Page 18 of Perfectly Complicated
I shrug. “I figured if I’m asking to sleep on your couch, I can at least hold a baby.” Rosie lets out another wail.
“You’re stayinghere?” Jaz asks, looking between Brax and me.
“His condo had a fire,” Brax explains, transferring Rosie to my arms. “He needs a place to crash.”
As I take Rosie, the first thing I notice is that for someone so small, her screams are incredibly piercing. But then I adjust her against my chest, rubbing her back, and she seems to like that better. “Hey, baby girl,” I whisper. “What’s so bad that’s got you in tears?”
Something must catch her attention because sheimmediately stops crying and looks up at me with wide eyes. She either likes my voice or is temporarily mesmerized by a new face. “Since we’ll both be awake and miserable tonight, we might as well be friends.”
“Oh my gosh,” Jaz breathes. “You’re like the baby whisperer.”
I smile slightly. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? It’ll ruin my reputation.”
Just then, there’s a knock at the door. “That’ll be Janie with the food,” Brax says, moving toward it.
I freeze. “Wait, did you say Janie? As in, Janie Bennett?”
“Yeah, she saw me in the grocery store,” Jaz says. “I told her Rosie’s been having sleep troubles, so she offered to bring us a meal. Why?”
“No reason,” I say quickly.
Just what I need. Janie Bennett catching me here, cradling a baby like some kind of reformed grump.
I do the only logical thing I can think of: turn around and face the fireplace, hoping she won’t recognize me from behind.
Janie’s voice carries in from the doorway. “Hey, Brax! I’ve brought dinner for…”
I close my eyes.Please don’t recognize me. Please don’t?—
“Rourke?”
Dang it.
I turn around slowly, baby still in my arms. “Hey, Bennett.”
Her eyes widen, darting from me to the baby and back again. Then her mouth opens. “You’re…holding a baby.”
“Well, aren’t you the observant one?” I say dryly.
“But you’re…” She gestures vaguely at me. “You’reyou.”
“Last time I checked, yes.”
“And you’re holding a baby,” she repeats, like she’s trying to make sense of these two things that don’t belong together.
“He’s actually really good with her,” Jaz says. “Got her to stop crying in like thirty seconds.”
Janie’s shock shifts to an amused smile. “The grinch knows how to hold a baby. Who would’ve thought?”
“I’m just here to help.”
“Condo fire,” Brax steps in to explain. “Building is condemned and he needs a place to crash.”
Her eyes flick to the couch, then back to my face. “You’re sleepingwhere?”
“On the couch. It’s not that bad,” I say with a shrug. Their couch isnotcomfortable. It’s as hard as a rock and clearly too short for me.
“When do you think you can get back into your condo?” she asks, her brow furrowed.
