“Nobody is good enough for her.”
“Damn right.”
She smiled faintly. “You love her.”
“Well . . . she’s a cute little thing, and I’m not a damned monster, but she’s not staying here forever.”
“Uh-huh.”
Eyes narrowed then, he scoffed and sat forward. “So did you bring the design plans or what?”
Juliet reached into her briefcase and unloaded the blueprints, color swatches, and flooring samples. “I figured out a way to keep the bar where you want it, but I was thinking maybe we could add a bathroom. Keep one near the bar and then a second one on the other side of the club, like you wanted.”
He nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
“There was a line in the ladies’ room the night I was there.” Memories flooded in. Feelings she hadn’t wanted to sort through, or even acknowledge again. She felt her face heat, damn her fair skin.
“There was?” His brow quirked. “I thought you might have wiped that night from your memory.”
“I’ve been trying to. Believe me.”
His eyes softened, and he frowned. “Have you been okay? I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to check in again. Usually, I’m not so careless with my partners, but the baby—”
“It’s fine,” she cut in. “I’m fine. Really. It helped me sort out the design, so . . . mission accomplished.” She tried to sound as if none of it had been a big deal, but she thought of him standing over her with his belt and couldn’t help the small hitch in her voice.
Will was quiet for a while, watching her. Pretty green eyes, even when they were hard and cruel. She could tell he was thinking about that night, and liked what he was remembering. Her arousal was already spiking, and he wasn’t even trying to turn her on.
The air sizzled with tension.
Fuck. How could she stay objective about this project? Maybe Ethan should take over. This was never going to work.
He opened his mouth to say something, and then a soft cry sounded from the baby monitor. Sighing, he glanced at it. “It’s been a whole three hours since she ate last. She’s a machine.” Rising from the chair, he said. “I’ll be right back.”
A minute later, she heard his voice through the monitor. “Hey there . . .” The baby quieted a bit. “There’s a beautiful woman downstairs, miss Beau. Whatever you do, don’t spit up everywhere, okay? This is my last clean shirt.”
Juliet bit back a smile.
“How can such a small thing always be so hungry?”
A few minutes later, she heard Will on the stairs and he emerged into the kitchen with a squirming baby in his arms. Expertly, he began preparing a bottle.
“Wow. You’ve got the bottle thing down.”
“The directions are on the can. There are no directions for raising kids.”
She chuckled. “No. It doesn’t matter anyway. We all grow up and blame our parents for something, no matter how we’re raised.”
He smiled then popped the bottle into the fussy baby’s mouth. Her body was rigid as she sucked it down. Will tried adjusting her in his arms, but it was obvious they were both uncomfortable.
“It’s because you’re tense.”
“She doesn’t go soft against me. Is it because I don’t have breasts? That’s just not fair.”
“No. Look.” She moved over to them and put her hand on the arm cradling the baby. “You’re so stiff. She’s probably feeding off your energy.”
He smirked. “I’m stiff, am I?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to help you.”