Page 13 of Spring Break With a Baby Daddy
“Him?” Quade finally joins the conversation. “Him who?”
“They have a baby,” Hadley explains.
“They have awhat?” Quade’s gaze bounces between us and his wife.
“Short version. This little guy was left on my doorstep with a note. He needs us to take care of him.” Easton explains. “We need to know how to do that. And what we need to do that.”
Easton
Vail braved the storm and brought us a supply of diapers and wipes after we determined we could make do with what we have on hand for the baby’s first night with us.
We’ve fed the little guy, burped him and changed his diaper again—twice. Now Vivi is rocking him to sleep.
Watching the two of them has my heart aching with a want I’ve never experienced.
I won’t lie. Kids haven’t really been on my radar. I figured I had plenty of time to be a dad. And until I met Vivi, I wasn’t interested in dating a woman longer than a few weeks, never mind spend the rest of my life with.
She’s the only woman I’ve ever chased. The only woman to reject me—repeatedly. You would think I’d be humbled or humiliated by the number of times the woman turned me down.
But no. It only spurred me on, made me want her more.
With any other woman I would have given up after the second attempt. Shit, I can’t recall one I even made a second attempt at.
And I can’t blame proximity for my continued interest. There’s something about her, something that pulled me in fromthe minute I met her, something that draws me closer every time I see her.
Her age is insignificant. Over a decade between us seems of little consequence and don’t get me started on her intelligence.
Vivian Lenore Garnett is a genius.
From what I know, and what I’ve gathered through listening to conversations between her, Laney, and Hadley, Vivi graduated with her first degree at sixteen. And when her parents tried to cash in on her brains, she left them in the dust.
According to Vail, she left home at seventeen and has been walking the line between lawful and lawless for years, but she has a code of ethics she’s never stepped over.
And with everything she did for Vail’s son, Van, I know she has a heart of gold.
The drama with Van put her on a drug dealer’s hit list and the authorities’ watch list, and now she’s biding her time here in Love Beach. Until tonight I was under the impression she had a home to return to.
Knowing she packed up her life in LA to come here gives me hope I can convince her to stay in Love Beach. Make this her new home.
Getting her to move in and help me locate Lisa will give me time to pursue a relationship with her. Living under the same roof, I’ll have plenty of time to work on talking her into staying.
Keeping my hands off her might prove difficult but the effort will be worth it.
My attraction goes beyond physical. I can’t explain it except it feels essential to be near her. To align myself with her. In the last few months, it’s been a tangible connection I’m powerless to deny.
“I think he’s asleep.”
Vivi’s whisper pulls me from my thoughts and I push to my feet with a smile. “I made up a bed for him,” I say, my voice equally quiet.
She doesn’t speak again and when I move toward my bedroom, I don’t have to look back to know she follows. Ifeelher behind me.
When we get to my room, the drawer I pulled from my dresser is on the floor, the interior padded with blankets. Luckily, the drawer is deep and wide and easily makes an impromptu cradle for the baby.
When she sees what I’ve done, I get a raised eyebrow. It is strange, a baby bed made from a drawer, but beggars can’t be choosers and the little guy will be all right in there for one night.
We’ll get a proper bed for him tomorrow. When the storm isn’t causing havoc and we’ve put a list of necessities together with the help of our friends and the internet.
I watch her lower the baby into his makeshift bed and hold my breath. We haven’t put him down since I pulled him from his carseat hours ago. If he’s not in my arms, he’s in Vivi’s. Or getting a diaper change.
