“You are so smart! You know your colors.” Rubbing my nose against his, I carried him over to the table, glancing back just in time to see Patrick kissing Elaine’s neck as she put the groceries away.
If I ever doubted staying with his daddy was the absolute best choice for Lane, seeing the two of them together always erased it. Here he had a stable home with two people who loved each other as much as him. I was still trying to figure my shit out, and I earned just enough money to cover my bills. It was hard, but this way I could see him as often as possible, and it felt like I had a family, too.
“Why don’t you guys go out tonight?” I called back. “I’ll stay home with Lane, and you can have a date night.”
Patrick was saying something low to Elaine, but he stopped to yell at me. “You’ll do anything to get out of a decent meal.”
“I’ll have my dinner with Lane.”
He finished whatever he was saying, and her eyebrows rose before she hopped over to where I was sitting on the couch. “I have a better idea. Let’s have a girls’ night!”
My brow lined, and I couldn’t help being suspicious. “I don’t know. I didn’t really bring anything for going out.”
“Are you kidding? We’re in Wilmington. It’s completely casual. We’ll just go to one of the little bars and have some girl talk and flirt.”
“Hey!” Patrick called from the kitchen.
“Kenny will flirt.” She shouted back. “Mel and I will merely judge her choices. It will be a very judgy evening.”
Squeezing my baby closer, my initial impulse was to say no, but I caught sight of Patrick’s encouraging face. I had just promised him I’d try.
“But I came here to see Lane.” It was a weak last attempt, and my little boy was already resting his head on my shoulder.
“He’ll be asleep before we leave the house,” Elaine said, rubbing his back. “You’re staying in his room, right? You can snuggle with him in the morning, too.”
With a deep exhale, I surrendered.
* * *
Derek Alexander met us at the door dressed in a navy tee and jeans with a tiny infant perched on his shoulder. His muscles stretched his shirtsleeves, yet he was so careful with his little son—I silently acknowledged few things were sexier than the sight of a giant man cuddling a baby.
“Hey, Elaine. Kenny.” He pulled my companion into a hug, but I hung back.
It wasn’t only because he was ridiculously gorgeous. He was also the man Carl had gone t
o for help. The night I lost Blake, Carl also lost his little brother Max. It was a bar brawl, and the prosecution needed help building their case against the killers.
As a private investigator, Derek agreed to help us pro bono, which was a fancy way of saying free, and Carl always said it was because of Derek his brother got justice. I’d only met him once, because I wasn’t able to attend the trial. I’d pretty much fallen apart after Blake died, and it took a month before I even had the will to crawl out of bed. I’d heard the beginnings of what had happened that night and thrown up. After that, I didn’t want to know anymore—I just wanted it gone.
Carl sort-of adopted me as a little sister. He took care of me, bringing me food and even giving me a job when I was finally able to get on my feet again. I was eternally grateful to him and to this man standing in front of us for getting me through one of the toughest times in my life.
“Look at Dex,” Elaine cooed, taking the infant from his daddy’s arms. The dark-haired baby rooted into her neck but didn’t wake, and I watched as Derek rubbed his little back, eyes brimming with love.
He was like this gorgeous, giant mountain of perfectness, and my stomach was so tight, I couldn’t even face him to say Thank You.
All I could manage was a quiet, “He’s really cute.” I blinked quickly to meet Derek’s intense blue eyes and then away just as fast. “How old is he?”
“Six months, next Tuesday.” His voice was deep and soothing, and while it was difficult to hold eye contact with him, I could tell he was an amazing dad from the way he touched that little guy.
Melissa breezed into the room, and his expression changed again. The look that passed between them was enough to make anyone envious.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay here without me?” She smiled, rising on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.
Derek leaned forward and swept her into a huge hug. “Yes, now get out of here and have some fun with your friends.”
She laughed, squeezing his massive arms. “You make it sound like it’s such a prison sentence being here.”
A low rumble, and she took Dex from her friend’s arms. “Goodnight, my love,” she whispered before kissing his baby ear and carefully handing him back to Derek. “Let me know if he wakes up or cries or anything.”