squeezed my legs together to ease the throbbing there. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
7
DID WE HAVE SEX?
Declan
“Mr. Noble.” She nodded once.
Bloody hell, no. Mr. Noble on her lips sounded kinky now that she was in my condo. In my head, anyway. “Declan. Just Declan. Please.”
“Okay.” She swallowed, and her cheeks turned bright pink. “Declan. You can call me Isla.” Her gaze dropped to my bare chest.
When the doorbell rang, I was so happy for reinforcements, I didn’t think about putting on clothes. All I had managed was pajama bottoms for me and a diaper for Joseph. The little guy was a menace without it. Seeing Isla’s expression, I felt an explanation was needed. Though I had to admit, I fucking loved the way she was looking at me. I hadn’t forgotten her words—sure, they were the words of a drunk—but the fact remained. She thought I was lickable. What I would give to see those lips on my body.
Fuck me. I raked a hand through my hair to wipe all thedirty images my mind had already conjured, most of which featured Isla’s beauty mark on her butt cheek.
“The blowout continued after we hung up. A shower was the only way to get clean.” I cleared my throat, pointing at Joseph as evidence.
After the shower, he had really calmed down. Now that Isla was here, he was even happy and bouncy. I wasn’t sure if he was picking up my vibe or if he just simply liked her energy. She beamed at him, and he wiggled toward her.
“Hi, Joey.” She reached for him and waited for him to go to her.
“Joey?”
“Joseph is too grown-up. Too serious.”
“It’s a strong name. I like it.”
“He’s a baby. Come on.” She spoke softly to him, and he practically leaped into her arms.
You and me both, buddy.
“He likes you.” I let him go as soon as her hand brushed my chest.
Jeez. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I first thought. But desperate times called for desperate measures. A baby showing up at my door out of thin air most definitely qualified as desperate times. She looked good with my son in her arms. My son? This was like living in an alternate reality.
“I have a lot of cousins. That means a lot of babies.” She adjusted his weight around her hip.
“Right then. So let me give you the tour.” I gestured for her to come in. “One sec.” I padded over to my suite to grab a T-shirt. All the while, I felt her gaze searing the skin on my back—or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
I pulled a Henley from the closet. While I got dressed, Igave myself a quick pep talk. Isla was certainly not the first gorgeous woman to visit this flat. I was a grown-ass man; I could handle her being here. I had to. If I made the wrong move and she took off, I’d be in deep shit at work. Joey was a handful. In the two hours he’d been here, my entire time and headspace had been devoted to him. I hadn’t even had a second to think about the design I wanted to finalize tonight.
When I was decent again, I met them in the living room. Isla had already found some clothes for Joey and was in the process of getting him dressed. “I see you found the nappy bag.”
“The what?”
